Using Mobile Phones to Fight Crime

Norah Naitore will never forget the night of April 10 2007. She had just arrived home from college for a short holiday; but the events that transpired that night will always linger. Then a first year student at Kenyatta University’s Ruiru campus, Naitore accompanied by her elder sister Betty, left the City at midday. They arrived at their rural home in the outskirts of Meru town at dusk and spent the rest of their evening chatting with their parents and other siblings. Close to midnight they retired to bed, but it was not long before thugs struck. A gang of not less than ten robbers were in the compound. They were unable to break the front door, but within a short time they managed to break the back door close to the room where Naitore and her sister were sleeping. They seemed to be well informed thugs because they skipped breaking Naitore’s bedroom thinking that the both students were not in and are in school. So they moved on to the extreme end where the parents’ bedroom is located.

Seizing the opportunity, Naitore grabbed her mobile phone and typed “THIEVES AT HOME, PLEASE HELP”. She then sent the simple text to all addresses in her mobile phone. It paid. Within a few minutes the compound was surrounded by incensed villagers, armed with crude weapons. By that time, the thieves had already broken into the bedroom, flushed out Naitore’s parents but they were thwarted by the villagers who were now in the compound. Thanks to the mobile phone, the thieves fled, no one was hurt, although some money and valuables were stolen. The police arrived, almost an hour later, but clearly Naitore had demonstrated what power lies in technology, if used properly.

Mobile phones, just like any other technology is a tool. Tools can be used or misused depending on who holds them, when and how. Although there’s has been a huge potential for mobile phone as a communication tool, especially in business, many developing countries have remained lax on harnessing the fringe benefits of mobile phone technology in fighting crime.

A trend in using SMS to fight crime has been emerging in the United States, where citizens are allowed to send messages to a specific number anonymously. Boston became the first city in the US to allow citizens to send in tips to its anonymous hotline, Crime busters, via text messaging. More cities are starting to implement similar systems, according to the Associated Press which reports that Tampa, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Indianapolis, New Orleans and Detroit have all joined the bandwagon.
The texts are virtually impossible to track since they pass through a server that encrypts cell phone numbers before they get to police. This, along with the ease and popularity of sending text messages, makes it an ideal way for police to receive tips, especially with younger citizens who rely on texting just as much as they do speaking to communicate.