Justice and Public Safety

The town of Vernon recently became the latest of several local governments in Connecticut to put enforcement cameras on school buses, hoping to curb moving violations around the vehicles when students are present.

The company provides maps and other AI-driven solutions to help local government agencies with transportation, transit, natural disaster response and traffic safety efforts. The new funding comes from a single investor.

Automatic license plate reader technology gathers data and images for use by government agencies for law enforcement, and this bill prevents that data from being used by immigration authorities.

The Circuit Court initiative is a trial in replacing an entirely manual process. So far, the sheriff’s office and about 40 municipalities are on board and 20 more are expected by the end of March.

The deal will bring together AI-powered transcription technology with a suite of court solutions from Tyler Technologies, one of the largest gov tech providers in the market, matching data to case files in near real time.

Lawmakers and leaders of California’s mental health crisis centers hoped that by 2026 the state would have a more robust system to address the growing need for behavioral health services. But delays have frustrated stakeholders.

The Santa Ana Police Department is proposing to spend about $683,000 on a contract to launch the city’s drone program, pending approval from the City Council.

The Laredo Police Department is expanding its use of artificial intelligence across several incoming programs — a move teased by Chief Miguel Rodriguez during last week's State of the City address.

Commissioners OK’d spending about $39,000 for software to better coordinate crisis services, particularly around mental health and substance abuse. It is intended to improve public-facing case management.

Local law enforcement praises the devices, hundreds of which are in place, for helping solve crimes. Privacy and surveillance concerns, however, persist among critics and industry watchers.

Through electronic queueing and a pilot of drive-through court services, the governments hope to handle a rise in court transactions driven largely by an increase in traffic violations around school buses.

A donation of more than $400,000 enabled the county police department to add two new drones to its fleet of seven. Among residents, however, concerns over being surveilled persist.

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers’ list reflects pressure on states to manage cyber risk, modernize systems and implement AI responsibly — with federal partnership playing a central role.

If the measure is placed on the ballot and voters OK it, it would require companies to adopt a set of requirements aimed at protecting minors from potentially harmful effects associated with AI use.

Flock Safety cameras have become an increasingly utilized tool for the bigger police departments across the state, from urban areas like Aurora, Colorado Springs and Denver to suburbs like Douglas County.

Its ability to send residents emergency notifications was crippled by the November cyber attack. Since then, the local government has relied on state and federal systems to send out alerts.

State lawmakers are concerned about how information from the cameras can be used. A bill, however, has received pushback from law enforcement. To date, at least 16 states have created such rules or guidelines.

A policy advocate from the American Civil Liberties Union warned FETC attendees last week that fear-based marketing and limited empirical evidence are driving district adoption of student surveillance tools.