Predictive Policing Is on the Rise
Crimes are on the rise globally. They are of varying intensity, impact, and type, and we see them on the news daily. How and where does technology come into play to help mitigate crimes?
On one hand, criminals are leveraging technology to gain more power and ease in their operations. Criminals are using complex technologies to invade global powerhouses—including government organizations and large technology giants—to confiscate users' personal information.
On the other hand, because of technology crimes are not going unnoticed. Technology is helping people to become more aware of crimes and better protect themselves. Mobile and social technologies allow users to protect themselves from (or reduce the impact of) a crime. There is a consensus among technology organizations and police departments that technology can certainly help reduce crimes.
In association with the New York Police Department, Microsoft has rolled out a predictive policing technology to help proactively understand when and where a certain crime may take place. Other technologies also come into play here—including business intelligence, location sensing technologies, and mobile computing. In Seattle the police department has already touted that such technologies are making a difference in reducing crime.
Automated cameras, brain fingerprinting, and shoe printing are being actively discussed as crime-controling technologies. Some technologies go to the extreme of being repulsive—those that help induce vomit or sense the body odor of criminals—while others leverage technology to mitigate crimes. Even the lie detector technology is gaining momentum in crime detection.
Traditionally, all of these have taken a more reactive seat and address a crime after it has happened. Recently there's been a more positive and proactive trend towards predictive policing—especially through efforts by software giants such as Microsoft—to potentially curb a crime before it even happens. Technologies to help identify hotspots and raise alarmsare being leveraged for such predictive efforts.
In the ongoing debate of whether criminals or law enforcement authorities leverage technologies better, independent softare vendors have an active role to play – a role to not only create new technologies but also to think like a criminal and block them from using technology to their benefit. As users, we have to ensure our use of technology doesn't make us more vulnerable to crimes.
