On May 15-16th, under the AI for Safer Children initiative, the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), through its Centre for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics, and the Ministry of Interior of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), conducted a regional training in Riga, Latvia. The training brought together over 30 law enforcement participants from the Latvia Police Department as well as a few representatives of Estonian law enforcement agencies.
During the two-day event, participants explored the application of various AI tools and techniques throughout an investigative workflow, including victim and suspect identification. They benefited from presentations delivered by numerous guest experts and technology providers, including representatives of SAS Software, Web-IQ, ZiuZ, Epieos, GeoComply, Griffeye Analyze DI Core. Additionally, the Latvian Police shared their own experiences and insights.
As Janis Markuns, Chief of the Cybercrime Enforcement Department, State Police of Latvia concluded: “We are very happy that the AI for Safer Children team managed to come to Latvia and put together this whole nice agenda. It was very interesting and exciting, and it was great that some of the tool providers could come in person. It was a great opportunity to learn from our colleagues and make some direct contacts. There are only benefits to this kind of training. […] One person to check everything is impossible. That is why it is great that they created some tools to help us humans to find where there is actual child sexual abuse material.”
With each case involving hundreds of thousands of images and videos, an exponential increase in child sexual exploitation and abuse material has led to unmanageable workloads for human investigators sifting through the files. This is where AI can be an invaluable tool, and there are currently many accessible tools and technology providers that are eager to collaborate with law enforcement agencies. However, the potential of these resources is often not widely known within the law enforcement community due to various factors, including the rapid development of AI, limited resources, and restrictions on sharing classified information.
According to Irakli Beridze, Head of the UNICRI Centre for AI and Robotics: “The specialized AI for Safer Children trainings are playing a crucial role in the fight against child sexual exploitation and abuse. By enhancing the skills of national authorities around the globe and introducing key tools to law enforcement, these programs address the specific needs and interests of those on the front lines. This is particularly important considering the constantly changing AI technologies in question.”
The AI for Safer Children initiative aims to bridge this gap through its online platform, the AI for Safer Children Global Hub. This platform serves as a centralized place for law enforcement to access information about more than 80 cutting-edge AI tools, regardless of the level of technical skill or prior experience with AI tools they may possess. By following the training, police officers can learn how to better use the presented tools. The hub also provides guidance on the responsible implementation of AI in investigations related to child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The Global Hub fosters international collaboration and communication and has already engaged over 700 investigators from 113 countries. Any country within this network can request specialized trainings on AI for Safer Children free of charge, including possible follow-up training sessions. The UNICRI Centre for AI and Robotics is committed to the sustainable capacity building of law enforcement agencies to leverage the positive potential of frontier technologies in this crucial area of safeguarding children.
For additional information, and to join the Global Hub if you are in law enforcement, please click here.
