Will novel technologies aid deter criminal offense , or volition criminals exactly discover novel ways to commit crimes?
H5N1 reader writes opining that mayhap novel technologies , such every bit near-field , volition cutting downward on shoplifting together with trim crime. I am non so sure. It seems each novel technology scientific discipline mightiness cutting downward on one detail variety of crime but oftentimes creates terrifying novel kinds of criminal offense that are fifty-fifty harder to suppress.
I wrote before nearly my debit carte beingness stolen. It was a fascinating trip downward the rabbit-hole every bit I learned how a complex con was beingness pose on , alongside my debit carte beingness i cog inwards a giant bicycle of deception. And it involved the Internet , Western Union wire transfers , VoIP telephone lines , together with pre-paid debit cards - 3 of those technologies beingness relatively recent inwards nature. The con , run out of Russian Federation , would non receive got been possible inwards before days , every bit the criminals would receive got no way of reaching their victims.
The Internet , of course of pedagogy , has created whole novel kinds of crimes - legions of them. Everything from the basic Nigeran scam (which dates dorsum to the days of fax machines together with fifty-fifty letters) , to Craigslist scams , to reputation blackmail , keylogging scams (to steal banking information) to ransomware , to - good whatever they've idea upwards this calendar week inwards Russian Federation or China , or Nigeria or wherever. The Internet has created whole novel classes of crimes that are nearly impossible to police.
Or receive got a uncomplicated technology scientific discipline similar steering column locks. In the 1960's machine thefts were legion , together with Congress passed legislation mandating steering column locks (something that was on the Model-A Ford!) to trim theft together with thence trim insurance costs , which were getting out of hand. Of course of pedagogy , thieves institute ways exactly about this (a uncomplicated dent-puller could take away the lock cylinder together with y'all could start the machine alongside a screwdriver). So machine alarms were adjacent , together with thieves institute out how to disable those , or exactly ignored them , every bit people simply didn't pay attending to sirens going off inwards the big city. Car disablement devices (common on BMWs) or "immobilizers" were next. Thieves would exactly flat-bed the machine away.
Of course of pedagogy , the easiest way exactly about all of these theft-prevention devices is to but carjack. Put a gun inwards the owner's facial expression upwards together with need he exit of the car. You drive away alongside the keys. Of course of pedagogy , alongside machine titles , it is harder to register together with usage such a machine - or sell it. But some thieves institute that fifty-fifty VIN numbers could last swapped alongside an identical wrecked machine bought at auction , every bit illustrated inwards the prologue of the 1970's pic , gone inwards sixty seconds.
Many thieves institute that alongside expensive cars , it was to a greater extent than profitable to exactly "chop" them together with sell the parts - together with they parts were harder to trace. Car makers pose VIN numbers on fenders together with doors together with fifty-fifty window glass. It made no divergence - people would but take away the stickers or grind off the numbers. It is similar a game of chess , i side makes a movement , together with the other a counter-move.
And yes , machine theft is way downward today. But all the same people steal cars together with drive them to United Mexican States to sell , together with kids all the same joy-ride if they tin toilet either discover together with older machine alongside an easier to defeat ignition. Or they carjack.
And sometimes technology scientific discipline enables crime. We were supposed to acquire a novel air traffic command organization decades ago. Our existing organization relies on radar to rail planes , alongside each airplane providing a "transponder" which broadcasts its identification together with height inwards reply to beingness hitting yesteryear the radar beam. H5N1 proposed novel organization , ADS-B would rely on GPS , alongside each invention broadcasting its seat every bit good every bit height , speed , together with other data. It seemed similar a practiced bargain until 9/11.
After that , good , someone pointed out that it would non last difficult to "spoof" the organization yesteryear altering the ADS-B organization on a airplane so that it reported a unlike place , height , speed , or identification. The organization mightiness non realize a airplane was off-course until something real bad happened. Changes receive got been made to render redundancy together with mayhap ADS-B volition transcend a reality inwards the nigh future. The request is , y'all receive got to recollect similar a criminal - or a terrorist - to discover the holes inwards novel technology scientific discipline together with discover novel opportunities for crime.
Even something every bit stupid every bit a $10 laser-pointer tin toilet last used to attempt to blind a airplane pilot together with downward an aircraft. Our massive Interstate highway organization is a modern marvel of transportation , until a 14-year-old decides to drib bricks off the overpass together with kills some Mother on her way dwelling household from work. New technologies , novel terrors. And it has been going on for some fourth dimension now. Bonnie together with Clyde wouldn't receive got succeeded every bit long every bit they did without the Ford Model H5N1 together with the flathead V-8. He fifty-fifty wrote a alphabetic lineament to Henry Ford , praising the machine for its getaway uses.
In the United Kingdom of Great Britain together with Northern Ireland they receive got cameras everywhere which helps them create do criminal offense , or at to the lowest degree catch people i time the criminal offense has been committed. We don't receive got so many of these inwards the United States of America because of "privacy concerns" - champaign what street y'all walk downward is a nation hush-hush here. But terrorists are non deterred yesteryear police clit cameras - they exclusively render the horrific documentation of a terrorist assault , which truly helps their drive , every bit people are terrorized yesteryear such after-the-fact videos. Suicide bombers are non worried nearly beingness "caught" unless it is before they tin toilet behave out their crimes.
The RFID together with near-field technologies would appear to aid deter shoplifting together with crime. The clever "stealth" shoplifter who conceals items on his wearable together with slips out of a store - exclusively to render the trade for cash or store credit , is having a harder fourth dimension every bit I discussed. Store cameras grab him inwards the deed , together with store safety tin toilet tap him on the shoulder together with detain him.
But that doesn't halt the "brute force" attack. People grab armloads of goods together with but run out of the store. Store safety doesn't chase the thieves every bit if the thief knocks downward a customer the client volition sue the store for injuries. Or fifty-fifty the thief volition sue. So the "smash together with grab" technique has transcend real pop alongside shoplifters. Stealth together with deception are out , animate beingness strength is in. And all this high-tech doesn't deter animate beingness force.
And I recollect some of this "tech" could backfire inwards a big way. For representative , some jail cellular telephone phones rely on your finger impress to activate. If someone steals your jail cellular telephone phone , they can't usage it without your finger. Of course of pedagogy , some thieves mightiness exactly create upwards one's heed to cut off your finger or concur a gun to your caput together with strength y'all to unlock the phone. The same is truthful for ATMs. Again , all the high-tech inwards the globe mightiness deter the pickpocket who uses stealth , but non the criminal who puts a gun inwards your face.
And of course of pedagogy , many if non most crimes are non for turn a profit but crimes of passion. Technology mightiness aid us grab such criminals , but non halt such crimes. Someone shoots their husband or lover or challenger or foe , together with in that place isn't much y'all tin toilet do to halt this. You tin toilet exclusively build clean upwards afterwards the fact , collect show , receive got witness statements together with attempt to discover the perpetrator. Usually its the guy standing over the trunk alongside the gun.
Self-driving cars mightiness pose an terminate to speeders , reckless drivers , texters , drunkard drivers , every bit good every bit trim the discover of accidents. But i time to a greater extent than , thieves together with terrorists volition figure out novel ways to spoof technology scientific discipline to create crimes or horror. H5N1 terrorist could fill upwards a self-driving machine alongside explosives (or flora them nether the hood) together with laid it off to a crowded destination. Suicide bombers without the suicide. And if y'all programmed 10 or xx or 100 to transcend off exactly about the same time.....
So how do y'all create that? Put cameras inwards the cars? Motion detectors? Would people stand upwards for that? Surely someone is thinking nearly these things.
H5N1 self-driving machine could last used every bit a getaway vehicle , I suppose , but computers would receive got to last programmed to rail the paths of cars (again , privacy concerns). H5N1 bank-robber gets into a self-driving machine together with speeds away. No i gets the license number. How do y'all rail it? Under today's laws , you'd receive got to transcend to a estimate together with acquire a search warrant for Uber's information files , hire v programmers to transcend through it together with discover out where the machine went. By so the crooks are long gone. And if they changed cars several times en route , good that could complicate things.
This isn't difficult to do.
What nearly drones? Couldn't the police clit usage them to deter crime? Sure they can. And criminals together with terrorists tin toilet usage them to cause crime. Drone-mounted guns are already a thing , together with could last used to rob or murder someone by remote control. How tin toilet y'all outrun an armed drone? You can't. You exactly manus over your wallet , mayhap to a minute drone together with promise for the best. Terrorists are already dropping bombs via drones. People are dropping drugs together with other contraband into prisons via drone. This novel technology scientific discipline may create to a greater extent than crimes than it deters.
If technology scientific discipline is to deter criminal offense it is inwards providing a ameliorate touchstone of living for everyone. Crime decreases when people are better-off , which is i argue criminal offense has dropped so dramatically since the 1970's inwards America. But this also way nosotros receive got to await at novel technologies together with recollect to ourselves , what would an evil soul do alongside this? And so figure out ways to foreclose such technology scientific discipline from beingness used for evil purposes.
I am non encouraged. The Internet today is used every bit a recruitment tool for ISIS together with other terrorist groups. For some argue , nosotros are unable to police clit ISIS videos on the Internet , although nosotros appear to last able to close downward other illegal activities such every bit copyright infringement , drug sales , together with tyke porn. I am non certain why a beheading video is protected "free speech" at all. Maybe nosotros are taking our "rights" a petty also far.
And therein lies the rub. Technology creates all sorts of human problems together with the easiest way to curb these abuses is to boundary our freedoms - our correct to privacy beingness the offset casualty , our correct to costless spoken communication beingness the second. That inwards plough ties our hands , every bit people acquire upwards inwards arms nearly "surveillance" every bit the NSA tries to rail terrorists together with other types of criminals. To some extent , these concerns are valid , inwards other cases , less so. To listen some people tell it , people receive got a correct to commit crimes , provided they are non caught. I'm non so certain I'd continue alongside that one.
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