Victoria Police must keep the Victorian community safe. It must also ensure that all actions, operational decisions, and technologies deployed to achieve community safety and disrupt crime are lawful and ethical.
Victoria Police delivers policing services in a complex operating environment and receives authorisation for its activity from multiple sources.
Victoria Police is subject to legislation and policies including Common Law, Commonwealth Law, State Law, Policy, Regulations and Chief Commissioner Instructions.
Victoria Police must comply with its legal obligations in undertaking its work and using technologies (including any stage in piloting, trialling, adopting or utilising AI technologies).
Strict adherence to the legal obligation in the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act (2006) (the Charter) is required in utilising AI in any context within Victoria Police.
Victoria Police is bound by the legal obligation on public authorities in s. 38 of the Charter. This requires that all decisions and actions ‘properly consider’ and ‘act compatibly’ with the 20 rights protected in the Charter.
This includes the protection from unlawful discrimination (s.8), the protection of privacy and reputation (s. 13), and criminal procedural rights (s. 25).
Compliance with the legal obligation in the Charter could include, for example, ensuring AI technology is fit for purpose for the specified use case by undertaking evaluation into the accuracy of the algorithms used by different vendors to ensure compliance with Victorian legal requirements; and ensuring the use case for the technology ensures transparency and accountability requirements where the technology is used to guide the exercise of police powers.
Legal advice should always be sought to ensure any piloting/adoption/use of AI technologies is lawful, including with reference to the legal obligations under the Charter.
Whilst there are many forms of AI available and marketed towards law enforcement purposes from vendors around the world, it is imperative that Victoria Police ensure any use of AI is compatible with the legal authorising environment that applies in Victoria.
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