JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is planning on spending $1.9 million on a partnership with Peregrine Technologies.
The software company is headquartered in San Francisco. Their website says it summarizes and analyzes data, and creates ready-to-use maps, charts, briefings and more.
Councilman Jimmy Peluso voiced his concerns about the partnership during Tuesday’s budget meeting.
“I have very real concerns about AI, what it means for the economy, what it means for this government, what it means for the rights of our citizens,” Peluso said. “We literally heard last week experts in AI say that there is a 10% chance AI will kill the human race.”
He continued, saying the City Council does not know enough about AI to support the partnership, and advocated that the city of Jacksonville have an AI policy.
“We need to make sure we know what data is and is not protected, what data is and is not to be sold, what data is is and is not allowed to be preserved, and where it gets preserved,” Peluso said.
City Councilman Ron Salem, however, thought differently.
“I have no problem in developing a citywide policy with all the constitutional officers and everybody else, but you can’t stop progress at the same time,” Salem said. “We just can’t stop — We need to continue.”
JSO is just one of at least 30 different law enforcement agencies seeking funding for the software. Other law enforcement agencies include St. Johns, Nassau and Clay counties.
The company’s website said that more than 400 police departments, sheriff’s offices, state agencies use Peregrine to drive efficiency and protect their communities.
“Peregrine unifies siloed systems from different vendors — CAD, RMS, body cameras, and more — so when someone asks a question of the data, the full answer is already there, and the decision that follows is informed.”
In JSO’s State Board of Immigration Enforcement Application, they wrote, in part, that the platform examines data and provides intelligence to identify and investigate immigration enforcement efforts.
In a statement provided to Action News Jax earlier this week, JSO says the software will work with data already collected, allowing authorized users to potentially link criminal activity more efficiently.
Still, some Jacksonville residents expressed concerns.
“There’s no way for us to be sure how the information is being used, who’s using it, who has ultimate access to it,” said Tracy, a Jacksonville resident. “They need to stop using our money like this right away and permanently.”
Another resident, April, says she has questions about the software.
“What are the benefits for us? Like what are we getting out of it?” she said. “Are we sharing data that doesn’t need to be shared across country lines?”
We asked JSO if this software will be used solely for immigration enforcement or regular day-to-day operations. We also asked how they plan to use the software for immigration enforcement if it blurs faces and license plates. They told us that they’re working on getting us that information.
JSO’s full statement from earlier this week is below.
Peregrine is an AI software platform that overlays across our legally collected data that JSO has already gathered, such as our Record Management Systems, Jail Management Systems, NIBIN records and has the ability to work with our Body Worn Cameras.
The software will allow JSO authorized users to search our databases to potentially link criminal activity/cases in a more efficient and effective manner. This will enhance the overall JSO criminal investigative efforts and streamline agency operations as we investigate criminal activity in an effort to better protect our community. Even though the software uses a closed AI system tailored to JSO operations, there will be a Human-In-The-Loop process to ensure the accuracy of the information that is developed.
As a reminder, JSO is no longer utilizing ALPR’s.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
