Exploring the Intersection of Technology and Law Enforcement
Dr. Angela Paul with fellow researchers in the Monash Law Staff Library.
Dr. Angela Paul, a Research Fellow on the PROBabLE Futures project at Northumbria University, UK, recently completed a research visit at Monash Law. Her visit, hosted by Dr Jess Mant, the deputy director of the Australian Centre for Justice Innovation (ACJI), was part of the UKRI Responsible AI UK-funded project, which examines the implications of probabilistic AI systems in law enforcement.
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Shared legal research interests
Dr. Angela Paul completed her PhD in Law in 2024 from Northumbria University, UK, with a thesis focusing on the use of police drones in England and Wales from a socio-legal perspective.
Following her PhD, she worked at the Administrative Fairness Lab at the University of York, where her postdoctoral research examined statutory duties towards vulnerable individuals in public law and frontline interactions.
"My research interests in the field of law and technology hinge on key areas such as emerging technologies in law enforcement, digital evidence, the digital administrative state, legal technologies, and technology-facilitated abuse," Dr. Paul shared.
"Research visits like this allow for building connections across universities and help to draw on comparative insights internationally. This was a great opportunity for me as an Early Career Researcher (ECR)."
The PROBabLE Futures Project
Currently, Dr. Paul is a research fellow on the PROBabLE Futures project at Northumbria University.
This four-year project, funded by UKRI Responsible AI UK, explores what 'responsible' means for probabilistic AI across the law enforcement landscape, including intelligence, investigation, prosecution, sentencing, probation, and oversight.
"Probabilistic technologies, such as biometric recognition software or large language models, can produce uncertain outputs." Dr. Paul explained.
Dr. Paul leading a roundtable discussion titled 'The Past, Present and Future of Technology and Law Enforcement: Lessons from UK and Australia.'
Exploring the Intersection of Technology and Law Enforcement in a roundtable discussion
During her five week visit to Monash Law, Dr. Paul led a roundtable discussion titled 'The Past, Present and Future of Technology and Law Enforcement: Lessons from UK and Australia.'
The event was jointly hosted by Monash Law’s ACJI, the Transnational Criminal Law Group, and the Digital Law Group. The roundtable brought together leading academics from various institutions, including the Artificial Intelligence for Law Enforcement and Community Safety (AiLECS) Lab, Data Futures Institute (DFI), and the Centre for Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW) based at Monash University, as well as scholars from Deakin University and the University of Melbourne.
"The roundtable discussion was a wonderful opportunity to see what cross-disciplinary issues were arising in the areas of technology and law," Dr. Paul noted.
Some of the key areas discussed included:
- Socio-Technical Approach to Law: The need for a socio-technical approach to law that promotes information justice, ethical databases, and data quality.
- Algorithmic Technologies: The implications of algorithmic technologies that generate probabilistic outputs and 'black-box' issues, including how these systems can be 'chained' with far-reaching consequences across the criminal justice system.
- Computer Vision Technologies: Advances in computer vision technologies and object detection from an Australian law enforcement perspective.
- Technology-Facilitated Abuse: Issues related to technology-facilitated abuse, such as through social media and deepfakes.
- Generative AI Guidelines: Recent guidelines from the Chief Justice of New South Wales on the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) and their impacts on the admissibility of evidence.
- Postmortem Forensic Imaging: Ethical implications associated with the use of AI in postmortem forensic imaging analysis (postmortem computed tomography).
- AI in Civil Litigation: The use of AI in civil litigation to assist non-represented individuals in courts.
- Gen AI in Legal Education: The use of Gen AI in legal education to support students in identifying arguments in cases.
Reflections on an academic visit
Dr. Paul reflected positively on her visit to Monash Law, emphasising the value of international collaboration and the insights gained from the roundtable discussion.
"We brought together some of the leading academics in Melbourne to explore this dynamic area," she said.
"The participants engaged in discussions to share perspectives on the challenges and opportunities in this field."
Dr. Angela Paul's visit to Monash Law is an opportunity to celebrate and raise awareness of the impactful research being conducted at Monash Law and its research centres. Her work underscores the importance of interdisciplinary research and international collaboration in addressing complex legal and technological issues.
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