The Berkeley Police Accountability Board, at their September 17 meeting, heard a presentation by Chesa Boudin discussing Computer Voice Stress Analyzers (CVSA), usage of AI in police report writing, police radio encryption, and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), primarily drones.

The meeting began with a land acknowledgment, a call to order and roll call, and approval of the agenda. Then, the floor was opened for public comment, where some people expressed concerns over surveillance systems in Berkeley. Next, the Office of the Department of Police Accountability (ODPA) gave a staff report, followed by the Chief of Police’s Report. Deputy Chief Jen Tate mentioned two cases of interest, including a shooting near Malcom X Elementary School on September 8th, during which no one was hurt, and a hit-and-run near the UC Berkeley Clark Kerr Campus on September 19th, where a man drove a stolen car into two pedestrians and a cyclist. Deputy Chief Tate also noted that there will be a community meeting the week of October 13th to discuss surveillance cameras.

Chesa Boudin, of the UC Berkeley Criminal Law and Justice Center, speaking at the Police Accountability Board.

Next, the PAB board members received the presentation from Chesa Boudin, the executive director of the UC Berkeley Criminal Law and Justice Center. The presentation shared research about police technologies, including CVSA and the use of AI in police report writing. First, the presentation stated that CVSA, which are truth verification systems used by the Berkeley Police Department (BPD) for hiring purposes, only have a 15% accuracy rate for detecting lies. The PAB then moved to share the presentation with the BPD and recommend that the department stop using CVSA. Second, the presentation discussed findings on the use of AI in police report writing. There are many unknowns and concerns, including possible errors, whether or not AI would increase efficiency, and a lack of accountability if officers can blame AI for mistakes in reports. The presentation expressed that any benefits of AI technology in police report writing are outweighed by the current risks. The recommendation was that if a police department considers adopting AI, they should begin by testing AI technology in lower-stakes situations. The BPD does not currently have policies regarding AI use in police report writing, so the PAB voted to request that ODPA staff monitor any developments with AI in respect to police report writing.

Additionally, the PAB discussed potential radio encryption at the BPD. Currently, there is a public police radio channel (Channel 1) and an encrypted channel (Channel 3). The ODPA was notified of a potential switch to all channels being fully encrypted, but the BPD is not currently working to implement this switch. The PAB did not take action on this topic. Then, the PAB discussed a proposal from City Councilmember Taplin, which requested that the BPD explore using Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), primarily drones, as First Responders. Wanting more information and research about UAS, the PAB then moved to request that the UC Berkeley Criminal Law and Justice Center review UAS in partnership with the ODPA. Finally, the PAB moved to designate Chairman Cayetano as the delegate for the upcoming National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) conference in late October.

–Lucy Still