Police tracking software use ‘deeply concerning’

Privacy groups have raised concerns over police use of software designed to map suspects' digital movements.

The Metropolitan police has invested in Geotime, which tracks an individual's movements by collating data from social networking sites, mobile phones, IP network logs and satellite navigation equipment, the Guardian reported.

The ability to build up such a comprehensive record of any person's movements represents a significant threat to personal privacy.

The software, which uses a 3D graphic to show the suspect's movements, has previously been used by the US military.

"The police's decision to adopt technology designed for theatres of war in order to track members of the public is deeply concerning," Daniel Hamilton, director of the Big Brother Watch, told IT PRO.

"The ability to build up such a comprehensive record of any person's movements represents a significant threat to personal privacy. The Metropolitan Police must reassure the public that this technology will be used in only the most serious of cases, not as everyday crime-fighting tool."

Users of the software are able to interact with the data collected by Geotime, which animates activities showing time and location simultaneously.

"GeoTime lets analysts follow objects, see movement, show transactions and relationships, understand sequence and see cause and effect," creator Oculus' website reads.

"Analysts can see patterns of behavior not previously possible and enables them to interactively gain insight into many thousands of events and transactions."

The Met was unable to confirm whether the software would be used in investigations into public order offences. At the current time the Met is testing out ways it might use Geotime and has not started tracking suspects with it, a spokesperson told the Guardian.

Last year it emerged two police forces in the UK were trialling IBM predictive analytics software which many compared to the technology used in the Sci-Fi film Minority Report.