In cartoons it’s easy to tell who the bad guys are. The handsome officer with his perfectly pressed shirt and tie simply needs to look for the beer-bellied guy with the five o’clock shadow and beanie.
Ask the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and they’ll tell you identifying criminals isn’t that easy. Life for a deputy on the street may get a little easier, though, thanks to students at Florida Polytechnic University and their work with the PCSO’s Artificial Intelligence Investigative Unit.
Nearly a year ago, a partnership was announced between the two. The fruits were on display at this year’s annual Capstone Design Showcase on the Florida Poly campus.
Sheriff sponsors projects: Florida Poly students are required to complete a capstone project before they graduate. This year, 45 teams of students teamed with high-tech industry sponsors to develop projects that have real-world applications.
The PCSO sponsored eight of the projects, with most based on AI or computer software development, according to Matt Bohm, director of industry engagement and capstone projects at Florida Poly.
“These were mostly conceptual projects,” Bohm said. “A lot of (work with) facial recognition… Then working on a large language model specific for law enforcement.”
They included a patrol vehicle alert system and one on predictive policing.
Camera can ID criminals: Poly computer science major Ryan McDonald and his team created one of the showcase’s highlights with its arrest warrant recognition project, an AI-based system that helps deputies quickly determine whether a person has an open warrant.
By using a wearable camera, it scans images of faces, linking to a database of photos of people with warrants.
“This is a tool to extend their recognition and is not meant to initiate an arrest on the spot,” McDonald said.
“This has been a fun project. We have all the deliverables, so we think the (PCSO) will be happy.”
A partnership: Poly’s Matt Bohm connected with Sgt. Michael Kennon, the head of PCSO’s AI Unit, to assist with essential technical research and support.
Bohm said that Kennon has been involved in all aspects of the partnership with Florida Poly, while the sheriff’s office has provided classroom space, machines and software upgrades.
“Modern law enforcement needs to stay ahead of the technological curve when it comes to preventing, fighting and solving crime,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd when the partnership was first announced.
“This is not only an investigative unit — it is a holistic unit dedicated to vision, discovery and creativity. Its purpose is to use what we learn to keep the community safe.”
Software aids operation: Judd cited the partnership with Florida Poly as part of an operation in May that netted more than 200 arrests of people in the county suspected of being involved in human trafficking.
Florida Poly students and staff were not directly involved in the operations but did assist in the development of software that aided in the investigation.
Ultimately, Bohm said the goal for all of Florida Poly’s capstone projects is to bring an idea or concept to a point where a sponsor can evaluate its feasibility and decide if it wants to further invest in it or go in a different direction.
“One of our hopes is that students who worked on these projects will want to do their own startups… and bring these things to market,” he said. “Of course, with Polk County being the No. 1 customer.”
Shawn LaFata is a reporter for LkldNow, a nonprofit newsroom providing independent local news for Lakeland. Read at LkldNow.com.
