SAHUARITA, Ariz. (KGUN) — As police departments across the nation grapple with overworked officers and rising stress levels, the Sahuarita Police Department is taking a high-tech step forward.
Starting July 1, SPD will become the first law enforcement agency in Pima County to deploy an AI-powered assistant tool aimed at reducing workloads and increasing officer accountability.
The department is adopting an artificial intelligence system from South Carolina-based Truleo, a platform already in use by over a thousand departments across the country.
The tool integrates with officers’ body-worn cameras to analyze interactions and provide performance feedback. It also allows officers to complete tasks like field notes and policy inquiries via voice command — all from inside their patrol vehicles.
“We’re looking at this and saying, can it save us time?” said Chief John Noland. “Everything comes down to time. There are only so many hours in a day. We’re trying to be effective with the time we have.”
A recent Police One survey revealed that 43% of police officers nationwide cite excessive workloads as a major contributor to poor work-life balance and stress. Sahuarita’s force, currently made up of 67 sworn officers, has felt the impact.
“Being a smaller department, it’s important that we make the most of what we have,” Noland said. “This system, through the software of artificial intelligence, will allow us to do things quicker and easier.”
Among the system’s capabilities are 100% review of body camera footage, automated report writing, and instant voice-activated access to policy guidance via the “Hey Truleo” command.
Chief Noland emphasized that while the time-saving benefits are clear, building public trust is equally important.
“If our public trusts us, that says there’s accountability here at the police department,” he said. “We’re holding our people to standards, we’re holding them accountable.”
Implementation of the Truleo system will coincide with the start of the town’s new fiscal year, and officer training will be rolled out in phases. Noland expects it could take several months to a year for full integration.
For more information about Truleo, including a demonstration of the software, visit the company’s website.
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Joel Foster is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9 who previously worked as an English teacher in both Boston and the Tucson area. Joel has experience working with web, print and video in the tech, finance, nonprofit and the public sectors. In his off-time, you might catch Joel taking part in Tucson's local comedy scene. Share your story ideas with Joel at joel.foster@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
