Information for criminal justice practitioners, students and academics.

"Police Deputies in LA to Test-Drive Surveillance Drone"

Boston Globe (06/20/06); Marquez, Jeremiah

 

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department could be the first local law enforcement agency in the United States to test a remote-controlled surveillance plane. An officer operating a computer system can access color video taken by the drone in real time. The drone's price tag of $20,000 to $30,000 is significantly lower than the cost of similar devices used by the military in Iraq and Afghanistan. The department may eventually purchase up to 20 of the drones, but the test results will have a major impact on the department's decision. The department already operates 18 helicopters. Sheriff's commander Sid Heal noted that the department's helicopters are roughly comparable with the drones in relation to surveillance capabilities. However, sometimes the helicopters are not available and the loud sound created by their rotors have frustrated SWAT teams in certain situations. The drones produce little sound in comparison and their size is almost equivalent to a model airplane. The SkySeer can operate for approximately 70 minutes via battery power and can travel at speeds of nearly 29 miles per hour. The drone will first be used to search rooftops for suspects and to locate hikers or children who are reported missing. www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/06/20/police_deputies_in_la_to_test_drive_surveillance_drone/

 

 

"Armed With Technology: Police Cruisers Speed Into the 21st Century"

Fresno Bee (CA) (06/15/06); Mayhew, Don

 

California's Fresno Police Department has gone high-tech. The computers outfitted in police cruisers can find an officer's car as well as any of the department's adjacent cruisers. Mapping software enables a car closing in on a specific location to receive in-depth information on the computer screen, providing exact visual instruction on the route that is most direct. Computers transmit data quicker than radio dispatchers can. In addition, they can relay sensitive or private data that cannot be transmitted over the air. Cruisers outfitted with up-to-date radar devices permit officers to regulate traffic more efficiently, especially when they have LED lights that are erected low to the roof and are not easily seen unless they are on. The Fresno Police Department has also made some more basic changes to its cruisers. Although plastic back seats are fairly rudimentary, they make it simpler for officers to make certain a suspect has not left illegal items underneath or between cushions after sitting there. www.fresnobee.com/lifestyle/story/12321598p-13054621c.html

 

"City of Safford Almost GPS Ready"

Eastern Arizona Courier (06/19/06); Staten, Aimee

 

Safford, Ariz., is nearly wired for Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. In preparation for the arrival of the National Geodetic Survey's delivery of $250,000 worth of satellite equipment, the Safford Police Department led an effort to locate every monument in the area to test and record the coordinates used for surveying the land. The effort aided in helping lay the groundwork for the GPS satellites that will be connected to the city's local system over the next few months. Engineers from surrounding towns and local engineering firms helped Safford authorities with the project. Safford Police Chief John Griffin said the technology will help facilitate regular updating of an aerial photograph of the city. "That will give us an idea where utility lines go in, and if there is a fire, it will help us get to those places more quickly," he explained. Through the program, the utilities department will be able to quickly pinpoint the location of cut-off valves for power in the event a line requires repair or replacement. www.eacourier.com/articles/2006/06/20/local_news/news07.txt

 

"Eye in the Sky Puts Collar On Parolees"

Deseret Morning News (UT) (06/12/06); Benson, Lee

 

Law enforcement officials hope a new tracking device will allow them to give convicted criminals another chance in society, while keeping tabs on their whereabouts. TrackerPal is a battery-powered parolee monitoring device developed by SecureAlert. Using GPS positioning and a built-in cell phone, the ankle bracelet is in constant contact with a monitoring center. The same center will send a reminder to the wearer if the battery gets too low. Failure to respond to the reminder will prompt the center to dispatch a case agent to the home of the wearer. TrackerPal will also sound a 95-decibel alarm should the wearer attempt to remove the ankle bracelet. The cell phone cannot be deactivated, and anyone in the vicinity will be able to hear alerts from agents spoken through the device. www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,640186268,00.html

 

"GPS Will Track Sex Offenders"

Washington Times (06/13/06) P. B3; Bomey, Nathan

 

A sex-offender registry Internet site operated by the Virginia State Police will be expanded to include information about more nonviolent offenders, under a plan recently revealed by state officials. The expansion is expected to result in roughly 13,000 individuals being added to the Web site. In addition, two bills before the state General Assembly calls for administrative staff and state troopers to assume a larger role in tracking the whereabouts of sex offenders. Interested citizens can conduct searches on the Web site by typing a city, county, ZIP code, or name. The types of crimes that will require a citizen to be added to the registry will also be broadened. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine signed legislation this spring that intensifies police measures aimed at protecting the public from sex offenders. People released from prison after committing major sex crimes can be monitored for a period of three years or throughout the duration of their life via the Global Positioning System. In addition, offenders that do not meet their obligation to register quickly will be required to wear a tracking device. www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20060612-103733-4179r.htm

 

"Police Say Voice Analyzer Is Unreliable Lie Detector Technology"

Diamondback (06/08/06); Arias, Jeremy

 

Although some experts say Computer Voice Stress Analyzer (CVSA) technology is not as reliable as the polygraph lie detectors, CVSA is being used more and more by police forces around the country. The University of Maryland Police Department (UMPD) in College Park, Md., has used CVSA over the past three years for vetting potential hires. The technology has also been used in a few criminal investigations. CVSA comprises a voice analyzer that is installed into computers at a cost of about $10,000 to $13,000, compared to roughly $6,000 for a polygraph lie detector, according to the American Polygraph Association. The analyzer examines sound changes in a person's voice to determine if he or she is lying. Thomas Mauriello, an ex-University Police detective, wonders on what basis the frequency changes are assessed. Dan Seiler, secretary of the Maryland Polygraph Association, notes that polygraphs are currently up to 95 percent reliable, compared to up to 50 percent for CVSA. He adds that CVSA is generally used for its psychological impact on people. UMPD's Maj. Cathy Atwell similarly says CVSA is used by her department not to see if a person is lying but for its psychological effect. "The hope is that [candidates] will be more forthcoming" with the analyzer present, especially for important interview questions like those referring to a person's criminal history, she says. Atwell adds that when analyzers are used for criminal investigations, participation is voluntary. www.diamondbackonline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/06/08/448809bebed08

 

"City of Richmond Selects Intergraph Computer-Aided Dispatch and Mobile Data Systems for Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services"

Business Wire (06/14/06)

 

The City of Richmond, Va. Police Department has selected Intergraph Corporation to deploy an advanced computer-aided dispatch system for its Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services Departments. The effort is part of an initiative by the City of Richmond to modernize the City's public safety systems to enable the department and its divisions to enhance operations, share information, and increase management reporting capabilities. "This system will significantly improve our ability to effectively plan and respond to emergency incidents," said Bill Hobgood, Project Manager for the City's Department of Information Technology. "Our legacy system was not built to take advantage of the rich information available through modern, real-time geospatial information systems and, as such, could not fully leverage the capabilities of our GIS system. In seeking a vendor for our new system, we wanted a reliable, scalable system that had been proven in the field and Intergraph delivered." The new system provides the Police, Fire and EMS departments with an integrated, interactive mapping capability that provides dispatchers and field personnel with information on the locations of the closest available assets, the fastest response routes based on real time traffic conditions and the ability to transmit and receive incident information en route -- which can be life-saving in the case of an EMS team triaging a patient en route to assistance. The mobile data component allows field personnel to connect to the department's databases remotely to accomplish tasks, such as running license plate checks on vehicles or completing accident report information that previously had to be called in via the radio or accomplished at headquarters. www.spatialnews.geocomm.com/dailynews/2006/jun/15/news4.html

 

"Security Researchers to Produce New Tools"

Concordia Journal (06/01/06) Vol. 1, No. 15,; Black, Barbara

 

Cybersecurity has emerged as the most important challenge for computing researchers ever, according to Mourad Debbabi, a Concordia Research Chair who is leading a security research project with almost $1 million in joint funding from Bell Canada and the Canadian Department of National Defense. "The tremendous success of Internet-related technologies, such as Web services, voice-over IP, mobile telephony, and so on, coupled with advances in hardware and software engineering are giving rise to challenging and very interesting research problems," he said. The project's first initiative will focus on securing free and open-source software. The second phase will formulate tools and techniques for conducting forensically sound investigations of cybercrimes, collecting evidence and verifying and sequencing information to support the work of law enforcement. www.cjournal.concordia.ca/journalarchives/2006-07/jun_1/007067.shtml

 

"U.S. Joins Industry in Piracy War"

Washington Post (06/15/06) P. A1; Ahrens, Frank

 

The U.S. government is actively supporting the entertainment industry's push to curb the global trade of pirated music and movies. The United States has made enforcement of anti-piracy provisions a top requirement for Russia's admittance to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Intellectual property experts and law enforcement officials have estimated that Internet piracy costs U.S. companies up to $250 billion a year. With U.S. exports of copyrighted entertainment reaching $626 billion a year, the government is now asking the industry what it can do to help curb piracy. Despite some notable successes in the fight to safeguard copyrights, the number of peer-to-peer users has increased in the past year. China and Russia top the U.S. trade representative office's list of the worst intellectual property offenders. The U.S. government clashed with Sweden over Pirate Bay, a prolific and illegal file-sharing site that uses the BitTorrent file-swapping technology. Under heavy U.S. influence, Swedish authorities shut down the site, sparking widespread criticism in Sweden of the United States for meddling in Swedish affairs. Since Pirate Bay was shut down on May 31, protesters have agitated for Swedish authorities to return its confiscated servers; meanwhile, the site's administrators have relocated to the Netherlands and resumed service. In assessing Russia's bid to join the WTO, the United States is cautious to avoid the mistake of China. "We let China in and China has not fully complied with the WTO requirements" for safeguarding intellectual property, said Motion Picture Association of America President Dan Glickman. www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/14/AR2006061402071.html

 

"Broad Surveillance for VoIP Calls, Internet Leaders Urge Caution"

Technology News Daily (06/14/06)

 

The government's plans to wiretap domestic voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls could introduce new cybersecurity risks, impede Internet innovation, subject hundreds of thousands of Americans to law enforcement monitoring without realizing it, and cripple U.S. telecommunications leadership, warns a new Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) study. Among the study's authors is Google chief Internet evangelist Vint Cerf, Sun Microsystems chief security officer Whitfield Diffie, and NeuStar fellow Jon Peterson. The report explains that pinpointing the location of communication endpoints is extremely tough, given the fundamental differences between the Internet's architecture and that of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Some VoIP traffic can be wiretapped in cases where the VoIP service mimics major PSTN elements, but the slightest failure to replicate those elements greatly complicates ensured interception. According to the ITAA report, wiretapping VoIP could be detrimental to security for several reasons, among them: Problems maintaining security at the ISP; difficulties in securely sending intercepted signals to law enforcement; the ease of crafting online identities; and the risks inherent in incorporating surveillance functionality into network protocols. "Various attacks, including man-in-the-middle alteration of data...capture of identity information and passwords, and many other pernicious behaviors could well be enabled by CALEA-like accommodations," the study finds. The mobility and easy identity-switching of wiretap targets may require eavesdropping initiatives to monitor non-targeted people, which has major privacy ramifications. The report says VoIP wiretapping entails either a vast restructuring of the Internet or the inclusion of unreasonable security risks, concluding that "The former would have significant negative effects on U.S. ability to innovate, while the latter is simply dangerous." www.technologynewsdaily.com/node/3340

 

"Good Science or Just Bunk?"

Government Technology (06/01/06) Vol. 19, No. 6, P. 46; McKay, Jim

 

An increasing number of police departments and corrections facilities are turning to layered voice analysis (LVA) technology to facilitate the interviewing of suspects. LVA has been used at the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) roughly 125 times over the past two years, says Dan Westfield, DOC's security chief. He says neither guilt nor innocence is determined by using the technology, but instead it is used to guide the questioning of inmates. The LVA software costs about $10,000, and works by assessing the frequencies of a person's voice as he or she speaks based on algorithms and a mathematical formula, says Dave Watson, chief operating officer at V. He adds that LVA detects patterns that suggest confusion or cognitive dissonance--an uneasiness that results from a discrepancy between what is believed and newly obtained information. In addition to loading software into a PC, LVA systems require a microphone into which a suspect talks; when words are uttered, they are translated into graphs that measure confusion or cognitive dissonance. The system alerts operators if it believes a subject is making false statements. Critics such as Steve Drizen at the Northwestern School of Law say the technology does not work, citing studies by the Pentagon and other agencies; he also says a related technology called computer voice stress analysis (CVSA) is no better than LVA, largely because the signs detected by the machines can be caused by stress as well as by being duplicitous. www.govtech.net/magazine/story.php?id=99712

 

"Police Gather Phone Data Without Subpoenas"

Baltimore Sun (06/21/06) P. 5A; Bridis, Ted; Solomon, John

 

Perhaps hundreds of law enforcement agencies at all levels of government have gathered phone data records from data brokers, some of whom obtained their information in questionable ways, according to documents gathered by a investigative panel headed by U.S. Rep. Edward Whitfield (R-Ky.). "There's a good chance there are some laws being broken, but it's not really clear precisely which laws," says the lawmaker. "They can basically obtain any information about anybody on any subject." Investigators have uncovered that the federal government spent $30 million last year purchasing personal data from private brokers, a sum most likely vastly understating the frequency of the practice given that many brokers will supply law enforcement with records freely if asked. A congressional hearing on the matter is scheduled to begin today. Police agencies say they use brokers because it is simpler than issuing subpoenas. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has told its agents to stop the practice due to the controversy caused. "This is pernicious, an end run around the Fourth Amendment," said Marc Rotenberg, head of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which is pushing for stricter federal regulation of data brokers. "The government is encouraging unlawful conduct; it's not smart on the law enforcement side to be making use of information obtained improperly." www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.phones21jun21,0,7200046.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines

 

"Internet Pioneers: VOIP Wiretapping Complicated"

IDG News Service (06/13/06); Gross, Grant

 

Mere days after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a ruling that voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers must be in compliance with the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) issued a study warning that adhering to such requirements would bring new security problems to the Internet. The ITAA report says not only would fulfilling the mandate introduce major security risks, barring a vast retooling of the Internet, but also impose additional set-up and maintenance fees that would likely hold up U.S. Internet innovations. Sun Microsystems chief security officer Whitfield Diffie said the lack of control VoIP providers have over how their calls are directed online makes tracking VoIP calls more problematic than tracking traditional phone calls. Diffie said reducing a VoIP wiretapping system's security risks would involve a "major research and development effort." ITAA study co-author and TCP/IP co-creator Vinton Cerf said the enforcement of FCC CALEA rules would entail the monitoring of numerous Internet applications, and he cautioned, "I don't see any way to constrain or restrict the target of the intercept to simply voice, because, in fact, every application would have to be effectively treated in the same fashion. There's no way to tell what the bits mean in the packets that are flowing." www.infoworld.com/article/06/06/13/79252_HNvoipwiretapworry_1.html

 

"Beyond License Plates"

Sheriff (06/06) Vol. 58, No. 3, P. 41

 

The Highway Safety Committee of the International Association of Chiefs of Police will hold the "Looking Beyond the License Plate" contest this summer. The yearly contest selects a winner from a pool of state patrol, city police, and sheriffs department personnel that have arrested a suspect or solved a crime through examining a license plate. An officer's superior or agency must select officers that are eligible for the reward. Exactly 155 entries were submitted for last year's contest. The winner of this year's contest will be informed of whether they won by Aug. 31 of this year. The winner will be awarded with a trip to the 113th Annual Conference and Exposition of International Association of Chiefs of Police that is valued at roughly $1,500. www.sheriffs.org

 

"Printing Decomps"

Law Enforcement Technology (06/06) Vol. 33, No. 6, P. 22; Garrett, Ronnie

 

Even when a dead body is decomposed, burned, or distended, the ridges of the fingertips can often be evaluated. A company called CrossMatch Technologies makes livescan fingerprint systems that can help identify such bodies. Experts at the firm use a special roller device that features a silicone pad to enhance the ridges. Based in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., CrossMatch recently helped make a positive identification for law enforcement officials. "With ink, this [identification] wouldn't have been possible," said Robert Christensen, vice president of CrossMatch's Federal Business Development division. With the digital livescan method, however, "the resulting print is approximately 65 percent the surface area of a rolled fingerprint," according to Christensen, which could have an impact on the volume of matches obtained from a query. Despite such results, the Medical Examiner's Office in Snohomish County, Wash., has successfully used NEC's 800-ppi scanner to make digital images of the fingerprints of dead bodies; the fingerprints are stored in NEC's Versa LightPad table PC featuring NEC Image Capture Software. This system is used to obtain a right thumb print and index print from all cadavers in the morgue and also speeds up identification times for bodies found at murder sites and elsewhere. Another benefit of digital inking is that images can be obtained instantly and sent wirelessly to several local, state, and national databases, including that of the FBI, and results can be retrieved within 1 hour to 1.5 hours, says Dennis Trettel, master investigator at the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office. www.officer.com/magazines/let/