The Seattle Police Department (SPD) was utilizing expert system software to "spy" on its officers and members of the public. When the union found out, its president stated the department stopped utilizing the software.

The department, according to the Seattle Police Officer's Guild, was proactively reviewing body cam video footage instead of using it to respond to specific complaints. SPOG President Mike Solan says officers were never ever informed.

" The concern is they didn't let the officers understand that they were doing this behind their backs," Solan informed the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.

Solan stated as soon as he discovered the AI being utilized, he was "angry" and faced SPD chief Adrian Diaz. He said Diaz acknowledged what they were using the AI for, protecting it as developing data that could be used for much better community relations. The information might in theory be utilized to help develop much better training by evaluating more real-world scenarios officers experience on the job.

" The officers feel as if they were spied on. And this is most likely among the greatest substantial problems ever to pester this agency in regards to how staff members are treated. And in truth, the department has broken the trust of the officers," Solan described.

SPD declines to respond to most questions

An SPD spokesperson verified the agency "went into a technology demonstration job and chose it had enough guarantee to attempt a minimal pilot, to verify functionality." The department stopped its use, the representative says, after hearing from personal privacy rights advocates who kept in mind the AI reviews civilian video footage, too. The AI can't identify sarcasm, nor does it comprehend the full context of interactions, rendering the analysis useless.

Solan, however, said the department ended its usage just after he complained as head of the union. Using technology might have broken their labor arrangement.

SPD refused to address specific questions about the use of the software application, consisting of if its been used to disciplined officers. A spokesperson likewise wouldn't explain what parameters were used to figure out whether the AI should flag a video as problematic. The mayor's office would not answer any questions, consisting of how much they knew about the software utilized to spy on officers and the public.

" This was most likely the greatest issue that I've ever handled in my profession in regards to the company violating employee trust," Solan noted. "And this could significantly impact our desires to keep our present labor force."

The SPD is dealing with a staffing shortage thanks to the Seattle City Council pushing to defund the department, while identifying officers racist killers. Between 2020 and 2022, the department lost a third of its police with 525 officer separations. In January 2023, the department lost another 12 officers. After the very first week of February, overall separations this year increased to 15.

EXCLUSIVE: Seattle Police Dept. lost 12 officers in January and employed 8. So far in February, they lost 3 additional officers.

This puts overall officers lost considering that the BLM riots and defund motion to roughly 525 - - a complete third of the department. Unsurprisingly, criminal offense is skyrocketing.

—-- Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) February 13, 2023

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3:00 p.m.-- 6:00 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Register for the podcast. Follow @JasonRantz on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Examine back regularly for more news and analysis.

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