PHOENIX — The Phoenix Police Department has launched a 90-day pilot program to test an AI-assisted tool that generates first drafts of police reports from body-worn camera audio after a push by City Councilwoman Ann O'Brien she says was aimed at getting more officers on the streets and improving response times amid an officer shortage.
The pilot is testing Axon DraftOne in the Patrol Bureau of the Mountain View Precinct, the Family Investigations Bureau, and the Assaults Unit within the Violent Crimes Bureau of the Mountain View Precinct. The program will run through Dec. 31, 2026.
"Phoenix, like many cities, is facing a significant officer shortage, and every hour an officer spends on paperwork is time they can't spend answering calls or connecting with the neighborhoods they serve," O'Brien said.
O'Brien, who chairs the City's Public Safety and Justice Subcommittee, said report writing can consume hours of an officer's shift.
"Sometimes report writing can take hours. And to have the ability to have the software transcribe and produce a draft report is just awesome. It could mean more officers out on the streets answering calls. It could improve response times. So that's why we have this pilot going from Oct. 1 to the end of the year," O'Brien said. "We do have a lot of vacancies right now in the Police Department, so ensuring that we are being the most effective and most efficient with the officers that we do have."
Human accountability is built in
O'Brien says officers cannot simply accept an AI-generated draft. Each report must be reviewed and corrected before it can be entered into the Department's records system, and each requires a signed attestation from the officer confirming it is an accurate account of events. Drafts can only be generated from transcribed audio of actual recordings.
O'Brien said an intentional error is embedded in every draft as an additional safeguard against rubber-stamping.
"Not only is it a draft report, but there actually is an error placed in the report that the officer must find in order for them to be able to sign off on that attestation that it is a true and accurate. Accurate report. So there is a safeguard in there to ensure that they can't just check a box and say yep, it's correct," O'Brien said.
How it works
- An officer's body-worn camera is turned off and its encrypted footage is uploaded.
- Axon DraftOne generates a draft narrative from the transcribed audio.
- The officer edits and corrects the draft, then signs the attestation before the report can be entered into the Department's records management system.
What the pilot will measure
The Department will track specific metrics to evaluate the tool's impact:
- Patrol: overtime, response times, calls answered, arrests, body-camera activation rates, and time to write reports
- Investigations: case-management overtime, call-out overtime, case disposition, and time to write reports
What comes next
After the pilot ends Dec. 31, 2026, the Police Department will assess the results and decide whether to extend the evaluation or move toward department-wide use.
"I asked the Police Department to test this technology because we owe it to residents to try new approaches. This pilot program will let the Department evaluate results before making a larger decision," O'Brien said.
"We will have the opportunity maybe to extend the pilot or you know, have conversations, but we want to make sure we really have a good look at the data and what it can do for the Phoenix Police Department," O'Brien said.
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