LARGO, Fla. — The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office upgraded its body-worn cameras to include a new feature to help deputies interpret different languages.
The Axon body-worn cameras may interpret up to 57 different languages.
Sgt. John Mullins said the tool allows them to communicate more effectively when there is a language barrier.
"Couple weeks ago, I had an individual who spoke Arabic that I was able to communicate effectively with him on the side of the road which significantly reduced the amount of time trying to find an Arabic speaker," said Sgt. John Mullins.
Sgt. Mullins said the sheriff's office ran a pilot program in November. The sheriff's office received positive feedback about the additional tool.
Deputies press a button to put the camera in a translation mode. It uses artificial intelligence to interpret the conversation it hears.
"Our primary language that we use the most right now that makes up about 90%-95% of our contacts is Spanish," he said.
Prior to the upgrade, deputies would rely on Google Translate or another deputy to arrive at the scene.
"We have a language line available that we would be able to call and use speakerphone to communicate back and forth through a third-party translator or we would rely on another deputy or anybody from the neighbor agency who spoke the language that we were looking for," said Sgt. Mullins.
Bailiffs in the courthouses also have access to the technology, as well as personnel at the jail.
"Definitely makes communicating with our non-English speakers significantly easier," said Sgt. Mullins.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and the Tampa Police Department also use the same technology.
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