This is how the police want to solve crimes soon

The European police authority Europol is convinced that artificial intelligence can play an important role in police work. But how can AI support the police in solving crimes?

Artificial intelligence can also achieve a lot in the field of police work. The European police authority Europol is convinced of this.

In a report of around 60 pages, the authority describes how AI can support the police in their work. Europol assumes that AI will “profoundly change the landscape of law enforcement”.

AI in the police: How it can support the work

Europol classifies artificial intelligence as a “thriving field of technology” that could “revolutionize the way we analyze complex data sets, improve forensic methods and develop secure communication channels.”

For example, AI can evaluate millions of financial transactions and identify suspicious money movements. The evaluation of digital devices, such as smartphones, is also only possible with technical assistance due to the large amount of data.

AI is also a game changer for the evaluation of video surveillance material. But this is not only the case for subsequent evaluation. At public events, AI can analyze the images in real time for inconsistencies and thus increase security.

According to Europol, AI is also used in the field of biometrics. The systems can, for example, identify fingerprints even if they are smeared or only partially present. It is also possible to recognize voices during telephone conversations.

Without the assistance of AI, law enforcement agencies can face significant challenges in decrypting massive amounts of data, leading to potential oversights, lengthy investigations, and missed opportunities to arrest criminals.

So-called “predictive policing” is also used to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of police work. This includes historical crime data and socio-economic data. An AI system can then use this to identify “patterns related to the occurrence of crimes and unsafe situations”. The probability of a crime being committed can also be determined in this way.

What role does EU regulation play?

Europol sees artificial intelligence as a “promising alternative”. It could help the police “use their limited resources more efficiently”.

Nevertheless, there are concerns about the use of AI systems by the police. These concern, for example, data protection, but also bias and discrimination.

The EU AI Regulation is intended to provide the right framework here. However, law enforcement authorities would now have to review and possibly adapt their existing AI tools.

For example, biometric identification could be “severely restricted” by the EU regulation. “The police must therefore work closely with AI researchers, developers, and ethics and data protection experts to ensure that new systems comply with regulatory requirements,” the report says.

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