Technology seems to be taking over the world, and law enforcement’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining ground daily. I can recall back to the early years of my police career when taking the information from a fingerprint card and entering characteristics and numbers into a computer to identify a person was fascinating, and at the cutting edge of technology. Now, such methods have been modernized and are still in use, but other AI methods have left fingerprinting in the dust. Let’s take a quick look at how AI is being used to help fight crime and protect America, along with other parts of our world.
Crime analysis is an extremely important part of combating wrongdoing, allowing policing agencies to examine geographical areas, crime patterns, and career offenders in an effort to focus on enforcement and deterrence initiatives. Police officers, detectives, and crime analysis units have for decades examined factors and data to fight crime, but accuracy was lacking. Plus, collecting and analyzing such statistics was very time-consuming and required numerous participants. Now, intelligent computer software takes information that has been imputed via officers or analysts and works its magic. Computers are then able to analyze and predict crime at the speed of sound; giving results in seconds rather than days or weeks, as in the past.
The adage “you can run but you can’t hide,” is truer today than ever. John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Bonnie and Clyde’s antics would not have been nearly as successful now as they were back in their day. Modern law enforcement identification methods, such as Iris/Retina Scans and Facial Recognition Systems (FRS) would have dramatically deterred their abilities to hide and lie their way past lawmen. These identification methods are accurate to the millionth of a degree, and practically nothing can be done by criminals to outsmart these systems. Officials also use FRS at airports to further guard the safety of air travel.
Enforcement officers are now making use of Iris and Retina scans when they book individuals into their jails, along with taking DNA samples in some instances for identification purposes. In days gone by, some criminals practiced the painful art of physically altering the skin on their fingers to throw off officials and hide their identities. Scanning the eye for ID purposes alleviates the ability of those on the lam to alter who they actually are. America’s Customs and Border Patrol agents implement this technology daily to secure our borders and help identify criminals and smugglers attempting to enter our nation illegally.
Regarding DNA, a majority of these samples are taken from an arrestee when they are being booked into a city or county jail and then sent to a laboratory (usually a law enforcement facility). Once these samples are processed and then analyzed by a computer, resulting information is entered into nationwide law enforcement databases and used to solve crimes and further identify criminals. Our national media entertainment sources love these types of scenarios when used to solve cold criminal cases.
Most can remember instances when traveling down an interstate highway or city street, when they instinctively tapped their brakes when spotting a patrol cruiser monitoring traffic, or seeing one parked in a public place. A few seconds of observing these policing vehicles makes a curious mind wonder what all of those antennas and camera-looking devices are that are attached. Once again, technology is at work in making your city and state a safer place to reside. What one might observe is a camera-looking device, which could be an instrument that is reading every license plate it focuses on, in search of individuals with outstanding arrest warrants, or stolen vehicles. Or multiple antennas that are attached to computers and radios that allow an officer access to state and national law enforcement databases. Portable machines might also be in a patrol cruiser that scans one’s fingerprint or automatically reads a driver’s license and subsequently prints out one of those loathed speeding tickets.
The list is a long one when looking at modern-day technology and artificial intelligence that is being used to make this nation a safer place. Yes, some might view several of these as invasive practices, but the truth is that they make this nation a safer place for us all. Oh, I think I failed to mention that FRS are now being used by major retailers in America in efforts to deter shoplifting, along with marketing purposes. Well, this is a topic for another day – enjoy yours!
Great read. Information is the modern day tool for many public service functions.