Course Overview

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the digital environment in which law enforcement officers investigate crime, assess information, interact with victims and witnesses, evaluate digital evidence, and make operational decisions. At the same time, AI is providing offenders with increasingly accessible tools capable of generating convincing text, photographs, video, audio, identities, relationships, and deception at a scale that previously required considerably greater technical knowledge, resources, and time.

This dynamic two-hour professional development workshop is designed specifically for law enforcement personnel who want to better understand artificial intelligence from an operational rather than highly technical perspective. Participants do not need a background in computer science, artificial intelligence, or digital forensics.

The presentation begins with a practical, 50,000-foot explanation of artificial intelligence and the different forms of AI officers are increasingly likely to encounter. From there, the course moves into the emerging intersection between AI and criminal behaviour, including AI-generated deception, deepfakes, voice cloning, fraud, peer aggression, companionship applications, exploitation, and the potential use of AI agents to automate and scale harmful activity.

The course also examines the other side of the equation, how artificial intelligence can assist law enforcement. Participants will explore examples of how AI can help investigators work through large amounts of digital information, identify potentially relevant investigative leads, assist with research and analysis, and support investigative problem-solving.

Throughout the presentation, significant emphasis is placed on the limitations of artificial intelligence. AI-generated information can be inaccurate, incomplete, biased, misleading, or entirely fabricated. AI should therefore be viewed as an investigative assistant rather than an investigative authority. Human oversight, professional judgement, corroboration, transparency, accountability, and existing investigative standards remain essential.

The goal is not to turn police officers into AI experts. It is to provide them with sufficient AI literacy and operational awareness to recognize how this technology is changing the environment in which contemporary policing now takes place.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will have a stronger operational understanding of:

• What artificial intelligence is and how it differs from traditional computing and internet search.

• The difference between discriminative, generative, and increasingly agentic forms of artificial intelligence.

• How generative AI can create text, photographs, video, audio, identities, and other synthetic content.

• How AI is lowering the technical barrier to certain forms of criminal activity.

• How AI can increase the speed, scale, personalization, and sophistication of deception.

• The emerging investigative challenges associated with deepfakes and synthetic media.

• How voice cloning and deepfake audio can be incorporated into impersonation and fraud.

• The emerging concept of the “liar’s dividend,” where the existence of AI-generated media can itself be used to cast doubt on authentic digital evidence.

• How AI-generated material can contribute to online peer aggression, harassment, humiliation, and victimization.

• The growing role of AI companionship and relationship applications and the potential concerns these technologies can create for vulnerable users.

• How AI can potentially facilitate grooming, recruitment, exploitation, sextortion, trafficking, and other forms of technology-facilitated victimization.

• How AI agents may allow offenders to automate tasks and interact with multiple potential targets simultaneously.

• How artificial intelligence can assist investigators with research, analysis, large volumes of digital information, and investigative problem-solving.

• The privacy, security, evidentiary, ethical, and operational concerns associated with entering police information into public AI systems.

• Why AI-generated information must be independently verified and corroborated before it contributes to investigative or operational decision-making.

• Why human oversight, professional judgement, accountability, and transparency must remain central to AI-assisted policing.

Who Should Attend

This workshop is designed for:

• Front-line police officers

• Investigators

• Detectives

• School liaison and youth officers

• Internet child exploitation investigators

• Intelligence personnel

• Crime analysts

• Digital investigators

• Community safety and crime prevention personnel

• Supervisors and managers

• Police trainers and educators

• Civilian law enforcement personnel

• Probation, corrections, and other criminal justice professionals

No advanced technical knowledge of artificial intelligence is required.

Audience: Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Professionals

Technical Level: Introductory to Intermediate

Focus: Operational Awareness, Investigative Application, Emerging Crime Trends, Risk, and Responsible AI Use