NYPD recently announced its release of their application for the iPhone.  This robust program allows the user to:

-       View the wanted gallery

-       Submit a crime tip

-       View crime videos

-       Review crime statistics

-       Receive breaking news

-       Link to NYPD on Facebook

-       Watch “Inside the NYPD” videos

-       View precinct boundaries

-       Link to the NYPD recruiting web site

Released on December 30^th, this app has a 4+ star rating at the Apple iTunes Store.  Downloaders are not limited to residents of the Big Apple.  The program has been loaded on iPhones from Chelsea to China.

The breaking news feature is the same information released to media outlets, released at the same time.  However, the feature most used by the public is the crime statistics function.  Of course, suddenly realizing how many pick-pockets and exhibitionists ride your favorite subway may be unnerving for a while.  However, New Yorkers are famous for their ability to adapt.

NYPD has been a trend-setter in public relations and statistical tracking of crime.  One can only hope that the source code for this app might be made available to other agencies.  At the very least, NYPD has produced a very good template for forward-looking departments.

Release of an Android version is anticipated for later this year.

Bruce Bremer, MBA is LET’s technology contributor. Bruce retired from the Submarine Service after 21 years of in-depth experience with complex electronic technology. Since then, he has been involved in fleet modernization and military research analysis. He teaches electronics and alternative energy at a Virginia college. Besides his MBA, Bruce earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer networking. He has been volunteering in public safety for many years.

Learn more about this article here:

http://nyconvergence.com/2013/01/nypd-launches-new-iphone-app-for-citizens.html

http://www.fastcompany.com/3004467/new-nypd-app-will-help-you-fight-crime-and-make-you-afraid-subway

http://nyconvergence.com/2013/01/nypd-launches-new-iphone-app-for-citizens.html

Everyone who uses the Internet knows that the security issues are always lurking nearby. We’ve learned to be wary of spam (endless requests from needy Nigerians), phishing (fake emails that lure us into disclosing sensitive information), hoaxes (warnings about glass in jars of baby food), and social media (criminals who prey on lonely people through chat rooms and dating sites). Even a simple Google search exposes us to risks: Who is collecting data on us, and why?

Caution, common sense, and security software can go a long way towards making us more secure online. But what if the person who wants to intrude on our Internet activities is a police officer or government official?

According to a LexisNexis study conducted earlier this year, law enforcement professionals are increasingly using social media, such as Facebook and YouTube, as an investigation tool—but only 10% of the officials surveyed said they had received formal training. Criminal justice experts are developing new policies and practices as technology evolves and new challenges arise.

Questions about online investigations include:

• What kinds of information are admissible in court?
• When is a search warrant needed?
• Must social media companies cooperate with law enforcement?
• May police officers create false identities to conduct an investigation?
• What are the best ways to handle conflicts between law enforcement practices and social media policies?
• What new technologies are on the horizon, and how will they change law enforcement investigations?

 Social Media and Law Enforcement

Police know that social media users with a criminal bent sometimes use Facebook, MySpace, and other social media to set up drug deals and plan other illegal activities. No search warrant is needed if an online “friend” decides to share incriminating posts with law enforcement. Social media—as its name implies—is not private: If you “friend” another person, you gain immediate access to everything that person has posted, and you’re free to pass it on to anyone you like—including a police officer or government official.

In one New York case, gang member Melvin Colon posted incriminating pictures and other information on Facebook. One of his Facebook “friends” allowed police to look at Colon’s page—and a federal judge ruled that the information posted there was admissible in court.

Information from Facebook can be useful even when if it’s not used in court. Federal investigators from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have been using social media to investigate fraudulent marriages. When the sham couple arrives for their green card interview, the officer can display Facebook postings that indicate the couple is not living as man and wife.

Still unanswered is the question of whether law enforcement can assume a fake identity to use in criminal investigations through social media. Social media companies differ in their willingness to cooperate with law enforcement. Facebook policies prohibit users from pretending to be someone else, but some investigators have used that tactic successfully, arguing that it’s no different from posing as a teenaged girl in order to catch a sexual predator.

Facebook and MySpace have 24-hour hotlines to assist officers who are dealing with emergencies. “It’s a really high standard for an emergency situation like that. It can’t be a situation where an hour or two doesn’t matter,” a spokesman says.

Twitter, on the other hand, demands a search warrant before cooperating with law enforcement. In early August, an anonymous Twitter user posted a string of tweets threatening to open fire at the Longacre Theatre in New York, which was hosting a one-man-show about boxer Mike Tyson. “I got 600 people on my hit list and that’s gonna be a mass murder for real,” read one Tweet. Twitter refused to cooperate until it was served with a warrant.

New Technologies

Some forms of cyber security operate beyond the realm of search warrants and false identities. Tech companies are developing tools that can rapidly look for suspicious keywords, behaviors, trends, and patterns across vast areas of the Internet, including privacy-protected areas like Twitter and Facebook. Products now available include Open-MIND, DigitalStakeout, and TacTREND.

Tools like these are proving useful across the spectrum of criminal justice, from local agencies to the Department of Homeland Security, which has a private Twitter account and uses TweetDeck to scan millions of Tweets for signs of criminal or terrorist activity. The DHS privacy office explains that it does not “follow” individuals; instead it is interested in problems with tornado damage, airport security, and Border Patrol activities.

Possibilities and Problems

 Criminal justice experts say that most privacy issues don’t vary when you participate in the online world: Your friends can inform on you, detectives can go undercover, and courts can issue warrants and subpoenas.

But emerging trends in technology are being closely watched for possible Fourth Amendment issues. Civil-liberties attorney Mark Rumold says, “If indeed DHS is just looking at the Weather Channel’s tweets and The New York Times and monitoring media responses, I don’t necessarily know that there’s a civil liberties threat to the public in that. But it’s when the monitoring is done behind closed doors in ways the public doesn’t understand I think is the real problem.”

Both citizens and law enforcement are discovering that there is more to learn about the hazards and benefits of the Internet. Many citizens—including high-profile officials like David Petraeus—have made the painful discovery that intimate emails aren’t always private. And a growing number of criminals are using the Internet to break the law more efficiently, challenging police to keep up with their online activities.

Captain David Gerard from the Cincinnati Police Department says that gangs in his city are using social media to connect with one another. “They’re working together much better than before,” he says. “We have to learn from their example.” Law enforcement officials across the United States are working to meet the similar challenges as Internet users—some of them criminals—discover new ways to incorporate technology into their lives.

To learn more:

http://www.lexisnexis.com/media/press-release.aspx?id=1342623085481181

http://californiawatch.org/node/18671

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/08/justice/new-york-twitter-threat/index.html?iref=allsearch

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/30/tech/social-media/fighting-crime-social-media/index.html

Jean Reynolds, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus of English at Polk State College, where she taught report writing and communication skills in the criminal justice program. She is the author of seven books, including Police Talk (Pearson), co-written with the late Mary Mariani. Visit her website at www.YourPoliceWrite.com for free report writing resources. Go to www.Amazon.com for a free preview of her book The Criminal Justice Report Writing Guide for Officers. Dr. Reynolds is the police report writing expert for Law Enforcement Today.

Throughout my law enforcement career, I was always coming up with ways to make the job easier.  Many of my fellow officers made fun of some of my ideas.

While working a midnight tour, I was writing a ticket with my flashlight tucked under my armpit.   The light fell, hit the ground, and broke.  When I finished writing the citation and left the area, the wheels in my head started turning.  I was thinking of a better way to hold a flashlight while reading and writing in the dark.

I looked down at my uniform shirt pocket and thought that a small, flat, light that could clip onto a uniform shirt pocket is really what LEOs working at night needed.   The idea of QuiqLite was born.  I needed to correct for low level brightness which wouldn’t affect night vision while reading and writing like an old fashioned handheld flashlight does.  The next morning my wife and I discussed my idea.  I was so excited that even after coming off a midnight shift, I couldn’t sleep.

I developed a prototype in that very morning.  The next evening, I put my prototype in my pocket and went to work.  The flashlight performed perfectly.  It did everything I expected.  After showing my prototype to fellow officers, they were also amazed of how well it worked.  They all gave me positive feedback, saying that I came up with a great idea that would make their jobs easier and safer.

My wife was a teacher at the time. We put everything on the line to start QuiqLite, Inc.  We both worked two jobs for several years to get QuiqLite on its feet.  Eventually the business grew.  We left our careers to follow our QuiqLite dream. I retired from being an LEO after 15 years of service.  My wife and I work together every day at the office and at home raising our children.  QuiqLite is known and used around the world.

QuiqLite started in 2000 when LEDs when experts first recognized them as a new lighting element for flashlights.  The original QuiqLite was a single LED model that used coin lithium cell batteries, putting out approximately 8 lumens of light.   Our second version, QuiqLite XP440, was our first dual LED model.  It too was operated with lithium coin cell batteries and had a lumen output of 16 with both white LED activated.

Our third model was the QuiqLitePro.  We went back to the drawing board and completely redesigned the flashlight to improve overall performance and brightness.  QuiqLitePro can produce up to 16 lumens and is distributed worldwide.  We also make this version in an aluminum body know as QuiqLite Stealth.  We designed this model for use in harsh environments where equipment must stand up under t an assortment of punishments.

Our newest model is the QuiqLiteX USB Rechargeable.  QuiqLiteX has closed the gap between low lumens; non rechargeable to High lumens USB rechargeable QuiqLite products. QuiqLiteX is can produce up to 150 lumens of light. QuiqLiteX is 15 times brighter than our QuiqLitePro models.  It is also USB rechargeable which means you can charge it from any USB port that has a minimum of a 5 volt output.

Because of QuiqLiteX’s increased lumens output, LEOs can use this product as a backup flashlight if necessary. All of our products will fit into Molle webbing, providing a super bright, hands-free,  low-profile light for a variety of tactical applications.

We are now introducing the New QuiqLite XFLARE attachment.  This small piece of transparent nylon easily attaches to the QuiqLiteX adjustable arm and diffuses the light, turning it into a personal safety flare that can be seen from over 1.5 miles away.  We designed it for situations in which you need to be seen or found. It is the smallest brightest personal flare device on the market,

Over the past 12 years, public safety officials from law enforcement, security, fire, EMS, the Army Rangers, and many others have uses QuiqLite products which make things easier and safer by allowing hands free action when reading, writing or maneuvering in the dark.   QuiqLite Inc.’s mission is to better educate public safety workers about the advantages of using a hands-free light source for a variety of public safety applications.

Law Enforcement Today is proud to promote a great offer that supports the Wounded Warrior Project.  In honor of Veteran’s Day, the Wounded Warrior Project will receive $2 for each QuiqLiteX sold from November 1-30, 2012.  This lite is designed to clip onto your uniform to operate hands free.  It’s remarkably bright and has settings to match your needs.  Click on the link for details http://www.blumenthaluniforms.com/QuiqLite-X-Rechargeable-Flashlight.16602.0.1.htm?UMParent=0

Brian Quittner is a husband and father of three boys under the age of 12.  He was born, raised, and lives in Santa Barbara.  He served as Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol Officer for 15 years, beginning in 1993.  He believes he had the best of all public safety jobs since this work included being a sworn police officer, firefighter, off-shore rescue boat captain, certified lifeguard, and EMT. Every day on the job was unique and exciting.  He continues to serve law enforcement by creating hands-free light sources which enhance officer safety and efficiency.  He is the CEO of QuiqLite, Inc.

Let’s face it.  Times are tough and getting new technology on the street for the troops seems next to impossible.  However, there are times when the status quo is more expensive than the hardware the department is asking for.

Case in point… MorphoIDent portable fingerprint scanner allows field identification of a suspicious person without taking the officer off the street to bring the individual to a precinct office or jail.  The device has a look similar to the average smart phone and fits in a pocket just as easily.  The Blue Tooth or USB interface allows direct link to AFIS through a patrol officer’s laptop and results can be delivered within seconds.

So how does spending $1,700 per scanner save the department money?  That’s easy…

Consider the lost work time of spending one hour to transport and fingerprint ID a person.  Sure there’s the cost of one hour of the officer’s salary, but add to it the total cost per hour of benefits, HR admin time, and vehicle cost for the trip to the “cop shop”.  That would be the officer’s “loaded rate.”  Now, add the loaded rate for anyone assisting the officer once he gets to HQ.  Intangible costs include the loss of police presence on the street during that time. Now, multiply that number by the total hours your department spends identifying suspicious people per year.

Compare that number with the price of a scanner.  Which one is cheaper?  You tell me.

Instead of a full set of prints, only scans of the two index fingers are taken.  Once a match is made, the suspect’s picture and demographic information are displayed on screen.  The system is robust enough to analyze multiple suspects at the same time (because birds of a feather do flock together).  A vibration alert notifies the officer when the scan is successfully made and results are ready.  The 2.4” VGA screen is designed to be visible outdoors in full daylight.

So, how good is this whiz-bang gizmo?  The manufacturer claims the optical sensor is FBI certified and meets their Fingerprint Acquisition Profile (FAP) 20 specifications.  The MorphoIDent claims a scan resolution of 500 dots per inch (dpi) and a 256 gray scale.  Currently, the King County Sheriff’s Office in the Seattle, Washington area operates 4 units and anticipates delivery of 6 more.

Not everyone is ecstatic about the system.  The American Civil Liberties Union (not exactly a fixture in F.O.P. gatherings) has been expressing concerns that the system might be used to collect and store fingerprint information without probable cause.  However, the system is designed to query the AFIS database, not add to it.  Besides, such databases require a full set of prints instead of the two used by MorphoIDent.

Bruce Bremer, MBA is LET’s technology contributor. Bruce retired from the Submarine Service after 21 years of in-depth experience with complex electronic technology. Since then, he has been involved in fleet modernization and military research analysis. He teaches electronics and alternative energy at a Virginia college. Besides his MBA, Bruce earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer networking. He has been volunteering in public safety for many years.

Learn more about this article here:

http://www.komonews.com/news/tech/New-technology-allows-police-to-get-instant-fingerprints-results-175023291.html

http://www.morpho.com/identification/criminal-identification/handheld-terminals/morphoident/?lang=en

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2019468300_fingerprints19m.html

COMPAS, that is, Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions, is an emerging criminal justice software program offered by Northpointe Inc., a Colorado based criminal justice and research consultancy.  COMPAS is designed to identify risk assessment for criminal offenders and is one of the latest resources for evidence based criminal justice decisions.

This tool is of particular interest to the criminal justice community faced with bulging jail and prison population, exacerbated by ever-shrinking correctional budgets. This combination is forcing correctional administrators to explore all population relief options on the table as they did when private correction companies emerged on the scene in 1984 and offered a solution to their problem.

Now in the 21^st century COMPAS charts the newest course of relief for jail and prison administrators in the form of standardized alternative sanction suggestions.  These sanctions are based upon a computerized review of several offender risk factors with design attempts to include predictive utility, construct validity, and reliability. Without a doubt, this software has the potential to reduce jail and prison populations without an increased risk to public safety. As with any tool COMPAS must be used carefully, for the right job and in conjunction with other tools and resources.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is considering using COMPAS.  According to the L.A. Times, LACSD must first get approval from the county’s elected board and convince them that it presents no threat to public safety. It may be the right place at the right time, since California is growing weary of its federal mandate to reduce the state prison population as the state continues to push inmates back down to the local jail level and administrators scramble for solutions.

Without this software criminal justice professionals rely predominantly on manual assessment processes, which may by more subjective and discretionary.  In California, this has led to mass incapacitation since the 1970’s. COMPAS software attempts to incorporate emerging corrections philosophies incorporating evidenced-based research into the decision making process.

The program is also designed to provide a treatment plan geared specifically for the assessed offender and provide comparisons with the risk assessments of other offenders in the same system. COMPAS embarks upon a new journey by proposing a standardized risk assessment software tool incorporating evidence-based research evaluating criminal tendencies and is a welcome advance but there are some concerns in the field.

A 2007 analysis by Skeem and Louden from the Center for Public Policy Research took an in-depth look into the characteristics of COMPAS. While they hail the concept of the software tool, they cited several concerns with its use and concluded that there was little evidence at this point that COMPAS can actually predict recidivism.

LACSD is not the first California agency to consider COMPAS. The California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation has already been using the tool for some time. A recent report from the California State Auditor (report 2012-406) recommended that the state suspend use of COMPAS citing concerns in training, costs, and reliability.

The concept of the COMPAS technology should be applauded. Many standardized assessment tools are often critiqued while still universally employed for lack of the “perfect” assessment tool.  In many cases, this is just like the unicorn…it just does not exist. The criterion for any assessment tool can always be argued objectively, but there needs to be a baseline somewhere.

Any software system allows the use to analyze data from any perspective; something manual systems just can’t deliver. As its use becomes more prevalent, feedback from jail and prison administrators can help the tool evolve into a more reliable resource for alternative sentencing.  This will provide a greater sense of safety and security for the public it was designed to serve.

Pete Curcio is corrections consultant who trains senior corrections personnel and executives throughout the United States. He is a graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice – CUNY and holds a Masters Degree from the University of Cincinnati. Pete is a former Regional Director from the New York City Department of Correction and Executive Fellow at the DOJ/FBI. He presently provides subject matter expertise for justice Solutions of America, Federal Prison Consultants, Inc. and serves as Law Enforcement Today’s correctional expert. He has been featured on MSNBC and Court TV.

Learn more about this article here:

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Adult_Programs/docs/FS_COMPAS_Final_4-15-09.pdf

http://www.dcor.state.ga.us/Divisions/OPT/Reentry/RiskReduction/Assessment.html

https://webfiles.uci.edu/skeem/Downloads_files/CDCR%20Skeem%26%20EnoLouden%20COMPASeval%20SECONDREVISION%20final%20Dec%2028%2007.pdf

http://www.bsa.ca.gov/pdfs/sr2012/2010-124.pdf

The apple never really falls far from the tree.  This remains a truism of policing’s reactive paradigm of responding to crime.  The tree I’m referring to is England’s tithing system begun in 648 A.D.   This system included groups of village men (usually 10) responding to the commission of a criminal offense.  The group was summoned from the course of their daily routine by a “hue and cry” that beckoned a response to pursue the offender. Upon capturing the criminal, he was turned over to an authority and the group disbanded, returning to individual duties.

Fast-forward a scant 1346 years later to observe today’s patrol shift in action. They randomly move throughout a subjectively drawn geographic beat conducting independent police and non-police actions.  The patterns they travel or the areas selectively chosen for conducting these random acts of policing don’t really matter.  That is until the high-band radio cries out an offense in progress, and the non-cohesive actions of a clustering of officers turns into a coordinated response.

Singular in mission and motion, these officers unite for pursuing the offender.  Once he or she is apprehended, the suspect is delivered to the local authority and the unit disbands back again into their non-choreographed areas of responsibility.  We even still use the horse, domesticated dog, and chase on foot during these actions while remaining close to the historical roots of our enforcement service delivery methods.  Although I’m sure even the village idiot would appreciate today’s police fleet advancements, whether it’s the act of deploying ultrasonic sound to disorient an offender, or throwing a rock from the village cliff, the philosophy of reactive police response remains unchanged from 1500 years ago.

The evolution has been slow to come, but it is coming. Citizens, elected officials, and progressive law enforcement commanders are demanding efficiency and effectiveness from agencies serving as peace keepers and social service providers.  As a profession, policing assumes responsibility for measuring levels of crime and perceived effectiveness in combating that crime.  This is a dangerous combination, and is similar to asking the fox to keep a count of the chickens.

Recently, federal grant solicitations to law enforcement are including requirements for partnering with universities while conducting research designs to quantifiably examine the effects of enforcement efforts.  This is a giant leap in the right direction.  Not because police and quantitative statistics go together like gasoline and fire, but the ecology of law enforcement is entangled with internal performance requirements, external demands and political pressures.

Anecdotal stories and back patting for a job well done does not allow the responsible internal partners and external stakeholders the accurate information specific to the successes of reducing social harms.

Analyzing data using various scientifically rigorous methodologies is the only manner for ensuring that police organizations are conducting their mission conducive to the mandates of the body they serve.  Today’s police executive handles an array of requests ranging from mundane to the impossible. The expectation that the chief of police is aware of precisely how effective the organization operates without the use of data is unrealistic.

There is a body of expertise in law enforcement emerging from the traditions of “crime analyst” that are evolving from one-time number counters of post-events and activities to a progressive, scientifically based predictive policing professional. The International Association of Crime Analyst (IACA) leads the way for this truly emerging skill. With the use of statistical packages and geographic information systems, analysts provide the fuel for running the data-driven engine of modern law enforcement.

For the past four years I have had the great fortune to travel this country delivering workshops on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that offers a progressive system for changing the culture of policing.  My former agency participated in the pilot phase beginning in 2008.  As the model progressed along with my career, it is entrenched as the cornerstone of the city police department where I serve as chief.  A data analyst now replaces the rock throwing village idiot, and intelligence-centered patrol assignments replace randomized ineffective practices of patrolling without purpose.

The concept of proactive policing is known by various names including intelligence-led policing, hotspot policing, predictive policing and selective enforcement.  My base of experience is rooted in the data-driven approaches to crime and traffic safety (DDACTS) philosophy.  It is a business model, which addresses the efficient allocation of policing resources for the purpose of reducing social harms.  Based on the analysis of crash and crime data, agencies affect the occurrence of both social harms with the application of highly visible traffic enforcement strategies.

The correlation of crash and crime occurring within close proximity allows the police executive an opportunity for addressing both challenges with a singular tactic.  The use of highly visible enforcement (HVE) sustains a flexible and cost-cost effective method for reducing these social harms. By placing on-duty officers in geographic locations based solely on the statistical frequency determined by a micro-place and micro-time analysis, communities may enjoy the benefits of decreases in actual and perceptual fears of crime and victimization.

It is human nature for people to develop patterns of behavior.  This tendency toward habitual patterns and place-based victimization provides the foundation for law enforcement to capitalize on the historical routines of individuals as they move through time and location as either victims or victimizers.  By mapping multi-year data sets of crashes and crimes, policing agencies begin to see the high frequencies of occurrences for both categories overlay within a jurisdictional map.

Simply put, create a map of crashes over the last 3 to 5 years.  Next, produce a map of crimes over the same period of time.  Finally, lay one map over the other and like GIS-magic, the hotspots appear.  Going a little further, agencies may examine these hotspots to determine the days of the week and times of the day when the highest levels for crashes and crime are happening.

This is where the executives become increasingly interested.  No additional expenses are associated with the implementation of the DDACTS philosophy, strategy or tactic. Officers already assigned to patrol are, or should be in these areas anyway.  Reallocate their assignment to specifically target the hotspot.  This assignment should include the days of the week and hours of the day illustrated through your mapping technology.

Proactive officers with no direction usually end up at internal affairs.  These same proactive officers, when provided with a scientifically quantified and justifiable geographic assignment which is based on the micro-place and micro-time data analysis, usually participate in significant reductions of social harms associated with crashes and crime.

A commitment to working smarter vs. harder requires the optimistic leader to leave the traditional reactive policing model of running from one call for service to the next.  The “fire brigade” method of extinguishing small fires after small fires is not consistent with efficiently managing the resources entrusted you.  By allowing your analyst ( a 27 year old gen-X’er) to geocode CAD and RMS data onto a jurisdictional map, you gain an comprehensive perspective of crime and crash challenges plaguing your agency for years past and to come.

There are numerous relatively inexpensive resources available to law enforcement agencies.  My cohort and current president of the IACA, Christopher Bruce, demonstrates that approximately 80% of the tools required for conducting quantitative data analysis are available within a basic Microsoft office suite.

My agency uses an off-the-shelf software, CrimeReports.com for delivering a web-based mapping capability with public consumption applications. Positioned on our department website, and an accompanying smartphone app, this acquisition also allows for a command central component accessible by every employee for generating series of maps, data charts, trend tracking graphs and other tools capable of making every employee a data analyst.

Kernel density maps illustrating statistical hotspot before and after treatment.

The National Institute of Justice provides a free software download for CrimeStat III, and when combined with the power of GIS generates a level of sophisticated analysis promising police agencies the upper hand in battling social harms.  These examples are just a few of the unlimited resources available to law enforcement and deliver a mechanism for breaking from the traditions of the reactive tithing system.

Nearest neighbor hierarchical ellipses map illustrating patterns of crashes in red and patterns of property crimes in blue. Hotspots are identified where the two overlap.

History is great when teaching about our nation or sharing the customs of one’s family and culture.  American policing has evolved through the political, the professional, and the community policing eras, and now stands at the horizon searching for the next direction.  Never has data been so available to the policing profession.  The irony is that we, by trade are documenters of fact, and those facts (data) are held hostage inside CAD and RMS systems.  Despite the captured data, we fail to access, analyze, disseminate, and create actionable enforcement items based upon it.  In effect, we fail the communities served.

I challenge you to learn from the history of policing, but not repeat it, and explore our fraternal origins of reactive service, but not practice them.  As the leaders of our nation’s committed and capable officers, I encourage you to consider the application of data-driven practices; to refuse allowing one more shift to conduct directionless patrols; and to stop enforcement activities determined on the intuitive biases of race, socioeconomic or political entitlement.

Do you hear the hue and cry?

Scott Silverii, Ph.D. was appointed Chief of Police for the Thibodaux Police Department, Louisiana in January 2011, after serving 21 years for the nationally accredited Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office.  Chief Silverii began his law enforcement career in 1990 by serving in a variety of investigative and command assignments including twelve years undercover and sixteen years in SWAT.  A subject matter expert in data-driven approaches to crime and traffic safety, he was appointed to the IACP’s prestigious Research Advisory Committee.

Chief Silverii earned a Master of Public Administration and a Doctorate in Urban Studies from the University of New Orleans, focusing his research on anthropological aspects of culture and organizations.  Chief Silverii can be contacted at scottsilverii@gmail.com, LinkedIn, or Law Enforcement Today.  His agency website and Facebook can be accessed at http://ci.thibodaux.la.us/departments/police/index.asp

Learn more about this article here:

1.  Walker, S. and Kratz, C. (2007).  The police in America.  An introduction, 6^th edition.

ISBN 9780078111495

2.  Ratcliffe, J. (2012).  Intelligence-Led Policing.  ISBN 978-1-84392-340-4

3.  Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS). Retrieved

from the World Wide Web October 5, 2012 www.ddacts.com

4.  COPS Office (2012). A Hot Spots Experiment: Sacramento Police Department.  Retrieved

from the World Wide Web September 04, 2012, http://cops.usdoj.gov/html/dispatch/06- 

     2012/hot-spots-and-sacramento-pd.asp.

5.  The Kansas City Preventative Patrol Experiment; A summary report.  Retrieved

from the World Wide Web October 5, 2012 http://www.policefoundation.org/pdf/kcppe.pdf

New technologies are constantly finding their way into law enforcement, with potential pitfalls and benefits for both citizens and officers. Advantages include accessibility and speed, but there can be disadvantages as well, including the loss of personal contact with police and the possibility of false and frivolous reports.

California State University Northbridge took these pros and cons into consideration when it created an online reporting program for non-emergency, non-serious crimes. The program is a timesaver for students, who do not have to travel to the police station or wait for an officer, and it frees officers to deal with more serious crimes, which still must be reported in person.

The department says that online police reports will be treated the same as in-person reports. “The only difference in reporting a crime online is that the first line of communication will be a computer instead of an officer,” said Christina Villalobos, the department’s public information officer.

Guidelines for online reporting are posted on the department’s website. Emergencies and crimes with known suspects are excluded. Crimes that can be reported online include harassing phone calls, hit-and-run accidents, identity theft and other thefts, lost property, vehicle burglary and tampering, and vandalism.

Some faculty and students have expressed concern that the convenience of online reporting might increase the number of frivolous reports. But the tool is “pretty restrictive in what can and cannot be reported” according to Villalobos, and frivolous reporting has not been a problem so far: In fact the program has been slow to catch on. Property crimes (360 last year) and vandalism (194) are the most common CSUN reports, but only 77 crimes have been reported online since the program went online in March.

Urgent crimes must be reported in person because the department feels that they require personal contact with an officer. These include violent, hate and sex crimes, as well as missing persons, stolen vehicles, lost/stolen license plate, domestic violence, assault and battery, and serious traffic accidents that are not hit-and-runs. “There are a lot of questions for things like robbery and rape,” Villalobos said. “We need more information on those types of things.”

It remains to be seen whether convenience and speed trump personal contact and result in more online reporting. The department expects the number of online reports to increase as students become more aware of the program.

To Learn More:

http://sundial.csun.edu/2012/09/online-reporting-tool-makes-it-easy/

http://www-admn.csun.edu/police/onlinereport/start-report.html

Jean Reynolds, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus of English at Polk State College, where she taught report writing and communication skills in the criminal justice program. She is the author of seven books, including Police Talk (Pearson), co-written with the late Mary Mariani. Visit her website at www.YourPoliceWrite.com for free report writing resources. Go to www.Amazon.com for a free preview of her book The Criminal Justice Report Writing Guide for Officers. Dr. Reynolds is the police report writing expert for Law Enforcement Today.

I enjoy discussing the impact of one of law enforcement’s great influences; Jane Jacobs.    The response I get nearly 100% of the time is, “Who is Jane Jacobs?” Was she a chief of police, director of a federal law enforcement agency, or one of the nation’s first females elected as sheriff?  No, but her contributions to academia helped shape some of the very practices we employ today.  She was an urban theorist whose 1960s seminal research, The death and life of the American city inspired numerous criminological theories.

While you will not find her works in the annals of law enforcement, this urbanist coined the term “eyes on the street” to explain the natural surveillance concepts inherent within the built environment of traditional neighborhoods.  Porches, stoops and street-level windows frequented by residents provide a foundation for sharing information and interpersonal accountability.

Although Jacobs never a member of law enforcement, this academic inspired environmental criminological theory to include Oscar Newman’s “Defensible Space”, C. Ray Jeffery’s “Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design” (CPTED), James Wilson and George Kelling’s “Broken Windows” Theory and the community policing models that followed the reformist Professional Policing era of the 1940 – 1960s.

While you may question the purpose of discussing an urban planner’s relationship to crime theory, I illustrate these works as examples of the value of building an academic foundation for the practical application of law enforcement.  Prior to returning to graduate school, I served in high-risk assignments such as SWAT, undercover narcotics, and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force agent for 15 years.  I knew the criminal code as if I had written it myself. I was keenly aware of the mission, but clueless as to why the mission mattered.

Continuing in my career, I earned a Master of Public Administration and Ph.D. during the next eight years in a command-level capacity for a nationally accredited sheriff’s office and then chief of police.  Not because of promotional opportunity, but academics, did I begin to gain an objective perspective about the holistic nature of policing and public service.

Higher education teaches the skill of research, and introduces the learner to a body of literature with unlimited areas of interest.  The ability to research is vital to law enforcement leaders required to become knowledgeable in everything from criminal law to human resources.  While it is not possible to inherently know all of these things, it is possible to develop the abilities required for conducting research and articulating this information.  Learning this specialized skill set is where a formal education most benefits the police leader.

The commitment to advanced law enforcement and criminological theory is key to exploring fresh perspectives in an evolving profession currently transitioning into a hybrid paradigm of community relations, anti-terrorism enforcement, and intelligence-led policing.  Even basic research related to employee motivation, retention, and productivity is found in available college courses.

Would you believe that assembling telephone relays can affect law enforcement leadership?  Review Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger’s Hawthorne effect on the psychology of workplace and organizational behavior.   A formal education reveals many nuggets of effective management and theory.  While there are professional training programs, the value of a college education to the field of policing provides a sphere of academic influence applicable beyond the occupation.

Practical application is where the rubber meets the road in our profession, and a final example of the resources acquired through advanced education demonstrates the use of theory relative to resource allocation for reducing crime and calls for service (CFS).  As decision makers, we are regularly presented with issues concerning staffing, overtime availability, and responding to site specific problems for addressing community concerns similar to the Problem Oriented Policing model.  If you studied Chris Koper’s curve theory, then you have a prized resource in your tactical solutions bag.  This crime suppression and deterrence theory provides actual usage opportunity when the challenges of staffing and crime fail to peacefully coexist.

I am fortunate to sit on the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s Research Advisory Committee (RAC), which includes evaluating submissions for an excellence in police research award.  During my appraisal of the applications, I reviewed a research project testing the validity of the Koper curve principle.  The Sacramento Police Department (SPD) and their local university combined to quantify the results of hotspot policing through the use of the principle.  This research is an example of the synergy between a street cop’s curiosity, and academe’s foundation in theory and methods of quantitative study.

In brief, this theory states that in areas experiencing disproportionate levels of crime (hot spot) compared to similar geographical locations, communities can experience reductions in crime and CFS after employing highly visible enforcement (HVE) strategies for 12 – 16 minutes at a time.  Before you close the cover to your IPad, take a look at SPD’s Sergeant Renee Mitchell’s results as published by the COPS office; “A Hot Spots Experiment: Sacramento Police Department”.

Upon completion of this examination, she showed Part 1 crimes decreased by 25 percent in the areas employing the 12 – 16 minute intervals of HVE, while the control areas (no implementation of the 12 – 16 minutes HVE) had a 27.3 percent increase in Part 1 crimes during similar periods.  Additionally, CFS in the treatment area dropped by 7.7 percent while a 10.9 percent increase was seen in the area without intervals of HVE.

In a profession often measuring levels of effectiveness by outputs such as arrests and citations, the examination of Sacramento’s crime challenges from a comprehensive perspective afforded through academics and criminological theory, allowed those communities most adversely affected by crime to enjoy the benefits of major outcomes; the reductions of crime and fear of victimization.

Another brief illustration of the value education has afforded me and law enforcement was the ability to personally apply this principle.  During the summer of 2009, my agency was challenged by limited patrol officer resources Crime mostly associated with juveniles was historically set to rise.  The use of DDACTS identified a particular location as a statistical hotspot, yet that limited resource was reallocated to other areas within a jurisdiction covering nearly 100 miles.

Having been recently introduced to the Koper theory in class, this was the right opportunity to test its validity.   A temporal analysis identified the highest frequency for identified blocks of time for offenses reported.  Officers were dispatched into the hotspot for 15 minutes, and removed for 30 minutes over the course of the block of time.  After a summer of wisely investing minimal HVE time during a six hour blocks, crime and CFS were drastically diminished.  Most importantly, human capital was allocated in an efficient and effective manner, while the best measure of operational success resulted in reductions for instances of victimization within that community.

Charts illustrate a patrol beat designated as “E”, and the resulting CFS by signal codes and time frames by comparing one month to the next after applying the Koper curve theory.

These examples of using academic theory to supplement strategic operations are a glimpse into what awaits the curious commander.  I personally found it rewarding to understand the entirety of our profession from the origins of the tithing system to the dynamics of enculturation that envelops our loyalty to the fraternity.  Centered in an academic environment, police leaders gain a distance from the daily grind of signing requisitions and overtime requests to experience the theoretical side of policing.  Although abstract theory does not always apply to concrete practice, the exposure to and research skills involved in discovering them adds value to the police executive’s base of knowledge.

Whether you choose to begin your college education or advance your degree into graduate school; the profession, your community and employees deserve your best.   That may come from newly discovered criminological theory, anthropological ethnographies on the culture of occupational socialization, or a statistics course to help interpret data analysis.  Whichever the source, a professional foundation based on the principles of scientific theory will assist the police executive in guiding their organization with a dynamic and creative synergy reserved for the most committed.  Are you committed?

Scott Silverii, Ph.D. was appointed Chief of Police for the Thibodaux Police Department, Louisiana in January 2011, after serving 21 years for the nationally accredited Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office.  Chief Silverii began his law enforcement career in 1990 by serving in a variety of investigative and supervisory assignments including twelve years undercover and sixteen years in SWAT.  A subject matter expert in data-driven approaches to crime and traffic safety, he was appointed to the IACP’s prestigious Research Advisory Committee after earning his Ph.D.  Chief Silverii earned a Master of Public Administration and a Doctorate in Urban Studies from the University of New Orleans, focusing his research on anthropological aspects of culture and organizations.  He also serves as an adjunct professor teaching government and criminal justice courses.  Chief Silverii can be contacted at scottsilverii@gmail.com, LinkedIn, or Law Enforcement Today.  His agency website and Facebook can be accessed at http://ci.thibodaux.la.us/departments/police/index.asp

Learn more about this article here:

Jacobs, J. (1961).  The death and life of the American city. New York: Vintage.

Newman, O. (1972). Defensible Space. New York: Macmillan.

COPS Office (2012). A Hot Spots Experiment: Sacramento Police Department.  Retrieved from the World Wide Web September 04, 2012, http://cops.usdoj.gov/html/dispatch/06-2012/hot-spots-and-sacramento-pd.asp.

Koper, C. (1995). Just enough police presence: Reducing crime and disorderly behavior by

optimizing patrol time in crime hotspots. Justice Quarterly, 12(4): 649-672.

Mayo, E. (1949). Hawthorne and the Western Electric Company. The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization. Routledge

This month, the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s (IACP) Aviation Committee published their “Recommended Guidelines for the use of Unmanned Aircraft.”  It is just my hunch, but I think that this document is very well balanced because it alienates the maximum number of people.  Those opposed to law enforcement using unmanned aircraft (UA) for any purpose at any time will remain upset.  So will those who want free reign to use UAs freely and maintain imagery and other data as long as possible.

Here’s why:

First, IACP strongly recommends collaboration with the public and media prior to purchasing the vehicles.  This rubs against those who prefer a command and control method of policing.  It is natural that many LEOs would consider this move as giving the bad guys a heads up on how they are going to be chased down.  Others would argue that getting the word out will provide a deterrent effect.

Additionally, the recommended system requirements include high visibility paint to enhance visual contact with the operator and the public.  Many will be happy about the openness this guideline provides while others will figure “Why bother?”  Digging a little deeper, IACP recognizes that some UAs will be used in covert operations where international orange would not be the best color.  The example IACP uses is surveillance during a high-risk warrant when a hard-to-spot UA could be stipulated ahead of time.  The problem with this approach is the increased cost of additional aircraft.

Other provisions in the guidelines include using reverse-911 to advise citizens that a UA is in operation in their neighborhood.  The suggested alternative is patrol cars announcing the operation with loudspeakers.  Seriously?

Some provisions are no-brainers, such as FAA Certification of Operations (COA), qualification of operators, and strict accountability for unauthorized use (such as checking on your ex or buzzing a clothing optional beach).  Supervisory approval, flight documentation, and operational/policy training are stressed in the guidelines.

Personally, I was disappointed that IACP did not mention remotely operated unmanned aircraft, let alone autonomous unmanned aircraft.  As technology advances, the cost of these high-tech systems will decrease as their numbers increase.  I can only assume that IACP will be revisiting this issue within the next few years and hope they rethink some of their guidelines, which defy common sense.

Bruce Bremer, MBA is LET’s technology contributor. Bruce retired from the Submarine Service after 21 years of in-depth experience with complex electronic technology. Since then, he has been involved in fleet modernization and military research analysis. He teaches electronics and alternative energy at a Virginia college. Besides his MBA, Bruce earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer networking. He has been volunteering in public safety for many years.

Learn more about this article here:

http://www.theiacp.org/portals/0/pdfs/IACP_UAGuidelines.pdf

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/244143-police-chiefs-offer-guidelines-on-drones

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is questioning the use of automated license plate readers and the storage of data gathered by these systems.  Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) systems use a variety of cameras… close circuit television (CCTV), infrared (IR), and low light-level television (LLTV).  All of these systems read license information using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software and then compares the information with a variety of databases.

As of this writing, the ACLU has filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with agencies in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions of the U.S.  Much has been written about these systems and the privacy concerns that much of the public has about ALPR.  What is not reported is the fact these systems automate tasks previously accomplished by patrol officers and toll booth operators.  Similarly, neither media nor the ACLU point out that there is no legal expectation of privacy by anyone operating a motor vehicle on a public street or highway.

Some news outlets warn that the police are using this technology to track individual members of society on a daily and continuous basis.  This is bunk.  For one thing, any attempt to track society at large would quickly swamp users with “data diarrhea”; nobody would be able to keep up with it.  Also, data storage costs money… both in equipment and facilities.  Agencies have better things to spend their money on (such as ballistic vests) instead of recording where Aunt Harriet gets her nails done from cradle to grave.  Really, tracking someone is better served with a GPS transponder and a warrant.

Rather than tracking your extended family (unless you’re related to Tony Soprano), ALPRs have proven to be a useful resource during Amber, Silver, and Blue Alerts.  Most of the public is aware of Amber alerts for missing children, but are not acquainted with Silver Alerts for missing Alzheimer’s patients or Blue Alerts for cop killers on the loose.  ALPRs serve as an adjunct to the eyes of police and transportation workers who cannot detect the presence of a wanted car with the precision and speed of this system.

Oddly, the ACLU does not care to note the possible use for ALPR as exculpatory evidence.  Technology doesn’t care if the data is to be used for the prosecution or the defense.  A person can be quickly eliminated as a suspect if he or she is recorded entering a toll-both lane far away from the crime scene.  There are plenty of times that the government seeks to limit or take away our freedoms.

In a time when we have elected officials determined to tell the people what to or not to eat, drink, drive, wear, buy, or think, the ACLU certainly has its work cut out for it… that is, if the American Civil Liberties Union is really interested in liberty.

Bruce Bremer, MBA is LET’s technology contributor. Bruce retired from the Submarine Service after 21 years of in-depth experience with complex electronic technology. Since then, he has been involved in fleet modernization and military research analysis. He teaches electronics and alternative energy at a Virginia college. Besides his MBA, Bruce earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer networking. He has been volunteering in public safety for many years.

Learn more about this article here:

http://hamptonroads.com/2012/08/police-license-plate-readers-come-under-fire

http://gcn.com/Articles/2012/08/01/Police-license-plate-scanners-data-storage.aspx?Page=1

http://www.kctv5.com/story/19161837/license-plate-readers-spark-debate