The most frightening technology used by law enforcement! From software capable of recognizing your voice and facial features to first-responder drones that can analyze a crime scene.


#6 Shot Detection

One of the biggest red flags indicating the need for an immediate, emergency response is the sound of gunfire. Nothing sends officers into action like the announcements of “shots fired!” echoing across radio dispatch. But in major cities, where city streets can be clustered with traffic, bystanders and any number of other random factors, reaching a potential crime scene quick enough to catch predators can prove challenging. Hoping to cut out the middle man, some police departments have begun implementing technology capable of detecting gunfire and pinpointing the location of its origin. Commonly referred to as ShotSpotter for the California-based leader in this technology, this shot-detecting invention can easily be installed on everyday streetlights around populated areas. Appearing in the form of small metal boxes, ShotSpotters host sensitive speakers that absorb and analyze the ambient sound of city streets, scanning for any semblance of gunshot before recording the source’s approximate distance and location. Once recorded, the data is transferred to nearby police stations within a minute of the shot’s occurrence. In Fresno, California, this tech has already been put to great use as it assisted officers in 2017 with apprehending an armed shooter just 4 minutes and 13 seconds after firing his initial shot.

#5 Stingrays

For the past 2 decades, the vast majority of Americans have grown more and more accustomed to making smartphones integral parts of their everyday lives. As such, phone usage has become a crucial means to track suspects and gather evidence of illegal activity. But tapping phones can be a lengthy, bureaucratic process. Authorities must first obtain a wiretap order, similar to a warrant, in order to gain legal approval to record and monitor the conversations of citizens. On top of that, these wiretap orders come with restrictions such as time limits to ensure officers can’t simply keep listening to your private calls forever. However, there’s still plenty of information to gather from cell phone usage without ever needing to tap a line, and accessing this information can be done without ever needing a wiretap order. This is where Stingray comes in. These devices are mobile stations that mimic cell phone towers and trick your phone into connecting to them as if they were part of your cellular network. Once connected, the Stingrays will record metadata such as the phone’s location and time of usage, entering the information into a database to use similar to fingerprints. Police departments and federal agencies have been using this technology for some time to much success, despite the protests of civil liberty groups that claim these devices violate the Freedom of Information Act.