Artificial intelligence-assisted criminal justice reporting: An exploratory study of benefits, concerns, and future directions

This research explores the potential of large language models (LLMs) in revolutionizing report-writing practices across the criminal justice system. Drawing on insights from 23 interviews with justice professionals regarding report writing and LLM utilization, the benefits, challenges, and implications of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into the writing process are investigated. The findings highlight the obstacles to generating quality reports and the prevalence of boilerplate elements in justice system narratives, suggesting an opportunity for LLMs to streamline the writing process, provide training support, aid interoperability, and ensure consistency in standard sections. Practitioners voiced concern regarding the potential removal of human oversight, discretion, nuanced understanding, and privacy when weighing LLM adoption. Recommendations for practice and policy are offered.