In Nebraska, we are already using artificial intelligence to transform how we work, learn and live, and public safety is no exception.

AI is poised to make the world a much safer place, with numerous applications across a broad range of law enforcement tasks and duties.

It can help human operators more efficiently monitor and flag suspicious activity, analyze bulk data to identify connections between suspects and criminal syndicates and reduce the time it takes officers to perform routine bureaucratic tasks, such as filling out forms, reports and other necessary paperwork.

Handles Mundane Tasks, Fights Scams

AI excels especially at repetitive, mundane tasks, making it well-suited for traditionally laborious police duties like redaction and transcription.

But AI can do more for public safety beyond assisting with paperwork. One area in which AI shows great promise is scam detection. As online and digital scams become increasingly commonplace and sophisticated, identifying and avoiding them has become a greater challenge, especially for elderly and less tech-savvy users.

Many of the newest scams use AI for an additional layer of faux authenticity. But while AI can make it easier for scammers to be convincing, it can also help us fight them.

Efforts are underway to train AI to identify scams and warn users when they’re about to fall for one, something that will protect victims at an individual level while outreach and training catch up.

At the same time, AI is increasingly being put to work detecting systematic fraud, reviewing financial records and transactions to identify outliers and points of concern, with some notable successes.

Privacy, Ethical Concerns

Of course, there remain serious privacy and ethical concerns about using AI in law enforcement. Answering them will require a continued collaborative effort with all stakeholders.

But we shouldn’t let these challenges and concerns prevent us from putting AI to work where it can safely make an difference without privacy hazards.

Allowing more police departments to automate or speed up tedious tasks is a great example of this. For instance, transcribing video evidence for officers to review or helping them write a report based on the contents of their body cam footage.

It’s essential that Nebraska ensures AI is fair and without bias. It must enhance and complement human efforts, not replace them.

As recruitment and staffing challenges remain for law enforcement, AI has an increasingly important role to play in improving efficiency and helping us do more.

Eliminating wasteful or unnecessary time commitments would allow our officers to better serve, devoting more of their time to the most meaningful work they do, keeping Nebraskans safe.

Tony Conner is president of the Nebraska Fraternal Order of Police.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/03/13/ai-can-help-law-enforcement-make-nebraska-safer/

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