Israel Police, BGU Launch New AI, Cyber Center To Develop Crime-Fighting Tools

March 1, 2018 | Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the Israel Police have launched a new initiative to develop crime-fighting tools for law enforcement using artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and Big Data. According to a statement by the university, BGU researchers will work alongside police officers to develop these tool in the newly inaugurated Center for Computational Criminology. Israel Police Chief Roni Alsheikh said, “The Israel Police’s Cyber Unit, which was created to lead the national effort to combat cybercrime, will be collaborating with BGU’s cybersecurity experts to constantly improve the police’s enforcement and prevention capabilities, by staying at the cutting edge of technological developments in the field.” Prof. Lior Rokach, head of the new Center, Chair of the Department of Software and Information Systems Engineering, and a leading expert on artificial intelligence said, “The last, most significant scientific breakthrough to change law enforcement was DNA testing. Today, we are on the threshold of the next big breakthrough: analyzing big data to discover hidden patterns to predict and prevent crime. The AI revolution of the past few years will prove to be even more significant than DNA testing for law enforcement, providing them with unprecedented investigative tools and new sources of evidence.” BGU President Prof. Rivka Carmi said at the launch, “BGU is a recognized international leader in cybersecurity, IoT and Big Data research…The Center will bring together academic research expertise and the world of law enforcement to prevent crime in cyberspace and in general.”