{"id":645,"date":"2025-08-13T19:52:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T19:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lco-projects-work.local\/?post_type=project&#038;p=645"},"modified":"2026-03-07T21:50:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T21:50:32","slug":"ai-in-criminal-justice","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/projects\/ai-in-criminal-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"AI in Criminal Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-b8e63b4c wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-right:0;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-left:0\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Project Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Law Commission of Ontario\u2019s AI in Criminal Justice Project is a groundbreaking survey and analysis of artificial intelligence (AI) in the Canadian criminal justice system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of the project, four Issue Papers and an <a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/publications\/ai-in-criminal-justice-paper-1-introduction-and-summary\/\">Introduction and Summary<\/a> were released. Each Issue Paper considers the use of AI in a distinct stage of the criminal justice process, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/publications\/ai-in-criminal-justice-paper-2-use-of-ai-by-law-enforcement\/\">Use of AI by Law Enforcement<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/publications\/ai-in-criminal-justice-paper-3-ai-and-the-assessment-of-risk-in-bail-sentencing-and-recidivism\/\">AI and the Assessment of Risk in Bail, Sentencing, and Recidivism<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/publications\/ai-in-criminal-justice-paper-4-ai-at-trial-and-on-appeal\/\">AI at Trial and on Appeal<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/publications\/ai-in-criminal-justice-paper-5-ai-and-systemic-oversight-mechanisms\/\">AI and Systemic Oversight Mechanisms<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>An <a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/publications\/ai-in-criminal-justice-annex-a-executive-summary-and-consultation-questions\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/publications\/ai-in-criminal-justice-annex-a-executive-summary-and-consultation-questions\/\">Executive Summary and List of Consultation Questions<\/a> is also available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These papers were written by a broad cross-section of criminal justice experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Issue Paper Authors<\/summary>\n<p>Project contributors included a wide range of experts from across the Canadian criminal justice system. Project paper authors include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/law.ucalgary.ca\/profiles\/christian\">Gideon Christian<\/a>, Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Calgary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/armando-d-andrea-13445022\/\">Armando D\u2019Andrea<\/a>, Staff Lawyer, Provincial Office, Legal Aid Ontario<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/our-team\/#ryan-fritsch\" title=\"Our Team\">Ryan Fritsch<\/a>, LCO Policy Counsel<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ca.linkedin.com\/in\/brenda-mcphail-49222115\">Brenda McPhail<\/a>, Senior Technology &amp; Policy Advisor, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/neubauerlaw.ca\/about.html\">Eric Neubauer<\/a>, Defense Counsel, Neubauer Law, and Co-Chair, Criminal Lawyers Association Technology Committee<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ca.linkedin.com\/in\/marcus-pratt-5172305b\">Marcus Pratt<\/a>, Senior Advisor, Policy Department, Legal Aid Ontario, and Chair of the LAO Test Case Committee<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/ca.linkedin.com\/in\/jagtaransingh\">Jagtaran Singh<\/a>, Legal Counsel Ontario Human Rights Commission<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/our-team\/#nye-thomas\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/our-team\/#nye-thomas\">Nye Thomas<\/a>, LCO Executive Director<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Paula Thompson, Strategic Initiatives, Ministry of the Attorney General<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details has-neutral-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a0abfd3767f81fe286f6b0963bd2e15a is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Advisory Committee<\/summary>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-neutral-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-be2c1a88a83112fcc6143b04faa434c1\"><strong>Alpha Chan<\/strong> &#8211; Chief Information Security Officer, Toronto Police Services<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-neutral-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b2467b852d8e8f1395f2c5be7fc916e6\"><strong>Marco Galluzzo<\/strong> &#8211; Office of the Chief Justice, Ontario Superior Court of Justice<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-neutral-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d65ade85bfc5d9b6ee77eb95eccec5e6\"><strong>Rosanna Giancristiano<\/strong> &#8211; Director, Court Operations, Ministry of the Attorney General<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-neutral-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-eb1912ad4853433c9c4ae05f6ed5c05a\"><strong>Rosemarie Juginovic<\/strong> &#8211; Office of the Chief Justice, Ontario Superior Court of Justice<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-neutral-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-156a289ea67767c35aba2b2a31c51259\"><strong>Associate Professor Daniel Konikoff<\/strong> &#8211; Department of Sociology, University of Alberta<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-neutral-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b8dd4c02c607786af59e036500a985f4\"><strong>Michelina Longo<\/strong> &#8211; Director, External Relations, Ministry of the Solicitor General<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-neutral-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-514d392fe7575e6a9b33d1076be48bcc\"><strong>Jessica Mahon<\/strong> &#8211; Policing Standards Section, Ministry of the Solicitor General<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-neutral-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8ffe0fb5c21995d16d399a08f341f0c6\"><strong>Jane Mallen<\/strong> &#8211; Ministry of the Attorney General and LCO Board of Governors<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-neutral-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d0ee365bd69da021f6570be5fdc20e12\"><strong>Elena Middelkamp<\/strong> &#8211; Crown Law Office Criminal, Ministry of the Attorney General<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-neutral-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ed7900fa7245d6390b3e52d2fd34d28b\"><strong>Savio Pereira<\/strong> &#8211; Policing Standards Section, Ministry of the Solicitor General<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-neutral-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7f8fe7343af58f6600bb244d15d3e5bf\"><strong>Professor Ben Perrin<\/strong> &#8211; Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-neutral-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a9c4d91153c9d8fbf6a8938074ce510e\"><strong>Michael Swinburne<\/strong> &#8211; Senior Policy Advisor, Canadian Human Rights Commission<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-neutral-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-047c9e6fa5046b00b15c351daf4299ea\"><strong>Professor David Murakami Wood<\/strong> &#8211; Department of Criminology, University of Ottawa<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Acknowledgement of Funding<\/summary>\n<p>The LCO gratefully acknowledges the funding from the Law Commission of Canada in support of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/publications\/law-enforcement-use-of-facial-recognition-technology-vancouver-roundtable-report-workshop-report\/\">Vancouver<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/publications\/ai-evidence-in-criminal-justice-toronto-roundtable-report-workshop-report\/\">Toronto<\/a> roundtable consultation events.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-645_b28dd7-53\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\"\/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-link-color wp-elements-54d3c962d87d733247d80256042d8e6a has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-29a2ac0f wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-right:0;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-left:0\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Issues Are Being Looked At?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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 \u201ctrustworthy criminal AI\u201d regulation, while Canada does not have laws governing law enforcement or courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The LCO project is the first broad study of these issues in Canada. It asks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list has-link-color wp-elements-5bf7c5cfc31dbedf06b78e70dbbc27a4\">\n<li>What AI tools are or could be used?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What benefits and risks arise?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What Charter, evidentiary, procedural, and access-to-justice concerns follow?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What law and policy responses are needed?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Who is affected, and how do Canadian efforts compare internationally?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What happens if policymakers fail to act?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-645_c4753b-3f\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\"\/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e4922304 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-right:0;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-left:0\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Current Project Phase<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The LCO\u2019s consultation process started with the release of these Issue Papers and continued through November 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The LCO published two Roundtable reports in late 2025.&nbsp;The first considered <a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/publications\/law-enforcement-use-of-facial-recognition-technology-vancouver-roundtable-report-workshop-report\/\">police use of FRT<\/a>. The second considered <a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/publications\/ai-evidence-in-criminal-justice-toronto-roundtable-report-workshop-report\/\">use of AI evidence in criminal proceedings<\/a>.&nbsp;A Final Report with law and policy reform recommendations is planned for 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you would like to contribute your perspective to the consultation process, please contact <a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/our-team\/#ryan-fritsch\" title=\"Our Team\">Ryan Fritsch<\/a> at <a href=\"mailto:RFritsch@lco-cdo.org\">RFritsch@lco-cdo.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-645_ebb3fe-b3\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\"\/><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e4922304 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-right:0;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-left:0\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Project Lead and Contacts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Project Lead is <a href=\"https:\/\/lco-cdo.org\/en\/our-team\/#ryan-fritsch\" title=\"Our Team\">Ryan Fritsch<\/a>. He can be contacted at <a href=\"mailto:RFritsch@lco-cdo.org\">RFritsch@lco-cdo.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The LCO can be reached at <a href=\"mailto:LawCommission@lco-cdo.org\">LawCommission@lco-cdo.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-645_76d1a0-3f\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\"\/><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":793,"template":"","project-taxonomy":[66],"project-status":[63],"class_list":["post-645","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","project-taxonomy-ai-in-criminal-justice","project-status-active"],"meta_box":{"project_taxonomy":{"term_id":66,"name":"AI in Criminal Justice","slug":"ai-in-criminal-justice","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":66,"taxonomy":"project-taxonomy","description":"","parent":0,"count":19,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},"project_status":{"term_id":63,"name":"Active","slug":"active","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":63,"taxonomy":"project-status","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0"},"year_completed":"","project_summary":"Deep dive into the risks and benefits of AI use in the criminal justice system. 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