A Maine police department is changing its social media policy after a digitally altered photograph of drug evidence garnered widespread criticism.
The Westbrook Police Department posted an evidence picture Tuesday that had been digitally altered. The department’s Facebook post, in which it apologized for posting the originally photo, had more than 750 comments as of Thursday and news organizations across New England wrote about the post.
The police department will stop posting evidence pictures and is updating its social media policy in wake of the debacle, Chief Sean Lally said Thursday. The department’s social policy was written prior to the common use of artificial intelligence.
The department said it used a photo-editing app to add the department’s patch to the picture, which then altered other aspects of the photo. Words in the second picture became gibberish, with the words “Diablo” and “Suboxone” turning unreadable. The size of some packages shrunk and other pieces of evidence were removed.
Neither the post nor Lally said AI was used on the photograph. Garbled text is a hallmark of an AI edited picture, according to software company Endertech.
The department does not use AI software such as Axon’s Draft One that writes reports, Lally said. Other Maine police departments have tried test runs of the programs.
No particular training is planned about AI for the department, Lally said. Younger employees understand AI, while “older employees are catching up real fast now that their awareness has been raised.”
It is disappointing for police to publish that photo because there is so much mistrust around policing, said Karyn Sporer, the chair of sociology at the University of Maine who holds degrees in criminal justice. This may add to people’s skepticism.
“Mainers have always been entering these situations with their eyes wide open and with a healthy skepticism of the police,” Sporer said. “When something like this happens, it’s very easy for people to talk about.”
Bangor-area police departments said they do not use AI for writing police reports and there are no discussions about related training for officers. There is no such requirement from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, Penobscot County Sheriff Troy Mortin said.
Academy spokesperson Shannon Moss did not respond to request for comment.
Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office deputies may use AI for spelling or grammar checks, but it is not used for generating reports, analyzing evidence or handling photographs, Mortin said.
There is some discussion around Bangor police using AI for report writing, but it is not used at this time, Sgt. Jason McAmbley said.