Think Public Safety

From Screen to Street - Staying Ahead of the Bad Guys Author: David Parry

Created Sep 23 2016, 5:00 AM by Paul Jeffs

From the big screen to the small screen to our streets, Public Safety is embracing technology to stay ahead of the bad guys.

You can’t turn on a TV or go to the cinema and not see programs or films where police or cyber crime technology and its advancement is part of the plot. Minority Report, from a few years ago, focused on, what in essence what we now call, predictive policing. But at its core it was about data storage, access and what happens when this data is manipulated. On the other side of the fence, on the small screen, cyber security is tested in Mr Robot as companies and even nations are left counting the cost of security breaches.

I had these examples in mind when I read a recent interview by IDG of Paul Steinberg, Motorola Solutions CTO. This article discusses, the challenges and opportunities that technology advancement create.

Paul highlights: “Cyber terrorism and our dependence on computers and technology could stop an entire economy. Power and industrial control systems are probably the biggest risk now.”

It’s not just about the threats though. Paul explains how the defence against these threats depends on “layering your capabilities”, and how that’s also the company strategy. The company still develops its own R&D with bases in the US and Israel but Steinberg also plays a leading role in Motorola Solutions Venture Capital which makes investments in Public Safety related technology startups.

So, Staying ahead of the game is where the action is and in Paul’s role as CTO he is focused on guiding Motorola Solutions on a path that enables public safety and commercial organisations to keep on top of the challenges. It's where what we may think are the blue sky ideas are brought into practical application. That said the 'use in anger' of these new technologies is still in some cases still a way off as practical deployment challenges appear. These can range from the need to change working practices, the practicality of an officer or employee functioning in harmony with the technology, to legislative changes needed to allow data to be collected, processed and stored in ways not envisaged when laws were initially created.

How do we adopt these new capabilities? Paul also explores this. It’s not just a matter of sitting in a lab trying to come up with the next best thing. Paul talks about it being a partnership with users and looking to the market to see where emerging technologies are coming from.

The goal at the end of the day is to leverage technology to assist Public Safety and commercial organisations create safer journeys, communities, cities and countries.

You can read the complete IDG interview with Paul at Motorola veteran sees tech at core of public safety