Briefing on AI and Criminal Justice

On Thursday, May 21st, the National Governors Association (NGA) hosted its monthly briefing for the Criminal Justice Policy Advisors (CJPA) network. The briefing discussed the current state of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology use in the criminal justice system.

As AI technology has experienced recent developments in capacity and sophistication, it has also seen increased utilization throughout state and local criminal justice systems. These technologies are most frequently used for public safety purposes by police and law enforcement agencies, but can also be adopted by corrections departments, courts, and states attorney's offices. Some examples of commonly used AI tools include:

• Facial Recognition Technology (FRT)
• Gunshot Detection Systems
• Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs)
• Case Management Systems
• Legal Research/Citation Assistants
• Risk-Assessment Tools

The implementation of AI in the criminal justice system offers several benefits, including decreased administrative costs, improved operational efficiency, and increased access to justice. However, this technology also carries significant risks, including due process and civil liberty concerns, lack of transparency, and the potential perpetuation of existing harmful biases. State criminal justice policymakers face the unique challenge of balancing these factors when assessing the implementation of new or emerging AI tools.

To provide insights on this topic, the CJPA briefing featured presentations by Vinuri Dissanayake, Deputy Director of the Evidence for Justice Lab with Georgetown University, and Jesse Rothman, Director of the Task Force on Artificial Intelligence with the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ). The call highlighted two resources that may be of particular interest to state policymakers when evaluating AI tools:

• Georgetown University's Justice and Artificial Intelligence Tracker (JAI-T), which monitors national trends and emerging applications in AI usage, and
• CCJ's User Decision Framework for Assessing AI for Criminal Justice, which provides information on how states can responsibly apply AI across the criminal justice system.

NGA holds monthly briefings for Governors' Criminal Justice Policy Advisors. For more information about this or other topics, please reach out to Ken Hardy ([email protected]) and Maria Kearl ([email protected]).