Fighting Crime With Technology

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When it comes to fighting crime, there are a number of great apps on the market that can help law enforcement and citizens. There are several different apps available: some focus on keeping firearms out of the hands of convicted criminals while others are designed to help law enforcement pursue new leads for various crimes. Citizens can use the apps to look at recent neighborhood issues, review unresolved crime information, and report crimes in progress. Using these apps, people can submit photo tips to a digital library displaying the most wanted list and a rundown of the recent crimes in your area.

How Mobile Phones Help

Since most people carry a mobile phone, cell phones can help law enforcement pursue leads. Police are able to use a phone’s call history, text messages, contact lists, web browser history, GPS, and other information to locate a criminal. The evidence a police officer can gather from a cell phone can be valuable to a case. Not only can it help with the case at-hand, but it can also provide new leads for officers to pursue in future cases.

When police are having a hard time finding a criminal, they often encourage citizens to take pictures of the person if they notice them out in public. They can send alerts to people through the mobile apps, allowing people to be aware of things that are happening in their area. This is particularly helpful if there is a serious crime occurring, such as a police shootout or a missing child.

Do Crime Apps Help?

There are several crime apps that people can download to their iPhone and Android devices. These apps provide up-to-date information on various crimes occurring throughout the United States. People can find out what is currently happening, allowing them to be on the lookout for suspicious activity in the area. They can also assist law enforcement by submitting pictures if they feel there is something to be concerned about related to a reported crime.

Some of the top crime-fighting apps allow people to assist law enforcement by following up on specific crimes in their area. A few of the top crime-fighting apps available include iSpotACrime, Tip Submit, iWitness, and CrimePush.

Some apps have basic features that allow people to submit pictures and upload other information to law enforcement. Other apps have features that allow users to deter criminals by hitting a panic button in case of an emergency. These apps will take a video and audio recording to send to the authorities if you are threatened. These apps might have a small blinking light to let you know it is armed and working, send relevant GPS coordinates to the police, or sound a loud alarm. To determine which one is right for your situation, it is important to assess if you have ever felt threatened to the point where you think it might be nice to have a panic system on your phone. You should also determine how involved you would like to become in helping law enforcement follow up with old crimes.

Byline: Sebastian Anderson writes on all things tech-related, from law enforcement technology, to kensington ipad cases .