As police increasingly embrace AI, some wait for regulations and proof it works • New Jersey Monitor

New Jersey officials have 'tiptoed around' regulating law enforcement's use of artificial intelligence, according to an article published by the New Jersey Monitor on September 17, 2026. The article reports that police are increasingly embracing AI. It also reports that some are waiting for regulations and for proof that the technology works before doing so. The piece pairs the two developments — growing use by departments, and the absence of rules governing that use — in its headline.

According to the article, the state Attorney General's office solicited public comments on facial recognition technology in 2022 and then issued no guidance. Legislators have introduced a bill to study AI in policing twice since May 2025; it has not advanced either time. This week, legislators introduced two more bills. One would restrict government use of automated license plate readers, and the other would limit how long data from those readers is retained.

The article describes a sequence rather than a resolution. The 2022 comment period on facial recognition technology is the most recent step the piece attributes to the Attorney General's office. The study bill introduced twice since May 2025 has not advanced. The two bills introduced this week concern automated license plate readers, a narrower category than the study bill's subject of AI in policing. No department, agency or vendor is named in the article as a user or supplier of these tools, and the article does not report the outcome of the two bills introduced this week.