Law enforcement transcription: Tips & technologies

The Critical Role of Law Enforcement Transcription in Legal Proceedings 

Professionals in police departments, security firms, law firms, courts, and government agencies all rely on law enforcement transcription services to effectively do their jobs. This saves time, helps with the submission of accurate evidence, builds stronger cases, and reduces costs. But how does something as seemingly mundane as law enforcement transcription make such a big impact on the legal system? What equipment does an organization need to obtain reliable transcription? What should professionals take into account when considering legal transcription outsourcing? This guide is here to answer these questions.

What is Law Enforcement Transcription?

The law enforcement industry produces a significant amount of audiovisual materials that they need to turn into searchable text to enable more efficient work. Law enforcement transcription plays a crucial role in converting these materials into usable formats for various legal proceedings and investigations. Previously, a law enforcement transcriptionist, a specialized professional who understands the unique requirements and terminology of the field, would be recruited to handle this work. Now, more technology and automatic speech recognition is being used to help produce these transcripts. For example, law enforcement transcription companies like Verbit are offering the ability to capture transcripts on-the-go, view transcripts on mobile and desktop, and produce summaries of transcripts and even insights from them using generative AI.

Examples of Law Enforcement Transcription

Law enforcement transcription services are used for a wide range of projects, from court hearings and depositions to fire reports. One area with a massive demand for services is police department transcription. Police transcription covers investigation reports, surveillance audiovisual materials, victim testimonies, witness statements, suspect interrogations, patrol reports, traffic violations, accident reports, 911 calls and dispatch audio, and arrest reports, just to name a few. Forensic audio transcription is another critical aspect, often dealing with complex or degraded audio sources. But why do legal and police transcription services make such a big difference in this important line of work?

Why Law Enforcement Transcription Services Can Make or Break a Case

In law enforcement, a very small detail can mean the difference between evidence that a court accepts versus evidence it dismisses. It can also be the differentiating factor between investigators discovering a key clue to solve the crime, or missing it altogether. Although the accuracy of documentation is critical, officers are rarely in a position to complete investigative transcription properly on the scene. Using law enforcement transcribers or transcription services backed by effective tech takes a huge load off their shoulders, and lets them focus on what they do best.

New technologies like Verbit’s allow for mobile app capture of record statements, interviews and interrogations from anywhere. Having the ability to capture and review both in the field and at your desk is proving to be not just invaluable, but expected to stay competitive. Law enforcement transcription technology is also helping professionals in scenarios where bad audio is at play. This technology is trained to take on digital evidence capture and transcription in tough audio conditions, which arise often with 911 calls and bodycam footage. Law enforcement professionals are also recognizing the benefits of technology’s ability to offer them easy formatting and customization that allow their investigations to proceed with ease.

More specifically, outsourcing investigation transcription saves hours upon hours of desk work, which law enforcers would otherwise need to do themselves. It also costs police departments far more to pay for police officers to sit behind a desk to transcribe or even hire in-house law enforcement transcriptionists than to pay to have the transcription work outsourced by a professional service provider. After all, these companies work around the clock to qualify transcribers or enlist automatic speech recognition technology trained for law enforcement scenarios to ensure the absolute accuracy of their final product, which is crucial for effective evidence management.

Law enforcement transcription tech

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How is Law Enforcement Transcription Performed?

Legal transcription companies often offer 24/7 services, so that authorities and organizations can receive their necessary documents as quickly as possible. That often means on the same or following day for urgent cases, although other cases may take longer. To ensure timely and accurate service, human service companies work hard to find and qualify the best law enforcement transcriptionists, a process that involves many factors. Often, the law enforcement transcribers that are hired have prior experience in the domain, as transcribers must be familiar with a large number of industry terms to make the process efficient, fast, and cost-effective, without compromising on quality. However, technology like ASR trained specifically for law enforcement needs is being used more and more in the process to produce transcripts more quickly. With technologies like Verbit’s, professionals can upload multiple files for transcription at once. This process makes it simple to tackle the transcription needed for hours of bodycam footage or big batches of interview recordings.

It’s also important to note that the sensitive nature of the work often exposes human law enforcement transcriptionists to content that isn’t easy or comfortable to hear. It’s important for them to fully understand what they’re getting themselves into. For the same reason, human transcribers usually go through full criminal background checks before they can begin working. They’re also typically required to sign strict NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) to ensure confidentiality. It is highly recommended to verify that your law enforcement transcription service provider – whether using tech or people – adheres to these guidelines so that peoples’ safety and authentic case outcomes are not compromised. With this reality in mind, technology trained for law enforcement uses is often more poised to handle sensitive files without any risk of emotions impacting the transcription output.

How Transcription Equipment Impacts Police Departments and Other Legal Organizations

Both transcription companies and law enforcement organizations need to prioritize high-quality tools for accurate and cost-effective transcriptions. Here’s why.

Equipment Recommendations for Law Enforcement Organizations that Want Accurate Transcription

For law enforcement transcribers to provide fast and accurate transcriptions, legal authorities and organizations must provide them with high-quality audio. While it is possible to efficiently transcribe lower-quality audio files, it takes longer and costs more, and accuracy is often more challenging to guarantee. Therefore, providing high-quality recorders and dictation tools for your department. Team members can record via smartphone apps, on the computer, or using surveillance equipment such as cameras. That said, it is also important to ensure the law enforcement transcription companies you consider have an efficient toolbox that can guarantee high-quality work. 

Equipment that Smart Transcription Companies Leverage

Note-taking apps, noise-canceling headphones, and foot pedals that allow transcribers to rewind and fast forward the audio are a great start, but if there is no usage of advanced digital tools the transcription process will likely take longer. The best transcription systems combine human intelligence with automatic speech recognition (ASR) and artificial intelligence (AI) that is not generic, but made for the law enforcement domain. For example, when a transcription company uses automatic speech recognition and speaker identification tools, it becomes easier to understand who is speaking, even if there is no video. This way, the chance of mixing up two witnesses’ voices, for example, significantly decreases. Similarly, when a law enforcement transcription company uses artificial intelligence, the levels of accuracy and efficiency are enhanced because AI technology is all about getting better the more you use it.

At first, the company behind the technology teaches the software by feeding it with data such industry terms, prior court cases, book titles, judge names, and an abundance of additional information, so that the software can instantly recognize as many details as possible from audio files. While the software transcribes audio files at unprecedented speeds, human law enforcement transcriptionists or trained editors review the automated text and make any corrections. The software then learns from its mistakes, gets smarter, and makes fewer errors with each future use. Law enforcement transcription technology also offers professionals the added ability to quickly generate summaries and extract insights rather than them needing to listen to hours of playback. These features can help investigators prep for cases faster.

That said, if you’re considering outsourcing law enforcement transcription using technology, it’s important to avoid generic ASR tools and ensure your provider offers some level of strong customer service. Fewer transcription providers are relying solely on human intelligence alone. Having someone you can contact to help you troubleshoot issues or respond to transcription requests quickly is a key benefit of working with a provider versus testing out one of the free, readily available automatic transcription tools. Effective technology backed by a team who understands the needs of law enforcement transcription is key. This mix will help to decrease your department’s costs and stress levels, by taking out the tedious aspects of the work involved, but lending law enforcement transcription expertise when needed.

Understanding Verbatim Law Enforcement Transcription vs Non-Verbatim

Verbatim transcription produces transcripts that match a verbal recording word for word. Additionally, these transcripts include pauses, sighs, repeated words and other information that helps preserve the information as completely as possible. In fact, the record will even reflect background noises, typically in parenthesis.  

Non-verbatim transcription is often easier to read and cleaner. The transcriptionist will cut out words or phrases that aren’t important to the meaning of the transcript. These transcripts also will not include background sounds, stutters or repeated words. While these are useful in many circumstances, they aren’t the best option for law enforcement. 

The Importance of a Verbatim Record

Verbatim records are better for legal use-cases and law enforcement. In fact, courts often require them. Even in cases where they aren’t legally mandated, they are likely the better choice. The loss of context that occurs when trading verbatim for non-verbatim transcripts can lead to incomplete records. The nonverbatim elements and specific phrasing can also express nuanced information that completely changes the meaning of a statement.  

For instance, imagine a witness says, “Well, I need to think, I think saw him there that day, but um… I saw him, yes, I saw him.” In this example, the witness expresses some doubt, but then gives a more confident answer. The transcript conveys the pauses with ellipses and includes “well” and “um.” That statement may read “I saw him there that day,” in a summarized version. Cutting out utterances like “um” and not indicating pauses can change the way an investigator will interpret that statement. Those words and pauses might not be reflecting facts, but they have a strong impact on things like the credibility or confidence of the witness and other crucial factors.  

Finding a Partner for Law Enforcement Transcription

When selecting a partner for law enforcement transcription, it’s important to find a transcription provider that understands the needs of the industry. This includes expertise in various areas such as forensic audio transcription and 911 call transcription, which require specialized skills and attention to detail. Contact Verbit to learn more about how we’re supporting law enforcement agencies and other members of the legal industry with our comprehensive law enforcement transcription services which can help even the most skilled law enforcement transcriptionists. Our partnership can help you streamline evidence review both in in the field and at the office.