Law Enforcement & IoT: Part II – Wearables and Other Tech for Improved Safety

IIoT has a lot to offer Law Enforcement when it comes to improving job safety.

Wearables for Safer Law Enforcement

Smart watches bring dispatch out of an officer’s vehicle and onto their wrist. This keeps an officer informed of incoming information continually and can be an essential asset in the field. A smart watch can also track heart rate and movement and send out emergency alerts if heart rate drops or rises to dangerous levels or if an officer is detected as unmoving.

Augmented reality aids in police training. New officers can experience the stimuli of dangerous encounters from the safety of AR or VR training scenarios, which may involve hostage situations or gun battles. Through this preparation, officers are more equipped to safely and efficiently handle such situations in real life.

K9 officers can benefit from wearable sensors that monitor health factors such as body temperature, sleep time, cardio, weight, steps per day and calories lost. Their human counterparts can be alerted if any data falls outside parameters, which could indicate an undetected illness. IIoT can also provide data and analysis on K9 training and whether they are performing correctly or are distracted. GPS trackers can identify a K9’s location if they are missing.

Sensor Technology

Sensors can also be built into law enforcement guns, rendering them inoperable unless handled by their registered user. After firing, data can be collected on how many shots were fired and from what position. This improves law enforcement liability and can be used for analysis in lethal force or criminal investigations.

Police can benefit from sensors that fit over bullet proof vests and automatically call emergency services if pierced by a knife or bullet. Such quick response can save an officer’s life.

A GPS dart can be fired onto fleeing suspect vehicles, allowing law enforcement to avoid high speed chases, keeping both them and the communities they serve safe.

Drones for Law Enforcement

Law enforcement can use drones to collect data in hard to reach or dangerous locations. Before approaching an armed suspect, Pittsburg, CA police used a drone to identify the best entry points for a SWAT mission, allowing the incident to resolve without injury. Drones can track down a moving suspect and provide light or thermal imaging to perform the same task at night. In North Dakota, police used a drone to track fleeing suspects through a corn field, a task that would have left officers searching blind on foot.