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AI-Assisted Audio Transcription and Translation for Investigators

Enforcement · Translation & Language Access

What it collects that can identify you

Biometric
Identifiable data
  • Voice recordings from individuals captured in lawfully obtained audio and video recordings. These may include voices of suspects, witnesses, victims, or other persons.
Sensitive personal information
Identifiable data
  • Personal information about identifiable individuals contained within lawfully obtained audio and video recordings, including spoken names, account details, or other identifying content captured in the recording.
Run by
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
Where
No fixed location
Kept
Not stated by the Helpful Places.
Shared with
Accountable organization

What it is for

EnforcementTranslation & Language Access

Echo is a web-based tool used by Royal Canadian Mounted Police employees to automatically transcribe and translate lawfully obtained audio and video recordings into formatted transcripts. It is built on open-source large language models and is deployed internally for government employees, not the general public. Recordings processed by the system may contain personal information about individuals captured in those recordings.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

Biometric
Identifiable data
  • Voice recordings from individuals captured in lawfully obtained audio and video recordings. These may include voices of suspects, witnesses, victims, or other persons.
Sensitive personal information
Identifiable data
  • Personal information about identifiable individuals contained within lawfully obtained audio and video recordings, including spoken names, account details, or other identifying content captured in the recording.

Processing

Speech & Audio
  • Echo applies speech-to-text transcription as its core processing function, converting spoken words in audio and video recordings into written transcripts. This is performed using open-source large language models.
Language Models
  • Echo is developed using open-source large language models (LLMs) for both transcription and translation, with custom development added for formatting and secure distribution of outputs.

What it does

Sensing (Perceptive AI)
Human decides
  • Echo senses audio and video input, converting raw recordings into structured text transcripts. Human investigators review and decide how to use the generated transcripts.
Understanding (Semantic AI)
Human decides
  • Echo applies language understanding to translate content across languages, extracting meaning from spoken input to produce usable translated text. Outputs are advisory; human employees use them to inform investigative decisions.

Outputs

Generated content
Identifiable data
  • Formatted transcripts of audio and video recordings, including translated versions where applicable. These transcripts may contain personal information about identifiable individuals captured in the original recordings.

Run by

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
  • The RCMP developed and deployed Echo internally for use by Government of Canada employees to support transcription and translation of lawfully obtained recordings.

Echo AI Register Entry 2526-RCMP-GRC-014

Built by

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Kept for

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Shared with

Available to the accountable organization
  • Generated transcripts and translations are available to RCMP and Government of Canada employees authorized to use the system. The system is designed for secure internal distribution.

Stored

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

How to read the colours

Can it identify you?

Anonymized data
Data about people with the link to who is broken. Stripped of identifiers, blurred, aggregated, or noised so this system can’t reasonably tie a record back to an individual.
Pseudonymous data
Each person’s data is tied to a token (hash, ID, template) that lets this system recognise the same person across events, but the token itself doesn’t reveal a name. Reidentification is possible with extra information.
Identifiable data
The data either contains a direct identifier (name, address, account name, recognisable face or voice, plate number) or carries a token this system uses to look up legal identity during processing.

Who completes the loop?

Human decides
This mode suggests; a person decides what to do next. The AI is always advisory — a human is in the loop on every decision. Example: a triage tool ranks cases for a clinician who chooses which to see first.
Human executes
This mode decides; a person carries out the result. Example: an optimizer plans the day’s trash-collection routes, and drivers run them.
Autonomous
This mode decides and acts on its own. No person reviews each decision or carries out the resulting action.

Definitions from the DTPR standard. Amber is about your data, violet about who decides. The fuller the shape and the deeper the colour, the more identifying the data or the less a person is involved.

What you can do

Ask about this system

Questions go to the Helpful Places, not the vendor.

Your rights

  • Right to Be Informed of AI UseThe Canadian AI Register confirms that AI use is disclosed to users of the Echo system. Individuals whose recordings are processed may not be directly notified, as recordings are lawfully obtained in an enforcement context. Members of the public seeking information about RCMP AI use may consult the Government of Canada AI Register.

Risks and safeguards

  • Civil liberties harmThe system processes recordings of individuals in a law enforcement context, raising risks related to the right to privacy and freedom from surveillance. Recordings must be lawfully obtained. The use of AI for transcription and translation is disclosed, and outputs are reviewed by human employees before any investigative action is taken.
  • Reputational harmTranscription and translation errors by the AI could misrepresent what an individual said, potentially leading to incorrect investigative conclusions or reputational damage. Mitigation relies on human review of generated transcripts before any decision or action is taken based on their content.