By Joshua Lee
Law enforcement agencies amass staggering volumes of data daily. An average police officer generates 20GB of video footage monthly and is tasked with writing several reports and supplemental reports during the same month.
These reports include a broad spectrum of information, including video and photographic evidence, witness testimonies, intricate diagrams from 3D scanners, data extractions from electronic devices and forensic laboratory results. Detectives investigating sex, internet and organized crimes may gather terabytes of information during an investigation, and all this information needs to be reviewed, sorted, organized and analyzed.
In today’s data-rich landscape, the transformation of raw data into actionable insights remains a challenging undertaking. Traditionally, intelligence analysts spend lots of time compiling data from various sources and manually correlating and analyzing it in hopes of finding that needle-in-the-haystack piece of data needed for a case. This process is time-consuming and prone to errors. It also requires specialized expertise that many departments do not have.
This article delves into the three key challenges law enforcement agencies encounter when dealing with big data and explores how Cognyte’s NEXYTE decision intelligence platform offers innovative solutions to these challenges.
Challenge 1: Data volume and complexity
One of the most pressing issues facing law enforcement agencies today is the sheer volume and complexity of data. As the world becomes increasingly digital, the amount of data generated has grown exponentially. Criminal investigations now involve data from many sources, including smartphones, social media and surveillance cameras. This data deluge can overwhelm agencies and certainly can overwhelm the analyst.
Mark Massop, North America’s Vice President of Sales for Cognyte’s NEXYTE, explains that many agencies use several databases spread across a department: “The challenge is that you have all this disparate data sitting in disparate silos.”
Data spread across an agency fragments it. NEXYTE’s approach involves marrying critical data elements from various systems. Instead of sifting through entire records, NEXYTE focuses on extracting the essential information required for investigations and analysis. This approach streamlines the process and prevents duplication of effort.
Another challenge is that this siloed data consists of structured and unstructured types. Structured data, like data gathered by RMS and CAD, is nice and clear and typically comes out in rows and columns. It is relatively easy to assemble and sort through. But what about video, audio, text messages, witness statements, and social media information? These data types are unstructured and much more difficult to sort and analyze.
The game-changer in NEXYTE’s approach to data analytics is artificial intelligence (AI). Mark explained that AI algorithms are leveraged to analyze and extract valuable insights from the data. AI automates data extraction, enabling agencies to focus on higher-level analysis and investigation. NEXYTE effortlessly pulls structured and unstructured data from disparate sources, including natural language processing (NLP), OCR data extraction, speech recognition and video. This automation saves valuable time and ensures that no critical piece of evidence goes unnoticed.
Challenge 2: Data standardization and interoperability
Law enforcement agencies must manage data in various formats, structures and languages. Different data sources often use incompatible systems and protocols, creating a significant obstacle to effective data analysis. Additionally, interoperability issues can hamper collaboration between different agencies, leading to data silos and missed opportunities for joint investigations.
NEXYTE tackles this challenge by providing a unified platform for data analysis. Mark explained its advanced technology uses AI and machine learning to harmonize data from diverse sources into a single, coherent format. This standardization enables law enforcement agencies to combine and analyze data seamlessly, fostering collaboration and information sharing across different organizations.
Challenge 3: Data security and access control
Data security is paramount in law enforcement, given the sensitivity of the information involved. Access to data must be tightly controlled to protect privacy and prevent unauthorized use. However, managing data security and access control becomes more complex when dealing with data from various technology platforms.
The NEXYTE platform takes data security seriously. It offers robust security protocols, policies and permissions to ensure that only authorized personnel can access sensitive information. By providing a secure environment for data analysis, NEXYTE enables analysts to work confidently with data from various sources, knowing that privacy and security are maintained.
NEXYTE’s valued features and benefits
The NEXYTE decision intelligence platform stands out in law enforcement technology due to its unique features and benefits. Here are some of the aspects that customers appreciate the most:
- Efficiency: NEXYTE enables the automation of data collection and analysis, reducing the time analysts spend on tedious tasks. This efficiency allows them to focus on higher-level analysis, ultimately leading to more effective investigations.
- Comprehensive data enrichment: NEXYTE automatically extracts and correlates metadata from various media types, including text, images, audio and video. This broad spectrum of data enrichment tools ensures that no piece of evidence goes unnoticed and is something that sets NEXYTE apart from competitors. Mark explained, “When agencies deal with unstructured data, they normally have to jump to third-party solutions, then bring the data back to the core system [to complete the analysis].” With NEXYTE, everything is done in the same system without bouncing back and forth from each program.
- Real-time collaboration: NEXYTE facilitates real-time collaboration within and across agencies. Its widget-based single-pane-of-glass display offers a user-friendly environment for data exploration and immediate insights, enhancing teamwork and information sharing.
- Integration with third-party providers: NEXYTE seamlessly integrates with third-party providers, such as Thomson Reuters CLEAR, to further enhance data fusion and enrichment. This flexibility allows agencies to adapt to evolving investigative needs and quickly analyze data to gather actionable intelligence.
Conclusion
In the face of ever-evolving threats and the exponential growth of data, law enforcement agencies must embrace modern technology solutions to remain effective. The NEXYTE decision intelligence platform offers a compelling solution to the challenges posed by big data in law enforcement.
By automating their data collection, standardizing formats, ensuring data security and enabling real-time collaboration, NEXYTE empowers agencies to make better, more informed decisions and enhance public safety. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, platforms like NEXYTE represent the future of law enforcement intelligence by providing A-to-Z analytics.
To try an interactive demo and to learn more, visit Cognyte.com.
About the author
Joshua Lee is an active-duty police sergeant for the City of Mesa (Arizona) Police Department. Before promoting, Joshua served five years as a patrol officer and six years as a detective with the Organized Crime Section investigating civil asset forfeiture, white-collar financial crime, and cryptocurrency crimes.