I am posting the listing for MA private investigators, there are many more listed in every state.
Working to Halt Online Abuse, the list consists of private investigators who have experience in online abuse and are willing to offer victims discounts.
Massachusetts
Frank Alvilhiera
JAK Investigations
email
Po Box 463
Middleboro, Ma. 02346
Phone: 508-923-1980
Name: Discovery Services, Private Investigations.
URL: http://www.discovery-services.net
Description: A privately-owned detective agency specializing in domestic investigations, surveillance and insurance claim investigations.
Competitive rates. Licensed, bonded and insured.
Member: LPDAM; NAIS; Dir MA Chap ACI; ACFE (Assoc); MissingKin
Phone: (413) 788-4988; Fax: (413) 732-2285
MA Lic #: P-754; CT Lic.#: I-2171
Name: Massachusetts Private Investigator
URL: www.summitpi.com
Description: When you need an experienced Private Investigator in New England, call Summit Investigations at 781-380-8822.
Phone: 781-380-8822.
Northeastern Investigative Services
Jim Wojnar / Chief Investigator
P.O. Box 450
Ludlow, MA 01056
(413) 530-5135
www.NISinvestigations.com
[email protected]
Rollie McCarter Investigative Services
Rollie McCarter, III
Private Investigator / Notary Public
email
Ph.Vm.Fx. (413) 532-9577
P.O. BOX 1023
Holyoke, Ma. 01041-1023
Ma. License # P-1104
Certified Email Tracer (N.A.I.S)
Certified Identity Theft Investigator (N.A.I.S)
Certified Missing Persons Investigator (N.A.I.S)
Certified Accident Investigator (N.A.I.S)
Certified Surveillance Investigator (N.A.I.S)
Certified Pre-employment Screening & Background Investigation Specialist (N.A.I.S)
Web Site: http://www.rolliemccarterinvestigativeservices.com
Link: http://www.haltabuse.org/resources/investigators.shtml
Favorite Quotes
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Working to Halt Online Abuse: Help for those with personal cyberstalking terrorists.
WHOA is a volunteer organization founded in 1997 to fight online harassment through education of the general public, education of law enforcement personnel, and empowerment of victims. We've also formulated voluntary policies which we encourage online communities to adopt in order to create safe and welcoming environments for all internet users.
Our volunteers work with people currently experiencing online harassment, and help others to learn how to avoid such harassment or minimize its impact if it does occur. Our president, Jayne Hitchcock, regularly speaks at various conferences and seminars, training law enforcement personnel and other interested parties. She also lobbies for better federal and state laws to deter cyberstalkers and give victims more options to stop harassment. Jayne and some of our other volunteers are also available for press interviews.
Working to Halt Online Abuse (WHOA) has been around since 1997, helping people to fight against online harassment. Jayne A. Hitchcock, President of WHOA, recommended that anyone being harassed online should visit and fill out the "Need Help" page at WHOA. Hitchcock is a former cyberstalking victim.
An adult woman contacted me, stating she runs a fairly large website and that a group of people were cyberstalking her.
The biggest thing is to respond only once to the harasser, politely asking them to stop. A simple "Please stop communicating with me" should do it. They don't have to explain and they are not being rude. Then do NOT respond after that, no matter what.
Keep everything they get that is harassing or links to sites with the harassment and report it to the right people, whether it's an ISP, the web site host, a moderator, etc.
In this woman's case, I would recommend she get a PO Box or something like Mailboxes, etc to use for her mailing address for domain registration, putting up on profiles, etc. Also get a free voicemail/fax number from j2.com it's free because it's in your area code; if she wants one in her area code, it's a small monthly fee and use that everywhere online as well.
She should get an unlisted phone number and only give it to people she knows and trusts. If she doesn't have one, get an answering machine w/caller ID and do not pick up any numbers she does not recognize. If they really want to contact her, they will leave a message. If it's a harasser, then she now has proof to go to the local police with and file reports.
Links: http://www.haltabuse.org/
http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/free-speech-privacy-cyberstalkers-help-those-
Our volunteers work with people currently experiencing online harassment, and help others to learn how to avoid such harassment or minimize its impact if it does occur. Our president, Jayne Hitchcock, regularly speaks at various conferences and seminars, training law enforcement personnel and other interested parties. She also lobbies for better federal and state laws to deter cyberstalkers and give victims more options to stop harassment. Jayne and some of our other volunteers are also available for press interviews.
Working to Halt Online Abuse (WHOA) has been around since 1997, helping people to fight against online harassment. Jayne A. Hitchcock, President of WHOA, recommended that anyone being harassed online should visit and fill out the "Need Help" page at WHOA. Hitchcock is a former cyberstalking victim.
An adult woman contacted me, stating she runs a fairly large website and that a group of people were cyberstalking her.
The biggest thing is to respond only once to the harasser, politely asking them to stop. A simple "Please stop communicating with me" should do it. They don't have to explain and they are not being rude. Then do NOT respond after that, no matter what.
Keep everything they get that is harassing or links to sites with the harassment and report it to the right people, whether it's an ISP, the web site host, a moderator, etc.
In this woman's case, I would recommend she get a PO Box or something like Mailboxes, etc to use for her mailing address for domain registration, putting up on profiles, etc. Also get a free voicemail/fax number from j2.com it's free because it's in your area code; if she wants one in her area code, it's a small monthly fee and use that everywhere online as well.
She should get an unlisted phone number and only give it to people she knows and trusts. If she doesn't have one, get an answering machine w/caller ID and do not pick up any numbers she does not recognize. If they really want to contact her, they will leave a message. If it's a harasser, then she now has proof to go to the local police with and file reports.
Links: http://www.haltabuse.org/
http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/free-speech-privacy-cyberstalkers-help-those-
Philadelphia case to test how far “Stop And Frisk” policy can go.
In the debate over the police tactic known as stop-and-frisk, both sides agree there's nothing inherently wrong with officers stopping more black and Hispanic than white residents, at least in cities where violent crime is concentrated in minority neighborhoods.
The question is: At what point does stopping a disproportionate number of minorities cross the line into illegal, race-based policing?
When does a legitimate, proactive tactic become the wholesale harassment of communities?
Determining those limits has been one of the more controversial topics in big-city law enforcement - and a question that often has gone before the courts to be answered.
In Philadelphia, where police embraced an aggressive stop-and-frisk policy nearly three years ago in response to rising gun violence, the debate is about to begin in earnest.
Civil rights lawyers filed a federal lawsuit earlier this month, arguing that Philadelphia police have been targeting people based solely on race.
In 2009, officers stopped 253,333 pedestrians, 72 percent of whom were African American, the suit says.
The lawsuit says just 8 percent of the stops in 2009 resulted in arrests, often for "criminal conduct that was entirely independent from the supposed reason for the stop." Beyond the overall number of stops by race in 2009 and the arrest percentage, Rudovsky and his cocounsel lack data to search for patterns and figure out precisely who gets frisked and why.
Link:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_top_stories/20101129_Federal_lawsuit_alleges_stop-and-frisk_unfairly_targets_minorities.html
The question is: At what point does stopping a disproportionate number of minorities cross the line into illegal, race-based policing?
When does a legitimate, proactive tactic become the wholesale harassment of communities?
Determining those limits has been one of the more controversial topics in big-city law enforcement - and a question that often has gone before the courts to be answered.
In Philadelphia, where police embraced an aggressive stop-and-frisk policy nearly three years ago in response to rising gun violence, the debate is about to begin in earnest.
Civil rights lawyers filed a federal lawsuit earlier this month, arguing that Philadelphia police have been targeting people based solely on race.
In 2009, officers stopped 253,333 pedestrians, 72 percent of whom were African American, the suit says.
The lawsuit says just 8 percent of the stops in 2009 resulted in arrests, often for "criminal conduct that was entirely independent from the supposed reason for the stop." Beyond the overall number of stops by race in 2009 and the arrest percentage, Rudovsky and his cocounsel lack data to search for patterns and figure out precisely who gets frisked and why.
Link:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_top_stories/20101129_Federal_lawsuit_alleges_stop-and-frisk_unfairly_targets_minorities.html
One in every seven hospitalized Medicare patients are harmed by treatment mistakes.
One in every seven hospitalized Medicare patients are harmed by treatment mistakes, according to new analysis by the Department of Health & Human Services released Tuesday.
The report cites a variety of "adverse events" or causes for treatment errors, including excessive bleeding after surgery, urinary tract infections linked to catheters and incorrect medications. Researchers estimate that these types of adverse events contribute to 15,000 deaths per month or 180,000 deaths each year, according to the report.
Some patient-rights groups are calling these findings alarming.
"The country is in a patient safety crisis," said David Arkush, the director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch Division in a statement. "The only workable solution to preventing unnecessary deaths and injuries is to combine much more patient-protective hospital protocols with much better scrutiny by hospitals of physicians and other health care providers, and to appropriately discipline those whose performance results in preventable patient harm."
Links:
http://www.propublica.org/documents/item/adverse-events-among-hospitalized-medicare-beneficiaries
http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/read-govt-report-showing-1-in-7-hospitalized-medicare-beneficiaries-harmed-
The report cites a variety of "adverse events" or causes for treatment errors, including excessive bleeding after surgery, urinary tract infections linked to catheters and incorrect medications. Researchers estimate that these types of adverse events contribute to 15,000 deaths per month or 180,000 deaths each year, according to the report.
Some patient-rights groups are calling these findings alarming.
"The country is in a patient safety crisis," said David Arkush, the director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch Division in a statement. "The only workable solution to preventing unnecessary deaths and injuries is to combine much more patient-protective hospital protocols with much better scrutiny by hospitals of physicians and other health care providers, and to appropriately discipline those whose performance results in preventable patient harm."
Links:
http://www.propublica.org/documents/item/adverse-events-among-hospitalized-medicare-beneficiaries
http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/read-govt-report-showing-1-in-7-hospitalized-medicare-beneficiaries-harmed-
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
HTTPS Everywhere is a Firefox extension, it encrypts your communications with a number of major websites.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has launched a new version of HTTPS Everywhere, a security tool that offers enhanced protection for Firefox browser users against "Firesheep" and other exploits of webpage security flaws.
HTTPS secures web browsing by encrypting both requests from your browser to websites and the resulting pages that are displayed. Without HTTPS, your online reading habits and activities are vulnerable to eavesdropping, and your accounts are vulnerable to hijacking.
Unfortunately, while many sites on the web offer some limited support for HTTPS, it is often difficult to use. Websites may default to using the unencrypted, and therefore vulnerable, HTTP protocol or may fill HTTPS pages with insecure HTTP references. EFF's HTTPS Everywhere tool uses carefully crafted rules to switch sites from HTTP to HTTPS.
This new version of HTTPS Everywhere responds to growing concerns about website vulnerability in the wake of Firesheep, an attack tool that could enable an eavesdropper on a network to take over another user's web accounts -- on social networking sites or webmail systems, for example -- if the browser's connection to the web application either does not use cryptography or does not use it thoroughly enough. Firesheep, which was released in October as a demonstration of a vulnerability that computer security experts have known about for years, sparked a flurry of media attention.
"These new enhancements make HTTPS Everywhere much more effective in thwarting an attack from Firesheep or a similar tool," said EFF Senior Staff Technologist Peter Eckersley. "It will go a long way towards protecting your Facebook, Twitter, or Hotmail accounts from Firesheep hacks. And, like previous releases, it shields your Google searches from eavesdroppers and safeguards your payments made through PayPal."
Link: https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
HTTPS secures web browsing by encrypting both requests from your browser to websites and the resulting pages that are displayed. Without HTTPS, your online reading habits and activities are vulnerable to eavesdropping, and your accounts are vulnerable to hijacking.
Unfortunately, while many sites on the web offer some limited support for HTTPS, it is often difficult to use. Websites may default to using the unencrypted, and therefore vulnerable, HTTP protocol or may fill HTTPS pages with insecure HTTP references. EFF's HTTPS Everywhere tool uses carefully crafted rules to switch sites from HTTP to HTTPS.
This new version of HTTPS Everywhere responds to growing concerns about website vulnerability in the wake of Firesheep, an attack tool that could enable an eavesdropper on a network to take over another user's web accounts -- on social networking sites or webmail systems, for example -- if the browser's connection to the web application either does not use cryptography or does not use it thoroughly enough. Firesheep, which was released in October as a demonstration of a vulnerability that computer security experts have known about for years, sparked a flurry of media attention.
"These new enhancements make HTTPS Everywhere much more effective in thwarting an attack from Firesheep or a similar tool," said EFF Senior Staff Technologist Peter Eckersley. "It will go a long way towards protecting your Facebook, Twitter, or Hotmail accounts from Firesheep hacks. And, like previous releases, it shields your Google searches from eavesdroppers and safeguards your payments made through PayPal."
Link: https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
How to verify if an email address is real or fake.
How do you verify if a given email address is real or fake? Well an obvious solution is that you send a test mail to that email address and if your message doesn't bounce, it is safe to assume* that the address is real.
[*] Some web domains may have configured a catch-all email address meaning that messages addressed to a non-existent mailbox will not be returned to the sender but in most cases, such email messages will bounce.
Ping an Email Address to Validate it!
When you send an email to someone, the message goes to an SMTP server which then looks for the MX (Mail Exchange) records of the email recipient's domain.
For instance, when you send an email to [email protected], the mail server will try to find the MX records for the gmail.com domain. If the records exist, the next step would be to determine whether that email username (hello in our example) is present or not.
YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZMylpizXWY
Links:http://lifehacker.com/5697360/how-to-verify-if-an-email-address-is-real-or-fake
http://www.labnol.org/internet/email-aliases-in-google-apps/17870/
[*] Some web domains may have configured a catch-all email address meaning that messages addressed to a non-existent mailbox will not be returned to the sender but in most cases, such email messages will bounce.
Ping an Email Address to Validate it!
When you send an email to someone, the message goes to an SMTP server which then looks for the MX (Mail Exchange) records of the email recipient's domain.
For instance, when you send an email to [email protected], the mail server will try to find the MX records for the gmail.com domain. If the records exist, the next step would be to determine whether that email username (hello in our example) is present or not.
YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZMylpizXWY
Links:http://lifehacker.com/5697360/how-to-verify-if-an-email-address-is-real-or-fake
http://www.labnol.org/internet/email-aliases-in-google-apps/17870/
MA: Posts pharma payments to health providers.
This page provides information relating to the Massachusetts Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturer Code of Conduct (PCOC) regulation.
Manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and medical devices are required to disclose certain transactions (any fee, payment, subsidy or other economic benefit with a value of at least $50) with anyone who prescribes, dispenses or purchases prescription drugs or medical devices in the Commonwealth. This does not include consumers who purchase prescription drugs or medical devices. The Department, as required by legislation, has created a database to provide the disclosed information to the public.
Link:
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eohhs2terminal&L=5&L0=Home&L1=Provider&L2=Certification%2c+Licensure%2c+and+Registration&L3=Programs&L4=Pharmaceutical+Code+of+Conduct&sid=Eeohhs2&b=terminalcontent&f=dph_quality_healthcare_p_ph_mdm_conduct_code&csid=Eeohhs2
Manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and medical devices are required to disclose certain transactions (any fee, payment, subsidy or other economic benefit with a value of at least $50) with anyone who prescribes, dispenses or purchases prescription drugs or medical devices in the Commonwealth. This does not include consumers who purchase prescription drugs or medical devices. The Department, as required by legislation, has created a database to provide the disclosed information to the public.
Link:
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eohhs2terminal&L=5&L0=Home&L1=Provider&L2=Certification%2c+Licensure%2c+and+Registration&L3=Programs&L4=Pharmaceutical+Code+of+Conduct&sid=Eeohhs2&b=terminalcontent&f=dph_quality_healthcare_p_ph_mdm_conduct_code&csid=Eeohhs2
Texas: Civil rights, judicial bias surround a drug case.
A legal drama has been playing out for almost three years in the Texas town of Clarksville of Red River County.
During that time, two black brothers have seen their lives turned upside down, and a white judge was recused from the case after allegations of judicial bias and criticism for pushing a drug case that just about everyone urged him to drop.
The state prosecutors quickly became wary of the Clarksville case. One problem was that it appeared the search warrant had been issued after the raid — after Vergil Richardson had repeatedly asked the sheriff if he could see it.
"In three different sections in the discovery, it stated that the search started at approximately 10:30 p.m.. And the search warrant was signed at 10:49 p.m.. And the search was conducted before the search warrant was signed. It's just illegal, period," Lesher says.
The search warrant issue potentially compromised the drug evidence found in the shed.
Lesher, the trail lawyer, sent a shock wave through the small Red River County courthouse when, on behalf of the Richardson brothers, he filed a $2 million civil rights lawsuit against the district attorney, the sheriff and the Clarksville police chief, all of whom participated in the raid.
Then the news got even worse for Red River County. The attorney general's office told Miller that the prosecutors were going to dismiss the charges against the Richardson family, with the exception of Kevin Calloway, who had already confessed. Prosecutors wrote the judge that they were dismissing the charges "in the interest of justice."
But the judge in the case made it clear to both the prosecutors and the defense lawyers that he had no intention of backing off.
"A judge can sit a case, but the judge can't force that case to trial. I've never seen a motion to dismiss signed and executed by the district attorney that's never been signed by the judge. It's always just pro forma," Lesher says.
State Judge John Miller refused to accept the attorney general's decision to drop the case. The ruling was so unusual that it lifted legal heads around the state.
Link:
http://www.npr.org/2010/09/24/130099092/civil-rights-judicial-bias-surround-texas-drug-case
During that time, two black brothers have seen their lives turned upside down, and a white judge was recused from the case after allegations of judicial bias and criticism for pushing a drug case that just about everyone urged him to drop.
The state prosecutors quickly became wary of the Clarksville case. One problem was that it appeared the search warrant had been issued after the raid — after Vergil Richardson had repeatedly asked the sheriff if he could see it.
"In three different sections in the discovery, it stated that the search started at approximately 10:30 p.m.. And the search warrant was signed at 10:49 p.m.. And the search was conducted before the search warrant was signed. It's just illegal, period," Lesher says.
The search warrant issue potentially compromised the drug evidence found in the shed.
Lesher, the trail lawyer, sent a shock wave through the small Red River County courthouse when, on behalf of the Richardson brothers, he filed a $2 million civil rights lawsuit against the district attorney, the sheriff and the Clarksville police chief, all of whom participated in the raid.
Then the news got even worse for Red River County. The attorney general's office told Miller that the prosecutors were going to dismiss the charges against the Richardson family, with the exception of Kevin Calloway, who had already confessed. Prosecutors wrote the judge that they were dismissing the charges "in the interest of justice."
But the judge in the case made it clear to both the prosecutors and the defense lawyers that he had no intention of backing off.
"A judge can sit a case, but the judge can't force that case to trial. I've never seen a motion to dismiss signed and executed by the district attorney that's never been signed by the judge. It's always just pro forma," Lesher says.
State Judge John Miller refused to accept the attorney general's decision to drop the case. The ruling was so unusual that it lifted legal heads around the state.
Link:
http://www.npr.org/2010/09/24/130099092/civil-rights-judicial-bias-surround-texas-drug-case
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
MA: Millions for sheriffs to spend where are the state watchdogs?
Breaking a promise to taxpayers, legislative leaders have failed to begin a top-to-bottom review of Massachusetts’ sheriff operations that could save millions being lost to inefficiencies and questionable fiscal practices found at jailhouses across the state.
Beacon Hill’s inertia comes as the state grapples with one of the worst fiscal crises Massachusetts has faced. Recent state audits have – while noting some financial improvements – raised serious questions about property and money management within many of the sheriffs’ offices statewide.
Among the audit findings this year:
• Awarding no bid contracts
• Running multi-million dollar deficits
• Running civil process divisions at a deficit. Civil process is the serving of legal documents like subpoenas and eviction notices on parties for a fee.
• The Nantucket Sheriff’s use of a personal bank account to handle civil process funds
• Physical inventory like food, office and cleaning supplies not matching warehouse lists and poor controls over items such as notebook computers
• Denying the auditor access to records to the for-profit civil process corporation formed by the Barnstable County sheriff
• Providing free meals to employees in violation of state law
Despite the transfer, which brings sheriffs directly under the control of the state Secretary of Public Safety, sheriffs remain elected officials with administrative and operational control of their jails and houses of correction.
Sheriffs aren’t covered by state procedures standardizing how supplies, services and real property are purchased. Each has his or her own process for buying food, transportation, uniforms, supplies, vehicles and other items.
Sheriffs also control other funds with no state oversight, such as money charged to prisoners for phone calls and revenue generated by civil process.
Link:
http://necir-bu.org/wp/the-pocantico-declaration-creating-a-nonprofit-investigative-news-network/investigations/beacon-hill-broken-promises/web-story/
Beacon Hill’s inertia comes as the state grapples with one of the worst fiscal crises Massachusetts has faced. Recent state audits have – while noting some financial improvements – raised serious questions about property and money management within many of the sheriffs’ offices statewide.
Among the audit findings this year:
• Awarding no bid contracts
• Running multi-million dollar deficits
• Running civil process divisions at a deficit. Civil process is the serving of legal documents like subpoenas and eviction notices on parties for a fee.
• The Nantucket Sheriff’s use of a personal bank account to handle civil process funds
• Physical inventory like food, office and cleaning supplies not matching warehouse lists and poor controls over items such as notebook computers
• Denying the auditor access to records to the for-profit civil process corporation formed by the Barnstable County sheriff
• Providing free meals to employees in violation of state law
Despite the transfer, which brings sheriffs directly under the control of the state Secretary of Public Safety, sheriffs remain elected officials with administrative and operational control of their jails and houses of correction.
Sheriffs aren’t covered by state procedures standardizing how supplies, services and real property are purchased. Each has his or her own process for buying food, transportation, uniforms, supplies, vehicles and other items.
Sheriffs also control other funds with no state oversight, such as money charged to prisoners for phone calls and revenue generated by civil process.
Link:
http://necir-bu.org/wp/the-pocantico-declaration-creating-a-nonprofit-investigative-news-network/investigations/beacon-hill-broken-promises/web-story/
Monday, November 22, 2010
Yahoo! Clues divulges personal information on searches.
Yesterday, Yahoo! unveiled the beta test of Yahoo! Clues, which is designed to help users data-mine trending search terms. When a user types in a search term, they’re shown a graph with the highs and lows of the trend over the past week or month. Information about the gender, age, income and location is also provided along with the search paths that other users have taken to provide for a better-rounded search capability.
The trending graph shows how many people have searched, the moment in time when more people searched and provides a breakdown on the gender and age based on that group. Users can also compare two trending terms at a time in the same window with the “Discover” button. Income and location stats also show up on the screen, which makes me wonder how Yahoo! has access to how much money people are making. The search paths found at the bottom of the screen show what people searched before and after the target and also shows routine misspellings of the search term and any misconceptions related to the term.
Yahoo! Clues also shows the most popular searches of today, the past seven days, and the past thirty days and other related search keywords.
Link:
http://www.businessreviewusa.com/industry-focus/internet/yahoo-clues-divulges-personal-information-searches
The trending graph shows how many people have searched, the moment in time when more people searched and provides a breakdown on the gender and age based on that group. Users can also compare two trending terms at a time in the same window with the “Discover” button. Income and location stats also show up on the screen, which makes me wonder how Yahoo! has access to how much money people are making. The search paths found at the bottom of the screen show what people searched before and after the target and also shows routine misspellings of the search term and any misconceptions related to the term.
Yahoo! Clues also shows the most popular searches of today, the past seven days, and the past thirty days and other related search keywords.
Link:
http://www.businessreviewusa.com/industry-focus/internet/yahoo-clues-divulges-personal-information-searches
Police in MA. and other states are using new hardware and software to instantly scan license plates and check registrations.
SOUTHBRIDGE — The inside of a specially equipped police cruiser sounded a lot like a grocery store checkout.
But the constant beeping was actually checking license plates.
The instantaneous rate — easily 20 vehicles per minute during a ride-along with veteran Officer John Ritchie — would have made a grocery cashier cringe.
The software, which was recently purchased by police here, checks for wanted persons, unregistered vehicles, revoked registrations and stolen cars and can be used for investigative purposes, Officer Ritchie said. Police can check the plates of moving or parked vehicles.
Rather than one officer running radar and attempting to key in license plates — perhaps at a rate of 100 per shift — the system can run hundreds of plates in a couple of minutes, enhancing the officers' time on motor vehicle enforcement.
The Southbridge Police Department recently purchased ELSAG North America's license plate recognition program, which is used more heavily in New York, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Connecticut and Ohio.
About 20 departments in Massachusetts use it. ELSAG spokesman Nate Maroney declined to identify the others because of nondisclosure agreements.
The program costs about $20,000, including hardware, software and four years of support, Mr. Maroney said.
Infrared cameras are placed on the cruiser's exterior, and a network and power junction box go inside, along with a laptop computer for the officer to read and enter data.
Link:
http://www.telegram.com/article/20101121/NEWS/11210466/1101/newsrewind
But the constant beeping was actually checking license plates.
The instantaneous rate — easily 20 vehicles per minute during a ride-along with veteran Officer John Ritchie — would have made a grocery cashier cringe.
The software, which was recently purchased by police here, checks for wanted persons, unregistered vehicles, revoked registrations and stolen cars and can be used for investigative purposes, Officer Ritchie said. Police can check the plates of moving or parked vehicles.
Rather than one officer running radar and attempting to key in license plates — perhaps at a rate of 100 per shift — the system can run hundreds of plates in a couple of minutes, enhancing the officers' time on motor vehicle enforcement.
The Southbridge Police Department recently purchased ELSAG North America's license plate recognition program, which is used more heavily in New York, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Connecticut and Ohio.
About 20 departments in Massachusetts use it. ELSAG spokesman Nate Maroney declined to identify the others because of nondisclosure agreements.
The program costs about $20,000, including hardware, software and four years of support, Mr. Maroney said.
Infrared cameras are placed on the cruiser's exterior, and a network and power junction box go inside, along with a laptop computer for the officer to read and enter data.
Link:
http://www.telegram.com/article/20101121/NEWS/11210466/1101/newsrewind
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Predictive modeling for private passenger automobile insurance, Pdf.
Private passenger automobile (PPA) insurance is
the largest line of business for P&C in the United States.
Are private insurance companies going to far in determing our rates?
Many new rating variables are now considered
�� Agency information
�� Which coverages are purchased
�� Premium payment method
�� Non-payment notice
�� Tenure with company
�� Off street garaging
�� Prior loss experience
�� Data from other purchased lines
�� Homeowners
�� Umbrella
�� Inland marine
�� Age of all members of household
Credit/insurance score
�� Education
�� Occupation (including retired)
�� Years at job
�� Length of time at current home
�� Home ownership
�� Household type (single, couple, etc.)
�� …And many more…
�� …And interactions between variables…
Link: http://www.soa.org/files/pdf/2009-boston-barnes-119.pdf
the largest line of business for P&C in the United States.
Are private insurance companies going to far in determing our rates?
Many new rating variables are now considered
�� Agency information
�� Which coverages are purchased
�� Premium payment method
�� Non-payment notice
�� Tenure with company
�� Off street garaging
�� Prior loss experience
�� Data from other purchased lines
�� Homeowners
�� Umbrella
�� Inland marine
�� Age of all members of household
Credit/insurance score
�� Education
�� Occupation (including retired)
�� Years at job
�� Length of time at current home
�� Home ownership
�� Household type (single, couple, etc.)
�� …And many more…
�� …And interactions between variables…
Link: http://www.soa.org/files/pdf/2009-boston-barnes-119.pdf
Boston Globe graphic: Probation employees connected to politicians and court officials
More than 250 employees of the Probation Department have personal connections to politicians and court officials, or gave at least $500 to state legislators since 2002, a Spotlight analysis has shown.
Link:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/specials/spotlight/probation_list/
Link:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/specials/spotlight/probation_list/
Friday, November 19, 2010
The smallest spy camera in the world lets you take 1.3MP still pictures as well as record up to 16 hours of high resolution (640x480 dpi) color video and sound.
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Store Link: http://www.hiddencamerapen.com/index.html
For a cheaper price hidden camera pens can be found on Ebay:
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=hidden+camera+pen&_sacat=See-All-Categories
Store Link: http://www.hiddencamerapen.com/index.html
Vermont: State police refuse to release information regarding state trooper Michael Studin's 133 mph. speeding ticket.
Despite two recent rulings involving the disclosure of public records, the Vermont State Police said it is prohibited from releasing a copy of a speeding ticket and dashboard video of the violation.
The state police position appears to be in conflict with the general practice of police in Vermont. The head of the Vermont Police Chiefs’ Association maintains traffic tickets have always been considered public record, but the state police now believe their release would violate federal law.
At issue is a renewed request by the Burlington Free Press for information about Trooper Michael Studin’s speeding ticket for driving 133 miles per hour on Interstate 91 in Rockingham on Oct. 29, 2008. Public Safety Commissioner Thomas Tremblay and his wife were in their private vehicle when Studin sped past them in an unmarked super-charged cruiser at about 2:45 p.m. near the Rockingham interchange.
South Burlington Chief Trevor Whipple said Wednesday he would be hard-pressed to think of a reason to try to withhold a traffic ticket his department issues. The city’s policy notes the department will keep the community, through the media, informed about crime and department activities.
Link:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20101118/NEWS02/101117033/Police-policies-on-release-of-traffic-tickets-at-odds
The state police position appears to be in conflict with the general practice of police in Vermont. The head of the Vermont Police Chiefs’ Association maintains traffic tickets have always been considered public record, but the state police now believe their release would violate federal law.
At issue is a renewed request by the Burlington Free Press for information about Trooper Michael Studin’s speeding ticket for driving 133 miles per hour on Interstate 91 in Rockingham on Oct. 29, 2008. Public Safety Commissioner Thomas Tremblay and his wife were in their private vehicle when Studin sped past them in an unmarked super-charged cruiser at about 2:45 p.m. near the Rockingham interchange.
South Burlington Chief Trevor Whipple said Wednesday he would be hard-pressed to think of a reason to try to withhold a traffic ticket his department issues. The city’s policy notes the department will keep the community, through the media, informed about crime and department activities.
Link:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20101118/NEWS02/101117033/Police-policies-on-release-of-traffic-tickets-at-odds
Thursday, November 18, 2010
300 page report of the Independent Counsel on the MA probation department.
A court-ordered independent counsel who investigated the state Probation Department found “systemic abuse and corruption” in its hiring and promotions practices, according to a new report which prompted the state’s top judges to demand swift removal of senior probation officials, announce a new task force, and refer the findings to state and federal prosecutors “for such action as any of them may deep appropriate.”
Such abuse and corruption are intolerable and are a betrayal of the just expectations of the public and of employees in the judicial branch, including those in the Probation Department,” the justices of the Supreme Judicial Court said in a statement accompanying the report. “Corrective measures must now be taken to repair the damage wrought by the conduct laid bare ... and to restore the integrity of all aspects of the Probation Department.”
Links:
http://bostonherald.com/news/document.bg?f=misc/probationreport.pdf&h=Probation%20Department:%20Report%20of%20Independent%20Counsel&p=&k=bh
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20101118mass_court_orders_shake-up_of_probation_dept/srvc=home&position=1
Such abuse and corruption are intolerable and are a betrayal of the just expectations of the public and of employees in the judicial branch, including those in the Probation Department,” the justices of the Supreme Judicial Court said in a statement accompanying the report. “Corrective measures must now be taken to repair the damage wrought by the conduct laid bare ... and to restore the integrity of all aspects of the Probation Department.”
Links:
http://bostonherald.com/news/document.bg?f=misc/probationreport.pdf&h=Probation%20Department:%20Report%20of%20Independent%20Counsel&p=&k=bh
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20101118mass_court_orders_shake-up_of_probation_dept/srvc=home&position=1
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
A federal judge ordered a new trial yesterday citing flawed scientific evidence in an arson case.
In a 69-page decision, US District Judge Nancy Gertner wrote that by the time James Hebshie went to trial in 2006, it had been widely reported that people had been convicted, and perhaps even executed, on flawed arson evidence.
Yet, she said, Hebshie’s lawyers failed to challenge evidence presented at his trial, even though they had been warned by another lawyer and scientific experts that there were problems with arson expert testimony, laboratory analysis, and canine evidence being offered.
A canine handler was wrongly allowed to testify to “an almost mystical account’’ of the capabilities of Billy, an accelerant-detection dog, and make unsubstantiated statements about the dog’s accuracy, Gertner wrote.
“Questionable theorizing about arson, about Billy’s mystical prowess, and the generic laboratory results were presented as ‘science’ to the jury, and, as a result, Hebshie was convicted,’’ Gertner wrote. She added that much of the evidence should have been excluded and that, if it had, jurors may have acquitted Hebshie.
Salem attorney Jeanne M. Kempthorne began representing Hebshie after his conviction. “There wasn’t any evidence against him,’’ she said. “It was just so deficient.’’
She added: “You have investigators who apply principles of science in a shoddy manner, and you have prosecutors and, unfortunately, defense lawyers who aren’t probing hard enough to see whether there is any real content to the opinions that these so-called experts are proffering. And that is an everyday problem.’’
Link:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/11/16/citing_flawed_evidence_us_judge_orders_new_trial_in_taunton_arson_case/
Yet, she said, Hebshie’s lawyers failed to challenge evidence presented at his trial, even though they had been warned by another lawyer and scientific experts that there were problems with arson expert testimony, laboratory analysis, and canine evidence being offered.
A canine handler was wrongly allowed to testify to “an almost mystical account’’ of the capabilities of Billy, an accelerant-detection dog, and make unsubstantiated statements about the dog’s accuracy, Gertner wrote.
“Questionable theorizing about arson, about Billy’s mystical prowess, and the generic laboratory results were presented as ‘science’ to the jury, and, as a result, Hebshie was convicted,’’ Gertner wrote. She added that much of the evidence should have been excluded and that, if it had, jurors may have acquitted Hebshie.
Salem attorney Jeanne M. Kempthorne began representing Hebshie after his conviction. “There wasn’t any evidence against him,’’ she said. “It was just so deficient.’’
She added: “You have investigators who apply principles of science in a shoddy manner, and you have prosecutors and, unfortunately, defense lawyers who aren’t probing hard enough to see whether there is any real content to the opinions that these so-called experts are proffering. And that is an everyday problem.’’
Link:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/11/16/citing_flawed_evidence_us_judge_orders_new_trial_in_taunton_arson_case/
New Haven, CT: Police are accused of threatening and confiscating camera phones if they record their actions.
In the midst of swirling controversy about cops and cameras, Luis Luna was put under arrest for filming police in action—not by a rogue patrolman misunderstanding official department policy, but by none other than the assistant chief of police.
Luis Luna (pictured), a 26-year-old from Wallingford, was arrested on College Street early in the morning of Sept. 25 while he was using his iPhone to videotape police.
According to a police report, his arrest was ordered by Assistant Chief Ariel Melendez, who had told him not to film police breaking up a fight.
Assistant Chief Melendez (at left in photo) did not respond to requests for comment this week. Chief Frank Limon (at right) declined to comment on the propriety of Melendez’s order to arrest Luna. He reiterated his previous statements that it is not illegal to film police.
The chief has made those statements in response to recent complaints of police interfering with people’s right to photograph or videotape police in public places. The department is currently investigating several incidents in which police allegedly ordered people to put away camera phones or even snatched them out of people’s hands.
The cops and cameras complaints are part of a larger controversy involving allegations of physical and verbal abuse by New Haven police. The charges stem largely from “Operation Nightlife,” the police crackdown on clubs on Crown Street that began in September in response to a downtown shootout that left two hospitalized. The operation included an Oct. 2 raid on a private Yale party, using SWAT cops. That raid overseen by Assistant Chief Melendez prompted an outcry from Yale students who felt their rights were violated.
Link:
http://newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/videotaper_arrested_by_top_police_brass/id_31144
Luis Luna (pictured), a 26-year-old from Wallingford, was arrested on College Street early in the morning of Sept. 25 while he was using his iPhone to videotape police.
According to a police report, his arrest was ordered by Assistant Chief Ariel Melendez, who had told him not to film police breaking up a fight.
Assistant Chief Melendez (at left in photo) did not respond to requests for comment this week. Chief Frank Limon (at right) declined to comment on the propriety of Melendez’s order to arrest Luna. He reiterated his previous statements that it is not illegal to film police.
The chief has made those statements in response to recent complaints of police interfering with people’s right to photograph or videotape police in public places. The department is currently investigating several incidents in which police allegedly ordered people to put away camera phones or even snatched them out of people’s hands.
The cops and cameras complaints are part of a larger controversy involving allegations of physical and verbal abuse by New Haven police. The charges stem largely from “Operation Nightlife,” the police crackdown on clubs on Crown Street that began in September in response to a downtown shootout that left two hospitalized. The operation included an Oct. 2 raid on a private Yale party, using SWAT cops. That raid overseen by Assistant Chief Melendez prompted an outcry from Yale students who felt their rights were violated.
Link:
http://newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/videotaper_arrested_by_top_police_brass/id_31144
FDA knew more than 28,000 defibrillators were defective and evidence suggests the companies that sold them were also aware of the defects.
Defibrillators, those devices that are supposed to shock heart failure patients back to life, are malfunctioning far too often, costing people their lives, according to a report released Monday by the Food and Drug Administration.
In the last five years, the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health has received more than 28,000 reports of defibrillators failing and companies that make the devices have issued 68 recalls involving hundreds of the thousands of faulty devices, the FDA said. And the problems appear to have been increasing rapidly over that period of time, the agency said.
Some of the specific examples are disturbing. In one case, a company designed a circuit that monitored the voltage in the device to draw power from the same source it was supposed to monitor. That caused a momentary drop in voltage, triggering a faulty signal to shut down the device, preventing it from delivering a shock. That may have caused a patient's death, the FDA said.
But the FDA has become increasingly concerned about rapidly rising reports of problems with the devices. After studying the problem, the agency concluded that many of the failures could be prevented by improving the design and manufacturing practices of the companies that make the devices. For example, in several cases companies bought components for the devices from suppliers that did not meet the required specifications. In another case a firm knew about a defect in its device and fixed the problem on a case-by-case basis but never systematically notified other users of the problem so their devices could be checked and fixed if necessary before any problems occurred.
Link:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2010/11/defibrillators_malfunctioning.html?hpid=topnews
In the last five years, the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health has received more than 28,000 reports of defibrillators failing and companies that make the devices have issued 68 recalls involving hundreds of the thousands of faulty devices, the FDA said. And the problems appear to have been increasing rapidly over that period of time, the agency said.
Some of the specific examples are disturbing. In one case, a company designed a circuit that monitored the voltage in the device to draw power from the same source it was supposed to monitor. That caused a momentary drop in voltage, triggering a faulty signal to shut down the device, preventing it from delivering a shock. That may have caused a patient's death, the FDA said.
But the FDA has become increasingly concerned about rapidly rising reports of problems with the devices. After studying the problem, the agency concluded that many of the failures could be prevented by improving the design and manufacturing practices of the companies that make the devices. For example, in several cases companies bought components for the devices from suppliers that did not meet the required specifications. In another case a firm knew about a defect in its device and fixed the problem on a case-by-case basis but never systematically notified other users of the problem so their devices could be checked and fixed if necessary before any problems occurred.
Link:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2010/11/defibrillators_malfunctioning.html?hpid=topnews
Medicare patients are plagued by mistakes at hospitals and by the staff.
A just-released report from my office shows that medical care is falling short for too many hospitalized Medicare patients. A decade after an Institute of Medicine study placed preventable medical errors among the leading causes of death in the United States, our latest study found that a disturbing number of hospitalized patients still endure harmful consequences from medical care, 44% of them preventable. These instances, which the report calls "adverse events," include infections, surgical complications and medication errors.
Such occurrences are not always preventable, particularly since many Medicare patients are elderly and have complicated health problems. But enough patient harm is avoidable to make a strong case for action.
Physicians determined that about one in seven patients (13.5%) experienced at least one serious instance of harm from medical care that prolonged their hospital stay, caused permanent harm, required life-sustaining intervention, or contributed to their deaths. Projected to the entire Medicare population, this rate means an estimated 134,000 hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries experienced harm from medical care in one month, with the event contributing to death for 1.5%, or approximately 15,000 patients.
Strikingly, medication errors factored in more than half the patient fatalities in our sample, including use of the wrong drug, giving the wrong dosage, or inadequately treating known side effects. Such events were commonly caused by hospital staff diagnosing patients incorrectly or failing to closely monitor their conditions.
Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-11-16-levinson16_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
Such occurrences are not always preventable, particularly since many Medicare patients are elderly and have complicated health problems. But enough patient harm is avoidable to make a strong case for action.
Physicians determined that about one in seven patients (13.5%) experienced at least one serious instance of harm from medical care that prolonged their hospital stay, caused permanent harm, required life-sustaining intervention, or contributed to their deaths. Projected to the entire Medicare population, this rate means an estimated 134,000 hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries experienced harm from medical care in one month, with the event contributing to death for 1.5%, or approximately 15,000 patients.
Strikingly, medication errors factored in more than half the patient fatalities in our sample, including use of the wrong drug, giving the wrong dosage, or inadequately treating known side effects. Such events were commonly caused by hospital staff diagnosing patients incorrectly or failing to closely monitor their conditions.
Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-11-16-levinson16_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Texas requires every new computer repair technician to have a private investigator's license.
12 Ridiculous government regulations that are almost too bizarre to believe.
The state of Texas now requires every new computer repair technician to obtain a private investigator’s license. In order to receive a private investigator’s license, an individual must either have a degree in criminal justice or must complete a three year apprenticeship with a licensed private investigator. If you are a computer repair technician that violates this law, or if you are a regular citizen that has a computer repaired by someone not in compliance with the law, you can be fined up to $4,000 and you can be put in jail for a year.
Link:
http://www.businessinsider.com/ridiculous-regulations-big-government-2010-11?slop=1
The state of Texas now requires every new computer repair technician to obtain a private investigator’s license. In order to receive a private investigator’s license, an individual must either have a degree in criminal justice or must complete a three year apprenticeship with a licensed private investigator. If you are a computer repair technician that violates this law, or if you are a regular citizen that has a computer repaired by someone not in compliance with the law, you can be fined up to $4,000 and you can be put in jail for a year.
Link:
http://www.businessinsider.com/ridiculous-regulations-big-government-2010-11?slop=1
Saturday, November 13, 2010
On the lighter side, this woman will not require a private investigator.
MANCHESTER, N.H. -- A Hooksett woman was arrested and charged with robbing a pharmacy after a witness jotted down the vanity plate on her car as she left the area, police said.
Police said surveillance video at the Rite Aid pharmacy on Hooksett Road in Manchester showed a person wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a ski mask entering the pharmacy Friday morning. Police said that person approached an employee who was stocking candy.
"A woman approached her with a hood and a mask, put a metal object to her head and said it was a robbery," said Lt. Nick Willard. "The (employee) thought it was a gun. The clerk complied."
A person in a nearby parking lot noticed something strange was going on.
"He watched her get in the vehicle and fled the area," Willard said. "He got a plate number, and while he was following this woman, she was throwing items out of her vehicle."
The license plate reported by the witness was B-USHER, which police said was registered to Bonnie Usher, 43. Usher was arrested at her home a short time later and charged with armed robbery.
Link: http://www.wmur.com/news/25776608/detail.html
Police said surveillance video at the Rite Aid pharmacy on Hooksett Road in Manchester showed a person wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a ski mask entering the pharmacy Friday morning. Police said that person approached an employee who was stocking candy.
"A woman approached her with a hood and a mask, put a metal object to her head and said it was a robbery," said Lt. Nick Willard. "The (employee) thought it was a gun. The clerk complied."
A person in a nearby parking lot noticed something strange was going on.
"He watched her get in the vehicle and fled the area," Willard said. "He got a plate number, and while he was following this woman, she was throwing items out of her vehicle."
The license plate reported by the witness was B-USHER, which police said was registered to Bonnie Usher, 43. Usher was arrested at her home a short time later and charged with armed robbery.
Link: http://www.wmur.com/news/25776608/detail.html
Texas: DNA evidence ignored and nearly destroyed by the prosecution, did they kill an innoncent man?
For over two decades, the hair was stored in a plastic evidence bag in the courthouse in Coldspring, Texas, cataloged as belonging to Claude Jones, who was convicted of murder in 1990 and executed 10 years later. Now, it can be relabeled: a court-ordered DNA test found Thursday that the hair actually belonged to the murder victim Allen Hilzendager. The result casts significant doubt on the validity of Jones' conviction and his execution.
That single 1-in. (2.5 cm) strand of hair was the key to Jones' original conviction. A truck carrying Jones and Danny Dixon did pull up in front of Hilzendager's liquor store that night. One man got out, went inside and gunned Hilzendager down, according to two eyewitnesses across the highway (neither could see the murderer's face). Both Jones and Dixon were certainly capable of the crime — both were on parole after serving time for murder. But there was little other firm evidence of which one had done it. Dixon accused Jones, and Jones accused Dixon. The prosecution's star witness against Jones was a friend of Dixon's who later said that prosecutors had coerced him into testifying.
And from the beginning, the evidence was handled questionably. The hair expert at the Texas crime lab originally thought the small sample was "unsuitable for comparison" using the microscopy technology available at the time, but eventually changed his mind and decided to test it after all. Using that outdated technology — which essentially has two hairs examined side by side under a microscope — the expert then determined that the hair belonged to Jones and not Dixon.
In Jones' case, prosecutor Bill Burnett fought hard to destroy the hair before it could be tested, and he took his fight all the way to his grave. The pastor at his funeral in June assailed TIME's coverage of the Jones case, in which I had argued in favor of testing, and lauded Burnett for being someone who "took a stand against some powerful people."
Link: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2031034,00.html?hpt=T2
That single 1-in. (2.5 cm) strand of hair was the key to Jones' original conviction. A truck carrying Jones and Danny Dixon did pull up in front of Hilzendager's liquor store that night. One man got out, went inside and gunned Hilzendager down, according to two eyewitnesses across the highway (neither could see the murderer's face). Both Jones and Dixon were certainly capable of the crime — both were on parole after serving time for murder. But there was little other firm evidence of which one had done it. Dixon accused Jones, and Jones accused Dixon. The prosecution's star witness against Jones was a friend of Dixon's who later said that prosecutors had coerced him into testifying.
And from the beginning, the evidence was handled questionably. The hair expert at the Texas crime lab originally thought the small sample was "unsuitable for comparison" using the microscopy technology available at the time, but eventually changed his mind and decided to test it after all. Using that outdated technology — which essentially has two hairs examined side by side under a microscope — the expert then determined that the hair belonged to Jones and not Dixon.
In Jones' case, prosecutor Bill Burnett fought hard to destroy the hair before it could be tested, and he took his fight all the way to his grave. The pastor at his funeral in June assailed TIME's coverage of the Jones case, in which I had argued in favor of testing, and lauded Burnett for being someone who "took a stand against some powerful people."
Link: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2031034,00.html?hpt=T2
Friday, November 12, 2010
Attleboro, MA. police officer Richard Pierce Jr. was suspended for allegedly lying about using a taser to subdue a suspect.
The police chief's son, a city patrolman, has been put on paid administrative leave in connection with a tasering incident during an arrest further rattling a department that has been blasted with bad news this year.
Patrolman Richard Pierce Jr., a five-year veteran of the department and the son of Police Chief Richard Pierce, was suspended about the same time his father unexpectedly announced a decision last week to retire at the end of the month.
The younger Pierce was suspended for allegedly lying about using a taser to subdue a suspect in February. He allegedly failed to report the use of the taser, then blamed another officer not involved in the incident.
Link:
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2010/11/11/attleboro/8238291.txt
Patrolman Richard Pierce Jr., a five-year veteran of the department and the son of Police Chief Richard Pierce, was suspended about the same time his father unexpectedly announced a decision last week to retire at the end of the month.
The younger Pierce was suspended for allegedly lying about using a taser to subdue a suspect in February. He allegedly failed to report the use of the taser, then blamed another officer not involved in the incident.
Link:
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2010/11/11/attleboro/8238291.txt
The Allied Pilots Association is concerned over the amount of radiation people are exposed to from the advanced imaging technology body scanners used at many airports.
Allied Pilots Association president Dave Bates is suggesting that American Airlines pilots go through a pat-down search by Transportation Security Administration personnel rather undergo the repeated radiation from the "advanced imaging technology" body scanners used at many airports.
That doesn't mean he likes the pat-downs, which can include hand-sliding over the groin and buttocks.
"There is absolutely no denying that the enhanced pat-down is a demeaning experience," Bates told members in a message Monday.
It is important to note that there are "backscatter" AIT devices now being deployed that produce ionizing radiation, which could be harmful to your health. Airline pilots in the United States already receive higher doses of radiation in their on-the-job environment than nearly every other category of worker in the United States, including nuclear power plant employees. As I also stated in my recent letter to the Administrator of the TSA:
"We are exposed to radiation every day on the job. For example, a typical Atlantic crossing during a solar flare can expose a pilot to radiation equivalent to 100 chest X-rays per hour. Requiring pilots to go through the AIT means additional radiation exposure. I share our pilots' concerns about this additional radiation exposure and plan to recommend that our pilots refrain from going through the AIT. We already experience significantly higher radiation exposure than most other occupations, and there is mounting evidence of higher-than-average cancer rates as a consequence."
Link:
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/11/apa-president-advises-against.html
That doesn't mean he likes the pat-downs, which can include hand-sliding over the groin and buttocks.
"There is absolutely no denying that the enhanced pat-down is a demeaning experience," Bates told members in a message Monday.
It is important to note that there are "backscatter" AIT devices now being deployed that produce ionizing radiation, which could be harmful to your health. Airline pilots in the United States already receive higher doses of radiation in their on-the-job environment than nearly every other category of worker in the United States, including nuclear power plant employees. As I also stated in my recent letter to the Administrator of the TSA:
"We are exposed to radiation every day on the job. For example, a typical Atlantic crossing during a solar flare can expose a pilot to radiation equivalent to 100 chest X-rays per hour. Requiring pilots to go through the AIT means additional radiation exposure. I share our pilots' concerns about this additional radiation exposure and plan to recommend that our pilots refrain from going through the AIT. We already experience significantly higher radiation exposure than most other occupations, and there is mounting evidence of higher-than-average cancer rates as a consequence."
Link:
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/11/apa-president-advises-against.html
Obituarieshelp.org is a new website that private investigators and attorneys could find useful.
"I started ObituariesHelp.org when I realized that there are very few really good resources out there for people who are grieving. At a time when you are at your saddest and most distraught, some guidance and help is all you need. And that is what is most lacking from the Internet.
There are times when all you need is a Newspaper Obituary of someone you know or a Celebrity Obituary but having to go through pages of search results can be so time consuming. And, the best way find out about your ancestors is to search old obituary archives and other vital statistic reports.
I hope that you find ObituariesHelp.org a helpful resource to you whether you are simply browsing through obituaries, building a family tree, or have the unfortunate task of writing an obituary for a deceased loved one."
Link: http://www.obituarieshelp.org/
There are times when all you need is a Newspaper Obituary of someone you know or a Celebrity Obituary but having to go through pages of search results can be so time consuming. And, the best way find out about your ancestors is to search old obituary archives and other vital statistic reports.
I hope that you find ObituariesHelp.org a helpful resource to you whether you are simply browsing through obituaries, building a family tree, or have the unfortunate task of writing an obituary for a deceased loved one."
Link: http://www.obituarieshelp.org/
People rally against surveillance cameras in Syracuse, NY.
With some holding signs demanding “No surveillance cameras in our communities,” about 50 people gathered Wednesday evening in front of Syracuse City Hall to protest plans to monitor two parts of the city.
Police have proposed seeking $125,000 in federal stimulus money to put nine surveillance cameras on the city’s Near West Side. Police also asked the Common Council to accept $84,400 for cameras to be installed around Pioneer Homes.
Speaker after speaker denounced the plan, many expressing distrust of the police.
Julio Urrutia, of Onondaga Hill, said putting the cameras in the neighborhood would create “an electronic wall around the Latino community.”
Gary Bonaparte, who lives on Gifford Street, part of the area that could be under surveillance if the cameras are put up as planned, said he was afraid, but not just of more crime. “I’m afraid of the police,” he said. “They beat us and they kill us,” Bonaparte told the crowd, “and we pay them for that.”
“Police officers routinely harass our people,” said Derek Ford, who lives on Syracuse’s East Side. “That’s why we don’t want to come forward and talk to police,” he said. And police, he said, are using that lack of communication as an argument for putting up cameras.
Saying she respected the job police do, Syracuse West Side resident Barrie Gewanter, of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said she wanted controls on what police could do with cameras. “I don’t trust the police to police themselves,” she said.
Link:
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/dozens_rally_against_surveilla.html
Police have proposed seeking $125,000 in federal stimulus money to put nine surveillance cameras on the city’s Near West Side. Police also asked the Common Council to accept $84,400 for cameras to be installed around Pioneer Homes.
Speaker after speaker denounced the plan, many expressing distrust of the police.
Julio Urrutia, of Onondaga Hill, said putting the cameras in the neighborhood would create “an electronic wall around the Latino community.”
Gary Bonaparte, who lives on Gifford Street, part of the area that could be under surveillance if the cameras are put up as planned, said he was afraid, but not just of more crime. “I’m afraid of the police,” he said. “They beat us and they kill us,” Bonaparte told the crowd, “and we pay them for that.”
“Police officers routinely harass our people,” said Derek Ford, who lives on Syracuse’s East Side. “That’s why we don’t want to come forward and talk to police,” he said. And police, he said, are using that lack of communication as an argument for putting up cameras.
Saying she respected the job police do, Syracuse West Side resident Barrie Gewanter, of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said she wanted controls on what police could do with cameras. “I don’t trust the police to police themselves,” she said.
Link:
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/dozens_rally_against_surveilla.html
Police agencies review applicants social media activities during background checks.
Law enforcement agencies are digging deep into the social media accounts of applicants, requesting that candidates sign waivers allowing investigators access to their Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter and other personal spaces.
Some agencies are demanding that applicants provide private passwords, Internet pseudonyms, text messages and e-mail logs as part of an expanding vetting process for public safety jobs.
More than a third of police agencies review applicants' social media activity during background checks, according to the first report on agencies' social media use by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the largest group of police executives. The report out last month surveyed 728 agencies.
"As more and more people join these networks, their activities on these sites become an intrinsic part of any background check we do," said Laurel, Md., Police Chief David Crawford.
In Massachusetts, Malden Police Chief Jim Holland, whose agency has requested electronic message logs, said a recruit's text messages revealed past threats of suicide, resulting in disqualification.
Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-11-12-1Afacebookcops12_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
Some agencies are demanding that applicants provide private passwords, Internet pseudonyms, text messages and e-mail logs as part of an expanding vetting process for public safety jobs.
More than a third of police agencies review applicants' social media activity during background checks, according to the first report on agencies' social media use by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the largest group of police executives. The report out last month surveyed 728 agencies.
"As more and more people join these networks, their activities on these sites become an intrinsic part of any background check we do," said Laurel, Md., Police Chief David Crawford.
In Massachusetts, Malden Police Chief Jim Holland, whose agency has requested electronic message logs, said a recruit's text messages revealed past threats of suicide, resulting in disqualification.
Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-11-12-1Afacebookcops12_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Electronic spy camera T-shirt
Centered in the artwork on the shirt is the man himself, holding a camera to his face. But not just a picture of a camera. Hidden behind the soft cotton exterior is a fully-functioning spy camera. That's right. Whatever your chest can see, the camera can see. A cable connects the camera to a small black box that fits discreetly in your pocket. Just reach in, press the button, and your shirt will capture the evidence before you.
Product Features;
•Stylish retro spy theme T-Shirt has a tiny color digital camera hidden in the chest
•Use the pocket based remote to shoot color digital photos
•Vibration feedback shutter lets you know when you've taken a new shot
•Holds over 150 color digital photos, 640 x 480 resolution
•Electronics are completely removable for washing
•Plug in with USB to download photos
•Works with any OS including Mac, Linux and Windows
•Requires 3x AAA batteries (not included)
Link:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/interactive/e60c/?cpg=143H
Product Features;
•Stylish retro spy theme T-Shirt has a tiny color digital camera hidden in the chest
•Use the pocket based remote to shoot color digital photos
•Vibration feedback shutter lets you know when you've taken a new shot
•Holds over 150 color digital photos, 640 x 480 resolution
•Electronics are completely removable for washing
•Plug in with USB to download photos
•Works with any OS including Mac, Linux and Windows
•Requires 3x AAA batteries (not included)
Link:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/interactive/e60c/?cpg=143H
Tips on how to investigate a "no body" or missing persons homicide case.
Thoma A. Dibiase is a former assistant United States attorney.
"I’m often asked by both the families of missing persons and law enforcement what the police and prosecutors should be doing once a person is missing but presumed dead. I offer my thoughts here on some suggestions that can lead to a successful investigation and prosecution of a no body homicide case. Special thanks to Detective Matthew DiBiase for his suggestions and comments.
At the end of this treatise, I’ve copied a paper from the UK on investigating no body murder cases which also contains a list of UK no body murder cases."
Link: http://www.nobodycases.com/tips.pdf
"I’m often asked by both the families of missing persons and law enforcement what the police and prosecutors should be doing once a person is missing but presumed dead. I offer my thoughts here on some suggestions that can lead to a successful investigation and prosecution of a no body homicide case. Special thanks to Detective Matthew DiBiase for his suggestions and comments.
At the end of this treatise, I’ve copied a paper from the UK on investigating no body murder cases which also contains a list of UK no body murder cases."
Link: http://www.nobodycases.com/tips.pdf
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
James Powers, former director of the Pennsylvania office of homeland security, destroyed the original intelligence reports he received from the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response.
James Powers, former director of the Pennsylvania Office of Homeland Security, destroyed the original intelligence reports he received from the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response.
That may have violated multiple provisions of the state’s record retention policy.
“I destroyed the original copies because, to me, they were working documents,” Powers wrote in an internal e-mail more than a week after receiving a request for the records.
According to the state’s Employee Records Management Manual, “Records that are the subject of a current Right-to-Know Law request must be retained by the agency, even if their records retention and disposition schedule indicates otherwise. These records may NOT be destroyed during the duration of the active request, the appeal time related to the request, and any subsequent appeal related to the request.”
Homeland Security is part of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA). Internal emails from other PEMA staffers indicate that the raw reports existed one day after Davis filed his request, but none were released.
Eight days later, Powers sent his email saying the reports had been shredded.
In his email, Powers makes a point of asking if another staffer had saved any copies — because they could become public.
Powers writes: “We believe there may eventually arise a (Right-to-Know) request for the raw bulletins.”
Link:
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/11/former_director_of_pennsylvani.html
That may have violated multiple provisions of the state’s record retention policy.
“I destroyed the original copies because, to me, they were working documents,” Powers wrote in an internal e-mail more than a week after receiving a request for the records.
According to the state’s Employee Records Management Manual, “Records that are the subject of a current Right-to-Know Law request must be retained by the agency, even if their records retention and disposition schedule indicates otherwise. These records may NOT be destroyed during the duration of the active request, the appeal time related to the request, and any subsequent appeal related to the request.”
Homeland Security is part of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA). Internal emails from other PEMA staffers indicate that the raw reports existed one day after Davis filed his request, but none were released.
Eight days later, Powers sent his email saying the reports had been shredded.
In his email, Powers makes a point of asking if another staffer had saved any copies — because they could become public.
Powers writes: “We believe there may eventually arise a (Right-to-Know) request for the raw bulletins.”
Link:
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/11/former_director_of_pennsylvani.html
The Pennsylvania homeland security office engaged in domestic surveillance of citizens. Is the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response, a private intelligence contractor to blame?
The Institute of Terrorism Research and Response, what possible reason would a private company have to fabricate false stories and conduct surveillance on U. S. citizens? Drumming up business and trampling over our bill of rights is not a concern in their pursuit of profits.
The Patriot-News reported that Pennsylvania’s Office of Homeland Security had been tracking groups engaged in lawful, peaceful protests, including groups opposed to natural gas drilling, peace activists and gay rights groups. An embarrassed Gov. Ed Rendell, who said that he had been unaware of the program until he read the newspaper, issued an immediate order to halt it.
It turns out the homeland security office or its private consultant were doing more than just monitoring law-abiding citizens.
They were comparing environmental activists to Al-Qaeda.
They were tracking down protesters and grilling their parents.
They were seeking a network of citizen spies to combat the security threats they saw in virtually any legal political activity.
And they were feeding their suspicions not only to law enforcement, but to dozens of private businesses from natural gas drillers to The Hershey Co.
Internal emails from the Homeland Security office reveal a determined effort to recruit local people receiving its intelligence bulletins municipal police chiefs, county sheriffs, local emergency management personnel into its network of citizen spies.
The goal was to get those locals to start feeding information to the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response, a private “intelligence” contractor working with the state’s Homeland Security office.
In an email to ITRR in June, former OHS Director James Powers explains, “Thus far, we’ve pushed information to the customer and haven’t actually requested feedback regarding the sites/cities mentioned” in the bulletins.
“We’re not looking for them to dump everything on us that occurs in their jurisdiction,” he writes, “only that which relates to the critical infrastructure. In turn, we’ll provide it to you for the analysts to review and make further findings.”
However, the definition of “critical infrastructure” employed by Powers and ITRR was clearly very broad. The bulletins were, in fact, loaded with information about legal and peaceful activities by activist groups of all political persuasions.
ITRR continues to monitor law-abiding citizens for its corporate clients
Links: http://www.terrorresponse.org/
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/11/pennsylvania_homeland_security_1.html
The Patriot-News reported that Pennsylvania’s Office of Homeland Security had been tracking groups engaged in lawful, peaceful protests, including groups opposed to natural gas drilling, peace activists and gay rights groups. An embarrassed Gov. Ed Rendell, who said that he had been unaware of the program until he read the newspaper, issued an immediate order to halt it.
It turns out the homeland security office or its private consultant were doing more than just monitoring law-abiding citizens.
They were comparing environmental activists to Al-Qaeda.
They were tracking down protesters and grilling their parents.
They were seeking a network of citizen spies to combat the security threats they saw in virtually any legal political activity.
And they were feeding their suspicions not only to law enforcement, but to dozens of private businesses from natural gas drillers to The Hershey Co.
Internal emails from the Homeland Security office reveal a determined effort to recruit local people receiving its intelligence bulletins municipal police chiefs, county sheriffs, local emergency management personnel into its network of citizen spies.
The goal was to get those locals to start feeding information to the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response, a private “intelligence” contractor working with the state’s Homeland Security office.
In an email to ITRR in June, former OHS Director James Powers explains, “Thus far, we’ve pushed information to the customer and haven’t actually requested feedback regarding the sites/cities mentioned” in the bulletins.
“We’re not looking for them to dump everything on us that occurs in their jurisdiction,” he writes, “only that which relates to the critical infrastructure. In turn, we’ll provide it to you for the analysts to review and make further findings.”
However, the definition of “critical infrastructure” employed by Powers and ITRR was clearly very broad. The bulletins were, in fact, loaded with information about legal and peaceful activities by activist groups of all political persuasions.
ITRR continues to monitor law-abiding citizens for its corporate clients
Links: http://www.terrorresponse.org/
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/11/pennsylvania_homeland_security_1.html
The Maryland state police department is fighting a freedom of information request that it must release documents concerning racial profiling.
The Maryland Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, heard oral arguments Friday in a case that will determine whether internal investigation files related to racial profiling complaints lodged against state police officers are public records subject to disclosure under the Maryland Public Information Act.
In the case of Maryland Department of State Police v. Maryland State Conference of NAACP Branches, the police department is appealing a lower court ruling that it must release the documents, which the NAACP has requested under the Public Information Act.
Seth Rosenthal, attorney for the NAACP, argued the group is not interested in identifying individual officers, but that the case “is and always has been about the conduct of the state police as an agency.” He maintained that reports provided to the NAACP under the consent decree do not show whether the state police took any specific action to investigate complaints of racial profiling.
“These records reflect upon the conduct of the state police as an agency. How can those be personnel records?” Rosenthal said.
Rosenthal also argued that even if the court were to assume that the complaints were “personnel records” under the Public Information Act, it still required that they be released to the NAACP in redacted form. He also argued that state police officers “do not carry with them a reasonable expectation to privacy” when it comes to incidents occurring during traffic stops.
Link: http://www.rcfp.org/newsitems/index.php?i=11623
In the case of Maryland Department of State Police v. Maryland State Conference of NAACP Branches, the police department is appealing a lower court ruling that it must release the documents, which the NAACP has requested under the Public Information Act.
Seth Rosenthal, attorney for the NAACP, argued the group is not interested in identifying individual officers, but that the case “is and always has been about the conduct of the state police as an agency.” He maintained that reports provided to the NAACP under the consent decree do not show whether the state police took any specific action to investigate complaints of racial profiling.
“These records reflect upon the conduct of the state police as an agency. How can those be personnel records?” Rosenthal said.
Rosenthal also argued that even if the court were to assume that the complaints were “personnel records” under the Public Information Act, it still required that they be released to the NAACP in redacted form. He also argued that state police officers “do not carry with them a reasonable expectation to privacy” when it comes to incidents occurring during traffic stops.
Link: http://www.rcfp.org/newsitems/index.php?i=11623
SocialMiner: New software allows employers to spy on Twitter, Facebook, social networks.
New software released by Cisco Systems Inc. on Wednesday makes it much easier for banks, retailers, and other businesses -- including your employer -- to monitor the mountain of data on social networking websites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
The new SocialMiner software tracks the status updates, forum posts, and blog posts of customers and potential customers in real-time, giving businesses immediate information about consumers' opinions and preferences. It's pretty cheap, too: "It can also be purchased for use with a non-Cisco contact center system, Cisco officials say. In each case, SocialMiner costs $1,000 for the server and $1,500 per agent license."
"With more and more Web-based conversations taking place over these social platforms, it's now more critical than ever that businesses are aware of what their customers are saying about them and are able to respond to general inquiries or rectify customer service issues so as to enhance and protect brand reputation," Cisco states in its SocialMiner press release.
The systematic tracking of information on social networking websites is nothing new. Software such as WhosTalkin and Social Mention already allow companies to compile user-generated data from social media and social networking sites.
Link:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/software-monitoring-social-networks-breeze/
The new SocialMiner software tracks the status updates, forum posts, and blog posts of customers and potential customers in real-time, giving businesses immediate information about consumers' opinions and preferences. It's pretty cheap, too: "It can also be purchased for use with a non-Cisco contact center system, Cisco officials say. In each case, SocialMiner costs $1,000 for the server and $1,500 per agent license."
"With more and more Web-based conversations taking place over these social platforms, it's now more critical than ever that businesses are aware of what their customers are saying about them and are able to respond to general inquiries or rectify customer service issues so as to enhance and protect brand reputation," Cisco states in its SocialMiner press release.
The systematic tracking of information on social networking websites is nothing new. Software such as WhosTalkin and Social Mention already allow companies to compile user-generated data from social media and social networking sites.
Link:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/software-monitoring-social-networks-breeze/
Bankers and financial firms are spying on you and monitoring your bill payments etc.
With lenders still skittish about making new loans, credit bureaus and others are hawking services that help banks probe deeply into your financial closet. The new offerings include ways to look at your rent and utility payments, figure out your income, gauge your home's value and even rate your banking habits based on details like whether your direct deposits have stopped.
Ken Lin, CEO of Credit Karma, a credit-score information website, knew he had a good credit score. But when he recently applied for a new credit card, he was rejected: The lender had flagged him as a higher credit risk because the value of his California home had declined and his mortgage principal wasn't declining—giving away that he has an interest-only mortgage.
Financial firms are now tracking their customers' bank deposits, rent payments or home values, and even utility bills to figure out who may soon become a financial risk, reports WSJ's Karen Blumenthal.
So, for example, if your employer pays you through direct deposits and those deposits stop, financial institutions can now have warning that your money situation is likely to tighten, and may deny you credit on that basis.
But the efforts don't end there. A new area of research, income estimation, "took off earlier this year," WSJ reports, and involves financial firms collecting information about mortgages, personal loans and credit history to determine how much an individual makes and how much credit they should be given.
Credit bureaus use credit-record information, such as the size of your credit lines and the age and size of your mortgage, and plug it into models to predict your earnings. Those estimates also may be used to double-check the income you report on credit applications or to determine if you should be preapproved for credit.
Link:http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/banks-spying-bills-rent-payments/
Ken Lin, CEO of Credit Karma, a credit-score information website, knew he had a good credit score. But when he recently applied for a new credit card, he was rejected: The lender had flagged him as a higher credit risk because the value of his California home had declined and his mortgage principal wasn't declining—giving away that he has an interest-only mortgage.
Financial firms are now tracking their customers' bank deposits, rent payments or home values, and even utility bills to figure out who may soon become a financial risk, reports WSJ's Karen Blumenthal.
So, for example, if your employer pays you through direct deposits and those deposits stop, financial institutions can now have warning that your money situation is likely to tighten, and may deny you credit on that basis.
But the efforts don't end there. A new area of research, income estimation, "took off earlier this year," WSJ reports, and involves financial firms collecting information about mortgages, personal loans and credit history to determine how much an individual makes and how much credit they should be given.
Credit bureaus use credit-record information, such as the size of your credit lines and the age and size of your mortgage, and plug it into models to predict your earnings. Those estimates also may be used to double-check the income you report on credit applications or to determine if you should be preapproved for credit.
Link:http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/banks-spying-bills-rent-payments/
Monday, November 8, 2010
Australia: Browser beware as political websites plant spy devices otherwise known as " flash cookies."
Politicians are letting foreign-owned companies covertly gather information about voters.
The websites of Barry O'Farrell, Kristina Keneally, Tony Abbott and the Greens plant spying devices on visitors' computers, which can track them as they browse the internet.
Advertisement: Story continues below Information gathered about a user's online behaviour can be used to build detailed profiles to help target advertisements - a practice many believe is a threat to privacy.
Outrage in the US over YouTube cookies placed by the White House's website last year prompted the company to develop videos that let publishers choose if cookies are planted.
The websites of Ms Keneally, Mr Abbott and the Greens also planted flash cookies which can hold more data than standard cookies. They also have no expiration date and are stored on an external server, which makes them difficult for users to detect or delete.
ShareThis and YouTube said users were able to delete or disable third-party cookies.
The information these devices gather is considered anonymous because it identifies browsing software, not individuals.
Link:
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/cookie-monsters-browser-beware-as-political-websites-plant-spy-devices-20101107-17j13.html
The websites of Barry O'Farrell, Kristina Keneally, Tony Abbott and the Greens plant spying devices on visitors' computers, which can track them as they browse the internet.
Advertisement: Story continues below Information gathered about a user's online behaviour can be used to build detailed profiles to help target advertisements - a practice many believe is a threat to privacy.
Outrage in the US over YouTube cookies placed by the White House's website last year prompted the company to develop videos that let publishers choose if cookies are planted.
The websites of Ms Keneally, Mr Abbott and the Greens also planted flash cookies which can hold more data than standard cookies. They also have no expiration date and are stored on an external server, which makes them difficult for users to detect or delete.
ShareThis and YouTube said users were able to delete or disable third-party cookies.
The information these devices gather is considered anonymous because it identifies browsing software, not individuals.
Link:
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/cookie-monsters-browser-beware-as-political-websites-plant-spy-devices-20101107-17j13.html
"The future of privacy: How privacy norms can inform regulation"
Most of the conversation surrounding privacy tends to focus on the market, the technology, and the law. All of these entities tend to use social norms to justify their position without actually understanding the nuance that goes on and without taking an opportunity to learn from what people do to manage privacy. I believe that if you actually dive into and understand social norms, you will be able to develop more innovative and appropriate policies, technologies, and business models.
Teens are fully aware of how difficult achieving privacy is. Many complain non-stop about the impossibilities of obtaining privacy at home, talking relentlessly about their parents who are always "in their business." But we don't give teens enough credit. They're creative and they use all sorts of tactics to achieve privacy, online and off.
Interestingly, the "privacy features" are usually the least reliable for teens. I don't care how "simplified" Facebook says those settings are, the teens that I'm meeting can't make heads or tails of what those settings mean. They read the notification at the top of the page that says that Facebook has taken extra precautions for minors and they hope that Facebook's settings are good enough. They've fiddled with the settings some but have no sense of whether or not they're doing the job. Luckily for Facebook, all that teens expect those settings to do is to keep out the "creepers." Teens have given up trusting Facebook to help them limit how far a photo can be seen or restricting access to a status update. The problems that they face are more systemic. No matter what tools Facebook builds, nothing will let them keep their mother from looking over their shoulder at home. And nothing will stop their ex-best-friend from re-posting a photo. And besides, from their point of view, somehow, people seem to be looking in which is why they're getting advertisements that are connected to their content because they don't understand how behavioral ads work. They are convinced their content is being read by people and they don't like it, but they don't know how to stop it. And it's too socially important to be in the place where all other teens are to worry too much about it anyways. So they stomach the surveillance and look for different tactics.
Part of what's shaping these dynamics has to do with audience awareness. Teens from more privileged backgrounds _know_ that their parents are lurking and have completely accepted the message that college admissions officers will read their profiles. They're expecting it and they're performing for them. I met teens who purposely composed their Facebook profiles with college admissions officers in mind. One teen crafted his photos page to look like the All-American teen. He had sports photos that made him look talented and friend photos that made him look popular and friendly. He knew that getting into a top school required looking his best and he used his Facebook as part of that performance. That is the marker of a highly privileged, highly strategic teen who has been taught to understand how to navigate adult worlds. And to manipulate them based on knowing what kinds of future students they'll like. While I see variations of this among elite teens, I see nothing of the sort among working class teens.
Social media isn't being used to even the playing field - it's being used to replicate pre-existing structural dynamics in a more public forum. All teens are being surveilled - by governmental agencies and corporations - but the teens who are developing strategies to cope are those teens who are responding to surveillance by people they see everyday - their parents. Most other teens only feel the surveillance when something goes terrible awry'
I do think that companies that have data about consumers should be required to make that data available back to them. Consumers should have the right to know what companies know about them. And consumers should have a right to know who has the ability to access that data, including which employees and 3rd parties. When companies monetize user data, consumers should have access to the partners that the companies work with when they "match" data. They should have the right to know how the information is matched and what happens when they click on links. Don't get me wrong - most users won't bother looking. But transparency is key to accountability when we're talking about monetizing user-generated content.
Link:
http://www.danah.org/papers/talks/2010/PrivacyGenerations.html
Teens are fully aware of how difficult achieving privacy is. Many complain non-stop about the impossibilities of obtaining privacy at home, talking relentlessly about their parents who are always "in their business." But we don't give teens enough credit. They're creative and they use all sorts of tactics to achieve privacy, online and off.
Interestingly, the "privacy features" are usually the least reliable for teens. I don't care how "simplified" Facebook says those settings are, the teens that I'm meeting can't make heads or tails of what those settings mean. They read the notification at the top of the page that says that Facebook has taken extra precautions for minors and they hope that Facebook's settings are good enough. They've fiddled with the settings some but have no sense of whether or not they're doing the job. Luckily for Facebook, all that teens expect those settings to do is to keep out the "creepers." Teens have given up trusting Facebook to help them limit how far a photo can be seen or restricting access to a status update. The problems that they face are more systemic. No matter what tools Facebook builds, nothing will let them keep their mother from looking over their shoulder at home. And nothing will stop their ex-best-friend from re-posting a photo. And besides, from their point of view, somehow, people seem to be looking in which is why they're getting advertisements that are connected to their content because they don't understand how behavioral ads work. They are convinced their content is being read by people and they don't like it, but they don't know how to stop it. And it's too socially important to be in the place where all other teens are to worry too much about it anyways. So they stomach the surveillance and look for different tactics.
Part of what's shaping these dynamics has to do with audience awareness. Teens from more privileged backgrounds _know_ that their parents are lurking and have completely accepted the message that college admissions officers will read their profiles. They're expecting it and they're performing for them. I met teens who purposely composed their Facebook profiles with college admissions officers in mind. One teen crafted his photos page to look like the All-American teen. He had sports photos that made him look talented and friend photos that made him look popular and friendly. He knew that getting into a top school required looking his best and he used his Facebook as part of that performance. That is the marker of a highly privileged, highly strategic teen who has been taught to understand how to navigate adult worlds. And to manipulate them based on knowing what kinds of future students they'll like. While I see variations of this among elite teens, I see nothing of the sort among working class teens.
Social media isn't being used to even the playing field - it's being used to replicate pre-existing structural dynamics in a more public forum. All teens are being surveilled - by governmental agencies and corporations - but the teens who are developing strategies to cope are those teens who are responding to surveillance by people they see everyday - their parents. Most other teens only feel the surveillance when something goes terrible awry'
I do think that companies that have data about consumers should be required to make that data available back to them. Consumers should have the right to know what companies know about them. And consumers should have a right to know who has the ability to access that data, including which employees and 3rd parties. When companies monetize user data, consumers should have access to the partners that the companies work with when they "match" data. They should have the right to know how the information is matched and what happens when they click on links. Don't get me wrong - most users won't bother looking. But transparency is key to accountability when we're talking about monetizing user-generated content.
Link:
http://www.danah.org/papers/talks/2010/PrivacyGenerations.html
State Police in West Virginia deny freedom of information requests, which has become the "norm" for similar requests in many police departments nationwide.
The Charleston Gazette filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the West Virginia State Police on Wednesday, asking for records detailing how the agency handles allegations of abuse and misconduct.
Since 2006, State Police troopers have been accused of police brutality at least seven times and sexual assault at least twice. None of the allegations have resulted in charges against a trooper.
The lawsuit, filed in Kanawha Circuit Court, requests reports produced by the department's professional standards section and comes after requests for the public information from State Police and the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety were repeatedly denied.
In a letter to the Gazette last month, Assistant Attorney General John A. Hoyer, who represents the State Police, argued that the records couldn't be released because state law forbids it. He cited the state Freedom of Information Act, which says that information can be withheld if it is of a personal nature "such as that kept in a personal, medical or similar file."
Hoyer also cited a second provision in the act that says records can be withheld if they are "records of law-enforcement agencies that deal with the detection and investigation of crime and the internal records and notations of such law-enforcement agencies which are maintained for internal use in matters relating to law enforcement."
Link: http://wvgazette.com/News/201011031152
Since 2006, State Police troopers have been accused of police brutality at least seven times and sexual assault at least twice. None of the allegations have resulted in charges against a trooper.
The lawsuit, filed in Kanawha Circuit Court, requests reports produced by the department's professional standards section and comes after requests for the public information from State Police and the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety were repeatedly denied.
In a letter to the Gazette last month, Assistant Attorney General John A. Hoyer, who represents the State Police, argued that the records couldn't be released because state law forbids it. He cited the state Freedom of Information Act, which says that information can be withheld if it is of a personal nature "such as that kept in a personal, medical or similar file."
Hoyer also cited a second provision in the act that says records can be withheld if they are "records of law-enforcement agencies that deal with the detection and investigation of crime and the internal records and notations of such law-enforcement agencies which are maintained for internal use in matters relating to law enforcement."
Link: http://wvgazette.com/News/201011031152
Friday, November 5, 2010
Private prison companies have a plan and a new business model: to lock up illegal immigrants. The profitable plan is what they believe to be the next big market in the U. S.
NPR spent the past several months analyzing hundreds of pages of campaign finance reports, lobbying documents and corporate records. What they show is a quiet, behind-the-scenes effort to help draft and pass Arizona Senate Bill 1070 by an industry that stands to benefit from it: the private prison industry.
The law could send hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to prison in a way never done before. And it could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in profits to private prison companies responsible for housing them.
Drafting The Bill:
The 50 or so people in the room included officials of the Corrections Corporation of America, according to two sources who were there.
Pearce and the Corrections Corporation of America have been coming to these meetings for years. Both have seats on one of several of ALEC's boards.
And this bill was an important one for the company. According to Corrections Corporation of America reports reviewed by NPR, executives believe immigrant detention is their next big market. Last year, they wrote that they expect to bring in "a significant portion of our revenues" from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that detains illegal immigrants.
"There were no 'no' votes," Pearce said. "I never had one person speak up in objection to this model legislation."
Four months later, that model legislation became, almost word for word, Arizona's immigration law.
They even named it. They called it the "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act."
"ALEC is the conservative, free-market orientated, limited-government group," said Michael Hough, who was staff director of the meeting.
Hough works for ALEC, but he's also running for state delegate in Maryland, and if elected says he plans to support a similar bill to Arizona's law.
Asked if the private companies usually get to write model bills for the legislators, Hough said, "Yeah, that's the way it's set up. It's a public-private partnership. We believe both sides, businesses and lawmakers should be at the same table, together."
Link:
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130833741
The law could send hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to prison in a way never done before. And it could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in profits to private prison companies responsible for housing them.
Drafting The Bill:
The 50 or so people in the room included officials of the Corrections Corporation of America, according to two sources who were there.
Pearce and the Corrections Corporation of America have been coming to these meetings for years. Both have seats on one of several of ALEC's boards.
And this bill was an important one for the company. According to Corrections Corporation of America reports reviewed by NPR, executives believe immigrant detention is their next big market. Last year, they wrote that they expect to bring in "a significant portion of our revenues" from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that detains illegal immigrants.
"There were no 'no' votes," Pearce said. "I never had one person speak up in objection to this model legislation."
Four months later, that model legislation became, almost word for word, Arizona's immigration law.
They even named it. They called it the "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act."
"ALEC is the conservative, free-market orientated, limited-government group," said Michael Hough, who was staff director of the meeting.
Hough works for ALEC, but he's also running for state delegate in Maryland, and if elected says he plans to support a similar bill to Arizona's law.
Asked if the private companies usually get to write model bills for the legislators, Hough said, "Yeah, that's the way it's set up. It's a public-private partnership. We believe both sides, businesses and lawmakers should be at the same table, together."
Link:
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130833741
Homeland Security and law enforcement monitors Tweets.
Tracking the Twitter activity of law-abiding citizens was part of the Pennsylvania Office of Homeland Security’s intelligence surveillance program.
According to internal Homeland Security e-mails produced through a Right-To-Know request, one of the targets of such surveillance was the Berks Peace Community, a 50-year-old group of Quaker-affiliated senior citizens. They gather on the Penn Street Bridge in Reading every Friday and quietly hold signs questioning America’s “war habit.”
The e-mails also indicate that monitoring the tweets of law-abiding citizens was “part of the intelligence effort that is conducted daily... on behalf of the PA Office of Homeland Security.”
Those were the words of Mark Perelman, co-founder of the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response, the contractor hired by Homeland Security to provide intelligence for the state.
“Law enforcement monitored Twitter accounts during the G-20 to get certain types of information because it is public access,” Finn said. “It is not private information.”
Finn said the Twitter monitoring allowed police to know what was happening on the ground and gave them better “situational awareness.”
Link:
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/11/big_brother_monitored_tweets_t.html
According to internal Homeland Security e-mails produced through a Right-To-Know request, one of the targets of such surveillance was the Berks Peace Community, a 50-year-old group of Quaker-affiliated senior citizens. They gather on the Penn Street Bridge in Reading every Friday and quietly hold signs questioning America’s “war habit.”
The e-mails also indicate that monitoring the tweets of law-abiding citizens was “part of the intelligence effort that is conducted daily... on behalf of the PA Office of Homeland Security.”
Those were the words of Mark Perelman, co-founder of the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response, the contractor hired by Homeland Security to provide intelligence for the state.
“Law enforcement monitored Twitter accounts during the G-20 to get certain types of information because it is public access,” Finn said. “It is not private information.”
Finn said the Twitter monitoring allowed police to know what was happening on the ground and gave them better “situational awareness.”
Link:
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/11/big_brother_monitored_tweets_t.html
Facebook updates lead authorities to California parole jumper after 12 years on the lam.
A man who absconded from parole in California 12 years ago has been arrested in northern Montana after disclosing his location in an update on his Facebook page.
A fugitive task force in California learned that Robert Lewis Crose, 47, was working in northern Montana after he complained about the cold weather, Glacier County sheriff's Sgt. Tom Siefert told the Independent Record.
Crose's Facebook page includes an Oct. 28 posting complaining that his "water line froze even with heat tape and wrap" after the temperature fell to 20 degrees below zero. When someone asked where he was at, Crose responded with a post that said "Cut Bank," a small, windswept town just south of the Canadian border.
Link:
http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_16776bd0-e821-11df-aafc-001cc4c002e0.html
A fugitive task force in California learned that Robert Lewis Crose, 47, was working in northern Montana after he complained about the cold weather, Glacier County sheriff's Sgt. Tom Siefert told the Independent Record.
Crose's Facebook page includes an Oct. 28 posting complaining that his "water line froze even with heat tape and wrap" after the temperature fell to 20 degrees below zero. When someone asked where he was at, Crose responded with a post that said "Cut Bank," a small, windswept town just south of the Canadian border.
Link:
http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_16776bd0-e821-11df-aafc-001cc4c002e0.html
Thursday, November 4, 2010
TSA officer plants fake cocaine in passenger's luggage as a prank.
The Transportation Security Administration worker who earlier this year was canned for falsely claiming to have discovered cocaine in the luggage of travelers was a bomb appraisal officer who was supposed to be evaluating new screening equipment at the time he was pranking his unsuspecting targets, records show.
TSA documents released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request provide further details about the January incidents at the Philadelphia International Airport. The name of the bomb appraisal officer has been redacted from the material, though one memo indicates that when the worker was confronted, “He did say humbly that he was completely wrong and he made a mistake.”
The TSA officer was working near a passenger screening checkpoint “collecting data for several new pieces of equipment that are currently being evaluated by Northrop Grumman,” according to a TSA memo. Since individual data collection phases could each take up to ten minutes, the worker apparently decided to fill up the time by pranking travelers: “While the data was being collected,” the bomb appraisal officer “began to engage passengers.”
After first confirming that the items in front of him belonged to the pair, the TSA employee asked the women, “Do you have anything in your bag that you’re not supposed to?” After the passengers answered, “No,” the worker again displayed some purported cocaine. While a TSA memo notes that the white powder was in a vial, Solomon has said that she was shown a plastic baggie filled with powder.
“Did this come out of your bag?” he asked. “The passengers replied, ‘No way. I don’t even know what that is,’” according to a TSA report. The worker “concluded with, ‘I’m just checking. I know it didn’t come out of your bag, it belongs to me. You seem way too nice. Have a good flight.'"
Link:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/stupid/memos-detail-tsa-officers-cocaine-pranks
TSA documents released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request provide further details about the January incidents at the Philadelphia International Airport. The name of the bomb appraisal officer has been redacted from the material, though one memo indicates that when the worker was confronted, “He did say humbly that he was completely wrong and he made a mistake.”
The TSA officer was working near a passenger screening checkpoint “collecting data for several new pieces of equipment that are currently being evaluated by Northrop Grumman,” according to a TSA memo. Since individual data collection phases could each take up to ten minutes, the worker apparently decided to fill up the time by pranking travelers: “While the data was being collected,” the bomb appraisal officer “began to engage passengers.”
After first confirming that the items in front of him belonged to the pair, the TSA employee asked the women, “Do you have anything in your bag that you’re not supposed to?” After the passengers answered, “No,” the worker again displayed some purported cocaine. While a TSA memo notes that the white powder was in a vial, Solomon has said that she was shown a plastic baggie filled with powder.
“Did this come out of your bag?” he asked. “The passengers replied, ‘No way. I don’t even know what that is,’” according to a TSA report. The worker “concluded with, ‘I’m just checking. I know it didn’t come out of your bag, it belongs to me. You seem way too nice. Have a good flight.'"
Link:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/stupid/memos-detail-tsa-officers-cocaine-pranks
As processors become more powerful are seven- character passwords inadequate?
It's been called revolutionary - technology that lends supercomputer-level power to any desktop. What's more, this new capability comes in the form of a readily available piece of hardware, a graphics processing unit (GPU) costing only a few hundred dollars.
Georgia Tech researchers are investigating whether this new calculating power might change the security landscape worldwide. They're concerned that these desktop marvels might soon compromise a critical part of the world's cyber-security infrastructure - password protection.
"We've been using a commonly available graphics processor to test the integrity of typical passwords of the kind in use here at Georgia Tech and many other places," said Richard Boyd, a senior research scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). "Right now we can confidently say that a seven-character password is hopelessly inadequate - and as GPU power continues to go up every year, the threat will increase."
For many common passwords, that doesn't take long, said Joshua L. Davis, a GTRI research scientist involved in this project. For one thing, attackers know that many people use passwords comprised of easy-to-remember lowercase letters. Code-breakers typically work on those combinations first.
"Length is a major factor in protecting against brute forcing a password," Davis explained. "A computer keyboard contains 95 characters, and every time you add another character, your protection goes up exponentially, by 95 times."
Complexity also adds security, he says. Adding numbers, symbols and uppercase characters significantly increases the time needed to decipher a password.
Davis believes the best password is an entire sentence, preferably one that includes numbers or symbols. That's because a sentence is both long and complex, and yet easy to remember. He says any password shorter than 12 characters could be vulnerable - if not now, soon.
Link:
http://www.gtri.gatech.edu/casestudy/Teraflop-Troubles-Power-Graphics-Processing-Units-GPUs-Password-Security-System
Georgia Tech researchers are investigating whether this new calculating power might change the security landscape worldwide. They're concerned that these desktop marvels might soon compromise a critical part of the world's cyber-security infrastructure - password protection.
"We've been using a commonly available graphics processor to test the integrity of typical passwords of the kind in use here at Georgia Tech and many other places," said Richard Boyd, a senior research scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). "Right now we can confidently say that a seven-character password is hopelessly inadequate - and as GPU power continues to go up every year, the threat will increase."
For many common passwords, that doesn't take long, said Joshua L. Davis, a GTRI research scientist involved in this project. For one thing, attackers know that many people use passwords comprised of easy-to-remember lowercase letters. Code-breakers typically work on those combinations first.
"Length is a major factor in protecting against brute forcing a password," Davis explained. "A computer keyboard contains 95 characters, and every time you add another character, your protection goes up exponentially, by 95 times."
Complexity also adds security, he says. Adding numbers, symbols and uppercase characters significantly increases the time needed to decipher a password.
Davis believes the best password is an entire sentence, preferably one that includes numbers or symbols. That's because a sentence is both long and complex, and yet easy to remember. He says any password shorter than 12 characters could be vulnerable - if not now, soon.
Link:
http://www.gtri.gatech.edu/casestudy/Teraflop-Troubles-Power-Graphics-Processing-Units-GPUs-Password-Security-System
Are police still targeting blacks and minorities?
Cops on cops
We sent two retired cops into New Jersey undercover. The testers include a former New Jersey police officer and a former member of the Philadelphia special investigative unit. They were stopped three out of four nights.
It was the cover story in USA Today three weeks ago. Now, you can watch as Policeabuse.com goes undercover in New Jersey. Our report got the attention of the Atty. Gen. Our report in a 5 part series airing in New York now.
PoliceAbuse.com Radio:
Three years ago John Jackson was accused of theft while working as a Richland County Sheriff deputy. He was fired from his job. He lost his career, his family and his home. We talked to John this week on Policeabuse.com radio. Jackson is one of several officers reporting abuses and civil rights violations in the Richland County sheriffs office.
We also interviewed the wife of a police officer who recently had her husband arrested at work for spousal abuse. Her story is riveting.
Our Blog
He had a fight with his brother that lasted just a few minutes. By the time the police arrived all the fighting was over, or so he thought. He was maced and beaten by the police after he reported that an officer was rude to him. Despite a severe injury to his hand they told him that he could not be released until he cleaned his jail cell sufficiently to meet with their approval.
Check out Parts 1-3
Link:
http://www.policeabuse.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=806
We sent two retired cops into New Jersey undercover. The testers include a former New Jersey police officer and a former member of the Philadelphia special investigative unit. They were stopped three out of four nights.
It was the cover story in USA Today three weeks ago. Now, you can watch as Policeabuse.com goes undercover in New Jersey. Our report got the attention of the Atty. Gen. Our report in a 5 part series airing in New York now.
PoliceAbuse.com Radio:
Three years ago John Jackson was accused of theft while working as a Richland County Sheriff deputy. He was fired from his job. He lost his career, his family and his home. We talked to John this week on Policeabuse.com radio. Jackson is one of several officers reporting abuses and civil rights violations in the Richland County sheriffs office.
We also interviewed the wife of a police officer who recently had her husband arrested at work for spousal abuse. Her story is riveting.
Our Blog
He had a fight with his brother that lasted just a few minutes. By the time the police arrived all the fighting was over, or so he thought. He was maced and beaten by the police after he reported that an officer was rude to him. Despite a severe injury to his hand they told him that he could not be released until he cleaned his jail cell sufficiently to meet with their approval.
Check out Parts 1-3
Link:
http://www.policeabuse.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=806
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The International Association of Chiefs of Police, in a September survey of 728 police departments nationwide, found 81 percent already use social media.
Thousands of people in New Mexico are keeping an eye on the police — through law-enforcement postings on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs.
Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz says such social media is "taking the wanted poster to the next level" to put extra eyes on the streets and help keep citizens informed.
Law-enforcement agencies large and small post information on Facebook and send text messages and alerts directly to citizens. Albuquerque's police chief and the city's public safety director tweet, or type messages into Twitter.
The state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management sends tweets on everything from how to assemble an emergency kit to checking smoke alarm batteries. The Santa Fe County sheriff and others run blogs, while some departments put videos on YouTube.
"This is not a fad," reads its first tip in a Top 10 list for chiefs.
The association, in a September survey of 728 police departments nationwide, found 81 percent already use social media and most that didn't were considering it.
Link:
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/N-M--police-broaden-reach-with-social-media
Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz says such social media is "taking the wanted poster to the next level" to put extra eyes on the streets and help keep citizens informed.
Law-enforcement agencies large and small post information on Facebook and send text messages and alerts directly to citizens. Albuquerque's police chief and the city's public safety director tweet, or type messages into Twitter.
The state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management sends tweets on everything from how to assemble an emergency kit to checking smoke alarm batteries. The Santa Fe County sheriff and others run blogs, while some departments put videos on YouTube.
"This is not a fad," reads its first tip in a Top 10 list for chiefs.
The association, in a September survey of 728 police departments nationwide, found 81 percent already use social media and most that didn't were considering it.
Link:
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/N-M--police-broaden-reach-with-social-media
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Private investigator occupational outlook handbook, 2010-11 Edition
Many detectives and investigators spend time away from their offices conducting interviews or doing surveillance, but some work in the office most of the day conducting computer searches and making phone calls. When an investigator is working on a case, the environment might range from plush boardrooms to seedy bars. Store and hotel detectives work in the businesses that they protect.
Investigators generally work alone, but they sometimes work with others, especially during surveillance or when they follow a subject. Some of the work involves confrontation, so the job can be stressful and dangerous. Some situations, such as certain bodyguard assignments for corporate or celebrity clients, call for the investigator to be armed. In most cases, however, a weapon is not necessary, because the purpose of the work is gathering information and not law enforcement or criminal apprehension. Owners of investigative agencies have the added stress of having to deal with demanding and sometimes distraught clients. Although considered a dangerous occupation, private detectives and investigators have a relatively low incidence of nonfatal work-related injuries.
Private detectives and investigators often work irregular hours because of the need to conduct surveillance and contact people who are not available during normal working hours. Early morning, evening, weekend, and holiday work is common.
Wages: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes339021.htm
Link: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos157.htm
Investigators generally work alone, but they sometimes work with others, especially during surveillance or when they follow a subject. Some of the work involves confrontation, so the job can be stressful and dangerous. Some situations, such as certain bodyguard assignments for corporate or celebrity clients, call for the investigator to be armed. In most cases, however, a weapon is not necessary, because the purpose of the work is gathering information and not law enforcement or criminal apprehension. Owners of investigative agencies have the added stress of having to deal with demanding and sometimes distraught clients. Although considered a dangerous occupation, private detectives and investigators have a relatively low incidence of nonfatal work-related injuries.
Private detectives and investigators often work irregular hours because of the need to conduct surveillance and contact people who are not available during normal working hours. Early morning, evening, weekend, and holiday work is common.
Wages: http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes339021.htm
Link: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos157.htm
Monday, November 1, 2010
The National Institute of Justice: Police lineups; making eyewitness identification more reliable.
At its most basic level, a police lineup involves placing a suspect among people not suspected of committing the crime (fillers) and asking the eyewitness if he or she can identify the perpetrator. This can be done using a live lineup of people or, as more commonly done in U.S. police departments, a lineup of photographs. Live lineups typically use five or six people (a suspect plus four or five fillers) and photo lineups six or more photographs.
There are two common types of lineups: simultaneous and sequential. In a simultaneous lineup (used most often in police departments around the country),the eyewitness views all the people or photos at the same time. In a sequential lineup, people or photographs are presented to the witness one at a time.
Live Police Lineups: How Do They Work?
Typically, the law enforcement official or lineup administrator knows who the suspect is. Experts suggest that lineup administrators might—whether purposefully or inadvertently—give the witness verbal or nonverbal cues as to the identity of the suspect. For instance, if an eyewitness utters the number of a filler, the lineup administrator may say to the witness, “Take your time . . . . Make sure you look at all the photos.” Such a statement may effectively lead the witness away from the filler. In a “double-blind” lineup, however, neither the administrator nor the witness knows the identity of the suspect, and so the administrator cannot influence the witness in any way.
Additional variables that can affect the outcome of police lineups include:
Prelineup instructions given to the witness. This includes explaining that the suspect may or may not be present in the lineup. Research on prelineup instructions by Nancy Steblay, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota, revealed that a “might or might not be present” instruction reduced mistaken identification rates in lineups where the suspect was absent.
The physical characteristics of fillers. Fillers who do not resemble the witness’s description of the perpetrator may cause a suspect to stand out.
Similarities or differences between witness and suspect age, race, or ethnicity. Research suggests that when the offender is present in a lineup, young children and the elderly perform nearly as well as young adults in identifying the perpetrator. When the lineup does not contain the offender, however, young children and the elderly commit mistaken identifications at a rate higher than young adults. Research has also indicated that people are better able to recognize faces of their own race or ethnic group than faces of another race or ethnic group.
Incident characteristics, such as the use of force or weapons. The presence of a weapon during an incident can draw visual attention away from other things, such as the perpetrator’s face, and thus affect an eyewitness’s ability to identify the holder of the weapon.
Links:
Live police lineups do they work?
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/journals/258/lineupchart.html
Eyewitness Evidence Trainers Manual for Law Enforcement:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/188678.htm
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/journals/258/police-lineups.html
There are two common types of lineups: simultaneous and sequential. In a simultaneous lineup (used most often in police departments around the country),the eyewitness views all the people or photos at the same time. In a sequential lineup, people or photographs are presented to the witness one at a time.
Live Police Lineups: How Do They Work?
Typically, the law enforcement official or lineup administrator knows who the suspect is. Experts suggest that lineup administrators might—whether purposefully or inadvertently—give the witness verbal or nonverbal cues as to the identity of the suspect. For instance, if an eyewitness utters the number of a filler, the lineup administrator may say to the witness, “Take your time . . . . Make sure you look at all the photos.” Such a statement may effectively lead the witness away from the filler. In a “double-blind” lineup, however, neither the administrator nor the witness knows the identity of the suspect, and so the administrator cannot influence the witness in any way.
Additional variables that can affect the outcome of police lineups include:
Prelineup instructions given to the witness. This includes explaining that the suspect may or may not be present in the lineup. Research on prelineup instructions by Nancy Steblay, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota, revealed that a “might or might not be present” instruction reduced mistaken identification rates in lineups where the suspect was absent.
The physical characteristics of fillers. Fillers who do not resemble the witness’s description of the perpetrator may cause a suspect to stand out.
Similarities or differences between witness and suspect age, race, or ethnicity. Research suggests that when the offender is present in a lineup, young children and the elderly perform nearly as well as young adults in identifying the perpetrator. When the lineup does not contain the offender, however, young children and the elderly commit mistaken identifications at a rate higher than young adults. Research has also indicated that people are better able to recognize faces of their own race or ethnic group than faces of another race or ethnic group.
Incident characteristics, such as the use of force or weapons. The presence of a weapon during an incident can draw visual attention away from other things, such as the perpetrator’s face, and thus affect an eyewitness’s ability to identify the holder of the weapon.
Links:
Live police lineups do they work?
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/journals/258/lineupchart.html
Eyewitness Evidence Trainers Manual for Law Enforcement:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/188678.htm
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/journals/258/police-lineups.html
Cellphone security is a growing concern.
Barry Gooden likes to experiment with cellphones, so when a friend showed him a program that could sneak like a thief into his wife's iPhone, he thought he'd give it a try.
Her Bluetooth, the wireless connection that allows people to use earpieces and other devices with their phone, was on. The program on his phone did the rest.
"It made all the contacts start jumping over to this phone," said Gooden, who lives in Viera, Fla.
People blithely use their phones and iPad-like devices to download applications, communicate wirelessly and surf the Internet. Threats to cellphones and iPad-like devices are uncommon now but are expected to increase, experts say.
"What I do is I make your phone (dial) a few premium-rate numbers at 'X' dollars a minute," said Richard Ford, director of Florida Tech's Harris Institute for Assured Information, "and I immediately make the money from that."
It's not just a theory. Security software company Kaspersky Lab recently pointed out a malicious program that targets Google's Android operating system for phones. A link on adult sites prompts users to download a media player that requests permission to send text messages. Then it begins sending those messages at $6 a pop to a premium number.
"A lot of people who get hit don't really know or don't really care or only work it out when the bill comes," Ford said of such exploits. "I think it's still pretty rare, but it's coming."
Phones are more like computers than ever, with similar vulnerabilities, many of which rely on user actions. And all of those bad things on the Web now have a new target as these mobile devices surf the Internet.
Link: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-10-31-cellphone-security_N.htm
Her Bluetooth, the wireless connection that allows people to use earpieces and other devices with their phone, was on. The program on his phone did the rest.
"It made all the contacts start jumping over to this phone," said Gooden, who lives in Viera, Fla.
People blithely use their phones and iPad-like devices to download applications, communicate wirelessly and surf the Internet. Threats to cellphones and iPad-like devices are uncommon now but are expected to increase, experts say.
"What I do is I make your phone (dial) a few premium-rate numbers at 'X' dollars a minute," said Richard Ford, director of Florida Tech's Harris Institute for Assured Information, "and I immediately make the money from that."
It's not just a theory. Security software company Kaspersky Lab recently pointed out a malicious program that targets Google's Android operating system for phones. A link on adult sites prompts users to download a media player that requests permission to send text messages. Then it begins sending those messages at $6 a pop to a premium number.
"A lot of people who get hit don't really know or don't really care or only work it out when the bill comes," Ford said of such exploits. "I think it's still pretty rare, but it's coming."
Phones are more like computers than ever, with similar vulnerabilities, many of which rely on user actions. And all of those bad things on the Web now have a new target as these mobile devices surf the Internet.
Link: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-10-31-cellphone-security_N.htm
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