Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

Some routine police tasks are already being helped by technology. For example, new AI tools can listen to officers’ body-camera audio and draft incident reports in minutes ^{[1] [2]}. Officers then check and edit the report, saving hours of paperwork while keeping control of the facts.

Companies like Axon and Motorola have AI “assistants” that pull data (like license-plate or ID scans) from voice or video and speed up report-writing by roughly 40% ^{[1] [2]}. Emergency dispatch is also seeing AI help: one start-up’s voice bot now handles many 911 non-emergency calls, freeing human dispatchers to focus on real emergencies ^{[3] [4]}. In many U.S. cities police are using AI-powered drones too, for example to survey crash scenes or even deliver medical aid (like Narcan for overdoses) before officers arrive ^{[4] [4]}.

Agencies may adopt AI tools faster if they see clear payoff and have the budget. Many departments face staffing shortages, so technologies that save time are attractive ^{[5] [4]}. Surveys show under-staffed forces want “force multipliers” – tools that do routine jobs so officers can patrol more or solve crimes faster ^{[5] [4]}.

Affordable, off-the-shelf AI (like speech-to-text software) makes report writing easier, and hobbyist drones are cheaper than extra patrol cars. Grants and programs (like Ohio’s “Drones for First Responders”) can help pay for these tools ^{[4] [4]}. In practice, cities have seen crime drop after adding AI drones for search and rescue, license-plate reads, or crowd monitoring ^{[4] [4]}.