Protect and Serve Solution

Recently I watched reporting on CBS news about how crimes go unpunished in many police departments across the country. And in this report, it talked about how police in places like Baltimore, Maryland is overwhelmed by the sheer number of crimes that they must try to solve within the crucial 48 hours period. This solution is a simple, yet effective way towns and cities may help each other “Surge” to cover crimes or help process information and paperwork within time to either prevent crime or solve it. We can also use more drone technology to aid in policing.

According to the report, many towns have difficulty sharing information because of jurisdiction laws or mistrust issues between close cities and communities. They say that cooperation between police offices and communities is the solution to the problem. What this solution reveals are how one police station may overlap surrounding police stations whether they are in the same town or city or not to help each other process recent crimes. Even the county line is no longer an issue for every radius police station to cover crimes in other counties using this program.

This overlap or Surge Protection collaboration helps law enforcement also prevent crimes in the first place by providing a large police presence at night in heavy crime areas. Some smaller towns have police officers on duty who twiddle their thumbs with nothing much to do but surf the net at night. I think we should allow them to travel a short distance to check into a sister or radius police station whenever the Surge call is made.

This Surge Protection inward to the crime helps solve the low manpower for every police department. This works because not every town or municipality has crime occurring at the same time. When a police department finds itself short of staff needed to solve or prevent crime, they can send out a Surge distress call or text to every police station within their immediate radius so that Surge Protectors can rush to help.

Surge Protection can also help with riot control, especially at night or for community policing during heightened possible criminal activity or gang violence. In fact, these overwhelming police presence in certain gang areas helps eradicate gang-related shootings giving police the extra muscle needed to crack down on gang members cruising around the neighborhoods at night. The would-be criminals will never know if their neighborhood is the one that gets enhance patrol that night. The police can stop vehicles in these neighborhoods to search them for weapons that might be used for drive-by shootings or worse. They can even search for vehicles loaded with trafficking victims or drug movements made at night.

Another part of this solution is a little more expensive, but it saves manpower and time, while catching criminals in the act. I think that all city or suburban blocks should be equipped with identification units (IDS). These units are permanently attached to poles and buildings like Ring doorbells and track and identify anything that moves as they come into or move around in the city - no matter where they are - even in the suburbs. As the movement occurs, a bright light floods the street and sidewalk. If a person walking or vehicle moves through the city that has been equipped with this system, then the units put on poles and buildings takes a snapshot or video of the movement and sends an alert to the closest police officer to check it out or be on the lookout in that area.

Most people who are out late at night go to work, etc. and may not be would-be gang members or thieves, but this way the police can monitor streets from the comfort of their desk. This cuts manpower, police cars and maintenance, fuel, time, and traffic as people learn that they cannot simply cruise around at night picking out their next victim. It may seem impractical or costly to put up these identification movement or tracker units throughout towns, but the gangs and murderers doing drive-by shootings will become very infrequent or non-existent as gang members come to understand that video cameras are immediately turned on as they drive by and continues for several blocks to make sure their license plate or make of vehicle is known. This unit works exceptionally well after dark and can be implemented during these gang hours or early hours before dawn when thieves on bicycles circle neighborhoods looking for anything they can steal to buy drugs with.

Another advantage we can give law enforcement is to implement a new Drone IT Department that patrols all the city using drones. I know that drones are used sparsely now to help police, but what needs to be done is block by block drone policing. Each drone hovers about twelve feet off the ground and goes up and down each street (there can be many of these) every night from about eleven p.m. to five a.m. so that every person or vehicle can be followed or watched. Like I said, this may initially cost something, but using less fuel or vehicle maintenance, and other benefits like keeping our law enforcement from becoming sitting ducks is worth the price. There will also be less carbon pollution. The drones can also fly high enough to provide an overall view of the streets, etc. They can follow people or vehicles to see where they go, take video or pictures of them and check their database for recognition. If a non-citizen, the police will know, and patrol cars may be sent to detain and question the non-citizen as to their purpose for roaming the streets by vehicle or walking. So, if you have legitimate activity in the dead of night most likely the police will know exactly who you are, where you are going, and what your business is roaming around the city at these peak hours of lawlessness. This flood of drone piloted policing is a major deterrent to criminal activity and behavior in cities. You may also request from your police department a drone escort to follow you as you go to your destination within the city.

If you need to go to the hospital or such or are just visiting someone at night, the police will follow you to your destination as you are picked up on drone to make sure you are not gang activity people or burglars. No more drive-by shootings! No more smash and grabs! No more murderers in the city without knowing who did it if they walk or drive away from the scene! No more hit and runs! City parks will once again be safe places to visit or run! Also, this cuts down on human trafficking inside the cities. Using drones, police CAN know those people who go to work or are normal activity on the streets and who they may need to follow, take video of, or other policing. Every Drone IT Pilot learns who or what is normal activity in their block and can easily identify people in their area of drone patrol. They can send a patrol car or cars to detain and question suspicious vehicles like vans, trucks, etc. who did not pre-register before coming into the city. This pre-registration process, by license plate, does not guarantee the police will not stop you as you come into the city, rather it simply tells the police that you have legitimate business traveling around the city at night.

This new Surge Protection program and (IDS) units gives people the trust and confidence to help their police force by telling them who did what where and why they did it because the large police presence will become normal. People will feel better about giving information about crimes or may even begin to call the police whenever they hear about the possibility of criminal behavior or see it in person. The bonus is that people in the area moving around are also seen on video or streaming and may be questioned about a crime.

So, this solution may not seem very important to some, but to law enforcement frustrated by the real lack of manpower and inner police and communities' cooperation, especially police station to station or city to town, this can be the answer that solves the jurisdiction problems plaguing police departments nationwide.

© Copyright, Protect and Serve Solution, 7/1/2022, April Graves-Minton, Love MoonEagle. All Rights Reserved.