As technology continues to infiltrate the public sector, law enforcement agencies are looking for ways to leverage the latest technologies to improve police work. Between 2007 and 2013, the use of in-car cameras grew from 61% to 68%, and today we are seeing a similar rise in the use of body-worn cameras (BWC). In fact, over the past year at least five states, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, and South Carolina have created study commissions to address issues around BWC or passed legislation related to body-worn cameras.
The appeal of body-worn cameras is linked to the proven ability to better document evidence and increase accountability and transparency on the part of officers. While the camera technology is available for procurement by enforcement agencies of all sizes, what is proving more difficult is the storage and management of the data the cameras collect. To help with collection and storage, Adobe has partnered with camera manufacturer, Motorola, to provide their content management suite to securely store, review, manage, and share digital evidence. With this technology, law enforcement personnel can more easily search, review, and annotate evidence, helping to reduce administrative time and expenses, as well as supporting the adaptation process.
Even more, law enforcement officials are working to improve their communication and response strategy, particularly with the 13-29 year old demographic. Historically, this age group has been difficult to reach, while representing 14% of the population and over 40% of crime victims and perpetrators. As the public sector continues to evolve with advances in technology, law enforcement agents are creatively recognizing new opportunities to connect with those disconnected groups. Recently, Text2Them has taken advantage of citizen’s preferred form of communication, texting, with theiranonymous two-way text tip platform. Already successfully utilized in schools to report and prevent unsafe activity and bullying, the platform can also allow citizens to anonymously report incidents outside of schools, such as, terrorist threats, drug trafficking, suicide prevention, human trafficking, and crime prevention. The texting platform can usher in a new era of law enforcement where communication channels are more open and agents are better able to work with the public.
In 2016, law enforcement will continue to evolve with better videography and data storage, texting technology, as well asimage and video engine capture and search, wearable streaming video, digital identity, geospatial data, real-time geospatial collaboration, and digital forensics. To learn more about where law enforcement IT is heading, click here.