From drones to body cameras, artificial intelligence is changing how police departments are investigating crimes and train officers.

While law enforcement leaders call it efficient and lifesaving, questions remain about bias, transparency and how far the technology will go.

That shift is already underway in Southwest Florida, where police departments are beginning to rely on artificial intelligence in daily operations.

In Cape Coral, police are using artificial intelligence to analyze bank records, transcribe body-camera footage and train officers through virtual reality. As the tools continue to grow, so do debates over how far AI should go in law enforcement. Supporters say the technology saves time along with improving overall safety, but experts warn that without strict oversight, it could raise concerns about misuse.

“On the street, AI is frequently employed in conjunction with our axon body-worn cameras,” Officer Mercedes Simonds said. “The system automatically transcribes all recorded calls for us and can redact sensitive information, like blurring faces and license plates, this helps everyone and make sure we protect privacy and stay in compliance.”

Simonds is the Public Affairs Officer for Cape Coral police and is assigned to the Office of the Chief of Police. She joined the agency in July 2022 after serving three years with the Montgomery County Police Department in Maryland.

As Simonds highlights the efficiency of body cameras, Dr. David Thomas, a professor at Florida Gulf Coast University and former police officer, said the cameras have reshaped policing.

“I think the video is probably the best thing; body cams are the best thing that ever happened not only for the cops involved but mainly for the public,” Thomas said. “The ACLU argued that we would be peering into people’s lives and destroying their privacy. But it gives us that window to be able to look and see.”

Simonds also talks about how drones, which the department considers part of its AI toolkit, play a growing role in patrol and special operations. They are deployed to search for missing people, capture aerial views of crash scenes and track suspects during active calls.

“In several cases, children who wandered away from home were found quickly because of our drones,” Simonds said. “That technology has helped us bring families back together and avoid what could have been dangerous outcomes.”

AI is also being incorporated into officer training. Cape Coral police use virtual reality headsets to run through active shooter simulations, allowing officers to practice decision-making in high-stress environments.

“Our department currently uses a software program that leverages artificial intelligence to process and analyze large volumes of documents and subpoenas,” Simonds said. “This tool is particularly valuable when we receive bank statements as part of investigations because it can quickly extract the most pertinent information, saving officers a significant amount of time and effort.”

For the past several years, Thomas has trained officers across the country on use of force, policing tactics and professionalism, using both his street experience and academic research. He also believes that AI can be a useful tool for training, giving officers new ways to practice and prepare for real life situations.

“One agency invited me up to see their taser training. They’ve got a whole AI system, and it’s amazing. You’re standing there with your taser, walking through the scenario, and you’re interacting the whole time,” Thomas said. “The technology is great because it gives immediate feedback and trainers along with officers, can learn in the moment what to do differently.”

Along with AI being integrated with hands-on training and operations, it is also being tied to collecting and organizing data.

Simonds said how critical AI also is behind the scenes. She talks about how it is used during investigations by analyzing data and providing insights that would otherwise take much longer.

“AI has significantly improved efficiency within our department by saving officers valuable time,” Simonds said. “Tasks that were once manual completed can now be automated or assisted by AI programs, which lets officers focus more on critical duties. That shift has a positive impact on safety, resource management and timely responses to incidents.”

John Whitaker, a 62-year-old retired firefighter from North Fort Myers, said his concerns lie with the risks of putting too much trust in technology.

“I understand that there is a need for progress, but when I hear about AI making decisions in police work, it worries me,” Whitaker said. “What happens if the system makes a mistake or gets abused by the wrong people? Such a small error could have big consequences.”

He added that the stakes feel higher when technologies that can be unreliable are tied to public safety.

“I just hope we don’t lose sight of the importance of human judgment and compassion,” Whitaker said. “We can’t get lazy; we have to make sure that the safety of the citizens come first.”

Other residents such as Monica Montesino, a 36-year-old Cape Coral resident, said she supports police using AI tools like drones and virtual reality training.

“When I hear about drones helping to find missing kids or AI is helping train and prepare officers for dangerous situations, it makes me feel safer,” Montesino said. “I believe with these tools in place officers are better equipped for their jobs, and that helps protect all of us in the community.”

She added that although overuse of technology has downsides, if used properly it has a plethora of benefits.

“Of course, there are always risks with new technology, and I know mistakes can happen,” Montesino said. “But compared to the benefits, my concerns are very small. I’d rather see police have these tools that can help everyone instead of holding back out of fear.”

While residents such as Montesino welcome the changes, Cape Coral police officials say they are also aware of the concerns that come with adopting new technology.

“So far, our department has not encountered significant issues with adopting AI,” Simonds said. “But we remain cautious and make sure any AI-generated responses are carefully verified by officers before we act on them. That helps us maintain accuracy and avoid errors or biases influencing critical decisions.”

Experts such as Dr. Thomas share similar concerns. He said that while technology can be helpful, there is always a risk that police officers could misuse AI.

“You’ll never see me where I think technology is a bad thing. Unless they find an abuse for it and when you’re talking about cops, they will find an abuse for it,” Thomas said.

Whether you agree with AI or not, it is here and already active in local law enforcement. Cape Coral police officials say that AI will only continue to grow in the years ahead, and they are preparing for a future where AI becomes a larger part of daily operations.

“We are currently exploring additional software solutions that can automatically transcribe audio and video from incidents and generate detailed reports or synopses, additionally, we are also investigating real-time language translation software to improve communication with non-English-speaking community members” Simonds said. “This will save an invaluable amount of time for officers, and new improvements like these can help everyone involved.”

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I was halfway into my sustainable agriculture lecture at UC Santa Barbara on an otherwise pleasant February afternoon when I heard the sound no teacher wants to hear: one of my students, in the back row, snoring. Loudly. I decided to plow ahead, even as other students turned around and erupted into giggles. Finally, someone shook the offending student awake, and class proceeded.

Later that week, a teaching assistant approached me to explain how bad the snorer felt about the incident. It wasn’t that the student was uninterested or found my lecture boring, the TA explained; they just struggled to stay awake through such a passive and sedentary experience. It wasn’t the content of my class that was the problem. It was the format.

The longer I’ve taught (this is my 11th year as a professor), the more I’ve leaned on experiential learning: hands-on activities that get students out of their seats and engaging all their senses and capacities. Even as universities in my state are signing deals with tech companies to bring free AI training to campus, I see students clamoring for something else: meaningful in-person experiences where they can make strong connections with mentors and peers.

As I’ve redesigned my classes to integrate more field trips to local farms, volunteer work with community organizations and hands-on lessons focused on building tangible skills, I’ve found that students work harder, learn more, and look forward to class. Instead of just showing slides of compost, I bring my students to our campus farm to harvest castings (nutrient-dense worm poop!) from the worm bins. Instead of just lecturing about how California farmers are adapting to water scarcity, I take students to visit a farm that operates without irrigation, where we help prune and harvest grapes and olives. Long wait lists for these types of classes indicate that demand is far greater than supply.

I’m a proponent of experiential learning in almost every educational context, but there are several reasons why it is particularly relevant and essential this school year.

For one thing, generative AI has upended most traditional assignments. We can no longer assume that writing submitted by students is indicative of what they’ve learned. As many of my colleagues have found out the hard way, students are routinely completely unfamiliar with the content of their own papers. In this environment, there’s a real advantage to directly supervising and assessing students’ learning, rather than relying on proxies that robots can fake.

Second, today’s young adults face an uncertain economy and job market, partly due to AI. Many employers are deploying AI instead of hiring entry-level workers, or simply pausing hiring while waiting for markets to settle. As instructors, we must admit that we aren’t 100% sure which technical skills our students will need to succeed in this rapidly evolving workplace, especially five to 10 years down the road. Experiential learning has the advantage of helping students build the timeless, translatable skills that will AI-proof their employability: teamwork, communication, emotional intelligence and project management. As a bonus, community-engaged learning approaches can introduce students to professional settings in real time, ensuring a more up-to-date and relevant experience than any pre-cooked lesson plan.

Finally, and not unrelated to the above two points, Gen Z is experiencing a mental health crisis that inhibits many students’ ability to focus, set goals and develop self-confidence. There is nothing quite like putting a shovel and some seeds in their hands (preferably out of cellphone range) and watching them build a garden with their peers. The combined effect of being outdoors, digitally detoxing, moving about, bonding with others, and feeling a sense of accomplishment and making a difference is a powerful tonic for rumination and constant online isolation.

The field of environmental studies lends itself to outdoor experiential learning, and this has long been a key component of courses in ecology and earth science. But this approach can be quite powerful across the curriculum. I’ve known political science professors who take students to city council meetings, historians who walk students through the streets of their city to witness legacies of earlier eras, and writing instructors who bring groups of students to wild spaces to develop narrative essays on site.

With support from my department, I’m grateful to be able to teach an entirely experiential field course — but I’m equally excited about integrating modest experiential elements into my 216-person lecture course. Even one experiential assignment (like attending and reflecting on a public event) or hands-on activity in the discussion section can catalyze and deepen learning. 

To be sure, effective experiential learning is an art form that requires significant investment of time and energy from the instructor — and often from community partners as well. This work needs to be appropriately valued and compensated, and off-campus experiences require transportation funding and careful planning to ensure student safety. But the payoff can be the most meaningful and memorable experience of a student’s academic career. Instead of snoozing through a lecture, they can actively develop themselves into the adult they wish to become.

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Liz Carlisle is an associate professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Barbara and a Public Voices Fellow of the OpEd Project.

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