Communications of the ACM
Tracking Crime in Real Time
Tel Aviv University researchers are using digital activities to catch criminals and strengthen homeland security efforts against terrorists.
The researchers developed context-based search algorithms that analyze digital data in real time. The algorithms take pieces of information, such as phone calls, emails, or credit card transactions, and reduce them to a set of random variables.
All of the communications are actually pieces of a longer message waiting to be decoded, according to Tel Aviv University professor Irad Ben-Gal. Once the various information pieces are entered into the system, the algorithm can assess patterns of crime to predict future movements and create a probability map showing the criminals' possible locations.
The probability map is divided into zones where the subject is likely to operate. Each zone is given a statistical likelihood of the subject's presence, and each new piece of information can instantly change a zone's probability. The algorithms can help officials wisely use any available information, Ben-Gal says.
From American Friends of Tel Aviv University
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Abstracts Copyright © 2011 Information Inc. 
, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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