What does an AI analysis say about Paterson police officers’ behavior?

PATERSON — The Arizona company hired to use artificial intelligence to analyze city police body-camera videos said it found “a major improvement in professionalism” in cops’ encounters with civilians.

The company, Truleo, issued a press release this week announcing a 50% decrease in cops’ use of unprofessional language when dealing with the public, a 337% increase in officer professionalism, and a 59% rise in cases in which community members expressed gratitude to law enforcement officers.

Truleo said those changes were found in its AI analysis of police body-camera videos for the last three months of 2023 compared with the same time frame in 2022.

Activists, experts are skeptical

Social justice activists expressed skepticism about the Truleo assertions, saying the numbers didn’t seem to match those in recent internal affairs reports on complaints about police officers. Law enforcement expert Richard Rivera also expressed reservations about the Truleo report.

“Essentially, officers were put on notice to abide by the camera policy and then were on their best behavior,” said Rivera, a South Jersey police director and retired West New York cop who provides expert testimony in court cases involving law enforcement internal affairs functions.

Rivera said the software Truleo is using for its AI analysis is new and not fully validated.

“Paterson is an experiment for Truleo, and the agency is being used for corporate promotional literature,” Rivera said. “The case study does not state how a city police department shares citizen encounters with its corporate partner and how that data is stored, used or sold. This is concerning and needs to be explained.”

What did Paterson officials say?

Truleo’s original press release on Tuesday did not include any statements from the Paterson Police Department. On Wednesday, law enforcement officials released comments from Paterson’s state-appointed officer in charge of the department, Isa Abbassi.

“Truleo’s body worn camera technology is being used as an important tool to evaluate officer conduct and professionalism during police interactions,” Abbassi said. “This data will help the Paterson Police Department achieve its goal of providing effective public safety services to the people of Paterson. Officers have been receptive to the technology and are rising to the challenge to further increase professionalism as they go about their duties protecting and serving the people of Paterson.”

Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh, who has opposed the state takeover of the Police Department, did not respond when asked for comment about Truleo’s findings.

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When did Paterson cops start using body cameras?

Paterson was last among New Jersey’s major cities to equip its cops with body cameras. The first 25 recording devices were distributed to Paterson police in January 2021.

State attorney general guidelines require cops to record most encounters with civilians, such as when they take someone into custody or respond to residents' quality-of-life complaints.

Truleo said the number of times Paterson cops activated their body cameras increased by 50% between October and December 2023, compared with the previous year. The company also asserted that the number of times police officers properly introduced themselves to civilians they encountered rose by 58%.

"I am immensely proud of our partnership with Officer in Charge Abbassi and the Paterson PD," Anthony Tassone, co-founder and CEO of Truleo, said in the company’s press release. "They are fulfilling the promise they made to their community and deserve to be celebrated for their professionalism and commitment to training."

But Paterson Black Lives Matter leader Zellie Thomas isn’t ready to celebrate just yet. He said that at first glance the decrease in cops’ use of inappropriate language may seem substantial.

“But when compared with the recently released 2023 internal affairs summary, things aren’t adding up,” Thomas asserted.

The activist noted that the IA report said there were fewer than 50 sustained complaints against city police officers in 2023. At the same time, Thomas pointed out, the Truleo report found 50 instances of unprofessional language by cops in a span of three months.

“Accountability is still not happening,” the BLM leader said.

Meanwhile, Rivera, the law enforcement expert, cited what he described as various deficiencies in the Truleo report. For example, he said, the case study does not seem to account for police officers’ interactions with Spanish- and Arabic-speaking residents.

Rivera also noted that the report does not say how often police supervisors reviewed subordinates' body-camera videos, one of the requirements under the Attorney General's Office standards. He also pointed out that IA reports showed an increase in complaints about officers’ demeanor — such as when they used foul language or were rude during public interactions.

“Despite increased BWC (body-worn camera) scrutiny and introduction of Truleo software, the outcomes were the same,” Rivera said.

Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ: AI analysis examines police officer behavior