“Foul!” yells Lewis, aka Traffic Droid, from his bicycle before brandishing a red card in the face of a dumbfounded delivery driver. The scene is not a football pitch, rather the middle of a London street, where Lewis, alias the “Traffic Droid”, is busy enforcing the law. The 51-year-old is one…
The second season of the television programme Hunted opens on Monday 6 November (AvroTros, NPO3). In this programme, 14 “fugitives” spend 21 days trying to escape capture by a team of expert professional investigators. This season the “hunters” will be supported by QUIN, a predictive model for…
The internet, smartphones and social media have become tools for citizens to perform activities that fall within the range of police work and the work of other organisations dealing with public security. Like modern Sherlock Holmes citizens assist the police and go beyond. They report on crimes,…
This report from the EU project Medi@4Sec summarizes practices of social media use in public security. Our goal is to create an inventory of best practices, lessons-learned, and roles and responsibilities, to analyse specifically how social media is being used by police and other public security…
Technology has revolutionized policing practices and at the same time it has facilitated criminality. The Dark Web has emerged as a digital space where content has been intentionally concealed and users can surf anonymously. It is used for several legitimate purposes, such as to perform…
Detectives perceive an information overload in using social media data in police investigations, because of the abundance of available information, limitations in human processing capacity and problems in human-machine interaction. This results in a possible loss of relevant information that is…
Recently, during Operation Bayonet two leading underground markets on the Dark Web took center stage in a joint policing effort of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National High Tech Crime and Dark Web unit of the Dutch Police. In a coordinated sweep, the FBI succeeded in the…
“Hospital leaks patient records”, “Public transport smartcard has more holes than a sieve”, “Mobile banking app unsafe” – it seems that everything can be hacked these days. Fortunately, the person who discovers a flaw is not necessarily a cybercriminal but is often someone who wants to help…
It’s every parent’s nightmare: you become distracted for a few seconds and suddenly your toddler has disappeared. At times like that, the police quickly arrive on the scene. But it is very difficult for them to work out exactly what has happened. That’s where Real-Time Intelligence (RTI) comes…
The autonomous Knightscope droid uses Predictive Policing software to know where it should be Predictive Policing is nothing more than police operations based on predictions of crime. By crunching big data with sophisticated algorithms, the police will be able to predict crimes and be present at…
Tolling can be usefully defined as the targeting of defamatory and antagonistic messages towards users of social media (Williams and Pearson, 2014:4) (37). Trolling broadly understood includes: cyberbullying; cyberhate; cyberstalking; cyberharassment; revenge porn; sextortion; naming and…
Processing real time intelligence -providing actual and relevant information at the right time- is key to security organisations. Real Time Intelligence (RTI) enhances the abillity of making operational decisions in real-time based on a wide range of field data. Streamlining data saves time,…
The MEDI@4SEC project focuses upon understanding the opportunities, challenges and ethical considerations of enhancing social media use for public security: the good, the bad and the ugly. The good comprises using social media for problem solving, fighting crime, decreasing fear of crime and…
A new app that claims to reveal whether you are too stoned to drive has been released. Just like drink driving, drug driving is illegal in many US states and the UK – but often only if there’s a certain amount of the substance detected in your system. In some US states, confusion has arisen as a…
For many women, catcalling and street harassment are an ugly part of daily life. Often these incidences also go unreported in Australia, leaving policy makers and the public in the dark about the pervasiveness of public harassment. Free To Be is an online tool made to counter this. Created by…
An MIT-backed startup has invented a spherical camera ball that can be thrown into potentially dangerous, hidden areas to give police and emergency services a safer view of the unknown. After three years of development, startup Bounce Imaging is finally ready to launch Explorer, the size of a…
UK Paedos Exposed are a group of volunteers, based in various locations throughout the UK. Collectively, they research and follow up on information they receive from various sources, in regards to convicted child sex offenders (Paedos) having an opportunity to blend back into societies once they…
When police come across people with autism or emotional disabilities, it can be tough to know what they are dealing with. But, a St. Paul police officer is developing an app to make sure officers get the information they need, so an encounter doesn’t When police come across people with autism or…
Emergency communication matters. We help you communicate the right information to the right people when dialing 911 isn’t possible. Rescue immediately alerts your emergency contacts and sends a pinpoint with your exact location when you message via Text, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp or your…
Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams says a mobile app CSafe (iOS, Android) as a “dream come true” for the police service. The app, which has been described as a neighbourhood watch on steroids, allows the user to directly report crimes to police, as well as have a direct access to all…
Every once in a while, an idea comes along that’s so smart yet so simple that it’s hard to believe it’s not been done already. The best of these are often not new technologies, just a new way of using things we have already. Whoever invented the helmet probably thought the same thing the first…
The Noise App (iOS, Android) launched to help target nuisance noise Targeting Nuisance Noise for Appy Citizens: Mid & East Antrim Borough Council has launched its first free mobile app targeting nuisance noise, The Noise App, in partnership with the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the…
Blue Lights Discovery (iOS, Android) is the complete package for a digital investigator. A cost effective solution designed to provide enhanced intelligence and knowledge to your workforce. This next-generation training and resource solution, considered from concept to delivery around the…
The neighborhoods around D.C.’s Navy Yard Metro teem with “homeless crackheads” and “aggressive street youths.” Roving gangs shout insults at innocent pedestrians. Clusters of men on street corners catcall and panhandle. This is all documented to be true – at least if you believe the reports on…
In theory, cell phones have made it easier than ever to call for help in dangerous situations. But they’re still far from perfect. You can’t always reach for your phone, for one thing–and even if you could, in certain scenarios doing so might only escalate the danger. That’s why Dave Benoit and…
Nassau County is rolling out a new emergency smartphone app for school district officials that will alert police in the event of an active shooter. Once the “active shooter” icon is pressed on the app, a 911 call is initiated, text alerts are sent to police, the school alarm is triggered and…
Through a mobile safety app called SafeZone (iOS, Android, Windows), students, faculty, and staff can now connect directly with the Northeastern University Police Department to immediately report emergencies, request medical assistance, or simply stay in touch during late-hour work…
Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA) in collaboration with Punjab Service Commission on Status of Women (PCSW) will launch Women Safety android application tomorrow. PSCA joined hands with PCSW and LUMS IT department in December 2016, for the application development. Women will be able to notify…
As a busy mom and realtor, Megan Bock admits it can be hard to stay off her phone while behind the wheel. “Am I getting a phone call or text from the school?” she asked. “Am I getting a phone call or text from a client that’s really urgent?” So when Marci Corry asked Bock to help beta-test her…
Bypass will help you get from A-B using the safest route. The ‘Red Call’ button will call the police and send a message to your allocated emergency contact. Enter your destination in the ‘End Location’ and ‘Start Location’ space by typing in your address, clicking on the map, or clicking on the…
We live in an age in which a whole lot of occurrences have become much digitalized and usually happen with the click of buttons. The perpetrators of crime are not left out of the digitalized (computer) age in which we live in. As a result of this, law enforcement agencies all over the world have…
Disguised as a calculator on smartphone screens, I Protect alerts contacts and a local human rights group if the user is arrested – Developers of the app hope it will help to counter abuses by security forces in Egypt. Photograph: Peter Andrews/Reuters For Egyptians, the risk of being snatched…
In times fraught with an incessantly rising rate of crime, here especially in Delhi, it is the elder or senior citizens who suffer the most. Thefts, burglaries and on other occasions, outright abandonment by their own, the elderly straddle with life’s unforeseen challenges. And therefore the…
Teachers in Porter County schools will soon have a cell phone app that will let them call police at the touch of a button if there’s a serious incident. Superintendent Richard Weigel says if there is a shooter or other danger teachers can press a button and a signal will go to all police in a…
New app BailOutBuddy (Android) goes to the rescue of motorists caught up in traffic offences Simon Njuguna is constantly on the road, moving from one county to another for business. He notes that most times it is difficult to avoid committing traffic offences owing to time constraints in…
Crowdsourcing and advertisement to solve crimes I’m a longtime fan of detective shows. I read true crime books even though they keep me awake at night. And of course, I’ve never missed an episode of the podcast Serial. Even so, I never expected to find myself researching branded content in a…
Cartel Land, Matthew Heineman’s acclaimed documentary about the Mexican vigilante José Manuel Mireles, is available to stream on Netflix UK from today. In this feature, originally published on September 4, Alastair Smart spoke to Mireles’s closest confidant – his lawyer It’s midday in Michoacán,…
IT WAS WINTER in the pocket of Mexico known as Tierra Caliente, the Hot Land. The sky was cloudless and the sun’s rays were casting flickering reflections off the convoy coming into focus: two behemoth SUVs, one black, one silver, passengers invisible behind tinted windows, a police pickup…
THE GRIZZLED MILITARY veterans who comprise Arizona Border Recon describe the land along the border with Mexico as “America’s own little war zone.” And so they patrol it day and night in tactical gear, keeping vigilant watch for terrorists, traffickers, and illegal immigrants. Johnny Milano…
Hubballi: Police have swung into action against helmetless motorists (Android). The Hubballi-Dharwad police commissionerate, which had earlier dealt with violators with kid gloves – giving roses and flowers to motorists who abided by the rules is now using a mobile app to impose traffic fines.…
York technology company Isotoma has completed a new version of a web app which aims to gather evidence related to Ukrainian war crimes. Corroborator collates evidence used in war crime disputes, building a narrative and sequence of events based on evidence files uploaded by journalists,…
A new tool called OpenOversight matches names and badge numbers with photos of police. But some fear it could put officers’ lives in danger. The ACLU of California released emails showed that Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram provided Geofeedia, a social media monitoring company used by several…
No parent thinks, “This can happen to me.” But as too many have learned, the hard way, it can. It may be a change in routine or a sleep-deprived and overloaded memory. Even the most conscientious and loving parent can forget a child out of sight in the back of the car, with a potentially fatal…
My Safetipin (Android, iOS, Windows) is a free app that helps you take decisions based on the areas you are visiting, and help you safely reach your destination. A location is scored depending on how safe women found it. The app will send you alerts as soon as you in an unsafe area. The safety…
The Smart 24×7 app (Android, iOS, Windows, Blackberry, Nokia X Ovi) comes with a panic button that brings instant help from the nearest police station, hospitals and fire service. The app is supported by Gurgaon Police, Jalandhar Police, Chandigarh Police, Jammu Police, Mohali Police and UP Fire…
Nirbhaya: Be Fearless app (Android), from the same makers as Himmat, comes with a single click distress signal. Users can stamp safe and unsafe areas just like the Safetipin app. The distress call will send an emergency message to your loved ones with your location, information and…
Parents are being warned there are now more than 200 types of “ghost apps” available for download to help kids hide photos and their activities online. The deception apps appear like innocuous or common icons, such as a calculator, but can be used to store photos, games or even other apps. And…
An online platform launched by the Chinese police to rescue abducted children, helped to rescue a two-year-old girl, some 32 hours after she was snatched from her parents. The girl went missing on Friday while she and her family were changing trains in Hengshui, a city in north China’s Hebei…
ThePhilippine National Police (PNP) launched the Bantay Krimen mobile application (Android, iOS), a community-based tool in promoting crime awareness, reporting, and prevention at the tip of everyone’s fingertips with the use of cellphones or tablets. The launching was led by PNP Chief, Director…
The Truth & Justice Podcast is dedicated to helping those who can no longer help themselves. Listeners unite to investigate cases of the wrongly convicted. What is The Truth & Justice Podcast all about? The name says it all. We are dedicated to the ongoing pursuit of truth and justice. Our…
The mobile app called “Kulluna Amn” (We are all security) enables citizens and expatriates to participate in maintaing security, said Public Security Director Lt. Gen. Othman Al-Muhrij. It’s now easier for citizens and expatriates to report crime thanks to an
The Do-It-Yourself Policing workshop organized by the MEDI@4SEC project in Berlin at January 10 was a huge success. For the first time, stakeholders from all over Europe engaged in an interactive dialogue on the future of DIY Policing, the opportunities and challenges for police organisations,…
