Transcription Assistant

Users with specific permissions can use Transcription Assistant to edit and verify the content of an Auto-Transcript.

To open Transcription Assistant, select Edit Transcript in the Transcript section of the evidence detail page. To close Transcription Assistant and return to the evidence detail page, select the X in the upper right corner.
The image shows two screenshots. In the first image, the Evidence Details page is shown with a body-worn camera recording and an open Transcript tab. A highlighted section emphasizes the Edit Transcript button, which allows users to modify the transcript. In the second screenshot, Transcription Assistant is shown with another highlight marks the close button in the top right corner, indicating how users can exit.

Evidence navigation

In Transcription Assistant, you can use various tools to navigate through a piece of evidence including:

Jump to a moment

In Transcription Assistant, the search bar and keywords appear below the media player on the left side of the screen, leaving the bulk of the screen for the Auto-Transcript.

As on the evidence detail page, the Auto-Transcript is time-synced with the video or audio file, even after you have made edits. When you play the file, the word that aligns to the current point in the media turns blue. You can jump to a specific point in the media by selecting a word in the Auto-Transcript.

Note

You can adjust Transcription Assistant Settings so that a double-click, rather than a single-click, jumps through the evidence file.

Shows how to jump to a moment in evidence by selecting a word in the Auto-Transcript.

Use the search box to find words in the Auto-Transcript.

The system searches for exact matches after each character is entered. Matches are highlighted in the Auto-Transcript. If the Auto-Transcript contains more than one match, the number of matches displays beside your search term. Use the arrows to jump up and down to each occurrence of that search term.

If your search term does not appear in the Auto-Transcript, the number of matches displays 0/0 and the arrows are inactive.
Shows how to search the transcript using keywords.

You can also use your browser's text search capability to search the transcript. Simultaneously press the CTRL + F keys (PC) or CMD + F (Mac) to show the browser text search field. Type the text you want to find into the field and use the browser controls to move between instances of the text on the page.

You can also search for keywords across multiple pieces of evidence, either from the evidence search page or a case page.

Markers

The Markers list shows all the markers associated with the media. Select the arrow to expand the list and show all markers. Select a marker to jump to that point in the Auto-Transcript and media.

See Clips and markers for more information.
Shows where to find markers from Draft One.

Media player controls

Use the arrow icons on the media player to jump forward or backward five seconds. Adjust how quickly the media plays by selecting the speedometer icon. Select the speaker icon to mute the player or adjust the volume.
Shows the different media player controls.

Text confirmation and editing

Auto-Transcripts are machine-generated and may require some human input to confirm they are accurate. You can use Transcription Assistant to edit and confirm the machine-generated text.

Unconfirmed (suggested) text is italicized. When the text or punctuation has been confirmed, the italics are removed, and the text appears in regular formatting.
Shows how to tell the difference between confirmed and unconfirmed text in an Auto-Transcript.

You can edit and confirm the suggested text while a transcript is unverified.

Watch this video to learn how to edit transcripts.

To confirm text, click into the Auto-Transcript and start playing the media. When the underlined word or punctuation is correct, press the Tab key to confirm. You can pause the media and continue to confirm words by pressing Tab until you "catch up" with the media. Once your cursor reaches the point in the Auto-Transcript that matches the paused point in the media, you must play the media again to continue confirming text.

Note

To confirm long strings of words, press and hold the Tab key. This confirms text and punctuation up to the moment at which the media is paused.

When the suggested text is incorrect, type the correct word or words into Transcription Assistant.

As you enter corrected text, Transcription Assistant looks ahead in the Auto-Transcript for matching words, up to what you've listened to so far. If a word match is found, the words that match are underlined and a gray dashed underline appears under the text between the matching words.

Press the Tab key to confirm the word you are typing and remove the underlined suggested text in between your cursor and the current point in the media playback. This allows you to keep listening and confirming text without worrying about manually removing incorrect suggestions.

Undo/Save changes

Transcription Assistant automatically saves your changes every five minutes. You can manually save changes by:

  • Selecting Save
  • Pressing CTRL (PC) / CMD (Mac) + S on your keyboard

You can undo the previous twenty-five changes, even if the Auto-Transcript was saved. You can undo a change by:

  • Selecting Undo
  • Pressing CTRL (PC) / CMD (Mac) + Z on your keyboard
Note

The Evidence and User Audit Trails show when an Auto-Transcript was edited.

Shows how to save and undo changes made to an Auto-Transcript.

Find and replace

Select Find and Replace to change multiple words at once.

Enter the word you want to change in the Find field and the word you want to change it to in the Replace With field. When searching for a word to replace, you can ignore the case (capitalized or lowercase) or search only for whole words.

Select Replace All to change all words matching your search.
Shows how to find and replace text in an Auto-Transcript.

Keyboard shortcuts

Use these keyboard shortcuts to quickly review evidence and edit the Auto-Transcript:

Shows the Tab keyboard key.
Press the Tab key to confirm the suggested word. Hold to remove suggested text between the cursor and the current point in the media playback.

Shows the Right Bracket keyboard key.
Press the Right Bracket key to play or pause the media. After pausing, the media is auto-rewound based on the amount specified in Transcription Assistant Settings. (The default is 2 seconds.)

Shows the Left Bracket keyboard key.
Press the Left Bracket key to rewind the media based on the amount specified in Transcription Assistant Settings. (The default is 5 seconds.)

Shows the Forward Slash keyboard key.
Press the Forward Slash key to fast-forward the media based on the amount specified in Transcription Assistant Settings. (The default is 5 seconds.)

Shows the Control keyboard key. Shows the Command keyboard key. Shows the S keyboard key.
Press CTRL (PC) / CMD (Mac) + S to save your changes. Transcription Assistant automatically saves your changes every five minutes.

Shows the Control keyboard key. Shows the Command keyboard key. Shows the Z keyboard key.
Press CTRL (PC) / CMD (Mac) + Z to undo a change. You can undo the previous twenty-five changes, even if the Auto-Transcript was saved.

Manage speakers

The initial Auto-Transcript inserts a line break in the text whenever it detects a speaker change. However, as with speech-to-text, these speaker assignments may not be accurate. Transcription Assistant lets you change speaker names, split speaker sections, and merge speaker sections.

You can show and edit speaker labels by using the Show/Hide Speaker Labels option. By default, speaker labels are not shown in the transcript on the evidence detail page or in Transcription Assistant.
Shows how to hide and reveal speaker labels.

Change speaker names

To adjust a speaker name, select the label then an action.

  • Rename: Change the speaker name throughout the entire Auto-Transcript.

    Example:     If you rename Speaker 1 to John Doe, all Speaker 1 labels in the transcript are updated to JohnDoe.
  • New: Add a new speaker name and assigns that section of text to the new speaker.
  • Switch to: Assign that section of text to an existing speaker.

Shows how to change speaker labels.

Split speaker sections

You can split a section of text into two and assign a different speaker to each section. To do this, click into the Auto-Transcript at the point you want the split to occur and press Enter.

The new text section will be assigned to the same speaker as the following section.
Shows how to split a section of text into different speakers.

Merge speaker sections

To merge two sections of text and assign them to the same speaker:

  • Place your cursor at the beginning of a section you want to merge with the preceding section and press Backspace.

    OR
  • Place your cursor at the end of a section you want to merge with the following section and press Delete.

Shows how to merge sections of text into a single speaker.

Transcript verification

Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech-to-text technology and human input. Transcript verification requires human input, and once verified, a transcript can be unverified.

The transcript can be in one of the following states:

  • Unverified: An unverified Auto-Transcript has not yet been marked as verified by a human and should not be considered a source of truth. Auto-Transcripts can be edited when they are in the Unverified state.
  • Verified: A verified transcript has been reviewed, edited, and approved by a human. Once a transcript is verified, it is no longer editable. However, users with the specific permissions can revert a transcript to unverified if edits need to be made.

Shows how to tell if a transcript has been verified.

Verify transcript

To verify a transcript, take these steps:

  1. Select the pencil icon on the evidence details page to open Transcription Assistant.
  2. Review and confirm the speakers and text in the transcript.
  3. Select Verify This Transcript in the top toolbar.
  4. Select Verify in the dialog box that appears to confirm that you want to verify the transcript.
  5. The transcription state changes to Verified, and the event is recorded in the Evidence Audit Trail.

Unverify transcript

In some situations, you may need to unverify a transcript so that it can be edited. To do this:

  1. Select the pencil icon on the evidence details page to open Transcription Assistant.
  2. Select Edit This Transcript.
  3. Select Unverify to confirm that you want to unverify the transcript.
  4. The transcription state changes to Unverified, and the event is recorded in the Evidence Audit Trail.
Note

You must have specific permissions to unverify transcripts.

Settings

Adjust the Transcription Assistant Keyboard Settings to better suit your workflow:

  1. Select the pencil icon on the evidence details page to open Transcription Assistant.
  2. Select Settings. (This appears below the Transcription Assistant Controls section.)
  3. Adjust the options for each of the controls.
    • Jump Playback: Set if a single or double-click jumps to the selected point in the Auto-Transcript and media.
    • Play/Pause: Set if tapping or holding the Right Bracket ] plays the media.
    • Rewind: Set how many seconds (1-5) the media rewinds when the Left Bracket ] key is pressed.
    • Auto-rewind on pause: Set how many seconds (0-5) the media automatically rewinds after it is paused.
    • Fast-forward: Set how many seconds (1-5) the media advances when the Backslash \ key is pressed.
  4. Select Done.
    The image shows Transcription Assistant with a verified and read-only transcript displayed alongside a body-worn camera recording. A highlighted section in the bottom left corner emphasizes the settings button, allowing users to configure transcript-related options.

Foot pedal support

Foot pedal usage is supported in Transcription Assistant. You must install the Axon Foot Pedal application to use your foot pedal with Transcription Assistant.

  1. Download the Axon Foot Pedal Installation file. The Axon Foot Pedal application can be installed on a per-user or per-machine (with administrator rights) basis.
  2. Install the file.

If your computer blocks you from installing the file, you may need to adjust the security settings on the file to allow it to install. To do this:

  1. Find the location on your computer where you saved the file.
  2. Right-click on the file and select Properties.
  3. In the Security section at the bottom of the tab, select the Unblock checkbox.
  4. Select Apply.
  5. Now, when you attempt to install the file, your computer will not block the installation.
    The image shows the Properties window for a Windows Installer file. The General tab is selected, displaying file details such as type, size, and location. A yellow highlight emphasizes the Security section at the bottom right, where the Unblock checkbox is selected to allow the file to run.

Once the Axon Foot Pedal Software is installed and running, your foot pedal controls are mapped to the Transcription Assistant keyboard shortcuts:

  • Center pedal: Play/pause
  • Right pedal: Fast-forward
  • Left pedal: Rewind

 

Axon's AI-powered features use artificial intelligence to provide insights, recommendations, or analysis based on available data and user inputs. These outputs may include inaccuracies, limitations, or outdated information. These tools are designed to support—not replace—professional judgment, legal interpretation, and human oversight. Users are responsible for carefully reviewing and verifying AI-powered content before acting on it. Axon continually works to enhance AI accuracy, mitigate bias, and uphold ethical standards. Learn more at Axon AI.