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In my 40+ year law enforcement career, I have been both a witness to and part of the evolution in policing technology. When I began as a police officer in Boston, the walkie-talkies that were available to us were so big and bulky that no one even wanted to carry them. While I was Commissioner at the NYPD, we developed the COMPSTAT model that utilized timely information, gained through technology, and we were able to drastically reduce crime rates. Today, many agencies have established Real Time Crime Centers that are leveraging new technology to do an even more effective job of fighting crime. Very soon, we will be moving to a Predictive Policing model where, by studying real time crime patterns, we can anticipate where a crime is likely to occur. Without question, this evolution has been driven by the improvements in information technology. Of course, in order to be useful, information needs to be relevant, accurate, and timely. But just as important, it must be accessible. New technologies such as automated license plate readers, biometrics, medical telemetry, automated vehicle location, and streaming video only scratch the surface of the capabilities that will be carried by broadband networks.
