The real risk of adopting without preparing, including a real-life situation that impacted a department.
AI is already in your department.
Is your department ready for it?
In many agencies, officers, analysts, and command staff are already using AI, with or without a policy in place. NPI has engaged chiefs, sheriffs, and technology leaders from dozens of agencies to find out where the field really stands. The answer: adoption is moving fast. Preparation is not.
AI in Law Enforcement:
The Numbers
61%
had a designated person or committee for AI governance. Fewer had defined what happens when an AI output is wrong.
44%
had not conducted AI-specific training for any personnel, even as officers use AI tools on the job.
61%
had a designated person or committee for AI governance. Fewer had defined what happens when an AI output is wrong.
32%
of agencies said they were pilot-testing or evaluating AI tools.
The AI in Law Enforcement Gap the Field Hasn't Named
Law enforcement doesn't lack tools, vendors, or even decision frameworks for evaluating them. What it lacks is a strategy for getting ready to adopt AI responsibly. This strategy includes the governance structures, data infrastructure, workforce training, and community trust that have to come first. This report makes the case that American policing needs a national AI adoption strategy and lays out five dimensions every agency needs to get right for success.
What's Inside This Report
Guidance for organizational readiness grounded in direct practitioner input.
How some are already ahead, from Georgia's AI test-and-learn lab to the UK's $95 million national PoliceAI center.
A field case study of an agency that built serious in-house AI capability for a fraction of vendor cost.
A practical checklist of what agencies can do right now, within existing budget, legal, and political constraints.
Who Should Download This Report?
Law enforcement executives, command staff and technology-savvy staff members responsible for deciding not just which AI tool to buy, but whether their agency is ready to use one responsibly, should download this report.