HW #5

 The title of the article I read was “IBM Analytics Help Memphis Cops Get 'Smart”, written by Rachael King. This article talks about a new software for smart phones that Memphis police officers have been using to help fight crime. This software cannot help completely stop crime, but it can help show if there are any trends or certain patterns that show up for certain crimes. The example used in the article talks about a recent shooting in the Memphis area, as the victim is being carried away in the ambulance the police officer is already filing a report from a HTC smart phone. This can help police stations notice any trends in a certain crime or area. This new software will help police figure out where crimes may occur next, around what time and what type of people may be involved or targeted. According to the article over the next decade major cities will spend over $108 billion on new technologies such as this.

I found this article really interesting, before reading this article I did not know there were such technologies that accomplished this.  I think this is a good thing for police departments in major cities because it will develop a pattern for police officers to watch out for. It may not be able to stop a crime completely from occurring but it will give police an upper hand of where they need to spend more time watching over. As technology increases I think that crime rates will slowly decrease, but rates will not drop dramatically because of these technologies. An application like this one will definitely be an overall advantage for police officers and as time progresses I feel that more and more police departments across the country will develop new technologies similar to the ones in this article.