Crime
Prevention System
We live in a time where we have the technology to help prevent crime but are not using it as effectively as we could. Far too many people commit crimes and get away with them. Part of this problem within the United States is the prison system itself, with criminals in prison not receiving proper rehabilitation and criminals who should go to prison not being incarcerated. Crime in general is a complex issue, many factors are involved such as human nature, mental illness, childhood abuse, drug abuse, financial hardship, etc. Until we address all these aspects, there will be limitations in how we address crime prevention. However, there is still a lot we can do, specifically with a technology-based system that surveils environments better than current practices, and alerts law enforcement faster when they are needed. Surveillance cameras and technology are nothing new, some countries have fully embraced this such as China. People are rightfully concerned about “big brother” exploiting this type of system, as we have seen in countries like China. I believe we can have a different type of system that puts this technology more in the power of the public than the government and intelligence agencies. A large part of this system is that it would not be controlled or altered by outsiders. For example, if an intelligence agency assassinates a citizen in broad daylight, the captured video of such an event would not be able to be accessed by this intelligence agency to omit from the public record. It is easy to say that is how it would work, but when the most advanced hacking systems and cryptography are within these agencies, how can one safeguard this data? That is where the real challenge lies.
Another concern is the public perception of a new system that captures footage of people on a daily basis, however in a matter of a few years we have seen numerous Ring doorbell systems in many neighborhoods recording, and all in the hands of a single corporation, Amazon. Besides CCTV cameras and wireless cameras, I believe we should add to that with robotics and small drones. Imagine a slimmer R2-D2 robot that patrols both public places and neighborhoods. Inside this robot is a small drone that can be released to capture video footage of faster-moving targets like someone who is running or driving in a car. It is possible these robots could be on every street, but even if they weren’t they could still be summoned to a location of concern by a citizen or law enforcement. Naturally, the drone would go first as it would arrive faster.
An example might be a young lady going for an evening jog, a man continues to follow her despite going on an unpredictable nonlinear path. She is concerned for her safety and opens the mobile application designed around this system, a quick access panic button, or verbal command can simultaneously report to a 911 dispatch unit while also sending her GPS coordinates for drones to quickly arrive on location. Within minutes multiple drones capture all video, and at the same time, the local law enforcement closely monitors the situation while making their way to the location. There is no excuse to not capture footage of regularly occurring crimes or suspicious incidents in our communities when we have the ability to do so. I think a certain amount of people will not commit a crime if they believe it will be captured on video, but I believe a greater amount of people will not commit a crime if they are not confident they will get away with it. Of course, there are those that are not concerned with consequences and will commit the crime regardless, in these cases, at least we will have the evidence to insure they don’t get away with their crime.