3 Technological Updates Reshaping Law Enforcement
Most of the crime or detective movies we watch often make crime-solving appear easy and fun-filled. In fact, these movies make crime-solving so easy that we develop a soft spot for the act and probably go as far as considering it as one the easiest and coolest jobs on earth.
However, I hate to burst your bubble. But, you should note that the ease at which crimes are solved in movies is merely a façade. Crime-solving doesn’t only involve collecting a small piece of evidence somewhere in the crime scene, running it through a system, and boom—the culprit is located, case closed!
Crime-solving involves meticulous investigation that is done by different branches of law enforcement. Of course, crime-solving would have been as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack with the typical traditional method and tool. But, with the help of tech, things have improved. Here are three tech updates reshaping law enforcement and making crime-fighting a little easy.
Machine Learning and AI
If you are a sci-fi movie lover, you might have come across one of those movies where robots assume the role of crime-fighting agencies charged to serve and protect the populace. While such an idea may seem super cool, we are unlikely to see it implemented, at least not within the next decade.
However, one thing currently in the system is the use of artificial intelligence-based tools to prevent and manage crime. Many law enforcement agencies, ranging from the FBI, CIA, Police, the Secret Service, etc., work with huge databases containing information about an individual’s criminal history and background when solving crime cases. With AI, law enforcement agencies can narrow down their search by making connections between contrasting systems.
In addition, these agencies can merge knowledge gathered via the study of criminal justice and complement it with new algorithms to improve investigations, make better decisions concerning the detention, prosecution, and sanction.
Investigative technology
When a crime takes place, law enforcement agencies visit the crime scene and kick start investigation, which, as we know, is tailored to understand what transpired in the crime scene and fish out the responsible parties.
If you are conversant with crime and investigation movies, you’ll understand that the investigation stage is often the hardest. Contrary to what you see in the movies, a typical investigation doesn’t take a few hours or days. It could take weeks or even months.
Due to the complications surrounding the investigation process, law enforcement agencies often turn to tech for assistance. Common tech like alternative light photography, laser trajectory kit, DNA sequencer, and a digital forensics tool streamlines the crime investigation process, ensuring that culprits are caught, and justice is served ASAP.
Pre-crime technology
Prevention, they say, is better than cure. That said, you would agree that the best way to combat crime is to stop it from happening in the first place. But how do you do that? A few years ago, I would have probably said it was impossible to pull off such a feat. However, crime prevention can be as easy as pressing buttons and staring at monitors thanks to technology.
Again, we are to thank Artificial intelligence for this. This tool, coupled with predictive analytics using big data, helps streamline the crime prevention process by making connections that can halt a crime before it even begins. But that’s not all. There are other tools being used.
For instance, police officers in Chicago leverage a tech that helps triangulate information to figure out the specific area of gunshots. By merging that info with license plate detection tech, preventing crimes becomes somewhat easy.
Conclusion
Technology, no doubt, has added ease to the most complicated tasks. Of course, as technology continues to evolve, we are bound to see multiple innovations that would go on to make the crime solving process as easy as what we see in movies.
