Justice and Public Safety

During a recent briefing on Capitol Hill, leaders and members of national associations considered artificial intelligence use cases and topics, along with a new playbook guiding the technology’s ethical, scalable adoption.

Proposed City Council legislation that would compel police to restore limited news media access to radio communications advanced to a second reading. Police leadership warned doing so could violate state and federal laws and policies.

City commissioners planned to vote this week on a vendor contract but have continued their conversation about implementing the cameras, to monitor vehicle traffic and deter crime. Some opposition emerged during public comment.

A new Google and Muon-backed satellite wildfire detection system promises faster alerts and high-resolution fire imagery. But with false alarms already straining fire crews, its real impact may depend on trust.

System issues were behind intermittent disruptions to Next-Generation 911 earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency said in a preliminary report. A cyber attack is not believed to be behind it.

A five-city tech collaboration led by Virginia Beach, Va., will connect it with four neighbors through computer-aided dispatch. It will replace manual call transfers with real-time emergency data sharing across jurisdictions.

The City Council will this week consider a proposed bill requiring the police chief to adopt a strategic plan and procedures for “timely release of public information to the media and the public.”

A school district in Maryland is among among hundreds of districts and state officials seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in compensatory damages for years of dealing with the harm caused by social media companies.

Spurred by legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2023, schools in Palm Beach County will begin rolling out new safety cameras that will automatically issue tickets to vehicles exceeding the speed limit by 10mph.

The police drone program began in 2023, in response to thrill-seeking stunts that have lead to at least 16 deaths. In related news, the city has debuted a public safety alert tool on a popular app.

The city is using a tool with artificial intelligence to respond to more than 40 percent of its nonemergency interactions — freeing public safety dispatchers from over 900 hours of talk time to focus on real emergency calls.

The Union County Circuit Clerk’s Office has launched the eCitation system with the sheriff’s department and local police. The system replaces paper tickets with a digital version that can be submitted from squad cars.

Idaho is planning to revitalize its emergency response with new tech that will connect 911 call centers, allowing dispatchers to geolocate callers immediately and receive texts, photos, videos and call transcriptions.

Former Director of the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services Steven Harpe now leads the state's corrections agency, and he's harnessing AI to reshape safety, staffing and daily operations in state prisons.

As police use the cameras within areas that have high crime rates, civil liberty advocates have expressed concerns over personal privacy and more government intrusion into everyday lives.

Training poses deadly risks for firefighters. Researchers are experimenting with new augmented and virtual reality technologies to allow first responders to learn life-saving skills without risking their own.

Though the sheriff's office has employed drones over the past decade, this new model will be remotely launched from a substation to respond to active crimes and emergency incidents over the next year.

The state’s 911 tech management authority is deploying a new tool from Motorola Solutions that could ease burdens for call takers and dispatchers. It could also help agencies deal with hiring woes.