We all know the Internet of Things (IoT) will significantly change public services and how they are delivered — bringing both benefits and challenges. IoT promises greater efficiency and lower costs, but these gains can come at the expense of jobs, privacy, and security.
Earlier this week, President Obama proposed $263 million in funding to improve law enforcement following high-profile protests over police brutality in places such as Ferguson. Of that amount, $75 million would go toward body-worn cameras, a technology shown to reduce reported incidents and increase accountability.
Today’s body-worn cameras are typically reviewed after an incident, but it is easy to imagine a near future in which cameras can be accessed remotely at any time to help protect officers and civilians. Continuous or live-access recordings raise clear privacy and security questions, but they also create new opportunities to study and improve policing practices.
Recorded footage will be a valuable resource for researchers seeking to understand what went wrong in confrontations and what prevented escalation in other cases. Jeff Brantingham, an anthropologist at UCLA, told Technology Review that although attention tends to focus on incidents that escalate into extreme outcomes, we know far less about situations that appeared dangerous but resolved safely. Understanding why some encounters de-escalate could provide major benefits for training and policy development.
At the same time, facial recognition and automated analytics are advancing quickly. It will become increasingly feasible for CCTV systems to identify and flag individuals within seconds. Retailers are already experimenting with systems that tailor in-store advertising based on a person’s appearance, demonstrating how these technologies move rapidly from novelty to common use.
In the UK, Kent Police plan to spend £1.1 million equipping officers with tablets as budget cuts reduce frontline staff. Chief Constable Alan Pughsley said providing officers with iPads or similar devices to process paperwork would reduce the need to return to stations, allowing them to spend more time in the community.
Police officers face a heavy administrative burden when they return to the station. Completing reports in the field or reducing paperwork through automated systems and body-camera integration could boost efficiency and partially offset the effects of reduced staffing.
Citizen-facing apps are also changing how evidence is gathered. For example, the Self Evident app from Witness Confident lets the public share photos and video directly with police in real time. Sarah Byrt of Witness Confident says that as forces across the country accept reports and footage from the app, police will be better equipped to provide the service the public expects and deserves.
The Association of Police Chief Officers has welcomed this trend, noting that photos and video from the public can be crucial when eyewitness accounts are disputed by those accused. Digital evidence sometimes provides the only impartial record of events.
However, not everyone supports rapid adoption of connected devices and cloud-enabled systems. Critics point to security vulnerabilities and question whether investment in technology might be a false economy compared with funding more officers to maintain a visible presence on the streets.
Michael James Swan, who has a background in government IT security, wrote on his blog that government email and intranet systems remain in early testing phases for required security standards. He argued that, because these devices are not yet compliant with standards such as FIPS 140-2, they should not be used for sensitive access.
CJSM (Criminal Justice Secure eMail) and GSi (Government Secure Intranet) are both systems that demand a high level of protection. Current guidelines also restrict access to these services over public 3G and 4G networks, underscoring the complexity of securely extending government systems to mobile devices.
We spoke with Swan for more detail on whether the benefits of equipping officers with tablets outweigh the risks. He questioned the claimed savings, noting ongoing costs: “The tablets will have to be renewed and maintained, so they’ll be spending more money than they’re letting on.”
He also pointed to past costly technology rollouts that failed to deliver expected efficiencies. “Officers were all given BlackBerrys to make them more efficient; however, they didn’t have the desired effect and ended up being a giant waste of money,” he said. Swan also highlighted the use of PCSOs (Police Community Support Officers), who have limited powers compared to warranted officers, as part of the staffing mix.
As IoT devices and connected services become more prevalent in policing, balancing operational benefits with security, privacy, and accountability will be essential. Technology can support better outcomes, but only when implemented with robust safeguards, clear policy, and ongoing oversight.
Do you think the Internet of Things will improve policing? Let us know in the comments.
To learn more about the Internet of Things, consider attending IoT Tech Expo Europe in London’s Olympia on December 2–3, 2015.