We live in a time of unprecedented technological change. From video games and streaming services to video conferencing, social media and news services, so many aspects of our lives change every year as new platforms are introduced and old ones are updated.
When it comes to law enforcement technology, things are no different. And just as physical hardware, like autonomous drones and body cams, is continually changing, the underlying software also evolves. With that in mind, let’s see what will be considered cutting-edge technology in law enforcement software this coming year.
DATA-DRIVEN POLICING
A great deal of new law-enforcement software is underpinned by the idea of data-driven policing. Data-driven policing is defined as ‘the ethical use of next-generation technology to manage heterogeneous data sets and sources, to proactively bolster decision-making, enhance situational awareness, and improve workflow for police personnel.’ In other words, moving away from decisions based on gut feeling, instinct and preconceptions and instead basing those decisions on hard data.
Some examples of how software drives data-driven policing include:
- Rapid searching and sorting of information on suspects from a variety of sources (databases, social media, etc.)
- Gathering metrics for individual officers based on their area of responsibility
- Using geo-location of previous crimes and producing predictive policing models to effectively manage resources
- Managing, processing and storing video from various sources for easy retrieval
- Connecting officers, dispatch and other first responders for enhanced situational awareness
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
With so many sources of information that didn’t exist in the past, police departments are now having to deal with unprecedented amounts of incoming data. These include video footage from privately- and publicly-owned devices, CCTV cameras, body-worn cameras, in-car cameras and dashcams, interrogation videos, drone video, doorbell cameras and smartphone video recordings. While video recordings are incredibly valuable to law enforcement, storing, filing and retrieving such a huge quantity of data can be challenging.
This is where Digital Evidence Management Software has become essential. Digital Evidence Management (DEM) systems are software-based solutions that enable organizations to take, store, secure, manage, find and use all of their digital evidence from a centralized interface.
When it comes to digital evidence, the top priorities for organizations are being able to store it for as long as necessary, find and retrieve it whenever it’s needed, and maintain the integrity of the evidence, ensuring that it hasn’t been tampered with or manipulated in any way. DEM systems enable organizations to achieve all of these things.
DIGITAL FORENSIC SOFTWARE
But it’s not only police departments who are using more sophisticated technology; criminals are, too. Many criminals either operate in the digital sphere (such as in fraud, hacking and online scams), use technology to connect with other criminals, or leave a digital trail of their crimes (such as messages, photos and video footage). That’s where digital forensics becomes invaluable.
Investigators often find evidence in digital devices like laptops or smartphones, and on digital databases, networks and platforms including social media platforms and cloud-hosted data repositories. Digital forensics is a division of forensic science encompassing the recovery, investigation, validation and analysis of these types of evidence, and digital forensics software helps investigators to collect, analyze, and preserve digital evidence.
MANAGING THE CHAOS OF INFORMATION
Law enforcement has always been tasked with finding as much information as possible to help solve a crime – but nowadays, there is so much data that it can actually be a hindrance. This is why information management has become such an important focus in many departments.
The amount of incoming data is only going to continue to grow over time. We are already nearing a point where even software-assisted human management of this information is becoming impossible, and AI data management is going to be at the forefront of the next software evolution. The goal is to free up as much manpower as possible so that our officers spend more of their time keeping our streets safe.