Using technology to fight crime
The brazen robbery taking place in Malawi is worrying. Robbers are attacking at anytime, anywhere at will. Hardly a day passes without a robbery incident or other violent crime taking place. The recent senseless murder of ACB director of corporate affairs is most chilling. It is like the criminals have just gone on a rampage. Incidentally, police officers have also been victims of crime, although some of them have been involved in criminal activities as well.
What this points to is that criminals are now becoming more sophisticated in their operations. This means the police should also match the level of sophistication of criminals. They need to be ahead of the criminals by diversifying strategies to fight crime. One area is to use technology.
A cell phone is a very vital tool for fighting crime. It is a multi-purpose gadget that can do so many things. It can be used as an effective tool to fight crime. The police should work in collaboration with mobile phone companies to have a dedicated SMS number where members of the public can anonymously text the police to report crime information.
There should be close collaboration between police and members of the public. Police cannot fight crime alone. They need the support and involvement of the community to provide them with crime intelligence information. In fact, fighting crime should start with people in the communities. But police need to mobilise the people through various platforms. They need to adopt a multi-faceted approach to fight crime. Typically, many of the robbers are known to community members. The police should step up their crime intelligence information by working with the communities. With modern technology, police should close space for criminals. In addition, to mobile phones, police can also use community radio stations scattered across the country to enhance community-policing initiatives.
Currently, communication between the public and police is rather poor. For example, police has no website. Some people may want to give information and send it via e-mail, so the police have to use such technology to fight crime.
Otherwise, the police should also work closely with mobile phone providers so that those who steal mobile phones can easily be traced.
This is why it is important for Macra to push for a law to make it mandatory for mobile phone users to a register a SIM card to prevent the use of mobile phones for criminal activities. For instance, in South Africa mobile phone users are required by law to register their SIM cards. Such law can help in tracking down criminals, including those who threaten others. n
