Forget
about stun guns and body cams; the next generation of police gadgets
are designed to prevent police from ever being in the line of fire,
while helping save lives. Police and sheriff's departments across the
country are investing in new tools that employ the latest in robotics,
artificial intelligence and machine learning to protect law
enforcement and the public. They may even ultimately save money.
There are a number of new gadgets
that sound like something out of James Bond: gunshot detection systems
from a company called Shotspotter that can pinpoint the exact source
of a gunshot. A system from a company called Starchase shoots
GPS-enabled darts to attach to, and then track, vehicles fleeing from
the site of a crime.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department has been investing in a range of new tools, said Captain
Jack Ewell, no matter what the cost of the technology — if it saves
lives, it's worth it.
"We
have been using technology and robotics for years, but the technology
improves almost on a daily basis, so we use it more now than we ever
have before. The robots are better; they function better; they do more
things that they couldn't do in the past. The costs have actually come
down, and they're indispensable," Ewell said.
One of the newest types of
technologies the LA County Sherriff's Department has been deploying is
unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with cameras, customized by drone
company DJI. These remote-control aerial vehicles give law enforcement
eyes from above to help with everything from bomb threats to
search-and-rescue, hazmat spills and active-shooter situations.
Keith Hamshere | Getty Images
Pierce Brosnan as 007 in the James Bond film 'The World Is Not Enough,' 1999.
It's not just about eyes in the sky; they use robotic land cameras from Robotext to navigate into dangerous situations — they can even open doors — to send real-time video back to law enforcement a safe distance away. There are even underwater robots to help find lost divers or assist with chemical spills.
"We
used it in a situation, a tactical situation where someone was firing
a hgh-powered rifle into a community," Ewell said. "We were able to
use this technology in conjunction with other technology to see
exactly where that gunman was and at a certain point in time to be
able to safely approach that person and ensure that there was no more
gunfire."
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Captain Ewell says the technology
even saves the lives of criminals, by minimizing situations in which
law enforcement might have to shoot. "It protects public safety
personnel, and it also protects the public, which is the most
important aspect [of our use of technology], but there's one aspect
people don't think about sometimes," he said. "In addition, it
actually protects criminals in many situations. We're able to see that
a criminal is armed at a distance, and so we don't have to confront
them close up, where a shooting could occur, where he could get hurt.
That gives us some extra time and distance to be able to try and talk
the person down, calm him down, and safely resolve SWAT situations by
using this technology."
And back at the station, there's
another type of technology in use. Powerful software from start-up
Mark43 helps police file reports and keep and study statistics. The
start-up, backed by Jeff
Bezos'
Bezos Expeditions and former military general and CIA Director David
Petraeus, among others, reports that it's saved more than 250,000
hours of work for police in Washington, D.C., alone.
And the less time and money spent on filing paperwork, the more time and money that can be spent on public safety.
Bezo’s is a huge fan of election and media rigging for his personal ideologies.
Julia BoorstinCNBC Senior Media & Entertainment Correspondent