New Technology May Help NYC Cut Crime, and Turn a Profit

Paul Harris, of The Guardian, reports on the City of New York's newest innovation in crime fighting. Developed with Microsoft, the aptly named 'Domain Awareness System' (DAS), centralizes information visually and geographically to, "allow a host of activities to be carried out, such as spotting a suspicious vehicle and being able to track its recent movements or use cameras to track back and see who left a suspicious package."

In addition to its crime fighting capabilities, New York City hopes to benefit from the new system in other ways. "Part of the deal with Microsoft will result in the city of New York taking a 30% cut on any profits that the computer firm gets from selling the technology to other cities in America or around the world," reports Harris. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg hopes the city can "make a few bucks," and serve as an example of how public agencies can work collaboratively with private firms to improve people's lives.