The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has formed a new criminal investigative unit with the help of artificial intelligence and the nearby Florida Polytechnic University.
The two institutions partnered to form the unit with plans to task student interns with some of the work. With AI potentially turbocharging cybercrime threats, Polk County wants to find ways to combat misuse of the technology.
“Modern law enforcement needs to stay ahead of the technological curve when it comes to preventing, fighting and solving crime. With the incredible upside potential benefits of artificial intelligence, there is a downside: Criminals will use the technology to commit crime,” Grady Judd, Polk County Sheriff, said in a statement. “This is not only an investigative unit — it is a holistic unit dedicated to vision, discovery and creativity. Its purpose is to use what we learn to keep the community safe.”
The department also plans to analyze deepfakes and AI-altered images, video and audio that are used to mislead the public. It will also seek federal, state and local agency partnerships as it develops best practices for AI in a law enforcement setting.
Florida Poly, the No. 1 regional public college in the South, produces graduates in the high-wage fields of science, technology, mathematics and engineering.
“We strive to find real-life applications to bring value to our students’ education and value to our community,” said Florida Poly president Randy Avent, who is departing from his post in the coming weeks. “This is one more way that we are leaders in building Florida’s technology-based economy.”
