Conclusions: The Journey
to Digitized Public Safety
“The future of public safety will rely increasingly on digital intelligence and use of data analytics to drive the trend towards incident prevention and safer societies.”
The future of public safety will rely increasingly on digital intelligence and use of data analytics to drive the trend towards incident prevention and safer societies. The leaders of the future will be those that can navigate the convergence of IT with OT in the age of integration.
The Components of Success for Digital Security
“Achieving powerful and positive outcomes will depend on stakeholders taking a long-term view
of the future, putting customers first and opening up to real collaboration.”
• Change must be incremental and technologies must be interoperable and integrated to achieve this long-term vision
• Development of technology will lead to a data-led approach to security;
ensure this is stored, managed and disseminated correctly
• Foster collaboration between end users and suppliers to fill the operational gap with emerging technologies
• Ensure that all technology systems and processes are cyber hardened and resilient from the start
• Put the customer first in all future scenarios. Understand what the customers' real problems are and demonstrate how technology is going to solve these issues
• Engage with all stakeholders and value chain players to bring a culture of collaboration, co-creation and open innovation
• Recognise that the ultimate goal is to support customers on a business transformation journey towards a
new future; digitising security is not
simply a technology project
• Communicate the public safety vision from government to top leadership of public safety organisations
• Strong leadership and project management of technological change is critical
• Encourage greater multi-agency collaboration across security organisations, both nationally and internationally, through sharing data and resources
• Do not underestimate the impact of new technology and processes on operational officers; training and support is vital to success
Public safety agencies will continue to face internal and external challenges, and the task to protect cities, businesses and citizens will not get easier. However, the evolution over the next 10 years will provide opportunities for them to become better prepared and equipped to detect, prevent and respond to incidents and events, creating safer and more prosperous societies.
This can be done on the backdrop of providing a more efficient and cost-effective service to the public with investment in technology to improve everyday operations through better planning and streamlined processes.
For example, the United Kingdom has led the way and uses some of the most advanced technology available in the market. An analysis of eight out of 43 police forces across the country that issued smart devices, including tablets and smartphones, showed improved productivity. Officers increased their patrol times between 37 minutes to 2 hours per shift. Enabling the officers to be out of the stations, dealing with paperwork and processing on the move, allows them to spend more time engaging with the community and has clear operational benefits.
"If this was applied to all 122,000 operational police officers in the UK with an increase of one hour per shift out on patrol, this could equate to an additional 24 million hours of police patrols per year or the equivalent of an extra 8,000 police officers."
In addition, this provides not only better efficiencies, but also a better service to the public. Officers will have more information to help solve and prosecute crimes, whilst also being able to focus on victim support. Having more time and better tools allows them to better reassure victims and the public that they are able to respond to incidents in a timely and effective manner, thereby fostering a greater sense of security throughout communities. This will be the cornerstone of development, economic prosperity and increasing the quality of lives in the wider society.
Of course, this type of implementation and change is not straightforward, but the benefits far outweigh the risks. Public safety agencies throughout the world will need to continue to develop their digital roadmaps and drive forward initiatives that will better prepare them for the challenges that they face in the future. This will enable them to provide greater security and will ensure safer societies across the world.
Hitachi in Public Safety
Hitachi—a global pioneer of Social Innovation as a value proposition for over 100 years—has Social Innovation Business at the centre of its mission, values and vision.
Specific to public safety, Hitachi’s goal related to Social Innovation Business is to provide solutions that better protect citizens across the world through connected intelligence. Providing greater situational awareness and investigative insights through the Hitachi Visualization Suite, Video Management Platform and Video Analytics packages enables public safety officials to maintain safer streets.
The uniqueness of the Hitachi contribution in public safety comes from its vision to put society first and look to the future, where there will be continuing convergence of infrastructure, technology and new customer-centric business models. Hitachi’s focus on Social Innovation will enable it to focus on the sustainability, safety and efficiency of cities and communities in the future, while also enhancing the security and well-being of citizens.
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