At the same time NYPD whistleblower Adrian Schoolcraft was secretly recording his supervisors in a Brooklyn precinct, an officer named Adil Polanco was doing the same thing a borough away in the Bronx.
Polanco, short in stature and a native of the Dominican Republic, and Schoolcraft, a native of Texas, come from different backgrounds, but they have a lot in common, particularly the belief that the NYPD's obsession with numbers distorts a police officer's job. Polanco, who was also making recordings to document what he saw as wrongdoing in his precinct, tells the Voice that many of the same things that Schoolcraft observed in Brooklyn's 81st Precinct were also taking place in the 41st Precinct in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx. He claims that supervisors constantly harangued cops to hit quotas for arrests, summonses, and stop-and-frisks, even when it meant harassing innocent civilians who were doing nothing wrong.
He claims that supervisors ordered officers to downgrade crime complaints and refuse to take complaints from civilians in order to manipulate crime statistics.
"It happened all the time," he says. "The reason was CompStat. They know what they are going to be asked for in CompStat, and they have to have a lower number—but not too low."
A sergeant whose voice is heard repeatedly on the tapes was indicted, along with an 81st Precinct officer, for filing false arrest paperwork. Sergeant Raymond Stukes and Officer Hector Tirado claimed they had seen a man illegally selling untaxed cigarettes from out of a backpack. That man turned out to be an undercover Internal Affairs officer. During one roll tape, dating back to December 8, 2008, Stukes tells his cops, "You gotta commit a felony to get fired from this job. How simple is that?" He goes on to suggest that cops who don't hit their numbers will be punished, and essentially tells them to do stop-and-frisks ("250s" in police parlance) solely for the purpose of making a number. "This job is so easy," he says. "Just keep the hounds off. A parker. A 250. Someone walking down the street. So what? I did a 250. What's the big deal? He doesn't want to give you his information? Who cares? It's still a 250." Previously, the Voice withheld the names of Stukes and other lieutenants and sergeants from publication in the series, but Stukes's indictment by a Brooklyn Grand Jury makes what he said on the tapes a matter of public interest. The Stukes indictment confirms the existence of a practice that Schoolcraft had complained about: that officers were being asked to make arrests when they had not actually seen the misconduct. But the motive for Stukes's alleged behavior remains a mystery. Police sources surmised that either he saw the arrest as another quota number, or he was simply cutting a key corner in the arrest process.
In one conversation, a Patrolmen's Benevolent Association delegate tells Polanco: "Twenty and one is what the union wants. . . . This is what the job is coming down to."
Later, another delegate tells cops in a roll call, "Things are not going to get any better. It is going to get a lot worse. If you think getting one and 20 is breaking your balls, guess what you're going to be doing? You're going to be doing a lot more. A lot more than what you think. This was all dealt with in the last contract."
This delegate is later heard to say: "This is not coming from me—this is coming from higher up. The unions agreed on it. We're unionized here. This is what we pushed through. And let's be smart about it. You gotta be smart about it."
In addition to Polanco and Bienz, two more police officers have come forward to make similar allegations, Schoolcraft's lawyer, Jon Norinsberg, says. Norinsberg requested that the Voice withhold the names of the officers. The officer alleges that as recently as last April, precinct supervisors were issuing actual quota numbers, and threatening to fire officers who didn't meet those quotas. This officer also alleges that the practice of downgrading complaints was a common occurrence.
The second officer, who labors in a Bronx precinct, claims that the downgrading of crime reports is a consistent practice that he called "shitcanning," Norinsberg says. Like Schoolcraft, this officer found reports that were questionable and followed up with victims. He claims that his precinct commander would file legitimate crime reports as "unfounded" so they wouldn't appear on the all-important precinct crime statistics.
Link:
http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-08-25/news/nypd-tapes-5-the-corroboration/5/
Favorite Quotes
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Recent changes to the Miranda warning will affect cases that private investigators work on.
They are words that virtually everyone knows — “You have the right to remain silent.”
But for those who are in trouble with the law, there’s a new catch — now if you’re arrested, you’ll have to speak up and declare you are invoking your right to keep quiet.
On June 1, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision to alter the familiar Miranda warning, adding a stipulation that requires suspects to outright state to investigators their desire to remain silent, in the same way they must specifically ask for an attorney.
Locally, defense attorneys are viewing the ruling as the latest step in winnowing away suspects’ rights.
“The upshot is this — silence is not golden,” said Bay City attorney Edward M. Czuprynski. “To remain silent isn’t enough anymore. That is a continuous erosion of our constitutional rights and a further move to a police state. It’s been going on for years; it’s not a surprising decision. I’m surprised they haven’t chipped away more at Miranda than they already have.”
Fellow attorney Jason P. Gower agrees with Czuprynski’s assessment.
“My thought on that case is that the Supreme Court is basically giving their blessing to police officers who already play fast and loose with the protection that the accused are afforded because the reality there is, whether given Miranda or not, the courts have chipped away at what a custodial interrogation is for so long,” Gower said.
“Whenever there is a legal defense, whenever there is a loophole, whenever there is a defense that works time and time again for people charged with crimes, the powers that be change the rules of the game,” Gower added. “That’s exactly what is happening. The government changes the rules.
Link:
http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2010/08/local_attorneys_police_weigh_i.html
But for those who are in trouble with the law, there’s a new catch — now if you’re arrested, you’ll have to speak up and declare you are invoking your right to keep quiet.
On June 1, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision to alter the familiar Miranda warning, adding a stipulation that requires suspects to outright state to investigators their desire to remain silent, in the same way they must specifically ask for an attorney.
Locally, defense attorneys are viewing the ruling as the latest step in winnowing away suspects’ rights.
“The upshot is this — silence is not golden,” said Bay City attorney Edward M. Czuprynski. “To remain silent isn’t enough anymore. That is a continuous erosion of our constitutional rights and a further move to a police state. It’s been going on for years; it’s not a surprising decision. I’m surprised they haven’t chipped away more at Miranda than they already have.”
Fellow attorney Jason P. Gower agrees with Czuprynski’s assessment.
“My thought on that case is that the Supreme Court is basically giving their blessing to police officers who already play fast and loose with the protection that the accused are afforded because the reality there is, whether given Miranda or not, the courts have chipped away at what a custodial interrogation is for so long,” Gower said.
“Whenever there is a legal defense, whenever there is a loophole, whenever there is a defense that works time and time again for people charged with crimes, the powers that be change the rules of the game,” Gower added. “That’s exactly what is happening. The government changes the rules.
Link:
http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2010/08/local_attorneys_police_weigh_i.html
Monday, August 30, 2010
Filming police without their consent is a concern for private investigators.
When police arrested Anthony Graber for speeding on his motorbike, the 25-year-old probably did not see himself as an advocate for police accountability in the age of new media.
"The case is critical to the protection of democracy because I don't think you can have a free country in which public officials are able to criminally prosecute people who film what they are doing," David Rocah, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union in Maryland who is representing Graber, said.
Even though he had never been arrested before, Graber is being charged with illegal wiretapping and could face 16 years in jail.
"This is about shielding the policeman, a public servant, from journalistic scrutiny," Steve Rendall, a media analyst with Freedom and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), told Al Jazeera.
The arrest happened in April and the trial is expected to begin later this year.
Rocah said his client "was charged under the wiretapping statute which prohibits taping oral communications without consent".
The statute, which does not mention video recording, is not supposed to apply to "conversations in a colloquial context, but in a private context" Rocah told Al Jazeera.
The encounter happened on a public street and, according to Rocah, police officers - public officials tasked with protecting the public interest - should not be able to hide behind such rules to avoid scrutiny.
"The value of documenting what is happening cannot be over-stated," he said.
Supporters of the crack-down on filming police argue that citizen journalists pose a threat to privacy.
That is the logic Joseph Cassily, the prosecutor handling Graber's case, is likely to make at the trial.
In media interviews, Cassily presented a scenario where police stopped someone on suspicion of drinking and driving, asking for a breath test, and a random passerby filmed the encounter, putting it on the internet without consent from the driver or the officer.
"Is there some interest in protecting private individuals who may be having a conversation with the police? Yes," Rendall said.
"But in the end, I think that is out-weighed by the public's right to know."
Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/08/201082214554232983.html
"The case is critical to the protection of democracy because I don't think you can have a free country in which public officials are able to criminally prosecute people who film what they are doing," David Rocah, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union in Maryland who is representing Graber, said.
Even though he had never been arrested before, Graber is being charged with illegal wiretapping and could face 16 years in jail.
"This is about shielding the policeman, a public servant, from journalistic scrutiny," Steve Rendall, a media analyst with Freedom and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), told Al Jazeera.
The arrest happened in April and the trial is expected to begin later this year.
Rocah said his client "was charged under the wiretapping statute which prohibits taping oral communications without consent".
The statute, which does not mention video recording, is not supposed to apply to "conversations in a colloquial context, but in a private context" Rocah told Al Jazeera.
The encounter happened on a public street and, according to Rocah, police officers - public officials tasked with protecting the public interest - should not be able to hide behind such rules to avoid scrutiny.
"The value of documenting what is happening cannot be over-stated," he said.
Supporters of the crack-down on filming police argue that citizen journalists pose a threat to privacy.
That is the logic Joseph Cassily, the prosecutor handling Graber's case, is likely to make at the trial.
In media interviews, Cassily presented a scenario where police stopped someone on suspicion of drinking and driving, asking for a breath test, and a random passerby filmed the encounter, putting it on the internet without consent from the driver or the officer.
"Is there some interest in protecting private individuals who may be having a conversation with the police? Yes," Rendall said.
"But in the end, I think that is out-weighed by the public's right to know."
Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/08/201082214554232983.html
A Detroit juror blogs on facebook about a guilty verdict for a trial.
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. — A judge removed a juror from a trial in suburban Detroit after the young woman wrote on Facebook that the defendant was guilty. The problem? The trial wasn't over. Hadley Jons, of Warren just north of Detroit, could be found in contempt when she returns to the Macomb County circuit court Thursday.
Jons, 20, was a juror in a case of resisting arrest. On Aug. 11, a day off from the trial and before the prosecution finished its case, she wrote on Facebook that it was "gonna be fun to tell the defendant they're guilty."
Link:http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/7178076.html
Jons, 20, was a juror in a case of resisting arrest. On Aug. 11, a day off from the trial and before the prosecution finished its case, she wrote on Facebook that it was "gonna be fun to tell the defendant they're guilty."
Link:http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/7178076.html
Friday, August 27, 2010
Protecting yourself if you use IPhone apps.(geotags) etc.
Geotagging adds GPS coordinates to your online posts or photos. You may be exposing this information without even knowing it. Geotagging is particularly popular with photos; many smartphones automatically geotag photos.
Photos can be plotted on a map for easy organization and viewing. But if you post photos online, and you could reveal your home address or child's school. You've given a criminal a treasure map.
If you use these services, protect yourself. Use a little common sense. First, don't geotag photos of your house or your children. In fact, it's best to disable geotagging until you specifically need it.
On the iPhone 4, tap Settings, then General, and then Location Services. You can select which applications can access GPS data. These options aren't available in older iPhone software, so tap Settings, then General, then Reset. Tap Reset Location Warnings. You'll be prompted if an application wants to access GPS data. You can then disallow it.
In Android, start the Camera app and open the menu at the left. Go into the settings and turn off geotagging or location storage, depending on which version of Android is on your phone. On a BlackBerry, click the Camera icon. Press the Menu button and select Options. Set the Geotagging option to Disabled. Save your settings.
You can also use an EXIF editor to remove location information from photos. EXIF data is information about a photo embedded in the file. Visit www.komando.com/news for free EXIF editors.
Don't check in on Foursquare or similar sites from home. And make sure your Twitter program is not including GPS coordinates in your tweets.
For many people, Facebook ties everything together. Reconsider linking other accounts to Facebook. Pay close attention to your privacy settings. Only trusted friends should know when you are or aren't at home. Finally, if you have contacts you don't fully trust, it's time to do a purge.
Links: http://www.komando.com/columns/index.aspx?id=2229
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/kimkomando/2010-08-26-location-services_N.htm
Photos can be plotted on a map for easy organization and viewing. But if you post photos online, and you could reveal your home address or child's school. You've given a criminal a treasure map.
If you use these services, protect yourself. Use a little common sense. First, don't geotag photos of your house or your children. In fact, it's best to disable geotagging until you specifically need it.
On the iPhone 4, tap Settings, then General, and then Location Services. You can select which applications can access GPS data. These options aren't available in older iPhone software, so tap Settings, then General, then Reset. Tap Reset Location Warnings. You'll be prompted if an application wants to access GPS data. You can then disallow it.
In Android, start the Camera app and open the menu at the left. Go into the settings and turn off geotagging or location storage, depending on which version of Android is on your phone. On a BlackBerry, click the Camera icon. Press the Menu button and select Options. Set the Geotagging option to Disabled. Save your settings.
You can also use an EXIF editor to remove location information from photos. EXIF data is information about a photo embedded in the file. Visit www.komando.com/news for free EXIF editors.
Don't check in on Foursquare or similar sites from home. And make sure your Twitter program is not including GPS coordinates in your tweets.
For many people, Facebook ties everything together. Reconsider linking other accounts to Facebook. Pay close attention to your privacy settings. Only trusted friends should know when you are or aren't at home. Finally, if you have contacts you don't fully trust, it's time to do a purge.
Links: http://www.komando.com/columns/index.aspx?id=2229
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/kimkomando/2010-08-26-location-services_N.htm
Researcher creates clearinghouse of 14 million hacked passwords.
Canadian researcher Ron Bowes has created a sort of Wall of Sheep for the entire Internet. By simply collecting all the publicly-spilled repositories of users’ passwords from recent hacking incidents, he’s created a clearinghouse for stolen passwords on his Web site–14,488,929 distinct passwords to be exact, collected from 32,943,045 users.
Bowes didn’t steal these passwords, and they’re not associated with usernames, an extra piece of data that would make listing them far more dangerous. All but 250,000 or so became public after the breach of RockYou.com, a social networking applications site penetrated by cybercriminals using an SQL-injection. Another 180,000 were spilled when the bulletin board software site phpbb was hacked using a vulnerability in one of the site’s plugins. 37,000 more were stolen from MySpace using phishing techniques.
Bowes, a consultant with Dash9 security and a developer for security scanning tool NMap, says he collected the passwords to help researchers figure out how users choose passwords and make the authentication process more secure. The site he’s assembled is a wiki, so anyone can update it with new breached password lists. “Since I created it, I’ve had exceptionally good feedback from researchers around the world.,” Bowes wrote in his blog. ” As far as I know, it’s the best collection of breached passwords anywhere.”
The real lesson from Bowes’ collection: People choose terrible passwords. In most lists that Bowes analyzed, “123456″ was the most common password, with “password” somewhere shortly after. Most top ten lists of common passwords include the name of the site the user is logging in to. The most common passwords on Christian blogging site Faithwriters included words like jesuschrist, heaven, christ, and blessed, all easy enough to guess for a hacker to guess or even easier to find with a dictionary attack that cycles through millions of word variants.
One fix Bowes suggests is blocking users from choosing the worst passwords. Twitter, for instance, uses a blacklist of 370 easily guessable passwords that it won’t accept, to block users from insecure words or phrases like “Password1″ or “TwitterRocks.” The most common 1,000 passwords on his site, Bowes wrote in an email to me, should probably be used as a blacklist for password choices on every site.
Links:
http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2010/08/26/researcher-creates-clearinghouse-of-14-million-hacked-passwords/?boxes=Homepagechannels
http://www.skullsecurity.org/wiki/index.php/Passwords
http://www.skullsecurity.org/blog/?p=898
Bowes didn’t steal these passwords, and they’re not associated with usernames, an extra piece of data that would make listing them far more dangerous. All but 250,000 or so became public after the breach of RockYou.com, a social networking applications site penetrated by cybercriminals using an SQL-injection. Another 180,000 were spilled when the bulletin board software site phpbb was hacked using a vulnerability in one of the site’s plugins. 37,000 more were stolen from MySpace using phishing techniques.
Bowes, a consultant with Dash9 security and a developer for security scanning tool NMap, says he collected the passwords to help researchers figure out how users choose passwords and make the authentication process more secure. The site he’s assembled is a wiki, so anyone can update it with new breached password lists. “Since I created it, I’ve had exceptionally good feedback from researchers around the world.,” Bowes wrote in his blog. ” As far as I know, it’s the best collection of breached passwords anywhere.”
The real lesson from Bowes’ collection: People choose terrible passwords. In most lists that Bowes analyzed, “123456″ was the most common password, with “password” somewhere shortly after. Most top ten lists of common passwords include the name of the site the user is logging in to. The most common passwords on Christian blogging site Faithwriters included words like jesuschrist, heaven, christ, and blessed, all easy enough to guess for a hacker to guess or even easier to find with a dictionary attack that cycles through millions of word variants.
One fix Bowes suggests is blocking users from choosing the worst passwords. Twitter, for instance, uses a blacklist of 370 easily guessable passwords that it won’t accept, to block users from insecure words or phrases like “Password1″ or “TwitterRocks.” The most common 1,000 passwords on his site, Bowes wrote in an email to me, should probably be used as a blacklist for password choices on every site.
Links:
http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2010/08/26/researcher-creates-clearinghouse-of-14-million-hacked-passwords/?boxes=Homepagechannels
http://www.skullsecurity.org/wiki/index.php/Passwords
http://www.skullsecurity.org/blog/?p=898
Thursday, August 26, 2010
ASCLD-LAB accreditation for crime labs raises serious questions.
The only outsiders invited to review the work of the State Bureau of Investigation's lab for the past 20 years missed all the problems revealed this month by two former FBI agents and newspaper reporters.
No one at the accreditation agency, or others familiar with its work, seems to be surprised.
ASCLD-LAB, a group led by former SBI agents and based in Johnston County, is the leading accreditation agency for crime labs nationwide. But it reviews cases selected by supervisors in the agency being audited, and it does that only every five years.
"Am I surprised we didn't see a problem? Not really," said Michael Grubb, chairman of ASCLD-LAB and director of the San Diego Police Crime Lab. "Every case they work is not examined. It's a relatively small number."
The SBI's certification through ASCLD-LAB is a signal to the world that the crime lab's work is sound. Leaders wear it as a badge of honor, often citing ASCLD-LAB's seal of approval as proof of good work.
The significance of that accreditation is now in question.
ASCLD-LAB was formed in the 1980s as forensic crime lab directors tried to organize and adopt basic standards "before someone else set them for us," Keaton said earlier this summer. Keaton was North Carolina's point person in those talks.
The first wave of forensic labs was accredited in the late 1980s; today, 364 forensic crime labs in the U.S. are accredited through ASCLD-LAB, making it by far the largest accrediting agency in forensic science.
Through five separate accreditation reviews, auditors sent to North Carolina by ASCLD-LAB found nothing like the picture revealed in recent independent audits and news reports.
Earlier this summer, Keaton spoke with confidence about the SBI's quality of work, dismissing questions about problems illuminated in February when SBI analyst Duane Deaver was criticized for withholding critical blood evidence. In that case, Greg Taylor, a Wake County man, spent 17 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, in part because Deaver withheld results of blood tests that were favorable to Taylor.
"I don't think there are a large number of cases in which there's been a miscarriage of justice," Keaton said. "Absence of evidence is not evidence of innocence."
Every five years, a team of forensic scientists from crime labs in other states come to the SBI lab to inspect its work. They study policy manuals, double check first-aid kits and review the layout of the lab. They check each criterion they meet and note shortcomings they expect to be fixed.
For each unit, inspectors examine five cases for each analyst. They allow lab supervisors to select the cases.
"They can cherry pick," said Randall Robbins, a retired lab official from the Illinois Police crime lab who performed audits for ASCLD-LAB. "They also can sanitize the files. Any lab across the country can dress it up and make it look as pretty as it wants."
Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/26/648075/inspectors-missed-all-sbi-faults.html
No one at the accreditation agency, or others familiar with its work, seems to be surprised.
ASCLD-LAB, a group led by former SBI agents and based in Johnston County, is the leading accreditation agency for crime labs nationwide. But it reviews cases selected by supervisors in the agency being audited, and it does that only every five years.
"Am I surprised we didn't see a problem? Not really," said Michael Grubb, chairman of ASCLD-LAB and director of the San Diego Police Crime Lab. "Every case they work is not examined. It's a relatively small number."
The SBI's certification through ASCLD-LAB is a signal to the world that the crime lab's work is sound. Leaders wear it as a badge of honor, often citing ASCLD-LAB's seal of approval as proof of good work.
The significance of that accreditation is now in question.
ASCLD-LAB was formed in the 1980s as forensic crime lab directors tried to organize and adopt basic standards "before someone else set them for us," Keaton said earlier this summer. Keaton was North Carolina's point person in those talks.
The first wave of forensic labs was accredited in the late 1980s; today, 364 forensic crime labs in the U.S. are accredited through ASCLD-LAB, making it by far the largest accrediting agency in forensic science.
Through five separate accreditation reviews, auditors sent to North Carolina by ASCLD-LAB found nothing like the picture revealed in recent independent audits and news reports.
Earlier this summer, Keaton spoke with confidence about the SBI's quality of work, dismissing questions about problems illuminated in February when SBI analyst Duane Deaver was criticized for withholding critical blood evidence. In that case, Greg Taylor, a Wake County man, spent 17 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, in part because Deaver withheld results of blood tests that were favorable to Taylor.
"I don't think there are a large number of cases in which there's been a miscarriage of justice," Keaton said. "Absence of evidence is not evidence of innocence."
Every five years, a team of forensic scientists from crime labs in other states come to the SBI lab to inspect its work. They study policy manuals, double check first-aid kits and review the layout of the lab. They check each criterion they meet and note shortcomings they expect to be fixed.
For each unit, inspectors examine five cases for each analyst. They allow lab supervisors to select the cases.
"They can cherry pick," said Randall Robbins, a retired lab official from the Illinois Police crime lab who performed audits for ASCLD-LAB. "They also can sanitize the files. Any lab across the country can dress it up and make it look as pretty as it wants."
Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/26/648075/inspectors-missed-all-sbi-faults.html
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Vans equipped with X-ray scanners are being used in the U. S. and we don't know which law enforcement agency is using them.
As the privacy controversy around full-body security scans begins to simmer, it’s worth noting that courthouses and airport security checkpoints aren’t the only places where backscatter x-ray vision is being deployed. The same technology, capable of seeing through clothes and walls, has also been rolling out on U.S. streets.
American Science & Engineering, a company based in Billerica, Massachusetts, has sold U.S. and foreign government agencies more than 500 backscatter x-ray scanners mounted in vans that can be driven past neighboring vehicles to see their contents, Joe Reiss, a vice president of marketing at the company told me in an interview. While the biggest buyer of AS&E’s machines over the last seven years has been the Department of Defense operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, Reiss says law enforcement agencies have also deployed the vans to search for vehicle-based bombs in the U.S.
Just what sort of safeguards might be in place for AS&E’s scanning vans isn’t clear, given that the company won’t reveal just which law enforcement agencies, organizations within the DHS, or foreign governments have purchased the equipment. Reiss says AS&E has customers on “all continents except Antarctica.”
Link:
http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2010/08/24/full-body-scan-technology-deployed-in-street-roving-vans/
American Science & Engineering, a company based in Billerica, Massachusetts, has sold U.S. and foreign government agencies more than 500 backscatter x-ray scanners mounted in vans that can be driven past neighboring vehicles to see their contents, Joe Reiss, a vice president of marketing at the company told me in an interview. While the biggest buyer of AS&E’s machines over the last seven years has been the Department of Defense operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, Reiss says law enforcement agencies have also deployed the vans to search for vehicle-based bombs in the U.S.
Just what sort of safeguards might be in place for AS&E’s scanning vans isn’t clear, given that the company won’t reveal just which law enforcement agencies, organizations within the DHS, or foreign governments have purchased the equipment. Reiss says AS&E has customers on “all continents except Antarctica.”
Link:
http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2010/08/24/full-body-scan-technology-deployed-in-street-roving-vans/
After Katrina, New Orleans cops were told they could shoot looters.
In the chaotic days after Hurricane Katrina, an order circulated among New Orleans police authorizing officers to shoot looters, according to present and former members of the department.
It's not clear how broadly the order was communicated. Some officers who heard it say they refused to carry it out. Others say they understood it as a fundamental change in the standards on deadly force, which allow police to fire only to protect themselves or others from what appears to be an imminent physical threat.
The accounts of orders to "shoot looters," "take back the city," or "do what you have to do" are fragmentary. It remains unclear who originated them or whether they were heard by any of the officers involved in shooting 11 civilians in the days after Katrina. Thus far, no officers implicated in shootings have used the order as an explanation for their actions. Only one of the people shot by police – Henry Glover – was allegedly stealing goods at the time he was shot.
Still, current and former officers said the police orders – taken together with tough talk from top public officials broadcast over the airwaves -- contributed to an atmosphere of confusion about how much force could be used to combat looting.
Harry Mendoza a police captain who is now in charge of the police academy, said he described the meeting at Harrah's to a group of federal prosecutors studying the department's training programs.
In one instance captured on a grainy videotape shot by a member of the force, a police captain relayed the instructions at morning roll call to cops preparing for the day's patrols.
"We have authority by martial law to shoot looters," Captain James Scott told a few dozen officers in a portion of the tape viewed by reporters. Scott, then the commander of the 1st district, is now captain of the special operations division.
Mendoza, told federal prosecutors last month that he was ordered by Warren Riley, then the department's second-in-command, to "take the city back and shoot looters." A lieutenant who worked for Mendoza, Mike Cahn III, said he remembered the scene similarly and would testify about it under oath if asked.
In an interview, Mendoza expanded on his statement to prosecutors. He said Riley arrived in the morning and asked all the police operating from Harrah's to gather beneath the casino's canopy. He estimated that 30 to 50 people were present.
Mendoza said he was "shocked" by the order to shoot looters and believed it might have confused less experienced officers. The remarks, he said, "could have easily damaged their understanding and ability to clearly recognize their responsibilities and follow state law."
Link:
http://www.propublica.org/nola/story/nopd-order-to-shoot-looters-hurricane-katrina
It's not clear how broadly the order was communicated. Some officers who heard it say they refused to carry it out. Others say they understood it as a fundamental change in the standards on deadly force, which allow police to fire only to protect themselves or others from what appears to be an imminent physical threat.
The accounts of orders to "shoot looters," "take back the city," or "do what you have to do" are fragmentary. It remains unclear who originated them or whether they were heard by any of the officers involved in shooting 11 civilians in the days after Katrina. Thus far, no officers implicated in shootings have used the order as an explanation for their actions. Only one of the people shot by police – Henry Glover – was allegedly stealing goods at the time he was shot.
Still, current and former officers said the police orders – taken together with tough talk from top public officials broadcast over the airwaves -- contributed to an atmosphere of confusion about how much force could be used to combat looting.
Harry Mendoza a police captain who is now in charge of the police academy, said he described the meeting at Harrah's to a group of federal prosecutors studying the department's training programs.
In one instance captured on a grainy videotape shot by a member of the force, a police captain relayed the instructions at morning roll call to cops preparing for the day's patrols.
"We have authority by martial law to shoot looters," Captain James Scott told a few dozen officers in a portion of the tape viewed by reporters. Scott, then the commander of the 1st district, is now captain of the special operations division.
Mendoza, told federal prosecutors last month that he was ordered by Warren Riley, then the department's second-in-command, to "take the city back and shoot looters." A lieutenant who worked for Mendoza, Mike Cahn III, said he remembered the scene similarly and would testify about it under oath if asked.
In an interview, Mendoza expanded on his statement to prosecutors. He said Riley arrived in the morning and asked all the police operating from Harrah's to gather beneath the casino's canopy. He estimated that 30 to 50 people were present.
Mendoza said he was "shocked" by the order to shoot looters and believed it might have confused less experienced officers. The remarks, he said, "could have easily damaged their understanding and ability to clearly recognize their responsibilities and follow state law."
Link:
http://www.propublica.org/nola/story/nopd-order-to-shoot-looters-hurricane-katrina
Cutbacks force police to curtail calls for some crimes.
Budget cuts are forcing police around the country to stop responding to fraud, burglary and theft calls as officers focus limited resources on violent crime.
Cutbacks in such places as Oakland, Tulsa and Norton, Mass. have forced police to tell residents to file their own reports — online or in writing —for break-ins and other lesser crimes.
"If you come home to find your house burglarized and you call, we're not coming," said Oakland Police spokeswoman Holly Joshi. The city laid off 80 officers from its force of 687 last month and the department can't respond to burglary, vandalism, and identity theft. "It's amazing. It's a big change for us."
Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, the nation's largest police union, said cutbacks are preventing many police agencies from responding to property crimes.
"The chiefs are putting the best face on this they can," Pasco said. "But think of this: that next property crime could involve a junkie who killed someone the night before."
Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-08-25-1Anresponsecops25_ST_N.htm
Cutbacks in such places as Oakland, Tulsa and Norton, Mass. have forced police to tell residents to file their own reports — online or in writing —for break-ins and other lesser crimes.
"If you come home to find your house burglarized and you call, we're not coming," said Oakland Police spokeswoman Holly Joshi. The city laid off 80 officers from its force of 687 last month and the department can't respond to burglary, vandalism, and identity theft. "It's amazing. It's a big change for us."
Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, the nation's largest police union, said cutbacks are preventing many police agencies from responding to property crimes.
"The chiefs are putting the best face on this they can," Pasco said. "But think of this: that next property crime could involve a junkie who killed someone the night before."
Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-08-25-1Anresponsecops25_ST_N.htm
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Blood spatter analysis test
Bloodstain analysts claim to be able to identify how a bloodstain was created simply by looking at it. Can you do as well as the experts?
Link:
http://www.newscientist.com/gallery/dn16665-test-your-bloodstain-analysis-skills
Link:
http://www.newscientist.com/gallery/dn16665-test-your-bloodstain-analysis-skills
Monday, August 23, 2010
Don't become a target for identity theft.
Karen Sanders was at the Central Florida Fairgrounds watching her teenage sons play lacrosse, and she didn't feel like lugging her purse along.
So Sanders discreetly tucked the bag under the seat of her Infiniti. When she came back two hours later, the window was broken and her purse was gone.
That was the beginning of a nightmare that is becoming more common nationwide, law-enforcement officers say: car burglaries that result in identity theft.
Groups of thieves have found easy money in soft targets, authorities say. For example, people often feel comfortable when doing errands such as dropping a child off at day care or running into a convenience store. Sometimes, they even leave their cars running.
"They're looking for the fastest, easiest opportunity," Orange County sheriff's Lt. Jeff Stonebreaker said. "If you harden yourself as a victim, they're just going to search for someone who's easier to get."In car burglaries, thieves look for money, GPS devices, cell phones, laptop computers purses — even guns — then break windows, grab the goods in seconds and escape. In at least half the cases, drivers leave their doors unlocked and crooks go up and down streets or parking lots trying doors — "car hopping," Stonebreaker said.
"It used to be people would go in and grab your stereo … or your GPS," Barrett said. "Now it's become a profitable crime to go in and steal identity."
Sometimes thieves pay accomplices to pilfer IDs. Other times, they disguise themselves to look more like the people whose identification they steal so they can cash checks or withdraw money from a bank.
Link:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/crime/os-stolen-purses-identity-theft-20100822,0,7239023.story
So Sanders discreetly tucked the bag under the seat of her Infiniti. When she came back two hours later, the window was broken and her purse was gone.
That was the beginning of a nightmare that is becoming more common nationwide, law-enforcement officers say: car burglaries that result in identity theft.
Groups of thieves have found easy money in soft targets, authorities say. For example, people often feel comfortable when doing errands such as dropping a child off at day care or running into a convenience store. Sometimes, they even leave their cars running.
"They're looking for the fastest, easiest opportunity," Orange County sheriff's Lt. Jeff Stonebreaker said. "If you harden yourself as a victim, they're just going to search for someone who's easier to get."In car burglaries, thieves look for money, GPS devices, cell phones, laptop computers purses — even guns — then break windows, grab the goods in seconds and escape. In at least half the cases, drivers leave their doors unlocked and crooks go up and down streets or parking lots trying doors — "car hopping," Stonebreaker said.
"It used to be people would go in and grab your stereo … or your GPS," Barrett said. "Now it's become a profitable crime to go in and steal identity."
Sometimes thieves pay accomplices to pilfer IDs. Other times, they disguise themselves to look more like the people whose identification they steal so they can cash checks or withdraw money from a bank.
Link:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/crime/os-stolen-purses-identity-theft-20100822,0,7239023.story
A new software program claims to aid law enforcement in determining who is most likely to commit a crime.
New crime prediction software being rolled out in the nation's capital should reduce not only the murder rate, but the rate of many other crimes as well.
Developed by Richard Berk, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, the software is already used in Baltimore and Philadelphia to predict which individuals on probation or parole are most likely to murder and to be murdered.
In his latest version, the one being implemented in D.C., Berk goes even further, identifying the individuals most likely to commit crimes other than murder.
If the software proves successful, it could influence sentencing recommendations and bail amounts.
Link:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/software-predicts-criminal-behavior/story?id=11448231&page=1
Developed by Richard Berk, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, the software is already used in Baltimore and Philadelphia to predict which individuals on probation or parole are most likely to murder and to be murdered.
In his latest version, the one being implemented in D.C., Berk goes even further, identifying the individuals most likely to commit crimes other than murder.
If the software proves successful, it could influence sentencing recommendations and bail amounts.
Link:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/software-predicts-criminal-behavior/story?id=11448231&page=1
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Indianapolis police actions called into question. An investigator discovers a lack of certification for a medical assistant and health clinic.
Questions about how Indianapolis police have handled a fatal drunken-driving investigation of one of their own officers became that much more pointed Thursday.
Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi announced he would drop the most serious charges against officer David Bisard. Why? Because Bisard's fellow police officers had botched the case.
One victim's family called the dismissal a "travesty." A legal expert said the police ineptness leaves the public with little choice but to wonder whether the bungled case was more than an accident. And Mayor Greg Ballard has become increasingly frustrated as he seeks answers, as well.
Bisard surrendered after prosecutors learned a blood test had shown his blood-alcohol level was 0.19 -- more than twice the level at which an Indiana driver is considered intoxicated.
But that arrest didn't come until five days after the crash because of the lag in test results. The delay in arresting Bisard drew scrutiny from some -- as did the fact that no officers conducted field-sobriety or breath tests of Bisard at the scene.
Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said his investigators doubled back on the handling of the blood test this week and discovered that a medical assistant who drew Bisard's blood at an occupational health clinic lacked the certification required for a criminal case. Therefore the test results would almost certainly be inadmissible
in court.
An officer involved in the investigation visited Bisard at the clinic, where he was being treated just after the crash for injuries to his arms and his head, to obtain his consent for a blood draw. IMPD uses the facility to treat officers injured on duty.
But instead of having the blood drawn there, Brizzi said, the officer should have taken Bisard to a hospital, a more common venue for blood draws in drunken-driving investigations.
Bisard's attorney, John Kautzman, issued a statement commending Brizzi's office "for coming forward early with the candid admission that the facility and med tech were not properly certified." He said Bisard will continue to defend himself against the remaining charges.
Links:
http://www.indystar.com/article/20100820/NEWS02/8200335/1001/NEWS/Straub-The-system-failed-in-cop-s-arrest
http://www.indystar.com/article/99999999/news06/100813056
Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi announced he would drop the most serious charges against officer David Bisard. Why? Because Bisard's fellow police officers had botched the case.
One victim's family called the dismissal a "travesty." A legal expert said the police ineptness leaves the public with little choice but to wonder whether the bungled case was more than an accident. And Mayor Greg Ballard has become increasingly frustrated as he seeks answers, as well.
Bisard surrendered after prosecutors learned a blood test had shown his blood-alcohol level was 0.19 -- more than twice the level at which an Indiana driver is considered intoxicated.
But that arrest didn't come until five days after the crash because of the lag in test results. The delay in arresting Bisard drew scrutiny from some -- as did the fact that no officers conducted field-sobriety or breath tests of Bisard at the scene.
Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said his investigators doubled back on the handling of the blood test this week and discovered that a medical assistant who drew Bisard's blood at an occupational health clinic lacked the certification required for a criminal case. Therefore the test results would almost certainly be inadmissible
in court.
An officer involved in the investigation visited Bisard at the clinic, where he was being treated just after the crash for injuries to his arms and his head, to obtain his consent for a blood draw. IMPD uses the facility to treat officers injured on duty.
But instead of having the blood drawn there, Brizzi said, the officer should have taken Bisard to a hospital, a more common venue for blood draws in drunken-driving investigations.
Bisard's attorney, John Kautzman, issued a statement commending Brizzi's office "for coming forward early with the candid admission that the facility and med tech were not properly certified." He said Bisard will continue to defend himself against the remaining charges.
Links:
http://www.indystar.com/article/20100820/NEWS02/8200335/1001/NEWS/Straub-The-system-failed-in-cop-s-arrest
http://www.indystar.com/article/99999999/news06/100813056
Will Iris scanners become prevelant in the U. S.?
Biometrics R&D firm Global Rainmakers Inc. (GRI) announced today that it is rolling out its iris scanning technology to create what it calls "the most secure city in the world." In a partnership with Leon -- one of the largest cities in Mexico, with a population of more than a million -- GRI will fill the city with eye-scanners. That will help law enforcement revolutionize the way we live -- not to mention marketers.
For such a Big Brother-esque system, why would any law-abiding resident ever volunteer to scan their irises into a public database, and sacrifice their privacy? GRI hopes that the immediate value the system creates will alleviate any concern. "There's a lot of convenience to this--you'll have nothing to carry except your eyes," says Carter, claiming that consumers will no longer be carded at bars and liquor stores. And he has a warning for those thinking of opting out: "When you get masses of people opting-in, opting out does not help. Opting out actually puts more of a flag on you than just being part of the system. We believe everyone will opt-in."
GRI also predicts that iris scanners will help marketers. "Digital signage," for example, could enable advertisers to track behavior and emotion. "In ten years, you may just have one sensor that is literally able to identify hundreds of people in motion at a distance and determine their geo-location and their intent--you'll be able to see how many eyeballs looked at a billboard," Carter says. "You can start to track from the point a person is browsing on Google and finds something they want to purchase, to the point they cross the threshold in a Target or Walmart and actually make the purchase. You start to see the entire life cycle of marketing."
So will we live the future under iris scanners and constant Big Brother monitoring? According to Carter, eye scanners will soon be so cost-effective--between $50-$100 each--that in the not-too-distant future we'll have "billions and billions of sensors" across the globe.
Link:
http://www.fastcompany.com/1683302/iris-scanners-create-the-most-secure-city-in-the-world-welcomes-big-brother?partner=yahoobuzz
For such a Big Brother-esque system, why would any law-abiding resident ever volunteer to scan their irises into a public database, and sacrifice their privacy? GRI hopes that the immediate value the system creates will alleviate any concern. "There's a lot of convenience to this--you'll have nothing to carry except your eyes," says Carter, claiming that consumers will no longer be carded at bars and liquor stores. And he has a warning for those thinking of opting out: "When you get masses of people opting-in, opting out does not help. Opting out actually puts more of a flag on you than just being part of the system. We believe everyone will opt-in."
GRI also predicts that iris scanners will help marketers. "Digital signage," for example, could enable advertisers to track behavior and emotion. "In ten years, you may just have one sensor that is literally able to identify hundreds of people in motion at a distance and determine their geo-location and their intent--you'll be able to see how many eyeballs looked at a billboard," Carter says. "You can start to track from the point a person is browsing on Google and finds something they want to purchase, to the point they cross the threshold in a Target or Walmart and actually make the purchase. You start to see the entire life cycle of marketing."
So will we live the future under iris scanners and constant Big Brother monitoring? According to Carter, eye scanners will soon be so cost-effective--between $50-$100 each--that in the not-too-distant future we'll have "billions and billions of sensors" across the globe.
Link:
http://www.fastcompany.com/1683302/iris-scanners-create-the-most-secure-city-in-the-world-welcomes-big-brother?partner=yahoobuzz
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Flying in the U. S.? You could be interrogated by TSA agents using gestapo/communistic interrogation methods?
At what point does an airport search step over the line?
How about when they start going through your checks, and the police call your husband, suspicious you were clearing out the bank account?
That's the complaint leveled by Kathy Parker, a 43-year-old Elkton, Md., woman, who was flying out of Philadelphia International Airport on Aug. 8.
A TSA screener started emptying her wallet. "He was taking out the receipts and looking at them," she said.
"I understand that TSA is tasked with strengthening national security but it surely does not need to know what I purchased at Kohl's or Wal-Mart," she wrote in her complaint, which she sent me last week.
She says she asked what he was looking for and he replied, "Razor blades." She wondered, "Wouldn't that have shown up on the metal detector?"
In a side pocket she had tucked a deposit slip and seven checks made out to her and her husband, worth about $8,000.
Her thought: "Oh, my God, this is none of his business."
Two Philadelphia police officers joined at least four TSA officers who had gathered around her. After conferring with the TSA screeners, one of the Philadelphia officers told her he was there because her checks were numbered sequentially, which she says they were not.
The new TSA directive reads: "Screening may not be conducted to detect evidence of crimes unrelated to transportation security." If evidence of a crime is discovered, then TSA agents are instructed to contact the appropriate law enforcement agency.
So just what evidence made them treat Kathy Parker like a criminal?
Lt. Frank Vanore, a Philadelphia police spokesman, said that TSA personnel had called his officers, who found the checks to be "almost sequential." They were "just checking to make sure there was nothing fraudulent," he said. "They were wondering what the story was. The officer got it cleared up."
Link:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/20100818_Daniel_Rubin__An_infuriating_search_at_Philadelphia_International_Airport.html?viewAll=y
How about when they start going through your checks, and the police call your husband, suspicious you were clearing out the bank account?
That's the complaint leveled by Kathy Parker, a 43-year-old Elkton, Md., woman, who was flying out of Philadelphia International Airport on Aug. 8.
A TSA screener started emptying her wallet. "He was taking out the receipts and looking at them," she said.
"I understand that TSA is tasked with strengthening national security but it surely does not need to know what I purchased at Kohl's or Wal-Mart," she wrote in her complaint, which she sent me last week.
She says she asked what he was looking for and he replied, "Razor blades." She wondered, "Wouldn't that have shown up on the metal detector?"
In a side pocket she had tucked a deposit slip and seven checks made out to her and her husband, worth about $8,000.
Her thought: "Oh, my God, this is none of his business."
Two Philadelphia police officers joined at least four TSA officers who had gathered around her. After conferring with the TSA screeners, one of the Philadelphia officers told her he was there because her checks were numbered sequentially, which she says they were not.
The new TSA directive reads: "Screening may not be conducted to detect evidence of crimes unrelated to transportation security." If evidence of a crime is discovered, then TSA agents are instructed to contact the appropriate law enforcement agency.
So just what evidence made them treat Kathy Parker like a criminal?
Lt. Frank Vanore, a Philadelphia police spokesman, said that TSA personnel had called his officers, who found the checks to be "almost sequential." They were "just checking to make sure there was nothing fraudulent," he said. "They were wondering what the story was. The officer got it cleared up."
Link:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/20100818_Daniel_Rubin__An_infuriating_search_at_Philadelphia_International_Airport.html?viewAll=y
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
When it comes to DNA matches, you can prove almost anything using statistics.
CHARLES RICHARD SMITH has learned the hard way that you can prove almost anything with statistics. In 2009 a disputed statistic provided by a DNA analyst landed him with a 25-year jail sentence.
Smith was convicted of a sexual assault on Mary Jackson (not her real name) in Sacramento, California, which took place in January 2006. Jackson was sitting in a parking lot when a stranger jumped into her truck and made her drive to a remote location before forcing her to perform oral sex on him. When police arrested Smith and took a swab of cells from his penis, they found a second person's DNA mixed with his own.
The DNA analyst who testified in Smith's trial said the chances of the DNA coming from someone other than Jackson were 1 in 95,000. But both the prosecution and the analyst's supervisor said the odds were more like 1 in 47. A later review of the evidence suggested that the chances of the second person's DNA coming from someone other than Jackson were closer to 1 in 13, while a different statistical method said the chance of seeing this evidence if the DNA came from Jackson is only twice that of the chance of seeing it if it came from someone else.
How can a single piece of DNA evidence generate such massive differences in the statistical weight assigned to it? Last week, a New Scientist investigation showed how different forensic analysts can reach very different conclusions about whether or not someone's DNA matches a profile from a crime scene. This week we show how, even when analysts agree that someone could be a match for a piece of DNA evidence, the statistical weight assigned to that match can vary enormously.
"Usually DNA evidence is pretty strong," says David Balding, a statistical geneticist at University College London, whose calculation puts the lowest probability on the link between Smith and Jackson. "My point is that the number juries are provided with often overstates the evidence. It should be a smaller number."
Link:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727743.300-how-dna-evidence-creates-victims-of-chance.html
Smith was convicted of a sexual assault on Mary Jackson (not her real name) in Sacramento, California, which took place in January 2006. Jackson was sitting in a parking lot when a stranger jumped into her truck and made her drive to a remote location before forcing her to perform oral sex on him. When police arrested Smith and took a swab of cells from his penis, they found a second person's DNA mixed with his own.
The DNA analyst who testified in Smith's trial said the chances of the DNA coming from someone other than Jackson were 1 in 95,000. But both the prosecution and the analyst's supervisor said the odds were more like 1 in 47. A later review of the evidence suggested that the chances of the second person's DNA coming from someone other than Jackson were closer to 1 in 13, while a different statistical method said the chance of seeing this evidence if the DNA came from Jackson is only twice that of the chance of seeing it if it came from someone else.
How can a single piece of DNA evidence generate such massive differences in the statistical weight assigned to it? Last week, a New Scientist investigation showed how different forensic analysts can reach very different conclusions about whether or not someone's DNA matches a profile from a crime scene. This week we show how, even when analysts agree that someone could be a match for a piece of DNA evidence, the statistical weight assigned to that match can vary enormously.
"Usually DNA evidence is pretty strong," says David Balding, a statistical geneticist at University College London, whose calculation puts the lowest probability on the link between Smith and Jackson. "My point is that the number juries are provided with often overstates the evidence. It should be a smaller number."
Link:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727743.300-how-dna-evidence-creates-victims-of-chance.html
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
"Making Police Reforms Endure" U. S. Department of Justice, April 2010.
Police reforms seem to follow a pattern: Reforms are implemented;
some are evaluated by independent researchers; but even in cases where there is evidence of success, it is not clear that reforms become a sustained departmental effort. Institutionalization of a police reform occurs when the reform becomes a way of regularly conducting police business. More specifically, institutionalization occurs when certain norms, values, and structures are incorporated into an organization. For
institutionalization of police reform to occur, therefore, a department must demonstrate a sustained commitment to the reform.
Making Police Reforms Endure: The Keys for Success presents a framework that other police departments can use and test in their efforts to institutionalize police reforms. The points put forth are based on findings in the authors’ 2007 study of problem oriented policing in the Charlotte Mecklenburg (North Carolina) Police Department, but have general applicability to various police reforms such as problem oriented policing, community policing, and accountability measures.
In addition, the guide discusses the key issue of the importance of understanding a department’s culture when attempting to institutionalize police reforms. Such an assessment consists of examining officer attitudes, knowledge, and behavior toward reform. If deficiencies are found in any of these three areas, and if officer and organizational buy in is not obtained, the likelihood of the reform becoming institutionalized is very low. The policy and procedural changes and recommendations outlined in this publication will help departments obtain officer buy in. Throughout the document, the authors present 11 recommendations that can be considered strategies for implementing and institutionalizing police reform.
Link:
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/RIC/Publications/e04106264_policereforms_fin.pdf
some are evaluated by independent researchers; but even in cases where there is evidence of success, it is not clear that reforms become a sustained departmental effort. Institutionalization of a police reform occurs when the reform becomes a way of regularly conducting police business. More specifically, institutionalization occurs when certain norms, values, and structures are incorporated into an organization. For
institutionalization of police reform to occur, therefore, a department must demonstrate a sustained commitment to the reform.
Making Police Reforms Endure: The Keys for Success presents a framework that other police departments can use and test in their efforts to institutionalize police reforms. The points put forth are based on findings in the authors’ 2007 study of problem oriented policing in the Charlotte Mecklenburg (North Carolina) Police Department, but have general applicability to various police reforms such as problem oriented policing, community policing, and accountability measures.
In addition, the guide discusses the key issue of the importance of understanding a department’s culture when attempting to institutionalize police reforms. Such an assessment consists of examining officer attitudes, knowledge, and behavior toward reform. If deficiencies are found in any of these three areas, and if officer and organizational buy in is not obtained, the likelihood of the reform becoming institutionalized is very low. The policy and procedural changes and recommendations outlined in this publication will help departments obtain officer buy in. Throughout the document, the authors present 11 recommendations that can be considered strategies for implementing and institutionalizing police reform.
Link:
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/RIC/Publications/e04106264_policereforms_fin.pdf
Are arson investigations an art or science?
Until 1992, some arson experts say, guidelines for determining arson were largely based on hand-me-down myths practiced by fire investigators with little formal training. In 1992, the National Fire Protection Association released its first arson guidebook based on years of studies and simulations.
The guidelines, known as NFPA 921, were initially met with resistance from fire marshals and officers across the country, who believed arson investigations were an art rather than a science.
"It was gumshoe work, not really analysis and conducting studies," said Gerald Hurst, an arson investigator with a Ph.D. in chemistry, who examined the arson findings in the Cameron Todd Willingham investigation from 1991. He concluded the arson science used in his case was "junk."
So how do lawyers prove a man's innocence more than two decades after a fire occurred?
The task is almost impossible, said David L. Faigman, a law professor at the University of California, San Francisco. Disproving an arson case is more challenging because the findings aren't as clear-cut as DNA, he said. He said the petitioners have the burden to prove the arson didn't occur and that they weren't involved.
Link:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/12/pennsylvania.arson.dougherty.case/index.html?hpt=C1
The guidelines, known as NFPA 921, were initially met with resistance from fire marshals and officers across the country, who believed arson investigations were an art rather than a science.
"It was gumshoe work, not really analysis and conducting studies," said Gerald Hurst, an arson investigator with a Ph.D. in chemistry, who examined the arson findings in the Cameron Todd Willingham investigation from 1991. He concluded the arson science used in his case was "junk."
So how do lawyers prove a man's innocence more than two decades after a fire occurred?
The task is almost impossible, said David L. Faigman, a law professor at the University of California, San Francisco. Disproving an arson case is more challenging because the findings aren't as clear-cut as DNA, he said. He said the petitioners have the burden to prove the arson didn't occur and that they weren't involved.
Link:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/12/pennsylvania.arson.dougherty.case/index.html?hpt=C1
Monday, August 16, 2010
Fallible DNA evidence can mean prison or freedom, would you trust DNA evidence?
The introduction of DNA evidence to the courtroom in the mid 1980s revolutionised forensic science, resulting in thousands of convictions and exonerating 255 wrongly convicted people so far in the US alone. The reason for more than 50 per cent of these wrongful convictions was unvalidated or improper forensic testing, including incorrect hair, blood or fingerprint analysis.
"It's not unreasonable to hold up DNA as a way that the rest of forensic science should be done," says William Thompson of the University of California, Irvine, and an occasional expert witness on DNA. "It is better validated, and often more carefully done and more rigorously interpreted than many areas of forensic science."
That's not the same as saying DNA is perfect, however. In a growing number of cases, DNA samples taken from crime scenes produce partial profiles, partly because smaller samples are collected. "Labs are trying to get more samples and they're trying to [get results from] lower and lower amounts of DNA," says John Butler, head of the US National Institute of Standards and Technology's genetics group, which aims to improve standards in DNA testing.
A standard DNA profile consists of a series of peaks relating to the number of repeating stretches of DNA found in certain genetic sequences, or alleles (see diagram). The repeats occur at specific locations on the chromosomes, called loci, and there are two alleles at each locus- one inherited from each parent. The number of repeats in each allele varies widely between individuals, allowing a person to be identified this way. Labs in the US typically look at 13 loci, while UK labs tend to look at 10.
Yet in partial profiles, alleles may fail to show up, a phenomenon called "drop-out". False peaks in the profile created by imperfections in the analysis machine may also be mistaken for alleles. This is called "drop-in".
This year, the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM), which issues guidance to US labs performing forensic DNA analysis, published new recommendations regarding the interpretation of forensic DNA. These include a suggestion that labs develop strict criteria for deciding what denotes the presence of an allele, and what amount of DNA constitutes the minimum for a profile to be constructed. Labs should also document and define any assumptions used in the analysis of a mixture. "The bottom line is that you want to be as consistent and accurate as possible," says Butler, who chaired the SWGDAM committee.
It seems lab managers would welcome consistent rules. Forensic lab directors at the 19 labs we surveyed also provided their views about how their analysis is currently done: 15 either agreed or strongly agreed that interpretation procedures should be based on national standards, and 11 agreed or strongly agreed that decisions over alleles should not be based on analyst opinion.
Labs must also take steps to avoid bias. Butler says that some labs continue to insist upon seeing suspect profiles before analysing evidence from the crime scene, which could lead to biased decision-making (see "Crime Scene Investigation: Impartiality"). Analysts also often know too much about a suspect and other evidence to be impartial, and public labs often have close ties to police. "Crime labs, including DNA labs, should not be under the control of a law enforcement agency," says one US analyst, who wished to remain anonymous. "We are scientists, not cops or prosecutors."
Link:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727733.500-fallible-dna-evidence-can-mean-prison-or-freedom.html?page=1
"It's not unreasonable to hold up DNA as a way that the rest of forensic science should be done," says William Thompson of the University of California, Irvine, and an occasional expert witness on DNA. "It is better validated, and often more carefully done and more rigorously interpreted than many areas of forensic science."
That's not the same as saying DNA is perfect, however. In a growing number of cases, DNA samples taken from crime scenes produce partial profiles, partly because smaller samples are collected. "Labs are trying to get more samples and they're trying to [get results from] lower and lower amounts of DNA," says John Butler, head of the US National Institute of Standards and Technology's genetics group, which aims to improve standards in DNA testing.
A standard DNA profile consists of a series of peaks relating to the number of repeating stretches of DNA found in certain genetic sequences, or alleles (see diagram). The repeats occur at specific locations on the chromosomes, called loci, and there are two alleles at each locus- one inherited from each parent. The number of repeats in each allele varies widely between individuals, allowing a person to be identified this way. Labs in the US typically look at 13 loci, while UK labs tend to look at 10.
Yet in partial profiles, alleles may fail to show up, a phenomenon called "drop-out". False peaks in the profile created by imperfections in the analysis machine may also be mistaken for alleles. This is called "drop-in".
This year, the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM), which issues guidance to US labs performing forensic DNA analysis, published new recommendations regarding the interpretation of forensic DNA. These include a suggestion that labs develop strict criteria for deciding what denotes the presence of an allele, and what amount of DNA constitutes the minimum for a profile to be constructed. Labs should also document and define any assumptions used in the analysis of a mixture. "The bottom line is that you want to be as consistent and accurate as possible," says Butler, who chaired the SWGDAM committee.
It seems lab managers would welcome consistent rules. Forensic lab directors at the 19 labs we surveyed also provided their views about how their analysis is currently done: 15 either agreed or strongly agreed that interpretation procedures should be based on national standards, and 11 agreed or strongly agreed that decisions over alleles should not be based on analyst opinion.
Labs must also take steps to avoid bias. Butler says that some labs continue to insist upon seeing suspect profiles before analysing evidence from the crime scene, which could lead to biased decision-making (see "Crime Scene Investigation: Impartiality"). Analysts also often know too much about a suspect and other evidence to be impartial, and public labs often have close ties to police. "Crime labs, including DNA labs, should not be under the control of a law enforcement agency," says one US analyst, who wished to remain anonymous. "We are scientists, not cops or prosecutors."
Link:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727733.500-fallible-dna-evidence-can-mean-prison-or-freedom.html?page=1
Pastor acquitted in Interstate 8 checkpoint incident for exercising his constitutional rights.
A Baptist pastor who claimed he was beaten by law enforcement officers at an interstate checkpoint was acquitted Friday of two misdemeanor charges related to the incident.
The encounter happened on Interstate 8 east of Yuma in April of last year
Steven Anderson, who is minister of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, was found not guilty Friday afternoon after a two-day trial on charges of obstructing a highway and failure to obey instructions of a law enforcement officer.
“I'm thrilled. I'm happy about it,” Anderson said moments after the verdict was handed down. “I think it asks the question ‘Why was someone who was found in court not to be doing anything wrong, was brutalized and tasered like I was.'”
Anderson was driving east on Interstate 8 on April 14, 2009 when he drove into the Border Patrol checkpoint at milepost 78. While at the checkpoint, Anderson was stopped and questioned by a Border Patrol agent about his citizenship.
Anderson did not answer and instead replied that he was exercising his Constitutional rights and did not want to answer any questions. He kept asking if he was free to leave.
A Border Patrol agent referred Anderson to the secondary inspection area after a canine allegedly alerted to his vehicle. However, Anderson refused to move to secondary and stayed in his vehicle even after multiple requests from both Border Patrol agents and officers with the Department of Public Safety.
“I was exercising my Constitutional rights. I knew they wouldn't find anything and they didn't,” Anderson told the Yuma Sun. “It is an unconstitutional checkpoint and I basically refused a warrantless search of my vehicle.”
He added: “I wasn't the one blocking the highway. I was asking to leave, but they wouldn't let me.”
Link:
http://www.yumasun.com/news/anderson-63132-charges-patrol.html
The encounter happened on Interstate 8 east of Yuma in April of last year
Steven Anderson, who is minister of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, was found not guilty Friday afternoon after a two-day trial on charges of obstructing a highway and failure to obey instructions of a law enforcement officer.
“I'm thrilled. I'm happy about it,” Anderson said moments after the verdict was handed down. “I think it asks the question ‘Why was someone who was found in court not to be doing anything wrong, was brutalized and tasered like I was.'”
Anderson was driving east on Interstate 8 on April 14, 2009 when he drove into the Border Patrol checkpoint at milepost 78. While at the checkpoint, Anderson was stopped and questioned by a Border Patrol agent about his citizenship.
Anderson did not answer and instead replied that he was exercising his Constitutional rights and did not want to answer any questions. He kept asking if he was free to leave.
A Border Patrol agent referred Anderson to the secondary inspection area after a canine allegedly alerted to his vehicle. However, Anderson refused to move to secondary and stayed in his vehicle even after multiple requests from both Border Patrol agents and officers with the Department of Public Safety.
“I was exercising my Constitutional rights. I knew they wouldn't find anything and they didn't,” Anderson told the Yuma Sun. “It is an unconstitutional checkpoint and I basically refused a warrantless search of my vehicle.”
He added: “I wasn't the one blocking the highway. I was asking to leave, but they wouldn't let me.”
Link:
http://www.yumasun.com/news/anderson-63132-charges-patrol.html
Friday, August 13, 2010
More police officers are using social networking websites.
There is increased frequency with which officers are being disciplined or finding themselves at the wrong end of a department policy based on their use (or misuse) of electronic media. Specifically, social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter have caused some unexpected problems for officers. This trend follows other Internet-related disciplinary run-ins resulting from officer blogs, viewing of Internet pornography sites on department computers, and officer websites displaying questionable material in terms of taste and propriety. Most recently, an officer was disciplined for comments he made on the website for a local newspaper.
While the viewing of prohibited Internet sites from the workplace is a cause for employer discipline of an employee in both the public and private sector, the issues surrounding social networking sites may be a bit more muddled.
As a generation of new officers who have grown up with access to these social networking sites enter the ranks, they are less inclined to see the problem with social networking sites and employer placed limits on their off-duty use. Just as a prior generation of officers were forbidden to frequent certain establishments when off-duty, a new generation of officers may be precluded from their activity on the Internet.
Link:
http://www.policeone.com/off-duty/articles/2304799-Pitfalls-for-police-officers-on-social-networking-sites/
While the viewing of prohibited Internet sites from the workplace is a cause for employer discipline of an employee in both the public and private sector, the issues surrounding social networking sites may be a bit more muddled.
As a generation of new officers who have grown up with access to these social networking sites enter the ranks, they are less inclined to see the problem with social networking sites and employer placed limits on their off-duty use. Just as a prior generation of officers were forbidden to frequent certain establishments when off-duty, a new generation of officers may be precluded from their activity on the Internet.
Link:
http://www.policeone.com/off-duty/articles/2304799-Pitfalls-for-police-officers-on-social-networking-sites/
What is wrong with the FDA, does their relationship with drug companies put the public at risk?
Five days before a 2007 article in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that the diabetes drug Avandia was linked to a 43% increase in heart attacks compared with other medications or placebos, a group of scientists and executives from the drug's maker, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), gathered in a conference room at the offices of the Food and Drug Administration in White Oak, Md. The GSK goal: to convince regulators that the evidence that the company's $3 billion-a-year blockbuster drug caused heart problems was inconclusive. To do that, the GSK officials focused not on heart-attack data but on a broader, less well defined category of heart problems called myocardial ischemia. The most recent studies of Avandia, the GSK officials told the FDA, had "yielded information that is inconsistent with an increased risk of myocardial ischemic events," according to sealed court proceedings obtained by TIME.
What GSK didn't tell the FDA was that on May 14, 2007, two days before the White Oak meeting, GSK's Global Safety Board had noted that a new assessment of Avandia studies "strengthens the [cardiac-risk] signal observed in the [previous] analysis." Or that eight days earlier, the company's head of research and development, Moncef Slaoui, had sent an e-mail to its chief medical officer saying Avandia patients showed an "increased risk of ischemic event ranging from 30% to 43%!" Or that the day before the meeting, the company had produced a preliminary draft report that showed patients on Avandia had a 46% greater likelihood of heart attack than those in a control group.
(See how to prevent illness at any age.)
But the mixed-evidence argument GSK presented to the FDA worked. After months of deliberation, the agency decided to keep the drug on the market —a move worth billions of dollars to GSK but that also may have put millions of patients at risk.
Over the past two decades, as drug after drug has been recalled after winning FDA approval, it has been hard not to wonder if FDA regulators have been captured by the drug industry. FDA critics and industry monitors charge that the drug-approval process is too easy for pharmaceutical companies to game. It is in some ways an unsurprising development. The FDA serves a public insatiably hungry for new medicines. Yet the agency does not have responsibility for performing safety testing. It relies on drug companies to perform all premarket testing on drugs for safety and efficacy. And it relies on industry "user fees" for 65% of its budget for postmarket monitoring of the drugs it approves, thanks to a 1992 law designed to speed treatments to patients. "The FDA's relationship with the drug industry [is] too cozy," says Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa.
Link: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2010028,00.html
What GSK didn't tell the FDA was that on May 14, 2007, two days before the White Oak meeting, GSK's Global Safety Board had noted that a new assessment of Avandia studies "strengthens the [cardiac-risk] signal observed in the [previous] analysis." Or that eight days earlier, the company's head of research and development, Moncef Slaoui, had sent an e-mail to its chief medical officer saying Avandia patients showed an "increased risk of ischemic event ranging from 30% to 43%!" Or that the day before the meeting, the company had produced a preliminary draft report that showed patients on Avandia had a 46% greater likelihood of heart attack than those in a control group.
(See how to prevent illness at any age.)
But the mixed-evidence argument GSK presented to the FDA worked. After months of deliberation, the agency decided to keep the drug on the market —a move worth billions of dollars to GSK but that also may have put millions of patients at risk.
Over the past two decades, as drug after drug has been recalled after winning FDA approval, it has been hard not to wonder if FDA regulators have been captured by the drug industry. FDA critics and industry monitors charge that the drug-approval process is too easy for pharmaceutical companies to game. It is in some ways an unsurprising development. The FDA serves a public insatiably hungry for new medicines. Yet the agency does not have responsibility for performing safety testing. It relies on drug companies to perform all premarket testing on drugs for safety and efficacy. And it relies on industry "user fees" for 65% of its budget for postmarket monitoring of the drugs it approves, thanks to a 1992 law designed to speed treatments to patients. "The FDA's relationship with the drug industry [is] too cozy," says Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa.
Link: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2010028,00.html
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Pdf. of what SBI forensic (crime lab) analysts were to say in Court until Aug 11, 2010
Private investigators will find this extremely useful:
North Carolina; Thirteen pages of what SBI forensic (crime lab) analysts were to say in Court.
How many other crime labs use similar guidelines?
Link:
http://media2.newsobserver.com/smedia/2010/08/11/19/Document.source.prod_affiliate.156.pdf
North Carolina; Thirteen pages of what SBI forensic (crime lab) analysts were to say in Court.
How many other crime labs use similar guidelines?
Link:
http://media2.newsobserver.com/smedia/2010/08/11/19/Document.source.prod_affiliate.156.pdf
In 38 states (MA included) crime labs report directly to prosecutors or police, what could possibly go wrong?
North Carolina; The work of the SBI crime lab has been under fire since February, when Greg Taylor, an innocent man, was freed after judges learned an SBI serologist withheld crucial evidence that proved a stain on Taylor's SUV wasn't blood.
Problems at the lab run deeper than blood. State law puts scientists at the lab on the prosecution's team, instead of assigning them as independent seekers of fact. Analysts sometimes don't run DNA or blood tests that might threaten prosecutors' theories. And they shield themselves from scrutiny, fighting against turning over records and forbidding defense experts from observing their work.
Such bias is not surprising, given that the lab is controlled by a law enforcement agency; North Carolina is one of 38 states where the lab reports to police or prosecutors. In 2009, the nation's most renowned scientists warned against such a setup in a wide-ranging study that included dozens of top lawyers, professors and judges.
One of their top recommendations: Forensic scientists shouldn't report to law enforcement or prosecutors.
"The best science is conducted in a scientific setting as opposed to a law enforcement setting," said the report from the National Academies, which advises on science, medicine and engineering. "Forensic science serves more than just law enforcement; and when it does serve law enforcement, it must be equally available to law enforcement officers, prosecutors and defendants in the criminal justice system."
Police deliver a set of clues along with boxes and envelopes of evidence from the crime scene. They offer a story of sorts, a set of assumptions made early in an investigation.
It's a faulty arrangement, according to the National Academies report, one that colors which tests are performed and their results. The dialogue between police and SBI lab analysts continues for months.
Analysts are expected to log calls with police and prosecutors. Sometimes those calls don't get noted. Memories of information swapped get foggy.
The majority of the time, examiners turn to prosecutors to provide feedback on their testimony.
At crime scenes, perfect DNA samples can be hard to find. In sexual assaults, the victim's profile has mixed with the rapist's. Often, the evidence is degraded, and scientists can only get a good look at a fraction of the 16 unique identifiers that make up one's DNA profile.
Crime labs adopt their own protocol on what constitutes a match between a suspect and a mixed or partial sample.
Links:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/12/625107/witness-for-the-prosecution-lab.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/11/623223/f-in-science.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/11/623224/games-agents-play.html
Problems at the lab run deeper than blood. State law puts scientists at the lab on the prosecution's team, instead of assigning them as independent seekers of fact. Analysts sometimes don't run DNA or blood tests that might threaten prosecutors' theories. And they shield themselves from scrutiny, fighting against turning over records and forbidding defense experts from observing their work.
Such bias is not surprising, given that the lab is controlled by a law enforcement agency; North Carolina is one of 38 states where the lab reports to police or prosecutors. In 2009, the nation's most renowned scientists warned against such a setup in a wide-ranging study that included dozens of top lawyers, professors and judges.
One of their top recommendations: Forensic scientists shouldn't report to law enforcement or prosecutors.
"The best science is conducted in a scientific setting as opposed to a law enforcement setting," said the report from the National Academies, which advises on science, medicine and engineering. "Forensic science serves more than just law enforcement; and when it does serve law enforcement, it must be equally available to law enforcement officers, prosecutors and defendants in the criminal justice system."
Police deliver a set of clues along with boxes and envelopes of evidence from the crime scene. They offer a story of sorts, a set of assumptions made early in an investigation.
It's a faulty arrangement, according to the National Academies report, one that colors which tests are performed and their results. The dialogue between police and SBI lab analysts continues for months.
Analysts are expected to log calls with police and prosecutors. Sometimes those calls don't get noted. Memories of information swapped get foggy.
The majority of the time, examiners turn to prosecutors to provide feedback on their testimony.
At crime scenes, perfect DNA samples can be hard to find. In sexual assaults, the victim's profile has mixed with the rapist's. Often, the evidence is degraded, and scientists can only get a good look at a fraction of the 16 unique identifiers that make up one's DNA profile.
Crime labs adopt their own protocol on what constitutes a match between a suspect and a mixed or partial sample.
Links:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/12/625107/witness-for-the-prosecution-lab.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/11/623223/f-in-science.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/11/623224/games-agents-play.html
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
What is the relationship with Google the NSA, FBI, DEA and law enforcement?
The FBI and DEA are now making extensive use of Google Earth, according to federal spending records. Consumer Watchdog is filing Freedom of Information Act requests with the agencies today to determine how the Internet giant’s digital mapping technology is being used for domestic surveillance, including whether it is used for racial profiling or other abuses of civil liberties.
“The public needs to know how law enforcement is using Google’s technologies,” said John M. Simpson, consumer advocate with the nonpartisan, nonprofit group. “We call on the FBI and the DEA to expeditiously respond to our requests for information.”
Congress should also investigate how the U.S. law enforcement and intelligence communities are using technologies that Google provides, Simpson added.
Federal contracting records reviewed by Consumer Watchdog show that the FBI has spent more than $600,000 on Google Earth since 2007. The Drug Enforcement Administration, meanwhile, has spent more than $67,000.
“Google is cooperating with the federal government’s top electronic spy organizations,the National Security Agency or NSA, with no
explanation of what information is shared.”
Links: http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=12718
http://insidegoogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/MemInternetPrivacy-0727101.pdf
http://insidegoogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/wfreInternet.release1.pdf
“The public needs to know how law enforcement is using Google’s technologies,” said John M. Simpson, consumer advocate with the nonpartisan, nonprofit group. “We call on the FBI and the DEA to expeditiously respond to our requests for information.”
Congress should also investigate how the U.S. law enforcement and intelligence communities are using technologies that Google provides, Simpson added.
Federal contracting records reviewed by Consumer Watchdog show that the FBI has spent more than $600,000 on Google Earth since 2007. The Drug Enforcement Administration, meanwhile, has spent more than $67,000.
“Google is cooperating with the federal government’s top electronic spy organizations,the National Security Agency or NSA, with no
explanation of what information is shared.”
Links: http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=12718
http://insidegoogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/MemInternetPrivacy-0727101.pdf
http://insidegoogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/wfreInternet.release1.pdf
Monday, August 9, 2010
Five years after Hurricane Katrina, new evidence emerges of police beatings in New Orleans.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune has uncovered evidence that police officers physically attacked two city residents and a working photojournalist on Sept. 1, 2005, three days after Hurricane Katrina made landfall.
The story helps explain a mysterious scene we reported about last December in a joint project with the Times-Picayune and PBS’ FRONTLINE, one of a series of reports documenting violent encounters between citizens and officers of New Orleans Police Department in the aftermath of Katrina.
So far this year, federal prosecutors have charged 16 current and former NOPD officers with crimes allegedly committed after the levees failed. Two others have been indicted for allegedly killing a man just before the catastrophe.
When Lucas Oleniuk, a photographer for the Toronto Star, began clicking off photos of the episode, he got caught up in the violence. Oleniuk says police hurled him to the ground, kicked him, and seized his cameras. The cops returned the equipment but pulled out a memory card containing the digital pictures the photographer had snapped.
The New Orleans Police Department has issued no official statement on the story, though a former captain who was present that day denied seeing any physical abuse.
Links:
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2010/08/looking_for_the_truth_about_th.html
http://www.propublica.org/nola/story/in-post-katrina-new-orleans-new-evidence-of-a-beating-by-police/
http://www.nola.com/crime/law_and_disorder/
The story helps explain a mysterious scene we reported about last December in a joint project with the Times-Picayune and PBS’ FRONTLINE, one of a series of reports documenting violent encounters between citizens and officers of New Orleans Police Department in the aftermath of Katrina.
So far this year, federal prosecutors have charged 16 current and former NOPD officers with crimes allegedly committed after the levees failed. Two others have been indicted for allegedly killing a man just before the catastrophe.
When Lucas Oleniuk, a photographer for the Toronto Star, began clicking off photos of the episode, he got caught up in the violence. Oleniuk says police hurled him to the ground, kicked him, and seized his cameras. The cops returned the equipment but pulled out a memory card containing the digital pictures the photographer had snapped.
The New Orleans Police Department has issued no official statement on the story, though a former captain who was present that day denied seeing any physical abuse.
Links:
http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2010/08/looking_for_the_truth_about_th.html
http://www.propublica.org/nola/story/in-post-katrina-new-orleans-new-evidence-of-a-beating-by-police/
http://www.nola.com/crime/law_and_disorder/
Internet privacy a growing concern.
For the most part such tracking is benign, even helpful. But as Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., noted at a recent hearing on the subject, it's also a little bit "creepy." She had, as an experiment, searched online for "foreign SUV" and when she visited an unrelated website 10 minutes later, she was served ads for foreign SUVs.
The surveillance is intrusive, pervasive and largely unregulated. Most consumers haven't a clue how much information about them is being gathered and stored for sale, nor do they have a reliable way to stop it. Even computer experts we interviewed were flabbergasted by recent Wall Street Journal reports that the 50 most popular Internet sites installed a total of 3,180 tracking files (commonly known as "cookies") on a test computer the newspaper set up. Dictionary.com, of all places, had the most tools; Wikipedia.org was the only site among the 50 to install none.
Other tracking tools can also record the key strokes a visitor types, telling trackers not only where they've been but also what they've said while there. Even those savvy enough to block or erase cookies can be tracked by "flash cookies," which breathe new life into old cookies even after users think they've deleted them.
Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2010-08-09-editorial09_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
The surveillance is intrusive, pervasive and largely unregulated. Most consumers haven't a clue how much information about them is being gathered and stored for sale, nor do they have a reliable way to stop it. Even computer experts we interviewed were flabbergasted by recent Wall Street Journal reports that the 50 most popular Internet sites installed a total of 3,180 tracking files (commonly known as "cookies") on a test computer the newspaper set up. Dictionary.com, of all places, had the most tools; Wikipedia.org was the only site among the 50 to install none.
Other tracking tools can also record the key strokes a visitor types, telling trackers not only where they've been but also what they've said while there. Even those savvy enough to block or erase cookies can be tracked by "flash cookies," which breathe new life into old cookies even after users think they've deleted them.
Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2010-08-09-editorial09_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
I can stalk U website
After analyzing your photos, someone could find out:
Where you live
Who else lives there
Your commuting patterns
Where you go for lunch each day
Who you go to lunch with
Why you and your attactive co-worker really like to visit a certain nice restaurant on a regular basis
Among many other things! I think that most people if they realized they were posting exactly where they were each time they clicked "send" on their phone to post a photo to Twitter they would stop doing it at all! Which is why we are doing this: To make people aware that they are posting this information when they are sending out photos and giving them options on how to disable that functionality. By making this information public, we are attempting to get enough exposure to the problem so that we can start to curb its continued use.
We do not stalk anyone, nor do we wish anyone be stalked.
Link: http://icanstalku.com/
Where you live
Who else lives there
Your commuting patterns
Where you go for lunch each day
Who you go to lunch with
Why you and your attactive co-worker really like to visit a certain nice restaurant on a regular basis
Among many other things! I think that most people if they realized they were posting exactly where they were each time they clicked "send" on their phone to post a photo to Twitter they would stop doing it at all! Which is why we are doing this: To make people aware that they are posting this information when they are sending out photos and giving them options on how to disable that functionality. By making this information public, we are attempting to get enough exposure to the problem so that we can start to curb its continued use.
We do not stalk anyone, nor do we wish anyone be stalked.
Link: http://icanstalku.com/
Sunday, August 8, 2010
IPhone and smart phone data leaves a trail of evidence behind for authorities.
"When someone tells me they have an iPhone in a case, I say, 'Yeah!' I can do tons with an IPhone," said Fazio, who works in the sheriff's department high-tech crimes unit.
The IPhones generally store more data than other high-end phones -- and investigators such as Fazio frequently can tap in to that information for evidence.
And while some phone users routinely delete information from their devices, that step is seldom as final as it seems.
"When you hit the delete button, it's never really deleted," Fazio said.
The devices can help police learn where you've been, what you were doing there and whether you've got something to hide.
Every time an IPhone user closes out of the built-in mapping application, the phone snaps a screenshot and stores it. Savvy law-enforcement agents armed with search warrants can use those snapshots to see if a suspect is lying about whereabouts during a crime.
IPhone photos are embedded with GEO tags and identifying information, meaning that photos posted online might not only include GPS coordinates of where the picture was taken, but also the serial number of the phone that took it.
Even more information is stored by the applications themselves, including the user's browser history. That data is meant in part to direct custom-tailored advertisements to the user, but experts said some of it could be useful to police.
The keyboard cache logs everything that you type in to learn autocorrect so that it can correct a user's typing mistakes. Apple doesn't store that cache very securely, Zdziarski contended, so someone with know-how could recover months of typing in the order in which it was typed, even if the e-mail or text it was part of has long since been deleted.
You won't find Claire Ebel using a "smart" phone, or a navigation system in her car -- or even an E-ZPass transponder. And her computer uses dial-up to connect to the Internet instead of wireless.
"It scares the hell out of me that what is happening with almost no thought, and regrettably no fear, is that so much of what we would like to think is private communication is in fact out there in the ether," said Ebel, who is executive director of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union.
And she said, "I very much worry about the ease with which law enforcement can access information about the comings and goings of private citizens who are suspected of no crime."
Links:http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2553828,CST-NWS-iphone01.article
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Cell+phones%3a+Too+%27smart%27+for+your+own+good%3f&articleId=25522609-8add-4230-a9a6-e810f5f1fe98
The IPhones generally store more data than other high-end phones -- and investigators such as Fazio frequently can tap in to that information for evidence.
And while some phone users routinely delete information from their devices, that step is seldom as final as it seems.
"When you hit the delete button, it's never really deleted," Fazio said.
The devices can help police learn where you've been, what you were doing there and whether you've got something to hide.
Every time an IPhone user closes out of the built-in mapping application, the phone snaps a screenshot and stores it. Savvy law-enforcement agents armed with search warrants can use those snapshots to see if a suspect is lying about whereabouts during a crime.
IPhone photos are embedded with GEO tags and identifying information, meaning that photos posted online might not only include GPS coordinates of where the picture was taken, but also the serial number of the phone that took it.
Even more information is stored by the applications themselves, including the user's browser history. That data is meant in part to direct custom-tailored advertisements to the user, but experts said some of it could be useful to police.
The keyboard cache logs everything that you type in to learn autocorrect so that it can correct a user's typing mistakes. Apple doesn't store that cache very securely, Zdziarski contended, so someone with know-how could recover months of typing in the order in which it was typed, even if the e-mail or text it was part of has long since been deleted.
You won't find Claire Ebel using a "smart" phone, or a navigation system in her car -- or even an E-ZPass transponder. And her computer uses dial-up to connect to the Internet instead of wireless.
"It scares the hell out of me that what is happening with almost no thought, and regrettably no fear, is that so much of what we would like to think is private communication is in fact out there in the ether," said Ebel, who is executive director of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union.
And she said, "I very much worry about the ease with which law enforcement can access information about the comings and goings of private citizens who are suspected of no crime."
Links:http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2553828,CST-NWS-iphone01.article
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Cell+phones%3a+Too+%27smart%27+for+your+own+good%3f&articleId=25522609-8add-4230-a9a6-e810f5f1fe98
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Boston Globe: The state lacks a comprehensive database to track what kind of training police officers have undergone.
“There are a number of police officers, because of the lack of money departments have, they’re not getting any [specialized] training at all,’’ said Kenneth Scanzio, legislative director and vice president of the Massachusetts Coalition of Police and a member of the commission. “There’s a lot we have to work on to get our police training to better standards.’’
A staffing shortage has hampered the commission’s ability to develop new curriculums for recruits and for veterans’ refresher courses, known as in-service training.
Local departments are left to themselves to offer firearms training
Budget cuts have forced the elimination of specialized training such as internal affairs investigations, drug raid planning, and accident investigations and arson probes.
The state lacks a comprehensive database to track what kind of training officers have undergone, and no system is in place to test whether specialized officers, such as SWAT officers, have attended the required classes.
Link:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/08/07/police_training_programs_lag_badly/?p1=News_links
A staffing shortage has hampered the commission’s ability to develop new curriculums for recruits and for veterans’ refresher courses, known as in-service training.
Local departments are left to themselves to offer firearms training
Budget cuts have forced the elimination of specialized training such as internal affairs investigations, drug raid planning, and accident investigations and arson probes.
The state lacks a comprehensive database to track what kind of training officers have undergone, and no system is in place to test whether specialized officers, such as SWAT officers, have attended the required classes.
Link:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/08/07/police_training_programs_lag_badly/?p1=News_links
Friday, August 6, 2010
Some doctors try to profit on cosmetic surgery's rise.
Jennifer Siegel has had more than her share of unsolicited medical advice.
Her OB/GYN offered to do a tummy tuck after she delivered Siegel's third child. Her eye doctor suggested injectables for the wrinkles between her brows when she went in for an eye exam. And when she asked her dentist about some simple cosmetic dentistry, he offered to nearly overhaul her entire mouth.
Cosmetic procedures — from dental veneers to Botox — have proved to be financial boons to many dentists and doctors. But what's good for the physicians may not always be in the best interest, at least financially, of the patients. Porcelain veneers can cost as much as $2,000 a tooth; each area of wrinkles treated with Botox can run $400. Few cosmetic procedures are covered by insurance, and high-pressure sales pitches are far harder to spurn when you're in an examination room. After all, turning down the person you've turned your health over to is a lot harder than dissing the perfume lady at your local department store.
"People mistakenly think that doctors and people in positions of authority are the voice of truth," says psychotherapist and "money coach" Olivia Mellan. "Consumers have to learn to be their own advocates."
Link: http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/tips/2010-08-06-mym06_ST_N.htm
Her OB/GYN offered to do a tummy tuck after she delivered Siegel's third child. Her eye doctor suggested injectables for the wrinkles between her brows when she went in for an eye exam. And when she asked her dentist about some simple cosmetic dentistry, he offered to nearly overhaul her entire mouth.
Cosmetic procedures — from dental veneers to Botox — have proved to be financial boons to many dentists and doctors. But what's good for the physicians may not always be in the best interest, at least financially, of the patients. Porcelain veneers can cost as much as $2,000 a tooth; each area of wrinkles treated with Botox can run $400. Few cosmetic procedures are covered by insurance, and high-pressure sales pitches are far harder to spurn when you're in an examination room. After all, turning down the person you've turned your health over to is a lot harder than dissing the perfume lady at your local department store.
"People mistakenly think that doctors and people in positions of authority are the voice of truth," says psychotherapist and "money coach" Olivia Mellan. "Consumers have to learn to be their own advocates."
Link: http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/tips/2010-08-06-mym06_ST_N.htm
Stalking people by using their cell phone to track them is a growing concern.
Phone companies know where their customers' cellphones are, often within a radius of less than 100 feet. That tracking technology has rescued lost drivers, helped authorities find kidnap victims and let parents keep tabs on their kids.
But the technology isn't always used the way the phone company intends.
One morning last summer, Glenn Helwig threw his then-wife to the floor of their bedroom in Corpus Christi, Texas, she alleged in police reports. She packed her 1995 Hyundai and drove to a friend's home, she recalled recently. She didn't expect him to find her.
The day after she arrived, she says, her husband "all of a sudden showed up." According to police reports, he barged in and knocked her to the floor, then took off with her car.
The police say in a report that Mr. Helwig found his wife using a service offered by his cellular carrier, which enabled him to follow her movements through the global-positioning-system chip contained in her cellphone.
Mr. Helwig, in an interview, acknowledged using the service to track his wife on some occasions. He says he signed up for the tracking service last year. "AT&T had this little deal where you could find your family member through her cellphone," he says. But he didn't use it to find his wife that day, he says. Mr. Helwig, who is awaiting trial on related assault charges, declined to comment further about the matter. He has pleaded not guilty.
In Arizona this year, Andre Leteve used the GPS in his wife's cellphone to stalk her, according to his wife's lawyer, Robert Jensen, before allegedly murdering their two children and shooting himself. Mr. Jensen says Mr. Leteve's wife, Laurie Leteve, didn't know she was being tracked until she looked at one of the family's monthly cellphone bills, more than 30 days after the tracking began. Mr. Leteve, a real-estate agent, is expected to recover. He has pleaded not guilty to murder charges, and is awaiting trial. The law firm representing him declined to comment.
Craig Thompson, Retina-X's operations director, says the software is meant to allow parents to track their kids and companies to keep tabs on phones their employees use. He says the company has sold 60,000 copies of MobileSpy. The company sometimes gets calls from people who complain they are being improperly tracked, he says, but it hasn't been able to verify any of the complaints.
Installing such programs requires a person to physically get hold of the phone to download software onto it.
The easiest way for stalkers to locate a target—and perhaps the most common, say therapists who work with victims and abusers—is by using systems offered by carriers. When cellphone users sign up for a "family plan" that includes two or more phones, they have the option to contact the carrier and activate a tracking feature intended to allow them to keep tabs on their children.
Link:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467304575383522318244234.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEADSecondNewsCollection
But the technology isn't always used the way the phone company intends.
One morning last summer, Glenn Helwig threw his then-wife to the floor of their bedroom in Corpus Christi, Texas, she alleged in police reports. She packed her 1995 Hyundai and drove to a friend's home, she recalled recently. She didn't expect him to find her.
The day after she arrived, she says, her husband "all of a sudden showed up." According to police reports, he barged in and knocked her to the floor, then took off with her car.
The police say in a report that Mr. Helwig found his wife using a service offered by his cellular carrier, which enabled him to follow her movements through the global-positioning-system chip contained in her cellphone.
Mr. Helwig, in an interview, acknowledged using the service to track his wife on some occasions. He says he signed up for the tracking service last year. "AT&T had this little deal where you could find your family member through her cellphone," he says. But he didn't use it to find his wife that day, he says. Mr. Helwig, who is awaiting trial on related assault charges, declined to comment further about the matter. He has pleaded not guilty.
In Arizona this year, Andre Leteve used the GPS in his wife's cellphone to stalk her, according to his wife's lawyer, Robert Jensen, before allegedly murdering their two children and shooting himself. Mr. Jensen says Mr. Leteve's wife, Laurie Leteve, didn't know she was being tracked until she looked at one of the family's monthly cellphone bills, more than 30 days after the tracking began. Mr. Leteve, a real-estate agent, is expected to recover. He has pleaded not guilty to murder charges, and is awaiting trial. The law firm representing him declined to comment.
Craig Thompson, Retina-X's operations director, says the software is meant to allow parents to track their kids and companies to keep tabs on phones their employees use. He says the company has sold 60,000 copies of MobileSpy. The company sometimes gets calls from people who complain they are being improperly tracked, he says, but it hasn't been able to verify any of the complaints.
Installing such programs requires a person to physically get hold of the phone to download software onto it.
The easiest way for stalkers to locate a target—and perhaps the most common, say therapists who work with victims and abusers—is by using systems offered by carriers. When cellphone users sign up for a "family plan" that includes two or more phones, they have the option to contact the carrier and activate a tracking feature intended to allow them to keep tabs on their children.
Link:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467304575383522318244234.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEADSecondNewsCollection
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Time Magazine: Should videotaping the police really be a crime?
Last year, the NAACP announced an initiative in which it encouraged ordinary citizens to tape police misconduct with their cell phones and send the videos to the group's website, www.naacp.org.
The legal argument prosecutors rely on in police video cases is thin. They say the audio aspect of the videos violates wiretap laws because, in some states, both parties to a conversation must consent to having a private conversation recorded. The hole in their argument is the word "private." A police officer arresting or questioning someone on a highway or street is not having a private conversation. He is engaging in a public act.
Even if these cases do not hold up in court, the police can do a lot of damage just by threatening to arrest and prosecute people. "We see a fair amount of intimidation — police saying, 'You can't do that. It's illegal,'" says Christopher Calabrese, a lawyer with the ACLU's Washington office. It discourages people from filming, he says, even when they have the right to film.
Most people are not so game for a fight with the police. They just stop filming. These are the cases no one finds out about, in which there is no arrest or prosecution, but the public's freedoms have nevertheless been eroded.
Link: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2008566,00.html
The legal argument prosecutors rely on in police video cases is thin. They say the audio aspect of the videos violates wiretap laws because, in some states, both parties to a conversation must consent to having a private conversation recorded. The hole in their argument is the word "private." A police officer arresting or questioning someone on a highway or street is not having a private conversation. He is engaging in a public act.
Even if these cases do not hold up in court, the police can do a lot of damage just by threatening to arrest and prosecute people. "We see a fair amount of intimidation — police saying, 'You can't do that. It's illegal,'" says Christopher Calabrese, a lawyer with the ACLU's Washington office. It discourages people from filming, he says, even when they have the right to film.
Most people are not so game for a fight with the police. They just stop filming. These are the cases no one finds out about, in which there is no arrest or prosecution, but the public's freedoms have nevertheless been eroded.
Link: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2008566,00.html
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
A private investigator in Oregon is credited by NBC's Dateline for freeing a wrongly convicted man.
(SALEM, Ore.) - The night Bimla Boyd killed her property caretaker at her home on what is now known as 'Murder Hill' near Salem, Oregon in 2002, Bonnie King and I were there on assignment for Portland TV station KGW Channel-8. It was a memorable night. We were a freelance TV news camera crew and the only other person on scene beyond the cops, was a single newspaper reporter.
It was raining, it was cold, and the Polk County Sheriff's Office kept us way back, but I had a serious lens and could see the house to some degree. Otherwise it was as dark as any night could be. Still, KGW was glad to receive it.
Shortly after this freelance period, I was hired by Portland's KATU Channel-2, the ABC station in this Northwest city. There I quickly became friends with Eric Mason, a veteran investigative TV reporter who had recently crossed over from KOIN TV, Portland's CBS station. Eric had a reputation for pulling off big stories and exposing corruption in ways that few could. The fact that he transitioned into the role of a private investigator a few years ago, always struck me as a perfectly logical move.
Monday night Eric's role in helping free a falsely convicted Oregon prisoner serving a life sentence for three tragic murders, was featured in a very compelling episode of NBC's Dateline program. They are murders that happened on the same property, the Bimla Boyd residence in west Salem.
Watch the entire Dateline show:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38526595/ns/dateline_nbc-crime_reports
Link:
http://salem-news.com/articles/august032010/scott-cannon-tk.php
It was raining, it was cold, and the Polk County Sheriff's Office kept us way back, but I had a serious lens and could see the house to some degree. Otherwise it was as dark as any night could be. Still, KGW was glad to receive it.
Shortly after this freelance period, I was hired by Portland's KATU Channel-2, the ABC station in this Northwest city. There I quickly became friends with Eric Mason, a veteran investigative TV reporter who had recently crossed over from KOIN TV, Portland's CBS station. Eric had a reputation for pulling off big stories and exposing corruption in ways that few could. The fact that he transitioned into the role of a private investigator a few years ago, always struck me as a perfectly logical move.
Monday night Eric's role in helping free a falsely convicted Oregon prisoner serving a life sentence for three tragic murders, was featured in a very compelling episode of NBC's Dateline program. They are murders that happened on the same property, the Bimla Boyd residence in west Salem.
Watch the entire Dateline show:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38526595/ns/dateline_nbc-crime_reports
Link:
http://salem-news.com/articles/august032010/scott-cannon-tk.php
Google's Location Aware Browsing
Websites that use location-aware browsing will ask where you are in order to bring you more relevant information, or to save you time while searching. Let’s say you’re looking for a pizza restaurant in your area. A website will be able to ask you to share your location so that simply searching for “pizza” will bring you the answers you need... no further information or extra typing required.
Or, if you’re mapping out directions to get somewhere, the website will know where you’re starting from so all you have to do is tell it where you want to go.
This service is totally optional – Firefox doesn’t share your location without your permission – and is done with the utmost respect for your privacy. And, like all elements of Firefox, it’s being created using open standards to ease adoption by Web developers.
How do I turn off Location-Aware Browsing permanently?
Location-Aware Browsing is always opt-in in Firefox. No location information is ever sent without your permission. If you wish to disable the feature completely, please follow this set of steps:
In the URL bar, type about:config
Type geo.enabled
Double click on the geo.enabled preference
Location-Aware Browsing is now disabled
Link: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/geolocation/
Or, if you’re mapping out directions to get somewhere, the website will know where you’re starting from so all you have to do is tell it where you want to go.
This service is totally optional – Firefox doesn’t share your location without your permission – and is done with the utmost respect for your privacy. And, like all elements of Firefox, it’s being created using open standards to ease adoption by Web developers.
How do I turn off Location-Aware Browsing permanently?
Location-Aware Browsing is always opt-in in Firefox. No location information is ever sent without your permission. If you wish to disable the feature completely, please follow this set of steps:
In the URL bar, type about:config
Type geo.enabled
Double click on the geo.enabled preference
Location-Aware Browsing is now disabled
Link: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/geolocation/
A Hacker uses Google Street View data to stalk its victims.
If you're surfing the web from a wireless router supplied by some of the biggest device makers, there's a chance Samy Kamkar can identify your geographic location.
That's because WiFi access points made by Westell and others are vulnerable to XSS, or cross-site scripting, attacks that can siphon a device's media access control address with one wayward click of the mouse. Once in possession of the unique identifier, Kamkar can plug it in to Google's Google Location Services and determine where you are.
"It's actually scary how accurate it is," said Kamkar, the author of the Samy Worm, a self-replicating XSS exploit that in 2005 added more than 1 million friends to his MySpace account and in the process knocked the site out of commission. "I've found that with a single MAC address, I've always been spot on with the tests I've done."
Kamkar, who tweeted about the vulnerability Tuesday, has posted a proof-of-concept attack here. For now, it works only on FiOS routers supplied by Verizon, and then only when users are logged in to the device's administrative panel. With a little more work, he said he can make it exploit similar XSS holes in routers made by other manufacturers.
From FireFox's website:
Websites that use location-aware browsing will ask where you are in order to bring you more relevant information, or to save you time while searching. Let’s say you’re looking for a pizza restaurant in your area. A website will be able to ask you to share your location so that simply searching for “pizza” will bring you the answers you need... no further information or extra typing required.
Or, if you’re mapping out directions to get somewhere, the website will know where you’re starting from so all you have to do is tell it where you want to go.
This service is totally optional – Firefox doesn’t share your location without your permission – and is done with the utmost respect for your privacy. And, like all elements of Firefox, it’s being created using open standards to ease adoption by Web developers.
Download the Power point presentation:
http://samy.pl/bh10/
Links:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/08/03/google_street_view_hack/
That's because WiFi access points made by Westell and others are vulnerable to XSS, or cross-site scripting, attacks that can siphon a device's media access control address with one wayward click of the mouse. Once in possession of the unique identifier, Kamkar can plug it in to Google's Google Location Services and determine where you are.
"It's actually scary how accurate it is," said Kamkar, the author of the Samy Worm, a self-replicating XSS exploit that in 2005 added more than 1 million friends to his MySpace account and in the process knocked the site out of commission. "I've found that with a single MAC address, I've always been spot on with the tests I've done."
Kamkar, who tweeted about the vulnerability Tuesday, has posted a proof-of-concept attack here. For now, it works only on FiOS routers supplied by Verizon, and then only when users are logged in to the device's administrative panel. With a little more work, he said he can make it exploit similar XSS holes in routers made by other manufacturers.
From FireFox's website:
Websites that use location-aware browsing will ask where you are in order to bring you more relevant information, or to save you time while searching. Let’s say you’re looking for a pizza restaurant in your area. A website will be able to ask you to share your location so that simply searching for “pizza” will bring you the answers you need... no further information or extra typing required.
Or, if you’re mapping out directions to get somewhere, the website will know where you’re starting from so all you have to do is tell it where you want to go.
This service is totally optional – Firefox doesn’t share your location without your permission – and is done with the utmost respect for your privacy. And, like all elements of Firefox, it’s being created using open standards to ease adoption by Web developers.
Download the Power point presentation:
http://samy.pl/bh10/
Links:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/08/03/google_street_view_hack/
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Cyber attacks on smart phones a growing trend.
The cyberunderground took notice. Download the wrong wallpaper app for your Google Android phone and you could get one that will harvest the phone and voice-mail numbers and data that can be used to disclose your location. Mobile security firm Lookout discovered 80 such Android Web apps last week, which have since been taken down by Google, says John Hering, Lookout's CEO.
The information was being transmitted to a website based in China. The wallpapers, showing innocuous images of ponies, basketball scenes and such, were downloaded more than a million times.
In a more pernicious attack, a scammer has pioneered a way to trigger premium-rate phone calls from infected Windows smartphones. The attack, discovered by Mikko Hypponen, senior researcher at Finnish anti-virus firm F-Secure, begins by spreading infections via a popular 3D game delivered as a Web app.
The richest target remains consumer and commercial banking and other accounts that run on Windows XP computers, still the most widely used device to access the Internet. However, as much more secure Windows 7 PCs begin to replace older XP machines, cybercriminals inevitably will turn to smartphones and mobile devices such as the iPad. "It will happen sooner or later," Hypponen says.
Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/phones/2010-08-02-cybercrime-smartphones_N.htm
The information was being transmitted to a website based in China. The wallpapers, showing innocuous images of ponies, basketball scenes and such, were downloaded more than a million times.
In a more pernicious attack, a scammer has pioneered a way to trigger premium-rate phone calls from infected Windows smartphones. The attack, discovered by Mikko Hypponen, senior researcher at Finnish anti-virus firm F-Secure, begins by spreading infections via a popular 3D game delivered as a Web app.
The richest target remains consumer and commercial banking and other accounts that run on Windows XP computers, still the most widely used device to access the Internet. However, as much more secure Windows 7 PCs begin to replace older XP machines, cybercriminals inevitably will turn to smartphones and mobile devices such as the iPad. "It will happen sooner or later," Hypponen says.
Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/phones/2010-08-02-cybercrime-smartphones_N.htm
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