Now, like in every police procedural sitcom ever, the Indian cops will be seen fighting, in fact, stopping crime with the help of high-tech gadgets and gizmos, all thanks to Big Data.
Reportedly, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is trying to use crime data analytics software to enable predictive policing so that crime can be stopped even before it takes place.
Media reports suggest that a special software is being developed by the Hyderabad-based Advanced Data Research Institute (ADRIN) so that law enforcement agencies can map crime patterns and predictive analysis.
The NCRB has signed a memorandum of understanding with the ADRIN and has plans to make available the predictive policing technologies will in five states — Kerala, Odisha, Maharashtra, Haryana and Tripura — by the end of 2018, and later, to all states and union territories.
“Not only offences, it will go a long way in predicting terrorist and Maoist attacks as well,” NCRB director Ish Kumar said.
“It is basically use of big data analytics to predict geographical areas where crime is most likely to take place, after taking into account various factors followed by analysis. Police can then step up patrolling, deployment and surveillance so that offences do not take place,” another source claimed.
So basically, by studying the history of the number of crimes at a particular date, at a particular time of the day and during a particular weather, the software will be able to predict the mindset of a criminal.
Last month, a research paper, based on a close study of the Los Angeles Police Department by Sarah Brayne, assistant professor of sociology at University of Texas in Austin showcased how the use of Big Data analytics helped the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to counter crime threats.
