Washington County Sheriff’s Office expands AI report drafting to all felony and misdemeanor cases

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office has authorized all patrol deputies to use an artificial intelligence tool to draft reports for both felony and misdemeanor cases. The decision follows a yearlong pilot program that tested the system’s capabilities across various offense levels.

The system, known as Draft One, is developed by Axon Enterprise, Inc. It integrates with the body-worn cameras used by deputies to transcribe audio and generate a first draft of the incident report. Axon estimates that law enforcement officers spend approximately 40% of their working time writing reports, a task the AI tool aims to reduce.

During the initial phase of the pilot, a limited group of deputies used the software to transcribe misdemeanor offense reports, while all personnel used it for noncriminal reports. Testing later expanded to include all misdemeanors and select felony offenses. A statement from the sheriff’s office reported that the pilot yielded higher accuracy and time savings in report preparation.

The partnership with Axon began in early 2025. The technology includes built-in error checkpoints designed to flag areas requiring human oversight and accuracy correction. Deputies must review and finalize the AI-generated drafts, and the final reports include language indicating that artificial intelligence was used in the process.

The sheriff’s office expanded its evaluation of the Draft One system late last month. This new phase will continue for 90 days. Upon completion, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington County District Attorney’s Office will review the program’s performance to determine the operational parameters for the system going forward.