Document Type
Article
Abstract
Objective
This study examines patrol officer and supervisor perceptions of an artificial intelligence (AI) tool to assist with officer report writing. We compare attitudes among patrol officers randomly assigned to use the AI tool against those who were not.
Methods
Following a randomized controlled trial within a single agency, we conducted a post-intervention survey of patrol officers and supervisors.
Results
Patrol officers expressed generally favorable perceptions toward AI-assisted report writing, though no significant differences emerged between treatment and control groups in perceived utility, speed improvement, or quality enhancement. Despite these non-significant differences, 48% of treated officers reported time savings. Supervisors perceived noticeable improvements in report quality, completeness, and writing efficiency.
Conclusion
Officer perceptions of AI-assisted report writing were broadly positive but did not differ significantly by experimental exposure. Agencies adopting similar tools should anticipate mixed officer reactions and prioritize training, realistic expectations, and supervisor support.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Publication Info
Published in Journal of Experimental Criminology, 2025.
Rights
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
APA Citation
Boehme, H. M., Adams, I. T., Barter, M., Geary, I. A., & McLean, K. (2025). Writing at the speed of hype: Officers’ post-experimental perceptions of AI report writing. Journal of Experimental Criminology.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-025-09679-4