The system can gatherdata from security cameras, license-plate readers, radiation detectors and 911 calls and hunt through dozens of existing law-enforcement databases for related information.
Eventually Higg ratings will translate to consumer labels, but the Coalition is being careful to test the index, gatherdata, and refine the system before delving into anything consumer-facing.
Conservationists hope that this system will let them gatherdata on animal behavior that could prove to be useful for academic purposes as well as boosting tourism activities.
The Labor Department, for instance, uses a lockup system in which reporters with media credentials gather before 8 a.m. and receive data on the promise they won't publish before the embargo lifts at 8:30 a.m.