RESTON, Va., Jan. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 90 percent of
residents of four major U.S. cities are willing to use online
digital media to submit evidence to law enforcement agencies,
suggesting the need for more interactive platforms to promote the
exchange of information between police and citizens, according to a
new "Safe Cities" survey sponsored by Unisys Corporation (NYSE:
UIS).
The global survey, conducted by research company YouGov, queried
a total of nearly 4,000 respondents in 10 cities around the world
to gauge their attitudes on a wide range of security-related
issues. The U.S. cities covered by the survey were Chicago, Dallas, Los
Angeles and Philadelphia.
Cities outside of the U.S. covered by the survey were Amsterdam, Mexico
City, Rome, Sao Paolo,
Singapore and Sydney.
U.S. city dwellers, like those surveyed in other countries,
registered a high level of willingness to use online media to help
law enforcement agencies combat crime – with 89 percent stating
they would be willing to submit evidence digitally in some form.
Further, 79 percent of U.S. respondents said they would be willing
to submit digital photos to law enforcement to use as evidence, and
65 percent would be willing to provide evidence via text
messaging.
"This survey shows that people in U.S. cities want two-way
interaction with law enforcement agencies," said Mark Forman, global head, Unisys Public Sector.
"With today's Smart Cities initiatives, police departments often
invest in digital technologies for one-way activities like
surveillance of city streets and mining social media. This survey
indicates that citizens want a secure and reliable two-way street
for interaction with police, where citizens can communicate
directly using the digital tools they have at their fingertips,
such as smart phones, while retaining a degree of control over how
and when they engage with law enforcement."
The new survey provides additional insight to the findings of
the 2017 Unisys Security Index survey, which indicated a growing
concern over physical and cyber security threats.
The new Safe Cities survey found that nearly two-thirds of
Americans would upload evidence on a crime that had just taken
place (61 percent), but only 37 percent would allow police to
access their PCs to investigate a crime. At the same time, large
percentages of U.S. respondents were worried that their messages to
police would not reach the right person (44 percent) or that the
government's technology might fail (42 percent).
And while 60 percent of respondents in the four U.S. cities
surveyed support police use of facial recognition and video
surveillance for public safety, only 37 percent said they would be
willing to accept more government surveillance and monitoring in
order to achieve significantly greater personal security.
"The results of this survey tell us that police and other public
safety and service agencies should embrace technologies that enable
more communication methods and means with the public," said Forman.
"This can have numerous positive effects, such as improved overall
relationships and increased case clearance rates. However, they
must be used wisely and with an understanding that public trust
will necessarily limit the scope and types of devices that will be
acceptable."
To download our report on the global survey results and for more
information on Unisys Safe Cities solutions, go to
www.unisys.com/safecities.
About Unisys
Unisys is a global information technology
company that specializes in providing industry-focused solutions
integrated with leading-edge security to clients in the government,
financial services and commercial markets. Unisys offerings include
security solutions, advanced data analytics, cloud and
infrastructure services, application services and application and
server software. For more information, visit www.unisys.com.
Follow Unisys on Twitter and LinkedIn.
RELEASE NO.: 0109/9560
Unisys and other Unisys products and services mentioned herein,
as well as their respective logos, are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Unisys Corporation. Any other brand or product
referenced herein is acknowledged to be a trademark or registered
trademark of its respective holder.
UIS-C
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/most-americans-want-to-interact-online-with-law-enforcement-with-nearly-90-percent-open-to-sharing-evidence-via-digital-channels---unisys-survey-300579137.html
SOURCE Unisys Corporation