Washington Retail Association (WR) Vice President of Government Affairs Crystal Leatherman represented Washington’s retail industry on a panel hosted by the Washington State Crime Prevention Association (WSCPA) exploring how artificial intelligence is reshaping public safety.
Crystal was joined by Detective Matt Torok of the Lynden Police Department; Derek Lidell, Principal Product Manager at Microsoft; and Captain Dan Nelson of the Seattle Police Department. Mark Solomon, Crime Prevention Coordinator for the Seattle Police Department and WSCPA President, moderated the discussion.
The panel explored both the opportunities and risks associated with emerging technologies, including license plate readers, AI-assisted evidence analysis, and agentic AI.
Crystal highlighted how AI can help retailers and investigators connect incidents across jurisdictions, identify repeat offenders, and keep frontline employees out of harm’s way during theft incidents. She also emphasized that strong guardrails are essential to the responsible use of these tools, including clear limits on data use, trained human oversight, rigorous testing, and transparency with the community.
Ultimately, she noted, AI provides the greatest value when it helps make stores, workers, and communities safer while preserving the public trust needed for these technologies to be effective.
WR will continue working with lawmakers, law enforcement, and technology partners as AI policy develops ahead of the 2027 legislative session.
