Ford has filed for a patent on an autonomous police car. While patent filings don't always come to fruition, it could be a possibility in the future, reports Tech Crunch.

The patent, first spotted by Motor1, describes an autonomous police vehicle that would be able to detect infractions performed by another vehicle, either on its own or in conjunction with surveillance cameras and/or road-side sensors.

The AI-powered police car could then remotely issue citations or pursue the vehicle. Or "the method may further involve the processor remotely executing one or more actions with respect to the first vehicle," according to the patent.

In other words, the autonomous police car could wirelessly connect to the original car to communicate with the passenger, verify identity, and issue a citation, after determining if a citation is warranted.

The patent also describes a method by which police offers within the autonomous police car could manually take over control of the vehicle or use its wireless connection to various databases to gain more information on those breaking the law.