Law enforcement is always looking for new and innovative ways to stop crime. IoT has always focused on creating smart things that tries to make human lives easier by automating many processes. Using IoT in law enforcement is only going to enhance the efficiency of enforcement organisations and improve the justice system. Technology helps boost transparency, brings to light vital information and limits human intervention in the law enforcement process.
The best example to show how IoT helped in solving a crime is the murder of Connie Dabate in the year 2015, where her husband Richard Dabate claimed that some armed intruders killed his wife in their house. He was also found by the police tied to a metal chair in their house. But the data from Connie Dabate’s fitbit told an entirely different story. It was later found that Richard Dabate was the one who killed his wife to claim life insurance.
There are many other instances where IoT has helped tremendously in fighting crime and that is the reason why law enforcement and other organizations make use of wireless sensor networks in IoT to deter, solve and stop crime.
Some of the major areas where IoT helps in stopping crime-
Traffic Fleet Management and Vehicle Speed Monitoring
According to WHO more people in India die of road accidents than in any other country. In the report it also said that road accidents will be the biggest reason for fatalities in India by the year 2030. This shows how important traffic fleet management and vehicle speed monitoring is and manually managing a huge traffic is an inefficient way to go about it. For this a wireless sensor network can be used. Motes installed in vehicles can act as nodes in the network and can send and receive data to and from the Central Monitoring Station. This becomes an automated and an efficient way to manage traffic and it keeps a track of the speeds of the vehicles. The CMS, along with working as a speed monitoring system, also has an alarm system that can notify the nearest hospitals in case of any accidents.
Additionally, management of hundreds of police cars manually can be a challenging job. So, the process is automated with IoT and it includes license plate readers, dash cams, gun sensors, etc. This system can also track the speed, location and fuel consumption of the vehicles for the ultimate safety.
Crime Detection and Evidence Gathering
IoT devices installed for home security and across smart cities help the police know the location of suspects in real time. Security systems, public safety sensors and alarms help the police prevent crimes from happening as well.
Virtual assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and gaming consoles capture and provide valuable information. Police all around the world are being trained how to gather information from these digital devices for investigation. IoT can make it a lot easier and faster for law enforcement officers to gather information from a wide range of sources.
IoT-enabled Firearms
Firearms many a times are used in malicious ways. To counter that, IoT- enabled firearms can record when and how the firearm was exactly used providing vital evidence. These IoT-enabled firearms also come with biometric authorisation in order to ensure that only authorised people have access to the firearms.
Drones
Drones are enabled with cameras and different sensors to improve the quality of surveillance of the police force. Drones can be used for suspect chasing, search-and-rescue and many more things. Drone cameras can both track real-time footage and also store the videos on the cloud for later access.
Drones also help in places where there is dangerous topography, remote locations, rooftops, where it is difficult for law enforcement officers to physically reach.
Read More: Best Camera Enhancer to Build Robust Scanning Apps
Smart Watches
Like in the example shown above, fitness trackers can be a great medium to expose the truth. This particular case aside, smart watches have become very popular among the law enforcement officers in the recent years for the following uses-
- Fast communication
- Location tracking
- Keeping an eye on the vitals
- Tracking stress and anxiety levels
- Tracking sleep patterns
Along with smart watches, body-worn video and audio devices have also started being used extensively. This has helped majorly in two ways-
- It allows officers to record exactly what happened for future reference.
- This has led to better behaviour of the people towards these officers.
These were the most well known branches of law enforcement where IoT is used today. IoT is making newer innovations each day and these new technologies are being used to automate the law enforcement officers. Organizations on the other hand should train their employees in accepting and using these technologies in their daily work to ensure security and productivity.
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