Intrasoft International proudly participates in the INSPEC2T project with the roles of Technical Manager and Integrator. The project, which is funded by the European Commission, aims to enhance community policing actions by inspiring citizens’ participation.

INSPEC2T (Inspiring CitizeNS Participation for Enhanced Community PoliCing AcTions) intends to develop a sustainable framework for Community Policing that effectively addresses and promotes seamless collaboration between the police and the community. Dr George Leventakis, co-ordinator of the project, explained further the features and the targets of INSPEC2T in the latest issue of the EU Researcher Magazine.

According to Dr Leventakis, effective communication is central to community policing programmes, helping build trust between citizens and law enforcement agencies. The authorities are keen to apply modern technology to community policing, an issue that lies at the core of the project’s research agenda. The common thread across community policing programmes is the need for efficient communication between citizens and the police, which can help ensure the police operate in a way that reflects local priorities.

INSPEC2T project aims to fulfill this need by designing, developing and testing a set of technology applications. One important component is a mobile application for two-way communication, based on existing social media platforms, which will provide an effective way of reporting information. “With our mobile application people won’t have to ring an emergency number, they can instantly text the details of an event, or send a picture or video.” The application also offers protection against hoaxers providing misinformation. “We can correlate events and information. In order to validate information, we need proof from other people and other sources,” explains Dr Leventakis.

More applications on the way

Researchers are also developing several other technology applications and modules to further enhance community policing. This includes a public portal with almost the same functionalities as the mobile application, a private portal for LEAs, and interface to Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems for bidirectional information exchange. They are also working on Case Based Reasoning and Multimedia Analytics, aiming to provide tools to the Police for analyzing information.

This allows the police to target their resources more efficiently, an important consideration at a time of economic uncertainty when law enforcement budgets are being squeezed. There are clear operational benefits for the police from this system, yet this must also be balanced with a respect for civil liberties. Alongside their technical work in developing the system, Dr Leventakis says the project also considers the wider social and legislative context in which it will be used and protects the individual liberty and freedom of expression.

The project is funded by the European Commission, under the “H2020-FCT-2014 Ethical/Societal Dimension Topic 2: Enhancing cooperation between law enforcement agencies and citizens - Community policing” call. The INSPEC2T team has prepared and presented prototypes and some mock-ups to its stakeholder advisory group and the external expert panel and now is moving into the development and implementation phase.

You can read the full article of EU Researcher Magazine about INSPEC2T project here: http://inspec2t-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/INSPEC2T_H_Res.pdf