INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY has been shown to revolutionise the operation of law enforcement agencies by reducing the amount of time security personnel spend on paperwork and increasing their time in investigating and solving crimes.
While the introduction of the IBIS and AFIS systems are a step in the right direction for Jamaica, there are many more technologies available that can be developed and/or acquired for testing and deployment across Jamaica or in its most severe hot spots.
At the Department of Computer Science at the University of the West Indies, students and staff are beginning to investigate and develop prototype technologies to aid the fight against crime. Many domains from database technology to digital communications are being explored in a bid to develop and deploy novel information systems to be used in the field.
Additional research is also being focused on harnessing the latest grid computing technologies towards the development of a crime grid for Jamaica. If you are interested or can contribute to any of these projects, please contact the author at
timothy.stitt@uwimona.edu.jm.
