Tampa Police Department rolls out AI technology to help officers, dispatchers
Tampa police unveils new AI-powered technology
Tampa police officers have several new AI-powered tools to help them on the scene. FOX 13's Kylie Jones reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa police officers have several new AI-powered tools to help them on the scene.
The Tampa Police Department rolled out several new tools through Prepared 911 and Axon Assistant's Policy Chat & Translation.
What we know:
Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw says time is of the essence in many of the situations his officers respond to. He says these tools won't replace officers, but will offer real-time assistance when communicating with callers or subjects at a scene.
"It is to help us with our sense of urgency, to reduce crime, and to increase our transparency," Bercaw said.
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He says they did trial periods with some of this new technology, and it's all been officially rolled out for officers and dispatchers to use. He says the funding for the AI body camera technology was included in the department's most recent contract with the company it works with.
The chief says the Prepared 911 program is funded through Hillsborough County 911.
According to the chief, the department saw a historic year in crime reduction, with homicides, violent crime and property crime down significantly.
Language translation through bodycam
The first piece of technology that officers now have is through their body-worn cameras. The technology provides real-time language translation of 54 languages.
"On our body cams, we are able to translate in real time and auto-detect in real-time any type of language that we're not familiar with," Officer Jaclyn Douillard said.
The technology in an officer's body camera can detect the language as a person is speaking to them, translate it in seconds, and repeat it back to an officer in English. It can then translate a phrase in English to dozens of languages, including Spanish, Portuguese and Russian.
Officer Jaclyn Douillard says this technology was a game changer when she responded to a robbery call recently.
"That bodycam and that translation helped us get a description of the suspect and get a description of the vehicle, as well as the items that were in the lady's purse," Douillard said.
Prior to having this technology, officers would have to wait for back-up from an officer who could translate, which would delay traffic stops and calls for service.
‘Prepared 911’
The second piece of technology the department launched includes a live photo and video calling feature for dispatchers to use with 911 callers.
"If somebody's on the phone saying someone's with a gun, and we can't get that type of information, now we can see it," Bercaw said. "What type of gun is it? Is it an automatic weapon? So, all of that could change our response."
Dig deeper:
When someone in a major emergency calls 911, a dispatcher can text them a link to start a video call. That caller has to grant access to start the call by clicking the link, and they can then show dispatchers what's going on at a scene.
However, this feature won't be used during every single call.
"So, making sure that someone videoing isn't going to start chasing a suspect down just to get the proper face shot of them," 911 Communications Supervisor Richard Parsons said. "Or, you see a reckless driver, and you feel that, that would be a good time to start chasing a car down because they're recklessly driving."
If someone isn't able to verbally communicate during a call to 911, Parsons says dispatchers can still help facilitate a live video call.
"The platform has allowed the live video to come through to the dispatcher and if they're not able to speak, the dispatchers can then text message with the person that's on live video with us," he said.
Parsons says this can also help better prepare officers for a scene that they're headed to.
"We may see something in the background that's even more important for the first responders that are en route to whatever emergency may be happening," he said.
When the call is finished, the video will also end.
"Once the call is finished, then the entire chat will kind of go away," Parsons said. "And basically, we will send you an updated chat that this call is closed. Please do not respond to this text message, because they're not going to be monitored. A new 911 call would be required at that point.
Big picture view:
He says videos and photos from that conversation will be uploaded to the case and part of the recorded call in the system.
Dispatchers can also take calls from non-English speakers. The new platform can translate more than 100 languages.
"The call takers will be able to respond to them in their native tongue via them typing in English," Parsons said.
Police say they also have technology that will be able to assist someone with certain non-emergency concerns.
"So, somebody calls in and needs a website to try to make a report or, 'I need the number of District Two,' for example, and they may be driving in a vehicle," Parsons said. "So, as to not make them pull over or, 'I can't find a pen right now', well, we can just send you a text message with that information."
AI-powered chat
The department also launched AI-powered technology to allow officers to look up policy and procedural information in real time.
"As you would imagine, police officers have a plethora of policies and procedures," Bercaw said. "It is vast. How do we get through that in a timely fashion? How do we absorb it in real time with the use of AI? You think, just like a Google AI response, think of that internally. Basically, for all of our policies and procedures, officers have the ability, now through an app, to go through and type in, 'I'm on a domestic violence call, what are some things I need to know?' And it'll respond back immediately with that."
The Source: FOX 13's Kylie Jones gathered this information from a press conference involving the police department and 911 dispatchers.