Crowdsourcing the Fight Against Crime
Sherlock Holmes had his phenomenal powers of deduction. Lieutenant Columbo had a fine nose for the guilty party and the kids from Scooby Doo had intuition and each other. In addition to their brain power, today’s detectives and policeman and women can call on the crowd to help them fight crime. Here’s how:
LEEDIR, the Large Emergency Event Digital Information Repository – LA cops are using this online and mobile app that acts as a repository for electronic tips that come in from the public. “When the public really wants to catch these bad guys as badly as we do, this is the mechanism,” Los Angeles Sheriff’s Cmdr. Scott Edson told Fox News. He helped conceptualize the system following the Boston Marathon bombings. “They (the public) can help us by sending us pictures and video.”
Social media – Seattle police are using their Twitter account to receive tips from the public to help with its investigations. The force also has Get Your Car Back, where reports of stolen cars are posted.
Tracking a killer – in the hunt to find the killer of architect Joanna Yeates who went missing in Bristol in 2010, police in the UK turned to Facebook. They posted a video plea from her family for information, contact details and a map of her last known movements.
Vital Help
Crowdsourcing to help fight against crime is not just about allowing the public to play amateur detectives; it is providing law enforcement agencies with more and potentially vital information. The crowd is also able to help people to stay safe. SketchFactor is an app that was a finalist in New York’s BigApps competition. The tool uses crowdsourced data from users to point out “dodgy” areas of a town or city and provide safe walking directions.
Add your Comment
[LOGIN FIRST] if you're already a member.fields are required.