Technology

Rebecca Waters What are some of the newest, extensive uses of this technology and how can they be best utilized? Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) systems – made up of a camera or cameras, a processor and character recognition software – at their most basic are designed to capture license plate images, transform them into characters and compare the results to a database of license plates which are of interest to law enforcement. We asked six industry experts to fill…

Kathy Marks One of the benefits of this technology is a significant reduction of the suspect pool which can save time, money and manpower. Simply stated, DNA phenotyping predicts the physical appearance of an unknown person from their DNA. This technology helps to generate investigative leads; narrows the suspect list or assists when there are no suspects or database hits; and assists with mass casualty situations and identifying unknown remains. Companies committing resources to developing this technology utilize a number of…

Bill Siuru, Ph.D., PE As every investigator knows, intelligence is a key to preventing and solving crimes. Acquiring intelligence often involves time intensive analysis of the thousands of incident reports; crime tips; and other, often seemingly unrelated, pieces of data. Terrorism has compounded the volume of intelligence data to be analyzed and made it even more critical to do it in a timely manner. How do you rapidly and systematically analyze a vast amount of data to produce useful intelligence…

Dr. Stephenie Slahor The disruption to individual and departmental computer systems via ransomware is presenting new challenges to law enforcement agencies throughout the country. A recent NBC news report disclosed how Eastern European hackers have been exposing law enforcement agencies nationwide to “ransomware” virus attacks – seizing control of various systems and deleting numerous files and/or denying access to records and other information. According to this report, police departments in seven states have experienced these types of attacks over the…

Dr. StephenieSlahor Smartphones and social media expand our universe. We can connect with others or collect information easier and faster than ever. –Daniel Goleman Social media dominates the lives of many people, especially school-aged youth. Being glued to those screens seems pandemic. Cynthia Hetherington of the Hetherington Group and Bruce Canal, CPP, Orange County, FL, Public Schools, recently addressed the use of social media in their presentation for ASIS International’s annual meeting. “Anything that you put on the Internet, everybody…

Bill Siuru  New, lightweight, clip-on technology is allowing viewers to observe full color imagery through their existing PVS-14 night vision scopes.              Night vision devices, like Night Vision Goggles (NVGs), have become an important tool for law enforcement, allowing SWAT teams and other police officers to “see” in the dark of night for such tasks as covert surveillance of illegal activity, apprehension of dangerous suspects, crime response, and search and rescue.  Night vision devices take in small amounts of visible…

Investigations now often include evidence gathered from such sources as social media, Web sites and cloud services. Pointing the way toward the best methods to collect and properly handle such information were team members from TransPerfect Legal Solutions. Andrew Neal, Director, Forensic Technology and Consulting; Daniel Andriulli, Digital Forensics, Manager; and Joe Pochron, Digital Forensics, presented their ideas at the 61st Annual Meeting of ASIS, the world’s leading security organization. Fundamentals Andrew Neal said forensic science is not new, having…

Three decades after its invention, where does ALPR technology stand and what do you need for effective implementation? Since Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) systems first gained recognition as “force multipliers” for North American law enforcement, they’ve enabled significant improvements in everything from stolen vehicle recoveries to criminal intelligence gathering. As a 2014 RAND report noted, however, expiring grant funds, privacy related criticism and a lack of research are all causing police administrators to reevaluate ALPRs which compete for other…