Next Generation Policing: Effective and Ethical Use of AI and Data Science in Law Enforcement

With ever-increasing amounts of diverse sources of data available to Australian police forces, the use and application of emerging technologies such as AI and data science has never been
more critical. Being able to interrogate, query, link or visualise data and information available to analysts and investigators so as to extract insights, and to do so in a way that is ethical
and lawful, is essential to policing in the 21st century. For these reasons, understanding the benefits and risks of these technologies is crucial in helping the WA Police Force tackle the
emerging data-rich future and the policing challenges it brings. Moreover, thinking about aspects such as explainability, transparency, and bias as new tools are envisaged and
constructed will ensure public trust in law enforcement bodies and their use of AI/data science tools. This Program, which aims to train multidisciplinary, industry-driven data specialists,
will support WA Police to manage emerging data and AI challenges and to help staff understand how AI can complement existing investigative methodologies. We expect the Program will
deliver innovative prototypes that can be further refined, adapted and implemented into a production environment to provide new capabilities to analysts, frontline officers and
investigators.

Funders: CSIRO & Western Australia Police
Award Value: $320,000