Using AI for Transcription in Public Safety

Research shows that for every hour of recorded audio (i.e. dictated police reports), transcribing each file’s contents takes a minimum of 4 hours, up to 10 hours. 

To give you some context on my background in this area, I have spent 20 years in law enforcement and in public safety technology. My tenure was with the Columbus, Ohio Division of Police. And yes, that makes me long in the tooth. Back in my day, (early 90s) we would take suspects into an interview room, start the tape recorder, and begin the interview. 

Once the interview was complete, we would label the tapes and drop them into the evidence check in. The transcription pool (mainly typists with Wang integrated word processors—using 8” floppy disks), would load the tapes from the interviews into a tape player and use a foot switch to start and stop the interview. The interview conversations would be meticulously typed word for word. The summaries would end up in the case file and used for court proceedings as needed. My department was large enough to have dedicated personnel for this purpose. Many agencies outsource transcription services and pay a hefty annual fee. The average cost researched is between $1.50-$5.00 per audio minute. Imagine the number of hours consumed by the interview and transcription process!  

Fast forward a few decades—where are we now? We still require the transcription of key conversations and suspect interaction, except now it is more available. Audio recordings are digital now, so we are managing files rather than physical media. Body cameras, radio log recorders, interviews, and interrogations all contribute to data files needing to be transcribed. But now we also have technology to help speed up and automate the process of transcription. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has received a lot of attention recently through ChatGPT, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and other “bots” that can provide extensive information in record time. We are scratching the surface of what is possible. Could AI be used to intelligently transcribe interviews, interactions, and even public meetings that require documentation? Yes. The AI team at eGroup Enabling Technologies has been working to decode what AI can do for the real world and how it can save time and money, or just make life easier.  

The first step in understanding what you can do to help your agency is to learn what capabilities exist today and how those capabilities may be applied to your operations. Our AI team recently published an AI Maturity Model eGuide to benchmark where you currently are versus where you would like to be. This would be a good starting point.