Thursday, May 23, 2013

Future trajectory

I was the keynote speaker this week at a technology summit hosted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police in conjunction with their annual Law Enforcement Information Management conference. My job was to set the stage for the conference by describing the path of technology in policing: where have we come from, where are we today, and where might we be headed.

I began with the adoption of the telephone beginning in the late 1890s (including a slide showing my key ring), proceeded through fingerprint examination, the automobile, two way radio, speed radar, polygraph, computer database, NLETS, 911 systems, cellular telephones, DNA testing, mobile data computers, smartphones, CCTV and more--all in an hour.  Here was one of my final slides, identifying several continuing trends I see in public safety technology:


As the summit continued, we had a great discussion of a variety of issues that confront us as the pace of technology inevitably moves us further and faster down the road.


10 comments:

Steve said...

I saw a story about using 3D printing technology to print living tissue the other day. They were printing what was essentially the cartilage-like part of a human ear, which could be attached to a human child and covered with skin and would grow along with the child.

I imagine one day, we will simply print out an eCop when we need one.

Anonymous said...

From About.com: In the 1870s, two inventors Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell both independently designed devices that could transmit speech electrically (the telephone).

You have late 1980's....

Anonymous said...

Director,
I was and still am an avid reader. I was really into Sci/Fi in my early years (I still enjoy well written SF). I am never surprised by the new technologies that we are constantly hearing about on the news. I read about most of them by writers like Arthur C Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jules Verne,H G Wells and Leonardo DaVinci.

In my opinion one of the greatest tools we have in Lincoln for solving many of the ills in our society are our excellent Public Libraries. If parents and teachers can get their young kids interested in reading I think a lot of the problems these kids face can be worked out from experiences they read about in a good book.

Gun Nut

Tom Casady said...

8:46,

Whoops. Make that 1890s--about the time the telephone starts to appear in call boxes, offices, and (eventually) homes. Along with the automobile and two-way radio, the three technologies that have had---and continue to have--the greatest impact on policing.

Gun Nut,

Add Tom Swift. One of my slides was the cover page of Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle, the source of the acronym TASER.

Anonymous said...

I was just looking at the 2011 crash report, and wondered if the "crashes by time of day" graph (figure 25) had ever had the data split up for 1. weeks during the regular LPS school year, and 2. weeks during the LPS summer vacation. It would be interesting to see how the two graphs differed.

Anonymous said...

Whats with all the power-point slides?

ARRRRG!!!! said...

I have been trying to go high tech but it has been difficult to find the right equipment.

Example: I was searching for a camera for my cannon. When I do a computer search for a 'cannon camera', all I get as a result is this.

Anonymous said...

Here's a question that has vexed me for quite some time:

How does one become a crime reporter, paid by a TV station or newspaper, without even knowing the difference between a robbery and a burglary? Also, how does one become a news editor without knowing that same distinction?

Robber Hits Two Storage Lockers

Maybe LPD's PIO needs to explain to these journeymen of journalism, using little words, how a robber and a robbery differ from a burglar and a burglary.

Anonymous said...

Can you elaborate on the ARV that LFR is using?

Tom Casady said...

9:48,

Touche! My presentation, however, was a perfect example of my point: it contained fewer slides, and with the exception of this one, were composed of images, with very, very little no text.

6:15,

Yes, I could do that. I don't think it would be much different, but if I get around to it, I'll try to post that later this week.

2:09,

Yes, I can elaborate. Tomorrow.