Fairfax County, Virginia, police departments are deploying AI-powered technology to help write police reports and translate languages in real-time.
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Fairfax Police Department adopts new technology
The Fairfax County Police Department said its officers are deploying artificial intelligence-powered technology to better serve Virginia’s most populous county.
WTOP was invited inside the Department’s Real-Time Crime Center to learn about these new technologies, particularly capable drones and body cameras that also serve as AI tools.
axon body camera
“Today in 2026, body cameras are no longer just a tool to record footage. They are no longer just a tool for transparency and accountability in law enforcement,” said Fairfax County Sgt. Evan Brandolino, who oversees the body camera program and digital evidence management system.
Police officers in four of Fairfax County’s eight precincts are now issued with Axon Body 4 cameras, which come with a number of features, including a real-time translation application that allows officers to communicate in 57 different languages. According to census data, approximately 35% of households in the county have a primary language other than English, and more than 180 languages are spoken countywide.
“This camera fills a critical gap when officers are first at the scene of an emergency and trying to get a suspect’s description, directions, and important information, and they don’t have the time to wait for an interpreter to show up, or to pull out a phone or dial language line and wait to get connected,” Brandolino said.
Brandolino demonstrated how to use the camera. He pressed a button on the camera and it responded, “Translate to X for automatic detection. Then release the button.”
In a scenario with another police officer, he carried on a conversation in Urdu about the missing child, gathering details such as when he was last seen and what clothes he was wearing. He continued to demonstrate the same ability in Spanish.
“We’ve seen officers use this tool in probably close to 20 languages at this point. In about 80 percent of cases, it’s been Spanish. It just depends on the demographics and the precincts where they did the testing,” Brandolino said. “But we’ve seen all sorts of languages being translated in the field: Italian, Korean, Russian, Chinese.”
Another new feature in Axon cameras is Draft One, an AI-assisted police report writing system. Draft One takes footage from body cameras worn by police officers and generates a rough draft of a police report.
“This is kind of an answer to the question of how can we minimize the time officers spend behind a keyboard or sitting at a desk writing police reports and maximize the time they spend responding to calls for service in the field,” Brandolino said.
Brandolino said officers will still have to edit the AI-generated draft to ensure accuracy.
“Reports that used to take hours are now condensed into 15 or 30 minutes. It’s an incredible time savings for our staff,” Brandolino said.
Draft One can be used for all crimes except serious cases such as murder, sex crimes, and police shootings.
Drones as first responders
The Fairfax County Police Department said it is leading the metropolitan area in the use of drone technology. The Drone as First Responder program (DFR) was launched in the county earlier this year. The department currently operates 13 drone launch sites and plans to expand to 18 locations across the county.
These drones operate in a two-mile radius and arrive at reported crime scenes in about two minutes on average.
“Police enforcement is changing in a number of ways, but the biggest one is that we are now able to provide information to officers and firefighters on the scene, in most cases before they arrive on the scene, so they can provide critical data,” said Lt. Brad Warren, director of standards and training for the Drones as First Responders and Drone Team programs.
Wehren said there were a number of house fires over the Fourth of July weekend where drones came in handy. Wehren said many firefighters were able to arrive on the scene before the fire brigade arrived, providing important data to help determine what resources were needed for each specific incident.
Police say there have been incidents where vehicles have veered off the road and drones were able to spot them before police or firefighters arrived. It is useful in searching for missing people.
“A few months ago, a caller called what appeared to be someone with a bow and arrow in the median of a highway,” Wehren said. “Obviously, this is going to have a massive impact.”
He said the response to the call would be wide-ranging and could include closing entire roads. However, the drone reaches overhead and they realize it is not a bow and arrow. Instead, it was someone with a stick.
“This was the perfect de-escalation tool. So in those situations, having that data before officers arrive on scene proved to be invaluable,” Woehrlen said.
Fairfax County’s first responder drone program just surpassed 1,500 drones this year and is the first on the scene in an emergency 70 percent of the time, according to department data.
Many people may be concerned about their privacy due to increased police scrutiny. Wehren said he takes these concerns seriously as he undergoes extensive drone operator training.
The drone can be sent directly to the location mentioned in the 911 call, with the camera continuously pointing forward until it arrives at the scene of the incident.
“We train very hard to ensure we have the best remote operators in the department,” Woehrlen said. “We put them through a rigorous training program to ensure they are the best they can be to help our communities.”
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