Bill to Require Law Enforcement Disclosure if AI Was Used To Help Write Reports

A bill to require law enforcement agency disclosure if artificial intelligence was used to help write reports grew in momentum this month along with other public safety bills, hinting at passage in both houses in the coming weeks.

Senate Bill 524, authored by Senator Jesse Arreguin (D-Berkeley), would specifically require each law enforcement agency to maintain a policy to require an official report prepared by a law enforcement officer or any member of a law enforcement agency that is generated using artificial intelligence either fully or partially to include specified information on each page, including a disclosure statement, and the signature of the law enforcement officer or member of a law enforcement agency who prepared the final report. If an officer or any member of an agency uses AI to create an official report, the bill would require the first draft created to be retained for as long as the final report is retained. In addition, SB 524 would, except for the final report, prohibit a draft of any report created with the use of AI from constituting an officer’s official statement.

The bill would also require the program used to generate a draft, interim, or final report to maintain an audit trail that identifies, at a minimum, certain things, including the person who used AI to create a report. Finally, SB 524 would prohibit a contracted vendor from sharing, selling, or otherwise using information provided by a law enforcement agency to be processed by artificial intelligence. 

Senator Arreguin wrote the bill to improve public safety, as well as a way to help ensure that police reports synch with audio, video, and written statements given in reports. While some AI programs, like Axon, provide safeguards in writing reports and require officer review, others, like Chat GPT and Google Gemini, don’t offer such safeguards. SB 524 would add transparency to such reports and help ensure accuracy of such reports. As some lawyers could use an inaccurate report as a way to get criminals off on a technicality, the bill also helps stop any miscarriage of justice from happening.

A divisive AI bill

“From the get, this police report is used to determine whether a criminal case will be started,” California Public Defenders Association executive director Kate Chatfield said in a statement this week. “Then a judge would be reviewing this police report, for example, to determine the circumstances of offense and to determine whether or not to hold somebody in jail.

“Everybody deserves the right to know how that police report was generated. All we’re saying is you have to be transparent about it. That’s it.”

“Californians have made it clear that public safety is a top priority. While crime in 2024 was down, including a 6% decrease in violent crime and 8.4% decrease in property crime, anyone that is a victim of a crime knows that more can be done,” added Senator Arreguin. “This bill will improve accountability on police reports by requiring disclosures if artificial intelligence was used in the creation of reports.”

However, SB 524 hasn’t had smooth sailing through the legislature. Many police groups, including the Police Officers Research Association of California (PORAC), have come out against the bill, saying that it would increase administrative duties and put further strain on officer credibility.

“The bill raises serious concerns about unintended consequences that would undermine officer integrity, impose significant administrative burdens, and introduce unnecessary legal vulnerabilities,” said PORAC earlier this year. “Mandatory page disclosures imply to the public, courts, or defense attorneys that such reports are inherently less reliable or credible. DAs might argue that AI introduced errors or biases, casting doubt on the officer’s account, regardless of the officer’s oversight or edits.”

Since February, the bill has remained contentious. In June, the bill passed the Senate with a 28-10 vote, with all GOP Senators voting nay. And in the Assembly, the GOP is looking at another vote against it. Despite this, a push for more public safety bills this year could help SB 524 to come out of the legislature to the desk of Governor Gavin Newsom. Currently, the bill in in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, but is expected to pass through both houses by the end of the session.