Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology

NLECTC Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology News Summary
Wednesday, November 22, 2006

"Professors Devise Way to Detect Secret Data in Photos"
Des Moines Register (IA) (11/19/06); Rossi, Lisa

A pair of professors at Iowa State University (ISU) are teaming with law enforcement authorities in the state to create a better way to locate secret information concealed in photos that are transmitted over the Internet. Professors Clifford Bergman and Jennifer Davidson have trained current software to determine whether child pornographers and terrorists have included secrets in harmless-looking photos found on the Internet. The project was financed by a Midwest Forensics Resource Center grant for $80,000. The professors are currently awaiting approval to dispense the technology from the ISU Research Foundation, which takes care of intellectual property rights matters. The professors stated they hoped to hand out the software to law enforcement personnel at no cost within the coming few months. Bergman and Davidson trained the software to find the existence of secret information by placing concealed images in 1,200 photos in various ways until they had 10,000 images with different information included. They then introduced the vast database of images to the software, so it could tell the difference between a clean and an altered image. The university's new strategy should offer a more accessible and dependable way for authorities to discover whether or not a photo has a concealed image. Although commercial software now exists for these applications, it is costly and hard to study, as the technology utilized is a trade secret, Bergman and Davidson claim. http://desmoinesregister.com
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"Cameras Focused on Crime"
Dallas Morning News (11/16/06); Trahan, Jason

Dallas, Texas, began installing wireless surveillance cameras in its downtown core in mid November this year in an initiative to deter crime and reassure citizens that Dallas is safe. The surveillance initiative involves 40 cameras covering about one third of downtown Dallas. The goal is to reduce crime levels by 30 percent after six months, and the project has been funded with a two-year maintenance budget by a $840,000 grant from The Meadows Foundation. Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle says downtown crime mostly involves the city's sizable homeless population, and fights among club goers and bar hoppers in the wee hours of the weekend evenings. Kunkle says crime is down already, and that cameras will help augment this perception. The department plans to monitor the cameras so police can be dispatched to the scene of an ongoing crime, as well as store images for two weeks to provide evidence for crime scenes. Dallas may expand this initiative if the project produces results. http://www.dallasnews.com
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"System Speeds 911 Cell Phone Calls"
Los Angeles Daily News (11/16/06); Orlov, Rick

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has launched a communications system that can save emergency personnel time in reaching accident or crime scenes by connecting 911 calls from mobile phones to local dispatchers, rather than the California Highway Patrol. A $2.1 million state grant covered the cost of the technology that is expected to aid 911 operators by allowing them to automatically determine the location of a wireless call. 911 calls are anticipated to grow by 1,000 per day to 1,500 per day, compared to the current amount of roughly 9,000 calls handled each day by the city's 911 operators. LAPD Police Chief William Bratton indicated that the system will allow the department to avoid boosting its staff of 911 operators by 95 employees as previously expected.
http://www.dailynews.com
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"U.S. File Access Aids Police"
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel (FL) (11/15/06) P. 12A; Marquez, Jeremiah

A Mexican national, who has been deported from the United States a minimum of three times, was recently arrested again in California. Jesus F. Palacios has convictions for child molestation and grand theft auto. However, the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department are focusing on preventing similar cases in the future by making federal fingerprint data more quickly available to local law enforcement officers. Roughly 50 law enforcement agencies in Southern California can now access fingerprint data within a shorter period of time to prevent the release of illegal immigrants. However, civil rights groups have expressed concerns that the new approach could discourage immigrants from providing important information to police because they want to avoid a check of their status.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com
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"Camera Phones Focus on Police Use of Force in L.A."
Reuters (11/16/06); Serjeant, Jill

Cell phone cameras provide an easy way for citizens to record footage, including incidents in which police misconduct is alleged. For example, Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton is conducting a probe of several police officers after video cell phones recorded recent arrests. The footage reportedly shows officers using excessive force when arresting the suspects. Some residents in the community complain that police unfairly target black citizens, with one activist stating that video cell phone footage would not be an issue "if the police were not overreacting." www.eweek.com/article2
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"Adding Taser Technology"
Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN) (11/18/06) P. B1; Moore, Ronnie

Fort Oglethorpe, Tenn.'s City Council recently voted to purchase 30 of the most recent design in stun guns for the police department. The devices, equipped with video cameras that record picture and sound, cost $1,200 each. Fort Oglethorpe Police Chief Larry Black noted that police officers now handle the most violent and dangerous suspects he has ever witnessed during his time in law enforcement. Taser International is the sole firm that sells the $800 gun, the price of which increases to $1,200 when the camera is factored in. The connected camera starts recording when the Taser power is turned on. Black explained that studies have proven that when Tasers with cameras are utilized, there is a conviction or plea rate of 96.2 percent. He added that the camera-equipped Tasers will have the extra benefits of guaranteeing officer accountability, reducing the claims of too much force, discrediting false complaints, and lessening legal costs. Meanwhile, Officer Greg Plemons stated that the Taser is another means for helping law enforcement to protect both residents and themselves.
www.timesfreepress.com

"Taser Death Raises Questions"
Memphis Commercial Appeal (TN) (11/17/06) P. A14

Memphis, Tenn., resident Darren Faulkner, 47, recently died after receiving two Taser shocks from an unidentified police deputy, after Faulkner allegedly attacked the officer. Though Memphis District Attorney John Champion says preliminary data shows officers involved "followed the policies" and exhibited restraint, Faulkner's death will revive concerns that Tasers can cause serious injuries in some people. Today there is international debate concerning the safety of electro-muscular disruption and the U.S. Justice Department is conducting a study to help understand whether the technology can contribute to or cause death and, if so, in what ways.
http://www.commercialappeal.com
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"Law Enforcement Pursuits: Managing the Risks"
PoliceOne.com (11/20/06); Yates, Travis

Newly available technology can help reduce many of the risks associated with police vehicle pursuits, but many police departments are unaware of how to use the technology, and some improperly deploy it. However, better education about technology use can help make pursuits shorter and slower, and thus far less risky. One of the most important tools to reduce pursuit risks is the Tire Deflation Device, which can help safely reduce a pursued car's speed. The devices cost only around $400 each, which makes them a sound investment that pays for itself through collision and injury declines. Helicopters are also an effective tool for reducing the time and risk involved in vehicle pursuits by monitoring suspects' activities and alert ground officers when the suspects abandon their vehicles and where. The Pursuit Intervention Technique, which requires the police driver to ram the pursued car, is also effective, but must be used only with careful training. However, experts also note that officers need to be trained to maintain the safety of the roadways, surrounding drivers, and pedestrians above their desire to capture the suspect engaged in the pursuit.
http://www.policeone.com
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"Va. Beach Police Trace Victim's Cell Phone"
Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) (11/15/06) P. B-7

Virginia Beach, Va., police were able to find a murder victim's killer by using her cell phone. The phone's global-positioning feature directed police to a house in Norfolk. At the home, police discovered the phone, the victim's purse, and a hooded sweatshirt covered in blood. A woman in the house informed police that she had loaned her vehicle to Christopher Eugene Hagans, her boyfriend; authorities located the car, with blood on the door of the driver's side, sitting on a street a few miles away. Hagans was arrested and is being charged with first-degree murder and robbery. He could be charged with capital murder, punishable by execution, because the victim, Elisabeth Kelly Reilly, was shot and killed during a robbery at a shopping center in Virginia Beach.
http://www.timesdispatch.com
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"Policing Terror"
Federal Computer Week (11/13/06) Vol. 20, No. 39, P. 21; Moore, John

A recent report from Rand, called "Unconquerable Nation: Knowing our Enemies, Strengthening Ourselves," emphasizes the important role local police can play in homeland security beyond serving as first responders. In the Los Angeles area, local and federal agencies have put together a Joint Regional Intelligence Center (JRIC) based on a Memex intelligence management and analysis system to track leads and information from all over a seven-county region. Such a solution can be difficult to scale when organizations begin linking to additional information sources, but JRIC is working around this problem through in-house replication of databases of interest. A similar system has been launched by the Louisiana State Police for counterterrorism and crime investigation, called the Louisiana Fusion and Analytical Center and put together by Apogen Services and based on Microsoft .NET and an SQL Server database. The system brings in incident information from police who contact the center, enabling state police to review leads and assign them to investigators with the help of an automated workflow script. Another component of the Fusion Center enables analysts to search multiple data sources with a single search. Another region that has put together this sort of system is the Seattle region, where the Law Enforcement Information Exchange Northwest has put together a data warehouse full of information from local and state agencies, with Northrop Grumman as contractor. Putting such systems into place involves more than just deploying the IT: there are also cultural, policy, and human-resources issues that have to be overcome in order for the systems to be a success. http://www.fcw.com
/article96760-11-13-06-Print

"In-Car Computers"
Police (10/06) Vol. 30, No. 10, P. 34; Griffith, David

Computers have become so ubiquitous in patrol cars that some cars have more than one computer. A laptop that can be used in and outside of the patrol car remains the most popular patrol computer. These computers must be more rugged than typical laptops, due to the hard use they receive from officers and the constant vibrations produced by patrol cars. These types of computers, known as "ruggedized computers," have been tested for their durability, having been exposed to a variety of rough treatment, including drops, liquid spills, and shaking. Some of the leading manufacturers of these types of computers include Amrel, Data911, Datalux, Getac, Itronix, JLT Mobile Computers, Kontron, L3 Communications, and Panasonic. Popular computer models by these firms include Amrel's Rocky Unlimited and the Tracer from Datalux. The Toughbook from Panasonic is the most popular laptop used by law enforcement. http://www.policemag.com

"Post-9/11, a New Push for Information Sharing"
Baseline (10/06) No. 64, P. 67; Gage, Deborah

The mission of the Joint Regional Intelligence Center (JRIC), which is sponsored by the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, the FBI, the Homeland Security Department, and the state of California, is to set up networks and policies for sharing information across agencies in the seven-county Los Angeles area for the purposes of bolstering public safety and deterring terrorist attacks. The center is designed to link the various agencies with international law enforcement agencies and local firms that watchdog potential terrorist targets or critical components of local infrastructure. Analysts think the time is ripe for JRIC because of technological advancements such as Global Justice XML and service-oriented architecture. These standards form the basis of Memex, the Windows-based collaboration software that lies at the heart of the center. Memex compiles, manages, secures, and circulates information according to participant-established rules; it looks for both structured and unstructured data, and can visually sort, connect, or display data. JRIC project manager Mario Cruz says the project's success does not hinge on the software, but on whether or not participating agencies can resolve their differences over what type of information to share and the manner of sharing. At this point no agency can link electronically to any other agency because information sharing agreements are still lacking. An array of analytical tools (Google Earth, Microsoft SQL, and ESRI's ArcView GIS software among them) are employed to filter information. "The people who work [at JRIC] now are interested in analysis and cooperation," reports LAPD detective Stanley Salas. "They really want this."
http://www.baselinemag.com
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Article sponsored by Navy Gifts and police officer turned law enforcement writer.