Law enforcement executives, public information officers (PIOs), police psychologists, technologists and industry partners gathered at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) 2026 Annual Conference and Exposition to explore how technology is reshaping every stage of the public safety workflow, from hiring and patrol to investigations and public communications. Artificial Intelligence (AI) anchored many conversations, alongside the governance, infrastructure and human expertise needed to apply it responsibly.
Across sessions, a consistent theme emerged: technology delivers the greatest value when it strengthens human judgment and public confidence. Five insights define the path forward for agencies to modernize their operations.
AI Is Delivering Measurable Gains in Analysis and Operations
The scope of work AI can complete from a single prompt has grown from roughly four minutes in 2024 to as much as 17 hours today. Practitioners showed how a well-structured prompt can turn open source crime data into an interactive hot spot dashboard at virtually no cost, analyze nearly a million incidents in about 20 minutes and generate crime volume projections that tested within five percent of the prior year’s actual results.
Workforce planning showed similar promise. Drawing on calls-for-service data, union contract rules, command staffing priorities and officer schedule preferences, one AI-driven model evaluated tens of thousands of shift configurations. The optimized schedule reduced weekly staffing shortfalls from 339 hours to 62, projected $1.1 million in overtime savings and lowered the share of calls waiting for an available officer from 22% to 4%.
State agencies are realizing gains as well. In Texas, an AI agent now helps residents navigate driver license services and AI-assisted development compressed one application project from an estimated 18 months to four. As speakers noted, today’s models are the least capable agencies will ever use, making now the time to build skills and identify high-value use cases.
Human Oversight Keeps AI Accountable and Court-Ready
One principle held constant across sessions: AI advises, and people decide. Speakers distinguished “autopilot” tools that own a process end to end from “copilot” tools that inform a human decision maker. When outcomes carry real consequences for community members, a copilot model keeps officers in control.
Facial recognition matches, automated license plate reader (ALPR) hits and AI-drafted reports are best treated as leads rather than sources of truth. A brief human check, such as comparing a plate image to the reported plate or reviewing a draft report line by line, builds confidence before action is taken. Officers must also be ready to explain their reports on the stand, so they must review and own every AI-generated narrative.
Command staff can reinforce critical thinking by selecting tools that surface cited policy and legal sections rather than a single answer and by requiring human sign-off on every AI-generated work product. As one presenter summarized AI is the flashlight, the officer is the investigator.
Governance and Procurement Turn AI Adoption into a Managed Program
Procurement leaders encouraged agencies to assume nearly every technology purchase now includes an AI component and, because AI systems adapt over time, to govern them continuously rather than through a one-time approval.
Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) leaders described a toolkit that brings structure to this process: a business case to confirm return on investment (ROI), contract and privacy risk assessments, an AI inventory supported by a vendor questionnaire, a governance committee and a dedicated AI and data contract exhibit that affirms agency data ownership and requires vendors to disclose how their models work and were tested. Requirements scale with risk. Speakers recommended asking every vendor:
- Where is our data stored, and is it Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) compliant?
- Can users trace every output to its source?
- How often is the system wrong, and how is accuracy independently tested?
- Can we audit and delete our data?
Clear policy completes the framework. Agencies can provide sanctioned AI tools with guardrails, codify expectations in a written policy and train personnel on the reasoning behind it, because officers follow the rules they understand. Leading agencies are also adding policies for autonomous AI agents, including an immediate kill switch and introducing tools through pilots and phased rollouts. For smaller agencies, cooperative contracts offer pre-vetted terms and solutions already proven by peers.
Resilient, Secure Connectivity Forms the Backbone of Connected Policing
Every AI tool, camera and mobile application depends on a reliable connection. Connectivity experts outlined three building blocks for resilient public safety communications: 5G network slicing, satellite and layered security.
Network slicing, part of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) 5G standard, creates a dedicated “express lane” for first responders on 5G standalone networks. It extends existing priority and preemption, so responders stay connected during large events when public networks are congested.
Satellite adds a non-terrestrial layer that remains available when ground infrastructure is disrupted, such as during hurricanes. Treated as a secondary wide area network (WAN), satellite options from low Earth orbit (LEO) broadband to direct-to-device (D2D) messaging enable automatic failover, with latency matched to each application.
In the vehicle, purpose-built routers that withstand extreme heat and cold, paired with antennas optimized for new 5G bands, manage multiple links automatically so officers can focus on the call rather than connectivity. Security scales with each agency’s needs, starting with fundamentals such as changing default passwords and enabling built-in protections, then advancing to encryption that meets the latest Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) and Zero Trust Architectures (ZTAs). Speakers also recommended National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)-compliant devices and remote management to deploy security updates quickly.
Public Trust Is the Ultimate Measure of AI Success
Speakers distinguished public acceptance of technology from genuine public trust, which rests on transparency, accuracy and expertise.
For PIOs, AI adoption is expanding quickly: roughly 80% of public relations professionals use AI, and 71% of communicators polled during one session reported daily use. At the same time, 76% of the public say it is important to know whether content was created by AI or by people. Jason Pack, a former FBI agent now with the Tennessee Department of Safety (TDOS), recommended building an approved fact sheet first, then using AI to draft holding statements, adapt messages for each social channel and prepare talking points. He encouraged communicators to treat AI like an intern, label AI-generated imagery, set retention policies for prompt history and verify and own every output.
The same principles apply to building the workforce. Casey Stewart, a licensed psychologist board-certified in police and public safety psychology, explained how procedural accountability, or showing your work, creates transparency that in turn builds legitimacy. Effective pre-employment screening relies on informed consent, including documented consent before reviewing a candidate’s personal social media, and on validated assessment tools applied holistically rather than through test scores alone. He also emphasized collaboration among chiefs, psychologists, HR and legal teams and pointed to California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) criteria for selecting qualified police psychologists.
Building the Future of Connected Public Safety
IACP 2026 reinforced that technology’s value to law enforcement depends on how deliberately agencies adopt it. Departments are rethinking how they analyze data, govern AI, connect officers in the field, select personnel and communicate with their communities. Sustained success will depend on human-centered decision-making, risk-based governance, resilient infrastructure and an enduring commitment to transparency.
As Carahsoft, The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider™, continues supporting public safety modernization, the insights from IACP 2026 inform how industry can partner with law enforcement agencies to deliver secure, responsible solutions that strengthen officer effectiveness and community confidence.
Explore Carahsoft’s Law Enforcement Technology portfolio of leading solutions that support public safety modernization priorities, including AI, data analytics, cybersecurity and cloud infrastructure.
Contact the Law Enforcement Team at LawEnforcement@Carahsoft.com or (571) 662-3150 to discuss how Carahsoft’s technology partners can support your mission.
