United States, New York City
New York City Department of Correction
Pocketalk real-time translation device for people in custody and visitors, supplied by Pocketalk
TrialOfficial publicationPAI-14853079
- Body
- New York City Department of Correction
- Country
- United States
- Area
- New York City
- Technology
- Pocketalk real-time translation device for people in custody and visitors
- Supplier
- Pocketalk
- Status
- Trial
Being tested in live conditions under a time-limited pilot or trial. - Stage
- In use now
- Since
- January 2025
- Legal basis
- Not stated in the source
- Oversight
- Disclosed in the City's annual Local Law 35 algorithmic tools report.
- Evidence
- Official publication
Police force, government department or public body publication - Source
- NYC Office of Technology and Innovation, Algorithmic Tools Report for 2025 (March 2026)
- Last checked
- Record code
PAI-14853079
Notes
The New York City Office of Technology and Innovation's algorithmic tools report for calendar year 2025 lists Pocketalk as a tool used by the Department of Correction's Division of Programs and Community Partnerships since January 2025. The report says Pocketalk 'is designed to support real-time, two-way conversation translation across more than 90 languages', for language translation for people in custody and visitors, and describes it as an off-the-shelf product. It says the department 'has implemented a small-scale, limited pilot to assess the efficacy of the devices', gives the frequency of use as 'Limited assessments (6 total)', and says that if successful Pocketalk will be piloted across select facilities to 'supplement (not replace)' qualified human interpretation. The report covers 2025 and does not say whether the pilot continued or what it found.
Other systems used by New York City Department of Correction
| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York City Department of CorrectionRisk of Recidivism Tool (classification of newly admitted people as high or low risk) | United StatesNew York City | — | 2025 | Operational |
Pocketalk real-time translation device for people in custody and visitors elsewhere in United States
See them in the tracker| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICE Homeland Security InvestigationsTranslation and transcription of investigative data | United StatesNationwide | Booz Allen | 2024 | Operational | |
| US Immigration and Customs EnforcementReal-time AI translation for field operations | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Proposed | |
| US Customs and Border ProtectionCBP Translate (machine interpretation for officers and agents) | United StatesNationwide | Aneesh Technologies, 24X7, Ellumen Inc., Deloitte, NiyamIT | 2019 | Operational | |
| Transportation Security AdministrationTranscription and summarisation of electronic evidence and video recordings | United States | — | — | Proposed | |
| Federal Bureau of InvestigationTranscription, translation and summarisation tools (five inventory entries) | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationIntelligence Data Platform (PenLink PLX) multi-language transcription | United StatesNationwide | PenLink PLX | — | Operational | |
| Drug Enforcement AdministrationAudio and written transcription and translation of Spanish and Mandarin (pilot) | United StatesNationwide | MIT Lincoln Laboratory | — | Trial | |
| US Marshals ServiceAxon Evidence transcription | United StatesNationwide | Axon Enterprise, Inc. | — | Operational | |
| US Marshals ServiceIn-house video transcription tool | United StatesNationwide | — | — | Operational | |
| US Department of Justice Office of the Inspector GeneralSpeech-to-text transcription and summarisation service | United StatesNationwide | Microsoft, OpenAI | — | Operational | |
| Fairfax County Police DepartmentAxon Body 4 real-time translation | United StatesFairfax County, Virginia | Axon | — | Operational | |
| Baltimore Police DepartmentAxon body camera AI features (translation, transcription, summarisation, search) | United StatesBaltimore, Maryland | Axon | — | Proposed |