Our digital landscape has more applications being introduced more quickly than ever before. It is very difficult to understand who can protect your data securely. Our everyday experience needs to be considered. According to a Gallup survey released in early 2023, these are our main concerns:
Economy:
- High cost of living, inflation
- Economy in general
- Fuel/oil prices
Non-Economic Issues:
- The Government/Poor Leadership
- Immigration
- Unifying the Nation
- Abortion
- Crime/Violence
- Poverty/Hunger/Homelessness
- Elections/Election Reform/Democracy
- Judicial System/Courts/Laws
- Race Relations/Racism
https://news.gallup.com/poll/1675/most-important-problem.aspx
Most of us, fortunately, do not live our lives in a hypervigilant state, waiting for a crime or emergency event to occur. But some of us will need support. We must bear in mind the shifts we have experienced in this post-COVID world, which is more fraught with physical and digital perils.
The National Commission on COVID-19 and criminal justice statistics show an increase in domestic violence in the U.S. by a little over 8 percent. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the financial impact of domestic violence ranges from individual to societal. They say the lifetime economic cost associated with medical services, lost productivity from paid work, criminal justice, and other costs, was $3.6 trillion!
Domestic violence, stalking, harassment, and sexual assault are among the most common calls for law enforcement response. There are often repeat calls to the same household and the violence can escalate over time. Sometimes there is clear-cut evidence for law enforcement to make an arrest and sometimes there’s not. No witnesses. No visible injuries.
So how can you use your own data to support yourself in your moment of need? Here are three situations:
- For Incident Response – Keeping a diary, photo, and video journals of notes on your phone and online in a HIPAA[1] and FBI CJIS[2] secure environment provides an evidence account prior to any incident that may occur. In the event of an emergency, your journal will already be on record if ever needed. Include key information, such as your medical conditions, your family members, pets, and other important information that you would want first responders to know.
- For the Investigation Process – Storing information only in your phone won’t help if your phone is lost, stolen, or destroyed. You need to store the information in a cloud-based secure environment that is HIPAA and CJIS compliant. Law Enforcement systems will be utilized to verify data provided by the system to ensure the accuracy of the data through the investigation process if a crime has occurred.
- For eDiscovery Support – The value of storing information and objective evidence securely will help the criminal justice process. “He-said / she-said” situations will be reduced. This will increase pleas, save time, and bring swift due process. Additionally, the pressure on the victim to be a part of the entire court process is reduced. With this evidence to support the entire case narrative, the district or state attorney can move forward with what the entire nation has been looking for – a safer community and a safer America.
At eBodyGuard we are building important bridges when you need help the most so your First Responders will be there for you when it critically matters. Reach out to us at
contact@ebodyguard.org to schedule a demo of our program in your community today.
[1] Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996(HIPAA) is a federal law that required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s
consent or knowledge.
[2] FBI CJIS (Criminal Justice Information Services) is the term used to refer to all the CJI Criminal Justice Information provided data necessary for law enforcement agencies to perform their mission and enforce the laws, including but not limited to biometric, identity history, person, organization, property (when accompanied by any personally identifiable information), and case/incident history data. In many instances, accompanying victim and witness data also needs protection.