In 2015, three schoolmates who graduated in the same year started to work for the Public Security Bureau in Suzhou’s Wujiang district. One is a community police officer, the second a traffic officer, and the third is a patrol officer. They have different tasks and the regions under their jurisdiction are far apart. And, due to their heavy workloads, they are usually overworked and don’t have many opportunities to get together.

Can New Technologies Make Ideas Come True?

In August 2016, they met at a training session with new, dedicated network terminals that use broadband trunking. They exchanged greetings and chatted excitedly, but also complained about their work.

“I have to move around the community every day,” said the first friend. “After returning to the office, I need to import endless records into the system platform. Community policing is so complex.”

“I direct traffic on the road and punish various violations every day,” said the second friend. “In case of a large-scale security task, I need to divert traffic. Working outside all day can be very hot, but at least I’ve got a great tan.” “Me, too,” said the third friend. “I have to stand outside for over 10 hours every day and check uncountable passengers and vehicles. The most difficult job is taking people to the office to compare their identities on the computer. The people concerned are usually resistant and then disputes occur. I can’t complain about it; I just have to accept the situation.”

The training session soon started; the trainer described the dedicated broadband trunking network system project that was being built based on Huawei’s new ICT technologies. After extensive surveys and verification based on the requirements of police practices, project plans included a dedicated 4G-LTE wireless broadband network system for 114 base stations that would cover 1,176 square kilometers of Wujiang district. What’s more, a converged command platform would be developed to integrate video, audio, and data with GIS. Transmission speeds would be higher, and wider bandwidth would accommodate more communications traffic. More than 1,000 multimedia terminals would be configured to integrate multiple practical policing applications and improve the convenience and practicability of the devices.

Devices would include mobile policing terminals, walkie-talkies, law enforcement recorders, terminals for locating people, and identity card readers. The goal was to help resolve many problems with frontline police service equipment, such as various types of single-function terminals that required complex management.

After the session, the three friends were excited about using the new technology and hoped it would improve their efficiency.

Advanced Technology Creates Dividends for Police

Since the training session, the dedicated broadband trunking network based on Huawei’s new ICT technologies has been used by the police for nearly one year; its applications work well and are considered irreplaceable — and provide major dividends for the police. After the project was completed, frontline police officers in Wujiang used the Huawei 820 mobile policing terminals to inspect over 450,000 people and more than 80,000 vehicles. The command center handled many security events through visualized command and dispatch. The police officers also maintained security for large-scale events, including the 2016 G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China, an international energy conference in 2016, and a bicycle race around Taihu Lake.

One day in September 2016, our patrol police officer was inspecting people and vehicles entering a checkpoint, with sweat streaming down his back.

“Sir, please show me your ID card,” he said. Saluting with one hand, the officer held the newly distributed Huawei 820 mobile policing terminal in the other. When he put the ID card on the 820 terminal, the ID card number, name, and personal information were displayed and automatically compared with people in the database. After several seconds, an ‘all clear’ report popped up on the terminal screen.

The entire process took less than 30 seconds. Previously, at least 5 minutes were needed when patrol officers used indoor computers. Soon afterwards, the patrol officer and another officer in a mobile command vehicle noticed that traffic at the checkpoint was quite light. The emergency command vehicle can accommodate 17 people for a meeting and wirelessly receive video conferencing and on-site videos, meeting the requirements of command, dispatching, patrolling, and mobile incident reception and handling.

To discover the reasons for the less-than-normal vehicle flow, the officer in the command vehicle ordered that drones be released to check the situation on the road. The drones quickly transmitted on-site video images back to the command vehicle. The images indicated that two vehicles had collided at a spot two kilometers from the checkpoint and blocked the road. The officer then dispatched nearby patrol and traffic police to the scene of the accident.

The officers received information about the accident on their 820 terminals. The police cleared the cars to the side of the road and alleviated the traffic jam, while transmitting live video to the command center. Tickets were issued through their terminals. It took only 20 minutes to handle the traffic accident on site.

These cases were examples in miniature of Wujiang police officers’ more efficient policing, using Huawei’s new ICT technologies, including the dedicated broadband trunking network and mobile terminals.

Implementing Cutting-edge Technologies for Policing Applications

As Wujiang and Huawei have continued their collaboration, the latest ICT technologies have been implemented in a series of Safe City and Smart City solutions. But more is needed. Wujiang district and its Public Security Bureau are looking forward to building an interconnected, instrumented, and intelligent new policing model, implementing integrated policing operations and, finally, establishing a new police ecosystem that carries out intelligent forecasting, warnings, and prevention. Huawei’s Joint Innovation Laboratory has become a sound platform for in-depth cooperation in order to provide more new, cutting-edge ICT technologies.