Artificial intelligence and law enforcement
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, April 28th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News Columbia Basin Top Stories
HEPPNER – Morrow County District Attorney Justin Nelson thought he was tech savvy until the dawn of artificial intelligence (AI). Now he sees where it can be good and can be bad.
Nelson receives written reports performed by AI that sum up encounters between law enforcement and possible criminals based on body camera footage. He was skeptical in the beginning, but dug into the issue more.
He learned that the synopsis has to be approved first by the officer and then by a supervisor before it is released. He added that any questions can easily be answered simply by watching the footage itself.
“You have the audio and visual, so you could skip reading the report,” he said. “You can just watch the interaction on the body cam video and you get all the real-time information right then.”
Nelson did say that he’s heard reports of lawyers who have drafted motions using AI without checking it. The result, which has resulted in those attorneys being criminally charged, has been that they cite cases as examples that have never existed.
File photo of District Attorney Justin Nelson
