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Chapter 24: Big Data and Law
Enforcement
The reduction of financial resources due to changing priorities is among the
many challenges that our law enforcement agencies face. This reduction of
resources translates into the reduction of manpower available to the various
police departments. However, though their resources are being reduced, law
enforcement agencies are still expected to be able to maintain a similar
level of service, forcing innovation when finding new methods of fighting
crime.
Big data signifies a possible turning point in forensic investigations.
However, many law enforcement agencies are not making full use of the
potential of these data analysis tools. Many agencies work independently
from one another, and they maintain their own separate data systems. This
method is not an economical way of utilizing the resources available to
them, as oftentimes, law enforcement agencies are not given enough
resources to begin with. In fact, along with the rising crime rate in certain
areas, the manpower of certain agencies have been reduced. In order to
make the best use of their limited resources, these agencies should consider
pooling their resources into a data networking system. This system would
allow law enforcement agencies to share data between themselves, allowing
this to help solve crimes and assisting them in being better able to protect
the people. Big data helps these agencies find ways to reduce crime rates,
even at a time that many agencies’ resources are being reduced. Big data
allows agencies to streamline their operations while still producing the
needed results. Data platforms can do this in many ways, in almost any
sphere that they are placed. Data platforms can help with human resource
development, in criminal database management, or even with plate
identification systems. No matter what platform is used, as long as the data
system provides a foundation which helps with fighting crime, be it through
improving the internal workings of the police department or through
dissecting, analyzing, and developing crime-fighting techniques, big data
can be a huge help in making our world safer.
We must remember that law enforcement is the foundation of the safety of
our society. Without proper law enforcement, a person may not feel safe
when walking at night, or in extreme scenarios, even when walking along
the street in broad daylight. However, recent developments have shifted the
public’s perception of law enforcement to the negative side. There is this
idea of rising police brutality, along with an increase in crime rate. Now,
more than ever, there is a need for our police forces to innovate, as the
demands upon them increase, while the support given to them continues to
decrease.
Data Analytics, Software Companies, and Police
Departments: A solution?
As mentioned earlier, once the proposed data platforms are put into place,
data analysis may be applied at a much more detailed level. This will allow
law enforcement to improve the rate and percentage of crimes solved,
allowing them to curtail criminal activity more easily. These data analytics
may even be able to predict potential criminal behavior, and allow police to
stop some criminals from breaking the law or harming others to begin with.
Microsoft is an example of a company that works closely with some police
departments to prevent and solve crimes. There is even one police
department that uses multiple streams of data to receive live camera feeds,
911 calls, and police reports in order to better fight crime. They employ
these methods at any level of crime, allowing them to react quickly and
develop strategies to prevent crimes from even occurring. They use certain
technologies to assist them in doing this, such as Microsoft Azure Data
Lake, Windows Speech Recognition, and Microsoft Cortana Analytics.
Microsoft Azure is software that allows forensic specialists to store data
regarding criminals and their activities in a central database. This data may
be used for whatever forensic analysis or data processing method may be
appropriate. This central database would allow police agencies around the
world to create a network of shared data. This would greatly assist in
tracking criminals, especially terrorists. This data may even be used,
through predictive analytics carried out on historical data, to extrapolate the
next target of terrorists, and may allow law enforcement agencies to prevent
attacks from ever happening in the first place. Microsoft Cortana Analytics
allows police departments to use machine-learning algorithms to rapidly
forecast certain criminal scenarios. These specialists can also employ this
method to enhance the decision-making process by assisting in choosing the
optimal solution when a crime takes place. This tool also allows crime
departments to automate certain decisions, which allow them to better
account for rapidly changing criminal factors, improving their capabilities
when it comes to preventing crimes, or halting a crime in progress.
Windows voice recognition allows the police to dictate commands to the
computer, enabling them to rapidly find pertinent information such as
warrant histories, DUI violations, or even ticket violations. Having this
information at their fingertips allows police officers to prevent crime or
even just traffic violations. The ability of an officer to reduce threats or
diffuse situations or dangerous events is greatly enhanced through this
software.
Analytics Decrypting Criminal Activities
Law enforcement agencies are able to make use of advanced analytics to
interpret certain criminal patterns, such as homicides, domestic violence
incidents, or theft. The availability of these data tools allows these agencies
to better sift through massive amounts of data. This even allows police to
identify the patterns of a burglar. It allows them to develop a better idea of
the criminal’s modus operandi, allowing them to answer questions such as
when, where, and how a crime is likely to take place. This allows officers to
position themselves in such a way that they may be able to prevent further
crimes from taking place. Certain crimes tend to happen in specific areas
and even timeframes. If the police can predict the most likely times and
locations for these crimes to happen, they can send officers to the
designated locations during the most likely time period. This may
preemptively stop crimes, and will lead to greater safety for everyone.
Enabling Rapid Police Response to Terrorist Attacks
In situations such as the Boston Marathon bombing, where there is a
massive amount of data, the police can use the data to help them quickly
find the perpetrators. The Boston Marathon bombing was a very public
attack, and there were huge amounts of video taken of the occurrence, both
from personal phone videos and security footage. The police reached out
through social media in order to retrieve all this video footage. They
thoroughly examined the videos, and thanks to the images found on the data
sources, they were able to identify two suspects. These images led to the
successful capture of the two suspects, allowing for a quick and successful
response to the attack.
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