National News Roundup – May 12, 2025

Virginia Taps Tech to Slow Down Repeat Speeders

Other states also weigh potential use of device to curtail car speeds.

A new law in the State of Virginia gives judges the option of ordering the installation of speed-limiting technology in vehicles of repeat speeding offenders.
The bill passed the legislature with bipartisan support and was signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin.

The devices, sometimes known as speed governors or intelligent speed assistance systems, can be ordered as an alternative to incarceration. Offenders are required to pay for the devices to be installed, but under the law, the state can pay for the system in cases where the driver is impoverished.

There are different types of intelligent speed assistance systems. Some set a maximum speed for vehicles and are already in wide use in commercial and trucking fleets. Others automatically send drivers a warning when they’re exceeding the posted speed limit as determined using GPS technology. A third system prevents drivers from exceeding the speed limit by a set amount.

Forced speed control could help courts deal with scofflaws. Some research indicates that 75 percent of people whose licenses get suspended continue to drive anyway.

The bill allows courts to require people convicted of reckless driving to enroll in an intelligent speed assistance program, to be created by the state, for a period of two to six months. The requirement will be at the courts’ discretion. The bill becomes effective on July 1, 2026.

The court-ordered speed limiting option has inspired similar legislation in other states, including Maryland, Arizona, California, and New York. The bills have been sponsored by Republicans and Democrats.

(Source: Governing)

Data Center Power Usage Causes Debate over Costs

Residents, lawmakers worry about rising consumer electricity rates.

Supercomputing and Artificial Intelligence require massive amounts of data. A market has rapidly emerged for so-called “data centers,” sprawling warehouse-like buildings housing row upon row of computer databases. Data farms are power hungry, requiring enormous amounts of electricity. This means they sometimes strain local power grids.

State lawmakers have sought to attract such operations with generous tax breaks and incentives. But now, some legislators are concerned that the power infrastructure needed to add all those data centers to the electric grid will drive up residents’ utility bills. The growing use of artificial intelligence, which requires massive amounts of computing power, has added to that worry.

“We’re going to have tremendous stress from AI,” said New Jersey State Senator Bob Smith, a Democrat who chairs the Environment and Energy Committee. “We have a crisis coming our way in electric rates. These outrageous increases are going to be put on the citizens. Why should they bear the rate increases?”

Tech companies note that their data centers are crucial for everything from credit card transactions to remote work to streaming Netflix. And the centers create tax revenue and jobs in the states that host them, the companies argue. Industry executives say it’s unfair to single out data centers, when more power will be needed for a variety of sectors. The argument promises to become more intense as electricity rates rise.

(Source: Stateline)

The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Law Enforcement

Agencies begin to use AI even as officers, others question accuracy.

Like so many aspects of our lives, Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is beginning to infiltrate police work. In some departments struggling with personnel shortages, AI is handling repetitive paperwork tasks, which eat up a human officer’s time. According to one report, over 90 percent of police investigations now involve digital evidence, mostly from smartphones. At the same time, 69 percent of investigators report they don’t have enough time to review all the data from these devices related to their cases. Proponents argue that AI-powered technology can help drive case efficiencies, especially in smaller departments.

AI could also soon play a role in patrol work. Some might wonder how an automated, unoccupied self-driving police car could be of any use. Capt. Ryan J. Danowitz, of the El Segundo, California Police Department, writing in Police Chief magazine, envisioned the use of the autonomous police vehicle, or APV. Danowitz says if a crime scene needs traffic control, driverless APVs can be assigned to traffic blockades, freeing up human officers to do actual crime scene work.

Danowitz also noted that, if a suspect is apprehended, an officer can place the suspect in the back of the vehicle and the APV can transport the suspect to the jail, allowing all of the responding officers to stay at the scene to assist in the investigation. As the APV arrives at the jail, two corrections officers take custody of the suspect and the APV is quickly back out patrolling the community.

“APVs may not be patrolling U.S. streets yet, but other countries have already deployed them,” Danowitz wrote.

Many people question the pitfalls of AI, including its biases and ethical implications. In any topic or area, it is not perfect and can produce inaccurate data.

In St. Louis, Missouri, after two men brutally assaulted a security guard on a train platform, police investigators turned to AI-powered facial recognition technology, feeding a blurry image from a small surveillance camera into the software, which produced the mugshot of a man, Christopher Gatlin, who said he had nothing to do with the crime. He spent over a year in jail awaiting trial before the case was dropped.

Gatlin is one of at least eight people in the United States who have been wrongfully arrested after being identified by facial recognition technology. All those cases were eventually dropped by prosecutors – but only after the suspects fought to clear their names.

According to a 2024 University of Michigan Public Policy Survey, many Michigan law enforcement professionals were wary of using artificial intelligence tools in policing. Among sheriffs and police chiefs, 59 percent said they were uncertain about the accuracy of AI tools, and 66 percent of Michigan county prosecutors said the same.

(Sources: Route Fifty, Police Chief, National Conference of State Legislatures, Washington Post, StateScoop)

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