Veritone, a Los Angeles-area artificial intelligence and data company, announced Tuesday that it is partnering with the Cold Case Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on solving unsolved violent crimes, to leverage technology to solve cases faster.
The foundation will primarily focus on unsolved violent crimes such as murders, missing persons, unidentified bodies, serial rapes and sexual assaults, and will use an AI-powered technology called Veritone’s Investigative Digital Evidence Management System (iDEMS). This allows investigators to compile disparate data sources (paper records, physical media, CCTV footage, body-worn camera video, and mobile device data) into one searchable system.
The company says it can transcribe audio from old tapes and analyze video, making all incident data quickly searchable. The company provided an example in a press release. The platform allows Cold Case Foundation investigators to use AI to search evidence collections for vehicles mentioned in a 1995 interview and instantly see audio clips mentioning the same vehicle alongside frames of recent surveillance footage showing the same vehicle. Investigative clues that have been buried for decades could soon surface.
In a press release, Cold Case Foundation AI Program Director Butch LaBiega noted that while the sheer volume of digital evidence involved in new investigations of old crimes creates opportunities, it also has the potential to hinder investigations. ‘s platform is a game-changer for us. It allows our highly specialized team of experts to cut through the noise and work at a much larger scale, identifying and linking critical evidence that can crack cases. This technology will revolutionize our approach and give criminals a voice.” They can no longer speak for themselves or give their families the closure they so desperately deserve. ”
Veritone’s AI technology is used in a variety of applications by many other law enforcement agencies across the country. Last year, the Riverside County, California, sheriff’s office announced it would begin using AI-powered editing software. This will allow police officers to speed up the process of hiding personal information, such as names, addresses, and other personal information, to protect the privacy of investigators and individuals captured on video recordings.
“This partnership clearly demonstrates the power of AI to serve the public good,” Veritone CEO Ryan Steelberg said in the company’s release. By equipping our dedicated investigators with technology designed to manage the complexities of modern data, we are not only helping solve cases, but also restoring hope to victims and their families and delivering long-awaited justice. This is technology that fulfills an important mission.”
