Using Mobile Phones to Fight Crime
by Crime is on the upsurge. Economic meltdown not withstanding, there is an urgent need to check it. With the ever increasing availability and affordability of mobile phones, a new trend of tapping into the huge potential of these gadgets in busting criminals is shaping up. Criminals should get scared, really scared.
In Boston the police are using SMS messages to warn the public about vulnerable crime spots and to receive tip-off from the public. Facing an upsurge in murder and other violent crimes, Boston’s police have set up a system to allow witnesses to tip them off to crime by sending anonymous text-messages.
In the UK, where Ofcom estimates that there are currently 69.7 million mobile phone connections, the metropolitan police have devised a system where people visiting “clip” joints are stopped from becoming victims of sleaze. Anyone using a bluetooth handset within a 30-metre radius of such establishments can receive the warning, which reads: “£5 to get in, £500 to get out. Criminals operate some of the hostess bars in Soho. Don’t enter without knowing what you’ll get for your money.”
Mobile phones won’t solve the security problem alone, but they clearly have a significant role to play. In a country like Kenya, where many police stations lack adequate resources to fight crime, such as vehicles, the use of the mobile phone can highly improve community policing and therefore contribute to the fight against crime.
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