Over the past few months, the Colorado Springs Police Department outfitted all its officers with upgraded body-worn camera equipment that utilizes artificial intelligence in report crafting.

The new system from Axon Enterprise (formerly TASER International) will cost the department between $2.5 and $2.6 million annually and will be funded by various grants received by the department and city revenue.

One of the key features of the new system is the use of AI auto-transcription. Colorado Springs officers trying out the function have said reduces report generation time by around 50-75%. 

The reports are generated from the audio transcript, not the actual video, meaning some key elements of the report, such as visual notes and follow-ups, still need to be added. Officers are required to review and verify all AI-generated reports prior to submission into the department system or filing them with the courts. 

Department officials said Wednesday that the new system has reduced the number of pending calls and ideally will continue to improve officer response time.

The department said it was still compiling statistics to show those improvements. 

Chief Adrian Vasquez said that six months ago, he would see over 100 calls for service in the queue at any given moment. That number has since decreased, with only a dozen or so pending calls throughout the day. 

“The faster we can write those reports and go through those calls and do what we need to do to resolve them, the faster we can get to the next call,” Commander John Koch said. “Efficiency gained at any level will trickle down to the other levels of priorities.” 

Another highlight of the new system is the cameras’ livestream capability, allowing other department personnel to watch in real time, even if they are not at the scene. It also allows officers to communicate with each other, which the department says will come in handy during active shooter and other mass casualty situations.

“This camera truly is going to be beneficial for the safety of our officers, but it’s also going to help inform decision making from a command (standpoint,)” Vasquez said. 

The old system, which cost the department between $1.2 and $1.3 million annually, needed to be updated to keep Colorado Springs police at the forefront of technological advances, department leaders said. 

“We assessed body-worn camera technology for the last year, as we knew that this type of potential efficiency gain existed,” Koch said. “Axon is used by most major police agencies in Colorado and frankly, across the United States.”

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office currently uses Axon cameras.

The new cameras which every city police officer has now been outfitted with are touted as more compact, durable and giving a wider view of the environment. 

The contract with Axon allows the department to upgrade the equipment around every three years to keep up with technological advances.

On Oct. 7, a camera from the previous system experienced a failure while recording an officer-involved shooting that left 41-year-old Matthew Kemper dead.

VIDEO: CSPD releases limited footage of fatal officer-involved shooting on Prairie Grass Lane

According to prior Gazette coverage, three officers were present during the incident, but the body cameras of the officer involved and one of the witnessing officers were not recording during the first few minutes, as is required both by state law and department policy.

Koch said the October incident was ‘certainly something we considered” in the move to an updated system. 

“We looked at our current body cam vendor and felt that it was appropriate to make the transition to Axon by the end of 2025,” Koch said. 

The department confirmed the new system will not eliminate any officer positions.

“We have a lot of demands for our time, and finding the resources to meet those demands in a timely manner is very, very difficult to do,” Koch said. “This is about making the personnel that we have currently more efficient.”

For a demo video on how the AI report writing system works and links to relevant policies regarding body-worn camera usage and report writing, visit the department’s website.