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Commissioners ok JAG funds to pilot AI report-writing for deputies; data-security questions raised
Summary
Walla Walla County approved using $3,703 of its 2025 Byrne JAG allocation to pilot AI-assisted report-writing software (vendor demos offered two free months). Staff said the tool would generate narratives from body-worn camera footage and could reduce overtime; commissioners pressed for a departmental AI policy and asked about long-term budget impacts.
Walla Walla County commissioners voted May 11 to accept a $3,703 portion of the county's 2025 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) to pilot AI-assisted report-writing software for deputies.
Sheriff's Office staff described the pilot and a proposed interlocal agreement with the City of Walla Walla. The chief civil deputy said vendor demonstrations include two free months and that the county's JAG allocation would cover a portion of a year of licensing. "We identified that it was about $5,000 per year that would help" in overtime savings, the presenter said when describing overtime reductions tied to report writing. Staff estimated licensed cost at about $50 per user per month and said the county can demo multiple vendors before making a longer-term commitment.
Commissioners asked about data security and oversight. Greg, the county IT director, explained how the software links to body-worn camera footage and "takes the body cam footage and it processes it and generates a narrative and then gives that narrative to the officers so they can put that into their report." Greg added the vendor implementation is designed to discard raw footage after generating the narrative and staff emphasized deputies will be required to do a quality-assurance review and confirm the reports. "It gives them that data to generate that report and then it discards that data," Greg said.
Board members supported piloting the tool but warned the program would add an ongoing budget line if continued after the grant-funded demo period. One commissioner said the county should be prepared to include the cost in next year's budget if the department could not absorb it. Staff said a department AI use policy is in draft and training and a sign-off/quality-assurance process would be required before deployment.
The board approved the interlocal agreement to accept the JAG funds for the pilot (voice vote, 3-0). Commissioners recorded no public comment on the item during a belated invitation to comment after the presentation.
