This article was taken from the April 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Ray Purdy and Ray Harris use satellite imagery to assist criminal investigations. Since launching their Air & Space Evidence agency in the UK last year, the specialists in law and Earth observation have worked on 30 enquiries, including cases in Mexico, Nigeria and Chile, ranging from murders to planning disputes; seven have turned into full-scale investigations. "Most cases require data over a particular month, season or even year," says Purdy. For instance, the National Trust of Ireland wanted help on a case about a farmer covering a wetland with grass so their animals had more to eat. "They claimed it was planning exempt because they did it years ago, but we could tell it was done over a two-month time period in 2014. It wasn't there in July, but it was in September."
Some of their investigations aren't so fruitful. They were asked to help solve a murder in the US, but no images had been archived, and a 3am caravan burglary was a lost cause due to darkness. "Satellite companies will only archive the images they think people will buy," says Purdy. "But new constellations from companies like Planet Labs and Skybox give us more chances at bites of the apple." Criminals, watch out; Big Brother just got a lot bigger.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
