The new safety plan gives Kentwood PD access to new and improved technology, offers a variety of training opportunities for officers, and makes the department’s processes more efficient.
One of those upgrades allows each officer to use artificial intelligence for police reports, a first-of-its-kind in the area. Police Chief Bryan Litwin explains:
“What it does is it pulls from the officer’s body cam footage and everything that is said and it’s able to actually write the first draft of a report in first-person in about 3-4 seconds, which would normally take an officer probably an hour or more to write.”
The officer then goes into the report and adds their own observations before reviewing, signing off and submitting it.
“Unlike ChatGPT, which people are pretty familiar with, that can get creative and kind of fill in the blanks. This doesn’t do that. It sticks directly to the facts; what it hears and what’s recorded verbally.”
Along with this new AI software comes upgraded body cameras and advanced tasers for every officer, automatic license plate readers and cameras for each patrol vehicle, and…
“…a virtual reality trainer, and we’ll actually have headsets that we can use for our officers to how to correctly use the taser, the newest version.”
These upgrades are partially funded by the city’s 2024 voter-approved police and fire millage.
