Monash University and Australian Federal Police (AFP) have set up a joint research centre to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to support law enforcement and make communities safer.
Based at Monash University’s Faculty of Information Technology (IT), the AI for Law Enforcement and Community Safety Lab (AiLECS) began as a research lab in 2019 and has since worked on projects to improve community safety and support law enforcement.
“We are currently witnessing the age of AI, we have already seen how newer technologies are being misused, leading to increased cyber attacks, identity theft, exploitation and misinformation. Our research at AiLECS harnesses machine learning, natural language processing, network analysis, and other techniques to support law enforcement in countering child abuse material, detecting and classifying illegal firearms, recognising misinformation and analysing large online criminal networks,” Associate Professor Campbell Wilson, Co-director of AiLECS.
“While building these AI support systems we are focused on ensuring the datasets used to train our algorithms are ethically sourced because it is important to ensure AI used for the greater good is also produced responsibly,” he added.
Monash University Interim President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Susan Elliott AM said AiLECS was a strong example of technological expertise leading the way in creating resilient and responsible initiatives towards fostering safer, thriving communities.
“The combined strength of our research along with the applied expertise of a national agency like the AFP is already setting a global benchmark of how we can harness AI for the greater good,” said Elliott.
AFP Deputy Commissioner Lesa Gale said the collaboration was vital for helping law enforcement agencies to disrupt tech-savvy criminals, who were increasingly using technology to facilitate illegal activities that presented national security, social and economic challenges.
”Our partnership with Monash University is an exceptional example of how we can adapt to the criminal challenges we are facing, but also provide the public with assurances that they need and deserve in relation to privacy concerns, AI and machine learning,” said Gale .
Under AiLECS Lab’s ongoing Project Metior Telum, Monash researchers and AFP along with an industry partner have used photogrammetry and 3D scanning to construct a digital library of firearms, enabling the rapid development of next generation tools for detecting and combating firearms trafficking.
“Metior Telum is an important illustration of where collaboration can take us. We can trace every element of our library, from ownership to specific models,” said Dr Janis Dalins, Co-director of AiLECS and Leading Senior Constable of AFP.
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