Armed With Data, Fighting More Than Crime

Journalists can find themselves in unsafe regions without anyone knowing their whereabouts. 'Reporta' is a new app that allows journalists to send alerts, provide information about their location, and send an SOS incase of emergency.

Medellin, Colombia has looked to architecture to help combat its high homicide rate and other problems. Over the past few decades there have been massive public architecture development, transit improvements, creation of public spaces that have all contributed to renewing this city.

To prevent crimes related to tricycles in Maiduguri, Nigeria, the SecureN software was created to verify the vehicles through a registration process. Once they are vetted by a state association, operators and owners are given an identity card, certificate, and QR code for riders to scan before they board. The program also collects tax money.

Gamifying energy-efficient behavior can help consumers adjust their habits. Project GresBAS (Grid Responsive Society through Building Automation Systems) incentivizes consumers by allowing them to compete against their own personal records, as well as their neighbors. The Project has piloted studies in Turkey and Portugal, signaling the broader possibilities of gamifying user interactions with smart grid technologies.

Across Asia, ride-sharing startups are being created to provide women with safe transportation options. From India to Pakistan to Saudi Arabia, these companies starting all-women teams of drivers or offering women the option to hire female drivers. These companies are part of a larger, global trend as a – albeit short-term – response to the #MeToo culture.

A small town near Seattle installed red light cameras in 2016 and officials immediately founder higher numbers of traffic violations than predicted, especially at one intersection, which accounted for most of the tickets issued to drivers. The technology is very controversial among drivers, but national studies have demonstrated the cameras reduce fatal crashes. In Des Moines, the number of tickets issued spike, but then began decreasing, indicating a change in driver behavior.

Data suggests that when an officer is wearing a body camera the likelihood that they will shoot a person decreases by as much as 60 percent. Axon Enterprises, which originally made a fortune from selling taser guns to police departments, started investing in body cameras back in 2006. Now, they are the largest manufacturer “holding contracts with more than half the major police departments in the country.” The company believes this technology will bridge the gap between lethal force and safety.

When Emily Kennedy was a teenager traveling in Eastern Europe she saw street kids she learned were trafficked by the Russian mob and decided to tackle human trafficking in her college work. The company she launched, Marinus Analytics, created a software application that has been used by authorities to rescue hundreds of victims in the U.S. and Canada and is expanding. The data it gathers has also debunked assumptions about how and where trafficking takes place.

A persistent problem in Massachusetts of trucks going through tunnels or underpasses that are too low for safe clearance has prompted officials to look to Sydney, Australia for a possible solution. Officials in that city worked with a private company to develop a system where if a truck is too tall, it triggers a warning so officials can activate a sheet of water at the tunnel entrance upon which is projected the holographic image of a giant red Stop sign. It's proven successful in stopping drivers before they enter the tunnel.

Traditional 311 operations can be costly to maintain, so the city of Sacramento implemented cloud CRM in order to cut costs and increase flexibility of operations. While there is still room to expand what is offered, this cloud-based solution does offer the "ability to set up and launch 311 quickly, without the need for IT staff to maintain the servers and networks."