Wednesday, October 27, 2010

How British Columbia Handles Duplicate Records Generated by Province-Wide System

With the help of IBM's entity analytics application, Britich Columbia is cleaning up its records management to remove duplicate records and to identify and remove instances of criminals lying about their names or addresses.  The issue is whether the PRIME application will be able to be effective considering Canad's strict privacy laws.  PRIME maintains that the sharing of information under the entity analytics platform will be able to be followed.

http://www.itworldcanada.com/news/bc-police-fight-crime-with-ibm-entity-analytics/141812

 

When Body Worn Video & Facial Recognition Are Merely Terrestrial

We are all intrigued by the technological advances that are portrayed on T.V. and in film that appear to be larger than life, and more supernatural and science-fiction in nature than real.  We suspend our disbeliefs in shows like NBC's The Event, where The President is covering up a 60-year-old conspiracy, and is full aware that there are E.B.E's (Extraterrestrial Biological Entities) both held captive by-- and living unbeknownst in--  the United States. 

The E.B.V.'s technological prowess far outweighs the United States' own capabilities, and we see things like instantaneous time travel and localized harnessing of something more powerful and targeted than our nuclear fission.  And among these unbelievable concepts, we also watch and hear about the use of facial recognition software, real-time digital video, body-worn video and other more terrestrial abilities.  Our most advanced tools against theirs, one might say.  And more advanced each day, we are.

Facial recognition technology is now employed in a number of law-enforcement and crime prevention applications -- from stadium entrances to police booking systems to CCTV on city streets.  These systems can pick up an individual with near-100% accuracy and immediately produce a real-time report, whether it is to bar the person's entrance to a particular event or tie them to a crime.  Facial recognition has even gone mobile recently -- Smart Phones are now capable of using face tracking software, which will allow users to log onto social networking sites, conduct online banking, and access email all by looking at their phones.  Not that this is comparable to a "poof, the 200-passenger-full plane has been transported from Miami to Arizona in a single flash" a la Thomas from The Event.  But these very technologies that not long ago seemed like future science fiction movie props, are now real, useable, and helpful in our everyday lives.

The same holds true for real-time digital and body worn video.  These features aid greatly in law enforcement and crime prevention, and are growing more robust and applicable each year.  Years before when any sort of video recording device was large at best, and poor quality at worst, the technology simply was not utilized and investigations and surveillance operations suffered.  Today, pieces are so small and comfortable, and the image and sound captured is of the utmost quality, that police forces, university police, and government teams alike are using them in their everyday actions.  That's not to say that if they found themselves up against the likes of 50-plus E.B.V.'s that our gadgets would help apprehend and quell the angry "others".  But, these products are useful on just about everyone else.  We'll be watching The Event closely for our next generation ideas though.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Safety Products for Drug-War Fighting Police Forces

Marisol Valles Garcia, a 20-year old female police officer took over as Chief of Police in Chihuahua, Mexico – a town that has been torn apart by drug trafficking violence for the past several years.  Besides her fearlessness and bravery, a few necessary law enforcement and crime prevention products are definitely in order to help her in her endeavors:

-          Surveillance –Because Garcia prescribes to the  “Community Policing” method - a strategy in which community involvement and support aims to control crime and reduce fear – she and her staff definitely need accurate, easy-to-use, and reliable body worn video recording.  A body-worn video device will capture tips that she receives when going door to door and talking to the townspeople.

-          Processing System – Garcia’s team of 13 will undoubtedly be processing many suspects in Chihuahua.  Since crime and violence is so prevalent and frequent, the barracks will need to be equipped with state-of-the-art mug-shot, fingerprinting and reporting capabilities.  A system that can connect directly with other agency databases and immediately circulate records of gang members would be a good choice.

-          Value-Added Tools – Chihuahua Police would be well-suited to have facial recognition and license plate recognition software products.  Again, when dealing with gang suspects, immediate identification is crucial to any proceeding.  The ability to act quickly and confidently will make their job easier and more effective – and with the degree of crime and violence that they will be dealing with, the extra advantage of leading products is crucial.

 

Having some key crime management products in the war against drug crime may give Garcia and her force the edge they need to make the difference.  Hopefully the Community Policing strategy will unite a people that have all but stopped noticing that these violent crimes are taking place all around them. While many are skeptical, or even apathetic, that Garcia will effect change, we as law enforcement solutions providers, know that any change is a start.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Welcome

Hunter Systems Group would like to welcome its newest Hunter Smartshot customers, Parker, CO Police Department, Woburn, MA Police Department and Brunswick, GA Police Department!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Body Worn Video Provides Better Police Evidence

Body worn video, and digital video in general, obviously has a lot of clear advantages over the old ways of taping evidence, logging, and storing tapes. But is it worth the effort to convert old body worn videos to a more modern and useful digital system? Police departments need to keep some video for up to 25 years due to the statute of limitations on particular crimes. That’s a lot of video. Many struggle with not only the spacing concerns of housing all the video tapes or even DVD cases, but also with the possibility of evidence tampering.

Advanced digital video solutions, such the Hunter iCapture(TM) body worn video system, eliminate both the tampering and storage concerns – not to mention deliver much better quality and reliability. These digital body worn video recordings cannot be edited or recorded over, and are password-protected so only the assigned office can view them. Therefor there is no worry that evidence has been tampered with or accessed by anyone else.

HD digital video is now becoming the norm for capturing all facets of crime prevention and police activities. From witness interviews to suspect interrogation to body worn video to in-car recording to prison cell surveillance, digital video makes all of these applications more effective. Managing all of these different videos would be an IT department’s biggest nightmare if they were not integrated within a department’s RMS. But when body worn video – and all types of police video – is digitzed, it is easily managed on the main network that interfaces with all other facets of department work, such as booking, reporting , etc .

But moving from physical storage to digital is quite an undertaking. And the success of such a project depends upon the relationship between the IT and business sides. Partnering with a software provider who is an expert in body worn video and digital video implementation makes all the difference. Departments that have made the conversion, tell us they are thrilled that they did it. Dealing with videos, both body worn video and all others, is much easier than ever before, which allows them to focus more of their time on the most important part of police work – keeping the community safe.

To read more about Hunter Systems Group's body worn video solution, feel free to contact us.

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