Project Overview
The Law Commission of Ontario’s AI in Criminal Justice Project is a groundbreaking survey and analysis of artificial intelligence (AI) in the Canadian criminal justice system.
As part of the project, four Issue Papers and an Introduction and Summary were released. Each Issue Paper considers the use of AI in a distinct stage of the criminal justice process, including:
- Use of AI by Law Enforcement
- AI and the Assessment of Risk in Bail, Sentencing, and Recidivism
- AI at Trial and on Appeal
- AI and Systemic Oversight Mechanisms
An Executive Summary and List of Consultation Questions is also available.
These papers were written by a broad cross-section of criminal justice experts.
Issue Paper Authors
Project contributors included a wide range of experts from across the Canadian criminal justice system. Project paper authors include:
- Gideon Christian, Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Calgary
- Armando D’Andrea, Staff Lawyer, Provincial Office, Legal Aid Ontario
- Ryan Fritsch, LCO Policy Counsel
- Brenda McPhail, Senior Technology & Policy Advisor, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
- Eric Neubauer, Defense Counsel, Neubauer Law, and Co-Chair, Criminal Lawyers Association Technology Committee
- Marcus Pratt, Senior Advisor, Policy Department, Legal Aid Ontario, and Chair of the LAO Test Case Committee
- Jagtaran Singh, Legal Counsel Ontario Human Rights Commission
- Nye Thomas, LCO Executive Director
- Paula Thompson, Strategic Initiatives, Ministry of the Attorney General
Advisory Committee
- Alpha Chan – Chief Information Security Officer, Toronto Police Services
- Marco Galluzzo – Office of the Chief Justice, Ontario Superior Court of Justice
- Rosanna Giancristiano – Director, Court Operations, Ministry of the Attorney General
- Rosemarie Juginovic – Office of the Chief Justice, Ontario Superior Court of Justice
- Associate Professor Daniel Konikoff – Department of Sociology, University of Alberta
- Michelina Longo – Director, External Relations, Ministry of the Solicitor General
- Jessica Mahon – Policing Standards Section, Ministry of the Solicitor General
- Jane Mallen – Ministry of the Attorney General and LCO Board of Governors
- Elena Middelkamp – Crown Law Office Criminal, Ministry of the Attorney General
- Savio Pereira – Policing Standards Section, Ministry of the Solicitor General
- Professor Ben Perrin – Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia
- Michael Swinburne – Senior Policy Advisor, Canadian Human Rights Commission
- Professor David Murakami Wood – Department of Criminology, University of Ottawa
What Issues Are Being Looked At?
AI is increasingly used in criminal justice worldwide to aid investigations, analyze evidence, support courts, and target resources. Tools include predictive policing, facial recognition (FRT), biometric surveillance, social media monitoring, licence plate readers, bail and sentencing algorithms, drones, and more. Many are reportedly used in Canada.
Supporters see FRT and similar tools as transformative, but critics warn of false arrests, mass surveillance, bias, rights violations, unfairness, and reduced access to justice. Europe and the U.S. are advancing “trustworthy criminal AI” regulation, while Canada does not have laws governing law enforcement or courts.
The LCO project is the first broad study of these issues in Canada. It asks:
- What AI tools are or could be used?
- What benefits and risks arise?
- What Charter, evidentiary, procedural, and access-to-justice concerns follow?
- What law and policy responses are needed?
- Who is affected, and how do Canadian efforts compare internationally?
- What happens if policymakers fail to act?
Current Project Phase
The LCO’s consultation process started with the release of these Issue Papers and continued through November 2025.
The LCO heard from a broad range of stakeholders including lawyers and legal organizations, NGOs and community advocates, law enforcement, industry representatives, academics, government, justice system leaders, as well as individual Ontarians interested in the operation of the criminal justice system.
The LCO published two Roundtable reports in late 2025. The first considered police use of FRT. The second considered use of AI evidence in criminal proceedings. A Final Report with law and policy reform recommendations is planned for 2026.
If you would like to contribute your perspective to the consultation process, please contact Ryan Fritsch at RFritsch@lco-cdo.org.
Project Lead and Contacts
The Project Lead is Ryan Fritsch. He can be contacted at RFritsch@lco-cdo.org.
The LCO can be reached at LawCommission@lco-cdo.org.