In a city as big as New York, police units need all the help they can get to arrest criminals and prevent future crimes from happening. Technological innovations that are continuing to be introduced at a rapid speed are helping to thwart the amount of all types of crimes from taking place. In fact, just last year there were only 414 homicides reported in the metropolis - a number that is said to the lowest accounted for since 1963.

One of the major factors leading to this decreased number of brutal crimes is said to be the Domain Awareness System, created in conjunction by technology genius Microsoft and the New York Police Department . In a recent video shown on The Telegraph website, the next-generation dashboard was described as a much more organized way to keep track of key information including arrest records, emergency 911 calls, videos and pictures from nearly 3,000 security cameras, license plate readers and portable radiation detectors. Once received, the information is extremely easy to sort through and officers can access it while on-the-go from their vehicles.

September 11, 2001 marks the day the Big Apple was attacked by terrorists and thousands of mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughter, grandmothers and grandfathers lives were stolen from them. As a preventative measure to prevent any tragedy like this from every happening again, the intuitive and simple to use alert panel can display information in regards to events taking place to counter terrorism experts. Say for instance, a 911 call is placed and the caller states they have noticed a suspicious package, the call will immediately appear on the dashboard. When the cop then views the alert and clicks on it, they can zoom in on the exact location via strategically placed cameras near the exact address. 

The software was built from the ground up, taking nearly four years to work out all of its kinks. Officially starting to be leveraged by those who promise who protect the public a mere six months ago, in that time frame some pretty significant results have already been seen, which could in turn prompt law enforcement agencies throughout the country to want to use this system as well. This is great news for the NYPD, which could make millions of dollars if the software is leveraged by other organizations.

This offering is not the only one like it on the market though. Just take a look at SAP HANA, a product designed from the ground up to assist officers in getting the crucial information they need right away that pertains to all types of incidents. Touted as an in-memory computing platform, the offering can closely monitor incoming data, which is then visible through the SAP mobile platform. 

"We're giving heroes with smartphones more complete data at superhuman speed, and this has an impact on lives in a way that is very powerful," said Steven Birdsall, senior vice president and general manager of SAP Rapid Deployment Solutions. "With more than 75 rapid-deployment solutions available, we are offering pre-assembled, easy-to-consume answers to real problems."

Columbitech’s solutions PolicePad and FireTab can enable police and fire fighters alike in desolate locales to look at 911 calls, warrants, vehicle registration, driver information, sex offenders and other persons of interest, fire hydrants and hazardous materials mappings from a VPN (virtual private network). Both of these products are fully compatible with iPad, iPhone and Android devices.

Before perpetrators decide to go against the law, they may want to think twice as technology will likely get them thrown behind bars in record time.