Levine went before the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Council, publicly admitted that her initial dishonesty was wrong, and accepted a six-month suspension from the academy. When town officials in Bow, where she had originally been hired, terminated her employment, she found another agency willing to hire her: the Allenstown Police Department.
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Allenstown Police Chief Michael Stark said he was âdumbfoundedâ by the way state officials handled Levineâs case. She is a great candidate, and the police academy should have been clearer and focused its efforts on helping her learn from the situation, he said.
âWe have to have people that are honest and have integrity above all else, but that is also something we need to teach people,â he said. âWe donât need to trap people.â
John V. Scippa, director of the Police Standards and Training Council, which oversees the police academy, said he would have preferred to treat the plagiarism incident as a learning opportunity, but Levineâs initial lack of candor forced his hand.
âWe recognize that artificial intelligence is coming to law enforcement,â he said. âWhile there may be some applications that will make things better for law enforcement nationwide, we also have to really protect the integrity of law enforcement activities.â
Besides, writing clear and accurate reports that convey the facts observed in a particular situation, along with reasonable inferences, is a crucial skill for any officer to master, Scippa said.
âAnd that is something that police officers do literally every single day of their career,â he added.
Stark, who teaches a course at Nashua Community College, said he understands that AI poses certain challenges in both academic and law enforcement contexts, but the way Levineâs case was handled lost sight of the nuance around not just whether AI tools were used but how they were used.
âIâm not comfortable making this so black and white, because that black and white doesnât exist in the real world,â he said.
Levine, who did not respond to interview requests, secured permission from state and local officials to return to the police academy and finish out the final two weeks she missed due to her dismissal. Sheâs expected to do so in April.
In the interests of improving the clarity of expectations concerning AI tools, the Police Standards and Training Council in December solicited a request for proposals to create model policies as part of the stateâs Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission.
This story first appeared in Globe NH â Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If youâd like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.
