Police Struggle to Keep Tabs on 'Flash Mobs'

From:
Officer.com
By ERIC TUCKER and THOMAS WATKINS
Associated Press
August 9, 2011


Rioters in London and elsewhere have been turning to Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools to stay one step ahead of the police.  Read more.


Comment: Twitter and Facebook are just the latest version of large groups using modern mobile technologies to do evil - something that started with the basic cellphone (example: Mankato State riot of 2006).  And unless response forces have at their disposal real time situational awareness tools like a Common Operating Picture (COP) (geospatial visualization) or a Blue Force Tracker system, they are at a distinct disadvantage when dealing with these types of situations because of the dynamic, fast moving nature of the events.  In addition, the inherent need to quickly introduce additional forces from outside the jurisdiction means many of the responders are without geographic knowledge of the place they are being brought in to protect.  Verbal communication via radios is simply not powerful enough to manage a situation like this - instead, highly mobile geospatial visualization systems are needed.
 

Taken to the extreme, when an incident like the rioting in London gets out of hand due to the lack of situational awareness on the part of law enforcement, taxpayers can be left with a hefty bill.  Indications from the London riots point toward 10's of millions of dollars in damage.  On the flip side, the city of Los Angeles, CA was forced to pay out over $13.0 million dollars to protesters over excessive use of force after police officers lost situational awareness (and control) of a gathering in MacArthur Park on May 1st, 2007.  The geospatial "ounce of prevention" for these types of losses, would have cost a whole lot less.

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MnGeo EPC on LinkedIN

Come join the EPC on LinkedIN!  You'll find us here: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3746526.

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FEMA Director Craig Fugate at the ESRI Users Conference

Social media, U.S. National Grid and more.  Go here: http://www.esri.com/events/feduc/index.html.

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Four Social Media Sites Open to Employees Jan. 3 - Mn/DOT

“Four social media sites open to employees Jan. 3

Employees will have access to four social media sites starting Jan. 3—Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Linkedin. These sites will no longer be blocked by filters, which means employees will be able to access them from work computers. “This move opens up possibilities for innovation, community involvement and collaboration that we have only begun to imagine,” said Nick Thompson, Policy Analysis, Research & Innovation director. There also are opportunities in social media beyond personal communications, according to Bob Filipczak, social media coordinator. “Social media can open up opportunities for employees to expand their professional network and reach out to a larger community,” Filipczak said. “For example, other state DOTs have Facebook pages that employees can follow and learn from. Professional networks on Linkedin can give employees an easy way to establish ongoing connections with peers across the country.” A social media policy is currently in place, as well as expectations and advice about using the sites. This information will be located on the iHUB in the coming weeks.” Ref: http://www.newsline.dot.state.mn.us/articles.html#7

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