Medical institutions should put into place policies to minimize the likelihood of a sleep-deprived doctor performing elective surgery, researchers said Wednesday in an editorial.
Falling asleep in the surgical suite occurs far less often than do negative outcomes associated with sleep deprivation, said Dr. Charles A. Czeisler, chief of the Division of Sleep Medicine at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, and professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School.
"The level of impairment is profound well before you get to the point of being so exhausted that you fall asleep," he said.
Czeisler cited a study that compared performing surgery after a sleepless night to driving with a blood-alcohol of 0.1%, a level considered legally drunk in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The risk extends to the most senior physicians. A study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that patients of sleep-deprived faculty surgeons faced an 83% increased risk of complications, the authors said, citing massive hemorrhage and organ injury as the most common examples. They defined a sleep-deprived doctor as one who had had less than a six-hour opportunity for sleep between procedures during a previous on-call night.
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has restricted first-year residents' work hours to no more than 16 hours of continuous work followed by at least eight hours off duty, but physicians in their second year of training and beyond face no such restrictions.
Few institutions have imposed restrictions on doctors on call to ensure they don't wind up being scheduled for surgery the next morning, said Dr. Michael Nurok, lead author of the NEJM study.
Links:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/12/29/sleepy.surgeons/index.html?hpt=C2
http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/
Favorite Quotes
Friday, December 31, 2010
Private investigator Ken Brennan investigates a woman raped and beaten in Florida.
After a woman living in a hotel in Florida was raped, viciously beaten, and left for dead near the Everglades in 2005, the police investigation quickly went cold. But when the victim sued the Airport Regency, the hotel’s private detective, Ken Brennan, became obsessed with the case: how had the 21-year-old blonde disappeared from her room, unseen by security cameras? The author follows Brennan’s trail as the P.I. worked a chilling hunch that would lead him to other states, other crimes, and a man nobody else suspected.
It was usually a pain in the ass to have a private detective snooping around one of his cases. Brennan was right out of central casting—middle-aged, deeply tanned, with gray hair. He was a weight lifter and favored open-necked shirts that showed off both the definition of his upper pecs and the bright, solid-gold chain around his neck. The look said: mature, virile, laid-back, and making it. He had been divorced, and his former wife was now deceased; his children were grown. He had little in the way of daily family responsibilities. Brennan had been a cop on Long Island, where he was from, and had worked eight years as a D.E.A. agent. He had left the agency in the mid-90s to work as a commodities broker and to set up as a private detective. The brokering was not to his taste, but the investigating was. He was a warm, talkative guy, with a thick Long Island accent, who sized people up quickly and with a healthy strain of New York brass. If he liked you, he let you know it right away, and you were his friend for life, and if he didn’t … well, you would find that out right away, too. Nothing shocked him; in fact, most of the salacious run-of-the-mill work that pays private detectives’ bills—domestic jobs and petty insurance scams—bored him. Brennan turned those offers away. The ones he took were mostly from businesses and law firms, who hired him to nail down the facts in civil-court cases like this one.
Link:
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/12/vanishing-blonde-201012
It was usually a pain in the ass to have a private detective snooping around one of his cases. Brennan was right out of central casting—middle-aged, deeply tanned, with gray hair. He was a weight lifter and favored open-necked shirts that showed off both the definition of his upper pecs and the bright, solid-gold chain around his neck. The look said: mature, virile, laid-back, and making it. He had been divorced, and his former wife was now deceased; his children were grown. He had little in the way of daily family responsibilities. Brennan had been a cop on Long Island, where he was from, and had worked eight years as a D.E.A. agent. He had left the agency in the mid-90s to work as a commodities broker and to set up as a private detective. The brokering was not to his taste, but the investigating was. He was a warm, talkative guy, with a thick Long Island accent, who sized people up quickly and with a healthy strain of New York brass. If he liked you, he let you know it right away, and you were his friend for life, and if he didn’t … well, you would find that out right away, too. Nothing shocked him; in fact, most of the salacious run-of-the-mill work that pays private detectives’ bills—domestic jobs and petty insurance scams—bored him. Brennan turned those offers away. The ones he took were mostly from businesses and law firms, who hired him to nail down the facts in civil-court cases like this one.
Link:
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/12/vanishing-blonde-201012
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Police officers accused of wrongdoing and let go, often find employment with other police departments.
This is the first installment in a three-part series examining the lack of police oversight in West Virginia.
CEDAR GROVE, W.Va. - When West Virginia police officers get into trouble and are fired or quit their jobs, they often jump to other departments the same handful of departments, a Gazette-Mail investigation shows.
The state doesn't monitor why officers switch departments, but the Division of Criminal Justice Services keeps track of their employment histories. An examination of the data about 14 years' worth shows that
166 officers have held jobs with more than four departments in West Virginia.
Officers moving from department to department after their actions are questioned - but before anything can be proven is a common occurrence not just in West Virginia, but across the nation, said Sam Walker, professor emeritus of criminal justice at the University of Omaha, and a police accountability expert.
"Everybody talks about the problem of gypsy cops-- officers who are employed, get in trouble, quit, then get hired somewhere else," he said. "It has been talked about but it has never been researched. Part of it is that research in policing always focuses on big cities. Small departments go off the radar screen."
Police officers switch jobs for the same reasons anyone does -- better pay, relocation, better work environment, said Roger Goldman, professor at the Saint Louis University School of Law and an expert on police certification.
"Then you have your last-chance agencies -- every state's got them," he said.
Goldman said there are small departments all around the nation that will hire an officer with questionable conduct in his past because it's easier and cheaper.
Graphic Link:
http://www.wvgazette.com/mediafiles/document/2010/12/26/PTP_map_gyspies_I101226012326.pdf
Link:http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201012251320
CEDAR GROVE, W.Va. - When West Virginia police officers get into trouble and are fired or quit their jobs, they often jump to other departments the same handful of departments, a Gazette-Mail investigation shows.
The state doesn't monitor why officers switch departments, but the Division of Criminal Justice Services keeps track of their employment histories. An examination of the data about 14 years' worth shows that
166 officers have held jobs with more than four departments in West Virginia.
Officers moving from department to department after their actions are questioned - but before anything can be proven is a common occurrence not just in West Virginia, but across the nation, said Sam Walker, professor emeritus of criminal justice at the University of Omaha, and a police accountability expert.
"Everybody talks about the problem of gypsy cops-- officers who are employed, get in trouble, quit, then get hired somewhere else," he said. "It has been talked about but it has never been researched. Part of it is that research in policing always focuses on big cities. Small departments go off the radar screen."
Police officers switch jobs for the same reasons anyone does -- better pay, relocation, better work environment, said Roger Goldman, professor at the Saint Louis University School of Law and an expert on police certification.
"Then you have your last-chance agencies -- every state's got them," he said.
Goldman said there are small departments all around the nation that will hire an officer with questionable conduct in his past because it's easier and cheaper.
Graphic Link:
http://www.wvgazette.com/mediafiles/document/2010/12/26/PTP_map_gyspies_I101226012326.pdf
Link:http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201012251320
Walmart employees request receipts before exiting stores, two police officers refuse to show receipts.
From The Consumerist:
A tipster has sent in an audio recording of himself being stopped at the Walmart doors for refusing to show them his receipt. He says that it's in his pocket and he just doesn't feel like getting it out. According to the reader, two of the men who stop him are sheriff's deputies. When he asks one of them their name, the man responds, "John Doe." Our reader, who says he is a cop of 20 years himself, says it took nearly half an hour of asking them whether they are placing him under arrest or if he can be on his way before they let him go.
The deputies say things like:
"Stupid what you're doing."
"You wanna play games, we'll play with you."
"You put your hands on me, I'll give you a reason... I wish you would."
"I'll let the manager decide what he wants to do with this case, damn idiot."
From KSL.com, in Utah:
On December 12th, Perry City's Chief of Police, Mike Jones, was doing some shopping at the Harrisville Walmart.
Surveillance video shows him checking out, loading several items into his cart some that were bags, but many that were not. He paid the clerk and then pushed his cart toward the exit, but that's when Harrisville Police say the Chief's trip to the store took a turn for the worse.
"One of the door greeters approached him, and just asked for the receipt because of some of the unbagged items," said Lt. Keith Wheelright of the Harrisville Police department.
The 70 year old Walmart door greeter approached Jones because she was following a new store procedure. Employees are now supposed to ask to see a receipt for items not in store bags, but apparently Jones didn't want to give it to her.
"He allegedly swore at the door greeter, walked past her without showing her the receipt," said Wheelright.
Stores cannot legally prevent you from leaving if you decide to not show your receipt.
"In general, the store can't force someone to show their receipt," Joseph LaRocca, senior asset protection advisor for the National Retail Foundation told MSN recently. "The checks at the door are really designed to be a preventative measure and a customer service measure."
One of the only times is if you've signed a contract with them where you agreed to do that, like with membership clubs like Costco.
Links:
http://consumerist.com/2010/12/man-records-himself-being-detained-at-walmart-for-a-receipt-check.html
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=13808117
A tipster has sent in an audio recording of himself being stopped at the Walmart doors for refusing to show them his receipt. He says that it's in his pocket and he just doesn't feel like getting it out. According to the reader, two of the men who stop him are sheriff's deputies. When he asks one of them their name, the man responds, "John Doe." Our reader, who says he is a cop of 20 years himself, says it took nearly half an hour of asking them whether they are placing him under arrest or if he can be on his way before they let him go.
The deputies say things like:
"Stupid what you're doing."
"You wanna play games, we'll play with you."
"You put your hands on me, I'll give you a reason... I wish you would."
"I'll let the manager decide what he wants to do with this case, damn idiot."
From KSL.com, in Utah:
On December 12th, Perry City's Chief of Police, Mike Jones, was doing some shopping at the Harrisville Walmart.
Surveillance video shows him checking out, loading several items into his cart some that were bags, but many that were not. He paid the clerk and then pushed his cart toward the exit, but that's when Harrisville Police say the Chief's trip to the store took a turn for the worse.
"One of the door greeters approached him, and just asked for the receipt because of some of the unbagged items," said Lt. Keith Wheelright of the Harrisville Police department.
The 70 year old Walmart door greeter approached Jones because she was following a new store procedure. Employees are now supposed to ask to see a receipt for items not in store bags, but apparently Jones didn't want to give it to her.
"He allegedly swore at the door greeter, walked past her without showing her the receipt," said Wheelright.
Stores cannot legally prevent you from leaving if you decide to not show your receipt.
"In general, the store can't force someone to show their receipt," Joseph LaRocca, senior asset protection advisor for the National Retail Foundation told MSN recently. "The checks at the door are really designed to be a preventative measure and a customer service measure."
One of the only times is if you've signed a contract with them where you agreed to do that, like with membership clubs like Costco.
Links:
http://consumerist.com/2010/12/man-records-himself-being-detained-at-walmart-for-a-receipt-check.html
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=13808117
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Police Gang Strike Force accused of extortion.
More than 100 people have filed claims in a $3 million settlement of a federal lawsuit involving the Metro Gang Strike Force, an attorney said today.
Zelaido Rivera Garcia, who sued on behalf of the class, claimed he went to the Minneapolis impound lot in 2008 to pick up his car and encountered Metro Gang Strike Force officers. Officers took his wallet and, when they returned it, $100 was missing.
That $100, and the ordeals of others whose money was seized by strike force officers, mushroomed to a $3 million settlement of a federal lawsuit announced in August.
The lawsuit claimed that strike force members "engaged in a pattern and practice of using their apparent authority as police officers to extort cash and property ... particularly from those concerned about their immigration status who would naturally perceive that they had no ability to assert legal rights."
Eligible to file claims: Anyone who was "stopped, questioned, arrested,
charged, frisked, detained or searched ... or whose dwelling was searched ... by a peace officer or peace officers serving on or assisting the (strike force) ... in an incident where property was taken ... without a receipt or inventory itemization, or ... without notification to the property owner of his or her right to contest the forfeiture," according to the settlement order and final judgment.
The civil settlement is "absolutely not" an admission of guilt, said Kori Land, an attorney representing the strike force's advisory board, in August.
Link:
http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_16966001?source=rss&nclick_check=1
Zelaido Rivera Garcia, who sued on behalf of the class, claimed he went to the Minneapolis impound lot in 2008 to pick up his car and encountered Metro Gang Strike Force officers. Officers took his wallet and, when they returned it, $100 was missing.
That $100, and the ordeals of others whose money was seized by strike force officers, mushroomed to a $3 million settlement of a federal lawsuit announced in August.
The lawsuit claimed that strike force members "engaged in a pattern and practice of using their apparent authority as police officers to extort cash and property ... particularly from those concerned about their immigration status who would naturally perceive that they had no ability to assert legal rights."
Eligible to file claims: Anyone who was "stopped, questioned, arrested,
charged, frisked, detained or searched ... or whose dwelling was searched ... by a peace officer or peace officers serving on or assisting the (strike force) ... in an incident where property was taken ... without a receipt or inventory itemization, or ... without notification to the property owner of his or her right to contest the forfeiture," according to the settlement order and final judgment.
The civil settlement is "absolutely not" an admission of guilt, said Kori Land, an attorney representing the strike force's advisory board, in August.
Link:
http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_16966001?source=rss&nclick_check=1
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Two Department of Justice guides about combat veterans returning to their former police careers.
These two guides may be useful resource tools, for private investigators.
Alexandria, VA – Combat veterans face many issues when they are deployed overseas to combat duty and then return to either new or previously held positions as federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officers. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and law enforcement leaders across the United States recognize the need for innovative reorientation policies, procedures, and training strategies to address the highly complex transitional process these veterans face upon return.
The U. S. Department of Justice pdf.
"Employing Returning Combat Veteran's As Law Enforcement Officers."
Link:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/pdf/IACPEmployingReturningVets.pdf
The U. S. Department of Justice pdf.
"Combat Veteran's And Law Enforcement."
Link:
http://www.wascop.com/VetsGuide_300dpi%5B1%5D.pdf
Alexandria, VA – Combat veterans face many issues when they are deployed overseas to combat duty and then return to either new or previously held positions as federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officers. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and law enforcement leaders across the United States recognize the need for innovative reorientation policies, procedures, and training strategies to address the highly complex transitional process these veterans face upon return.
The U. S. Department of Justice pdf.
"Employing Returning Combat Veteran's As Law Enforcement Officers."
Link:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/pdf/IACPEmployingReturningVets.pdf
The U. S. Department of Justice pdf.
"Combat Veteran's And Law Enforcement."
Link:
http://www.wascop.com/VetsGuide_300dpi%5B1%5D.pdf
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Police officers finding it difficult to readjust to their jobs after returning from the military.
MADISON, Wis. — Many law enforcement officers called up to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan are finding it difficult to readjust to their jobs once home, bringing back heightened survival instincts that may make them quicker to use force and showing less patience toward the people they serve.
In interviews with the Associated Press and in dozens of anecdotes compiled in a survey by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance, officers described feeling compelled to use tactics they employed in war zones after they returned to work in the U.S.
One officer said he felt compelled to fire his gun in the air to disperse an unruly crowd in California. Others said they felt they felt wary about being flanked when working crowd control. And others said after seeing the hardships ordinary Afghans and Iraqis lived with, it's hard to care about complaints over pet droppings.
The report, which was issued late last year, warns that the blurring of the line between combat and confrontations with criminal suspects at home may result in “inappropriate decisions and actions — particularly in the use of ... force. This similarity ... could result in injury or death to an innocent civilian.”
Laura Zimmerman, a psychologist who contributed to the study, said the irritability some respondents reported feeling with citizens back home stems from a sense that the stakes have been lowered. Officers have gone from helping build nations to writing speeding tickets, she said.
“They've seen bigger problems now. Coming back to policing, the mission doesn't feel as critical,” she said. “Once you raise the bar, coming back down is just difficult. I think it's just that feeling of non-purpose here.”
Todd Nehls, the sheriff of Dodge County, Wis., and a colonel in the Wisconsin National Guard, said that after spending a year stationed in Afghanistan, he's had less patience for small complaints back home. After seeing people go without electricity and walk miles for fresh water, he said, you quickly grow tired of citizens complaining about dogs urinating in their neighbor's lawn.
Link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6906435.html
In interviews with the Associated Press and in dozens of anecdotes compiled in a survey by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance, officers described feeling compelled to use tactics they employed in war zones after they returned to work in the U.S.
One officer said he felt compelled to fire his gun in the air to disperse an unruly crowd in California. Others said they felt they felt wary about being flanked when working crowd control. And others said after seeing the hardships ordinary Afghans and Iraqis lived with, it's hard to care about complaints over pet droppings.
The report, which was issued late last year, warns that the blurring of the line between combat and confrontations with criminal suspects at home may result in “inappropriate decisions and actions — particularly in the use of ... force. This similarity ... could result in injury or death to an innocent civilian.”
Laura Zimmerman, a psychologist who contributed to the study, said the irritability some respondents reported feeling with citizens back home stems from a sense that the stakes have been lowered. Officers have gone from helping build nations to writing speeding tickets, she said.
“They've seen bigger problems now. Coming back to policing, the mission doesn't feel as critical,” she said. “Once you raise the bar, coming back down is just difficult. I think it's just that feeling of non-purpose here.”
Todd Nehls, the sheriff of Dodge County, Wis., and a colonel in the Wisconsin National Guard, said that after spending a year stationed in Afghanistan, he's had less patience for small complaints back home. After seeing people go without electricity and walk miles for fresh water, he said, you quickly grow tired of citizens complaining about dogs urinating in their neighbor's lawn.
Link: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6906435.html
Card skimmers can be hidden at gas pumps and ATM's.
They can be hidden anywhere on or in a gas pump’s credit card slot or the corner bank’s ATM.
Then with one swipe, an illegal bank card skimmer records data off a debit or credit card and can get the PIN code, too. Seconds later, someone has electronic access to the victim’s account.
Customers can’t see the devices, said Paul Elliott, special agent in charge of the Jacksonville Secret Service field office. Most don’t learn they have been skimmed until the monthly bill arrives.
“We found more than 10,000 numbers on a suspect’s computers that he had recovered from various skimmer devices he had,” Elliott said of a recent arrest. “The dollar loss with one bank was $110,000, off just one financial institution, and there are more.”
Titika Hill got skimmed in October after she swiped her card at a convenience store in St. Augustine.
“Within 24 hours my card had been used at a Walmart in Lakeland for $300. However, my card was still in my possession,” she said. “My bank did credit my account back after I submitted a police report. I was advised by my bank to not swipe my card at the pump and to go inside to pay for gas.”
A higher-tech way is to stick a fake card reader atop the real slot on the ATM. Looking like the real thing, it scans the victim’s card, some using a tiny camera to record the PIN. That data can be put onto a blank card, then the PIN is used to “clean out an account,” Elliott said. This can be thwarted if customers take a careful look.
“Look at the device, grab the card reader and give it a tug,” Elliott said, since a fake card reader will pull off.
Link:
http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2010-12-26/story/card-skimmers-gas-pumps-atms-can-capture-your-cash
Then with one swipe, an illegal bank card skimmer records data off a debit or credit card and can get the PIN code, too. Seconds later, someone has electronic access to the victim’s account.
Customers can’t see the devices, said Paul Elliott, special agent in charge of the Jacksonville Secret Service field office. Most don’t learn they have been skimmed until the monthly bill arrives.
“We found more than 10,000 numbers on a suspect’s computers that he had recovered from various skimmer devices he had,” Elliott said of a recent arrest. “The dollar loss with one bank was $110,000, off just one financial institution, and there are more.”
Titika Hill got skimmed in October after she swiped her card at a convenience store in St. Augustine.
“Within 24 hours my card had been used at a Walmart in Lakeland for $300. However, my card was still in my possession,” she said. “My bank did credit my account back after I submitted a police report. I was advised by my bank to not swipe my card at the pump and to go inside to pay for gas.”
A higher-tech way is to stick a fake card reader atop the real slot on the ATM. Looking like the real thing, it scans the victim’s card, some using a tiny camera to record the PIN. That data can be put onto a blank card, then the PIN is used to “clean out an account,” Elliott said. This can be thwarted if customers take a careful look.
“Look at the device, grab the card reader and give it a tug,” Elliott said, since a fake card reader will pull off.
Link:
http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2010-12-26/story/card-skimmers-gas-pumps-atms-can-capture-your-cash
East Haven, CT: The Justice Department conducts a civil rights investigation into the police department's allegeded discriminatory policing.
The Justice Department has started a civil rights investigation, and the FBI recently opened a criminal probe. But that has not changed things on Main Street, where restaurants and stores that cater to Hispanics are going out of business.
If the goal of police was to ruin East Haven's Hispanic community, some grudgingly say they have succeeded.
The Justice Department, which started investigating the town last year, is "still looking into alleged discriminatory policing." (It has "identified preliminary concerns... over issues including outdated policies and a lack of clear guidance on the use of force.") And Yale Law School's Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic has filed a suit on behalf of nine immigrants alleging police beatings (and accusing the officers of "using ethnic slurs.")
Father Manship police report:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/12991243/Father-Manship-Police-Report
Links:
http://www.newhavenregister.com/articles/2010/10/26/news/metro/doc4cc7a39fc9df8642541888.txt
http://gawker.com/5718648/how-a-quiet-suburbs-police-force-drove-out-latinos?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gawker%2Ffull+%28Gawker%29
If the goal of police was to ruin East Haven's Hispanic community, some grudgingly say they have succeeded.
The Justice Department, which started investigating the town last year, is "still looking into alleged discriminatory policing." (It has "identified preliminary concerns... over issues including outdated policies and a lack of clear guidance on the use of force.") And Yale Law School's Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic has filed a suit on behalf of nine immigrants alleging police beatings (and accusing the officers of "using ethnic slurs.")
Father Manship police report:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/12991243/Father-Manship-Police-Report
Links:
http://www.newhavenregister.com/articles/2010/10/26/news/metro/doc4cc7a39fc9df8642541888.txt
http://gawker.com/5718648/how-a-quiet-suburbs-police-force-drove-out-latinos?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gawker%2Ffull+%28Gawker%29
Tennessee: Police arrested on domestic abuse charges keep their jobs, is this a national problem?
A domestic violence arrest won't necessarily end your career at the Metro Police Department. You're more likely to get a few days off.
At least 10 Metro Police officers have been arrested on domestic violence charges in the last five years. Eight of those were allowed to keep their jobs after their arrests, and the remaining two cases are pending. Discipline for improper conduct stemming from those arrests has ranged from a two- to an eight-day suspension. In one of the latest cases, Officer Jeffrey Sells resigned before he could be disciplined for a 2009 arrest.
But experts on police accountability say departments should have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to their own being arrested on domestic violence charges. And the fact that one officer was arrested twice on domestic violence charges suggests the department's disciplinary policies may not be adequate.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police says departments need to go further than relying on criminal courts. A 2003 model policy the group drafted suggests departments fire officers who are found in internal police investigations to have violated the law.
"If an officer goes and commits a crime, he or she should not be a police officer," said John Firman, director of research for the chiefs association. "We always recommend that police do not rely on criminal court actions, because the truth is, what really has to stand the test of time is the position of the department on the issue."
Link:
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101206/NEWS01/12060338/Metro-cops-arrested-on-domestic-violence-charges-keep-their-jobs
At least 10 Metro Police officers have been arrested on domestic violence charges in the last five years. Eight of those were allowed to keep their jobs after their arrests, and the remaining two cases are pending. Discipline for improper conduct stemming from those arrests has ranged from a two- to an eight-day suspension. In one of the latest cases, Officer Jeffrey Sells resigned before he could be disciplined for a 2009 arrest.
But experts on police accountability say departments should have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to their own being arrested on domestic violence charges. And the fact that one officer was arrested twice on domestic violence charges suggests the department's disciplinary policies may not be adequate.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police says departments need to go further than relying on criminal courts. A 2003 model policy the group drafted suggests departments fire officers who are found in internal police investigations to have violated the law.
"If an officer goes and commits a crime, he or she should not be a police officer," said John Firman, director of research for the chiefs association. "We always recommend that police do not rely on criminal court actions, because the truth is, what really has to stand the test of time is the position of the department on the issue."
Link:
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20101206/NEWS01/12060338/Metro-cops-arrested-on-domestic-violence-charges-keep-their-jobs
Prosecutorial misconduct, allows defendants to receive shorter sentences.
A USA TODAY investigation has documented 201 cases since 1997 in which federal courts found that prosecutors violated laws or ethics rules. Each was so serious that judges overturned convictions, threw out charges or rebuked the prosecutors. And although the violations tainted no more than a small fraction of the tens of thousands of cases filed in federal courts each year, legal specialists who reviewed the newspaper's work said misconduct is not always uncovered, so the true extent of the problem might never be known.
USA TODAY found that in at least 48 of those cases, the defendants were convicted but, because of prosecutorial misconduct, courts gave them shorter sentences than they would have received otherwise. If prosecutors' chief motive for bending the rules is to ensure that guilty people are locked up, their actions often backfire.
USA TODAY's examination, based on tens of thousands of pages of government documents and court records, found that such arrangements — including promises of lenient sentences — are common when courts overturn convictions because of misconduct by prosecutors. They bring a quick end to cases that could embarrass the department or those in which the passage of time weakens the government's case. In most cases, the arrangements call for defendants to plead guilty to a crime in exchange for a shorter sentence than they originally received.
The plea bargains give both sides an opportunity to cut their losses, says Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor who teaches at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and who reviewed USA TODAY's research.
"From the prosecutors' point of view, they just want to put that one aside and move on. That's an unpleasant memory," she says.
Justice Department records and court files from across the nation show that some of the people who walked away with shorter prison sentences because of misconduct returned to crime almost as soon as they went free.
In Washington, D.C., alone, court records show the Justice Department agreed to shorter prison sentences for at least eight convicted murderers during the past decade after judges and defense attorneys discovered that prosecutors had improperly concealed evidence that could have helped the defendants and their attorneys contest the charges.
Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2010-12-28-1Aprosecutorpunish28_CV_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
USA TODAY found that in at least 48 of those cases, the defendants were convicted but, because of prosecutorial misconduct, courts gave them shorter sentences than they would have received otherwise. If prosecutors' chief motive for bending the rules is to ensure that guilty people are locked up, their actions often backfire.
USA TODAY's examination, based on tens of thousands of pages of government documents and court records, found that such arrangements — including promises of lenient sentences — are common when courts overturn convictions because of misconduct by prosecutors. They bring a quick end to cases that could embarrass the department or those in which the passage of time weakens the government's case. In most cases, the arrangements call for defendants to plead guilty to a crime in exchange for a shorter sentence than they originally received.
The plea bargains give both sides an opportunity to cut their losses, says Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor who teaches at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and who reviewed USA TODAY's research.
"From the prosecutors' point of view, they just want to put that one aside and move on. That's an unpleasant memory," she says.
Justice Department records and court files from across the nation show that some of the people who walked away with shorter prison sentences because of misconduct returned to crime almost as soon as they went free.
In Washington, D.C., alone, court records show the Justice Department agreed to shorter prison sentences for at least eight convicted murderers during the past decade after judges and defense attorneys discovered that prosecutors had improperly concealed evidence that could have helped the defendants and their attorneys contest the charges.
Link:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2010-12-28-1Aprosecutorpunish28_CV_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip
Illegal steroid use a growing concern in police departments across the country.
The badge and a steroid-filled syringe -- it's not the typical image most have for the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs. But as more within law enforcement get nabbed in steroid investigations nationwide, observers say that usage levels among police officers could rival the seediest patches of the pro sports landscape.
"It's a big problem, and from the number of cases, it's something we shouldn't ignore," Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Lawrence Payne told AOL News. "It's not that we set out to target cops, but when we're in the middle of an active investigation into steroids, there have been quite a few cases that have led back to police officers."
The pace of investigations into steroid use in the police ranks has picked up in recent months:
•A former police officer in Canby, Ore., who allegedly took delivery of some steroids while on duty pleaded guilty in February to purchasing steroids.
•An officer in South Bend, Ind., pleaded no contest in March to selling steroids.
•A Cleveland police officer was sentenced to a year in prison and five years of supervised release in April after he was found guilty of illegally purchasing steroids.
•A dealer in Paw Paw, Mich., allegedly told authorities that he supplied "several police officers" with steroids, which led one Kalamazoo officer to resign in May.
There's debate as to what dangers doped-up officers pose to the public. South Bend police Capt. Phil Trent, for one, would rather not take a chance. Tony Macik, once a well-respected member of the South Bend police force, was arrested for assault years before a steroids investigation led to a 300-day jail sentence earlier this year.
"First we have an officer who is a drug dealer," Trent said. "Second, you always hear about the bizarre side effects (of steroid use). If they are taking these drugs and it turns them into a raving lunatic, that's something we should be concerned about in law enforcement."
Conte said the psychological effects of steroids -- including mood swings and so-called "'roid rage" -- are often overblown and can depend on how much of the drug is used. The same is true for the other side effects such as liver damage, depression and high blood pressure.
Link:
http://www.aolnews.com/2010/12/26/illegal-steroid-use-among-police-officers-a-big-problem/
"It's a big problem, and from the number of cases, it's something we shouldn't ignore," Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Lawrence Payne told AOL News. "It's not that we set out to target cops, but when we're in the middle of an active investigation into steroids, there have been quite a few cases that have led back to police officers."
The pace of investigations into steroid use in the police ranks has picked up in recent months:
•A former police officer in Canby, Ore., who allegedly took delivery of some steroids while on duty pleaded guilty in February to purchasing steroids.
•An officer in South Bend, Ind., pleaded no contest in March to selling steroids.
•A Cleveland police officer was sentenced to a year in prison and five years of supervised release in April after he was found guilty of illegally purchasing steroids.
•A dealer in Paw Paw, Mich., allegedly told authorities that he supplied "several police officers" with steroids, which led one Kalamazoo officer to resign in May.
There's debate as to what dangers doped-up officers pose to the public. South Bend police Capt. Phil Trent, for one, would rather not take a chance. Tony Macik, once a well-respected member of the South Bend police force, was arrested for assault years before a steroids investigation led to a 300-day jail sentence earlier this year.
"First we have an officer who is a drug dealer," Trent said. "Second, you always hear about the bizarre side effects (of steroid use). If they are taking these drugs and it turns them into a raving lunatic, that's something we should be concerned about in law enforcement."
Conte said the psychological effects of steroids -- including mood swings and so-called "'roid rage" -- are often overblown and can depend on how much of the drug is used. The same is true for the other side effects such as liver damage, depression and high blood pressure.
Link:
http://www.aolnews.com/2010/12/26/illegal-steroid-use-among-police-officers-a-big-problem/
Monday, December 27, 2010
Washington, DC: Breathalyzer calibration results are being questioned as far back as ten years.
WASHINGTON - A man hired to supervise the Breathalyzer unit of the D.C. police department is blowing the whistle on what he says are a decade of questionable test results.
Writing in a memo to the D.C. Attorney General he said the officers running the program rarely, if ever, performed accuracy tests on the machines used to measure the blood-alcohol content of drivers suspected of DUI.
Two and a half months after taking over the Breath Alcohol Testing Program, Ilmar Paegle, a retired U.S. Park Police officer, wrote a detailed four page memo in which he claims the protocol to ensure the machines were properly calibrated has not been followed since at least 2000. That’s a claim the D.C. Attorney General Office calls just an "opinion."
Motorists in Washington, DC may have been falsely accused of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) for more than a decade as a result of faulty "Intoxilyzer" breath testing equipment. Whistleblower Ilmar Paegle, a veteran police officer now working as a contract employee for the District Department of Transportation, argued in a memorandum to the city's attorney general that the breath testing machines have not been properly calibrated since 2000.
Links:
http://www.thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/2010/dc-baddui.pdf
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/dc-breathalyzer-calibration-questioned-121410
Writing in a memo to the D.C. Attorney General he said the officers running the program rarely, if ever, performed accuracy tests on the machines used to measure the blood-alcohol content of drivers suspected of DUI.
Two and a half months after taking over the Breath Alcohol Testing Program, Ilmar Paegle, a retired U.S. Park Police officer, wrote a detailed four page memo in which he claims the protocol to ensure the machines were properly calibrated has not been followed since at least 2000. That’s a claim the D.C. Attorney General Office calls just an "opinion."
Motorists in Washington, DC may have been falsely accused of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) for more than a decade as a result of faulty "Intoxilyzer" breath testing equipment. Whistleblower Ilmar Paegle, a veteran police officer now working as a contract employee for the District Department of Transportation, argued in a memorandum to the city's attorney general that the breath testing machines have not been properly calibrated since 2000.
Links:
http://www.thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/2010/dc-baddui.pdf
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/dc-breathalyzer-calibration-questioned-121410
Are North Carolina’s State Bureau of Investigation practices which helped prosecutions, common to crime labs across the country?
The phrasing of North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation lab reports from the 1980s to 2003 caused a lot of ruckus in 2010, raising the question of whether North Carolina’s practices that helped prosecutions were common to crime labs across the country. The Raleigh News & Observer reports that they were not. The North Carolina state lab was less forthcoming about results of blood tests than others, including the FBI crime lab, found a study this year of eight other labs.
All but one wrote reports that would have conveyed the results clearly to a nonscientific audience, unlike the North Carolina lab’s work, which hid negative tests for blood on key evidence. ”Based on our limited survey, the other laboratories had a policy favoring disclosure,” said Chris Swecker, one of two former FBI top managers who conducted the audit. “That only makes sense. It’s right legally, and for fundamental fairness it’s the right thing to do.” In February, a three-judge panel declared Greg Taylor innocent of a 1991 murder, in part because of a NC state lab report that withheld the results of blood tests favorable to Taylor. A subsequent independent audit identified 229 similar cases where crucial test results were withheld or not reported. The first of those 229 cases reached a courtroom this month, when a judge dismissed all charges against a man imprisoned for 12 years. The judge said the lab report deprived the man of the results of critical blood tests.
The SBI lab was less forthcoming about results of blood tests than others, including the FBI crime lab, according to a study this year of eight other labs. All but one wrote reports that would have conveyed the results clearly to a nonscientific audience, unlike the SBI's work, which hid negative tests for blood on key evidence.
Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/12/26/881887/sbi-in-minority-on-test-results.html#
All but one wrote reports that would have conveyed the results clearly to a nonscientific audience, unlike the North Carolina lab’s work, which hid negative tests for blood on key evidence. ”Based on our limited survey, the other laboratories had a policy favoring disclosure,” said Chris Swecker, one of two former FBI top managers who conducted the audit. “That only makes sense. It’s right legally, and for fundamental fairness it’s the right thing to do.” In February, a three-judge panel declared Greg Taylor innocent of a 1991 murder, in part because of a NC state lab report that withheld the results of blood tests favorable to Taylor. A subsequent independent audit identified 229 similar cases where crucial test results were withheld or not reported. The first of those 229 cases reached a courtroom this month, when a judge dismissed all charges against a man imprisoned for 12 years. The judge said the lab report deprived the man of the results of critical blood tests.
The SBI lab was less forthcoming about results of blood tests than others, including the FBI crime lab, according to a study this year of eight other labs. All but one wrote reports that would have conveyed the results clearly to a nonscientific audience, unlike the SBI's work, which hid negative tests for blood on key evidence.
Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/12/26/881887/sbi-in-minority-on-test-results.html#
Juries are not willing to convict people with small amounts of marijuana.
As marijuana use wins growing legal and public tolerance, some jurors may be reluctant to convict for an offense many people no longer regard as serious. “We’ll hear, ‘I think marijuana should be legal, I’m not going to follow the law,’ ” said prosecutor Mark Lindquist in Pierce County, Wa. “We tell them, ‘We’re not here to debate the laws. We’re here to decide whether or not somebody broke the law. ”
Drug-law reform advocates say juries should follow their consciences and refuse to convict a concept known as jury nullification, widely used during Prohibition and in the Jim Crow-era South. “This is one of the first times in a number of years there’s a general discussion around this powerful but rarely used jury tool,” said Allen St. Pierre of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. “But going back 20 years plus, there’s been some tumult in the courts where the issue is cannabis and the person being prosecuted wants to turn to the jury and say, Yes, I am guilty, and here’s why."
Some jurors may be reluctant to convict for an offense many people no longer regard as serious.
Twelve states plus the District of Columbia have decriminalized possession of small quantities of marijuana. Led by California in 1996, 17 states have laws that allow medical use of marijuana.
But federal authorities have continued to pursue prosecutions in those states, prompting increasing calls among drug-law reform advocates for juries to follow their consciences and refuse to convict — a legal concept known as jury nullification, widely used during Prohibition and in the Jim Crow-era South.
Link:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-marijuana-juries-20101225,0,2484761.story
Drug-law reform advocates say juries should follow their consciences and refuse to convict a concept known as jury nullification, widely used during Prohibition and in the Jim Crow-era South. “This is one of the first times in a number of years there’s a general discussion around this powerful but rarely used jury tool,” said Allen St. Pierre of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. “But going back 20 years plus, there’s been some tumult in the courts where the issue is cannabis and the person being prosecuted wants to turn to the jury and say, Yes, I am guilty, and here’s why."
Some jurors may be reluctant to convict for an offense many people no longer regard as serious.
Twelve states plus the District of Columbia have decriminalized possession of small quantities of marijuana. Led by California in 1996, 17 states have laws that allow medical use of marijuana.
But federal authorities have continued to pursue prosecutions in those states, prompting increasing calls among drug-law reform advocates for juries to follow their consciences and refuse to convict — a legal concept known as jury nullification, widely used during Prohibition and in the Jim Crow-era South.
Link:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-marijuana-juries-20101225,0,2484761.story
Cross- race misidentification: eyewitness testimony can cause problems.
Cross-race misidentifications accounted for 40 percent of the first 179 cases analyzed in which people were exonerated of their crimes through DNA evidence, says an Innocence Project finding reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Ronald Cotton, a black man misidentified in a rape case, said that he and the man who eventually was convicted don’t look anything alike, ”But about 90 percent of white people think all black people look alike. It’s sad but it’s true.”
Study after study has shown that all of us have difficulty recognizing individuals from other racial or ethnic groups, and that the phenomenon, known as the cross-race effect, is even worse for people in a majority population group.
White Americans have trouble recognizing black Americans. White French people have trouble recognizing Arab immigrants. Chinese people have trouble recognizing Japanese people.
While most experts believe that the cross-race effect is a natural part of human development, that doesn’t make it any less of a problem in the criminal justice system, says Christian Meissner of the National Science Foundation. U.S. courts rely more heavily on eyewitness identifications to convict defendants than in several other nations, he said, and “we also know that whites are overrepresented as victims and witnesses and blacks are overrepresented as defendants” in criminal cases. While racial prejudice is not the driving force in our struggle to recognize faces outside our own group, the cross-race phenomenon “is often the start of a process that leads to wrongful conviction,” he said. “What happens is, a witness identifies a suspect. The suspect then becomes the culprit. The police stop gathering information on any other possible suspects. Then, the officer goes to a forensic scientist and says, ‘I have a suspect; I know it’s my guy, but I need the evidence to go with it.’ And finally, he has the suspect come in and he interrogates him in ways that too often lead to a false confession.”
Link: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10360/1113570-115.stm
Study after study has shown that all of us have difficulty recognizing individuals from other racial or ethnic groups, and that the phenomenon, known as the cross-race effect, is even worse for people in a majority population group.
White Americans have trouble recognizing black Americans. White French people have trouble recognizing Arab immigrants. Chinese people have trouble recognizing Japanese people.
While most experts believe that the cross-race effect is a natural part of human development, that doesn’t make it any less of a problem in the criminal justice system, says Christian Meissner of the National Science Foundation. U.S. courts rely more heavily on eyewitness identifications to convict defendants than in several other nations, he said, and “we also know that whites are overrepresented as victims and witnesses and blacks are overrepresented as defendants” in criminal cases. While racial prejudice is not the driving force in our struggle to recognize faces outside our own group, the cross-race phenomenon “is often the start of a process that leads to wrongful conviction,” he said. “What happens is, a witness identifies a suspect. The suspect then becomes the culprit. The police stop gathering information on any other possible suspects. Then, the officer goes to a forensic scientist and says, ‘I have a suspect; I know it’s my guy, but I need the evidence to go with it.’ And finally, he has the suspect come in and he interrogates him in ways that too often lead to a false confession.”
Link: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10360/1113570-115.stm
Monday, December 20, 2010
Will private investigators soon be harrased by police for videotaping or taking pictures?
A man was parked on the side of a road in Michigan videotaping city public works employees was approached by a Lincoln Park police officer and harassed.
The officer then orders him out of his car and asks him why he is videotaping the city workers. The man tells the officer he is with the “Michigan government watch group,” which monitors “government waste and fraud."
The cop then laughs and asks another officer, who is cannot be seen, asks the following: “Can we take him in for something?”
Link:
http://www.pixiq.com/article/michigan-cops-attempt-to-intimidate-citizen-videographer
The officer then orders him out of his car and asks him why he is videotaping the city workers. The man tells the officer he is with the “Michigan government watch group,” which monitors “government waste and fraud."
The cop then laughs and asks another officer, who is cannot be seen, asks the following: “Can we take him in for something?”
Link:
http://www.pixiq.com/article/michigan-cops-attempt-to-intimidate-citizen-videographer
Are defendants in MA receiving different punishments depending on the politics and biases of the judges before whom they appear.
Since the US Supreme Court struck down mandatory sentencing guidelines five years ago in a landmark ruling, the difference in the average sentences of the most lenient and most severe federal judges in Boston has widened, according to a new study that says the trend threatens to undermine fairness.
Now that the guidelines are only advisory, the three most lenient jurists impose average prison sentences of slightly more than two years for all crimes, said the study in the Stanford Law Review published this week. The two toughest impose average sentences double that.
The findings are troubling, said the author of the study, Ryan W. Scott, an associate professor at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law, because they raise the specter of defendants getting markedly different punishments depending on the politics and biases of the judges before whom they appear.
Link:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/12/20/study_shows_disparity_among_judges_in_sentence_lengths/
Now that the guidelines are only advisory, the three most lenient jurists impose average prison sentences of slightly more than two years for all crimes, said the study in the Stanford Law Review published this week. The two toughest impose average sentences double that.
The findings are troubling, said the author of the study, Ryan W. Scott, an associate professor at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law, because they raise the specter of defendants getting markedly different punishments depending on the politics and biases of the judges before whom they appear.
Link:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/12/20/study_shows_disparity_among_judges_in_sentence_lengths/
U. S. is creating a country of spies, right down to your local police department.
Nine years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, the United States is assembling a vast domestic intelligence apparatus to collect information about Americans, using the FBI, local police, state homeland security offices and military criminal investigators.
The system, by far the largest and most technologically sophisticated in the nation's history, collects, stores and analyzes information about thousands of U.S. citizens and residents, many of whom have not been accused of any wrongdoing.
The government's goal is to have every state and local law enforcement agency in the country feed information to Washington to buttress the work of the FBI, which is in charge of terrorism investigations in the United States.
This localized intelligence apparatus is part of a larger Top Secret America created since the attacks. In July, The Washington Post described an alternative geography of the United States, one that has grown so large, unwieldy and secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs or how many programs exist within it.
At the same time that the FBI is expanding its West Virginia database, it is building a vast repository controlled by people who work in a top-secret vault on the fourth floor of the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington. This one stores the profiles of tens of thousands of Americans and legal residents who are not accused of any crime. What they have done is appear to be acting suspiciously to a town sheriff, a traffic cop or even a neighbor.
If the new Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative, or SAR, works as intended, the Guardian database may someday hold files forwarded by all police departments across the country in America's continuing search for terrorists within its borders.
Link:
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/articles/monitoring-america/?hpid=topnews
The system, by far the largest and most technologically sophisticated in the nation's history, collects, stores and analyzes information about thousands of U.S. citizens and residents, many of whom have not been accused of any wrongdoing.
The government's goal is to have every state and local law enforcement agency in the country feed information to Washington to buttress the work of the FBI, which is in charge of terrorism investigations in the United States.
This localized intelligence apparatus is part of a larger Top Secret America created since the attacks. In July, The Washington Post described an alternative geography of the United States, one that has grown so large, unwieldy and secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs or how many programs exist within it.
At the same time that the FBI is expanding its West Virginia database, it is building a vast repository controlled by people who work in a top-secret vault on the fourth floor of the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington. This one stores the profiles of tens of thousands of Americans and legal residents who are not accused of any crime. What they have done is appear to be acting suspiciously to a town sheriff, a traffic cop or even a neighbor.
If the new Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative, or SAR, works as intended, the Guardian database may someday hold files forwarded by all police departments across the country in America's continuing search for terrorists within its borders.
Link:
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/articles/monitoring-america/?hpid=topnews
IPhone & Android phone "apps" reveal detailed information about its users.
Few devices know more personal details about people than the smartphones in their pockets: phone numbers, current location, often the owner's real name—even a unique ID number that can never be changed or turned off.
These phones don't keep secrets. They are sharing this personal data widely and regularly, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.
An examination of 101 popular smartphone "apps"—games and other software applications for iPhone and Android phones—showed that 56 transmitted the phone's unique device ID to other companies without users' awareness or consent. Forty-seven apps transmitted the phone's location in some way. Five sent age, gender and other personal details to outsiders.
The findings reveal the intrusive effort by online-tracking companies to gather personal data about people in order to flesh out detailed dossiers on them.
Among the apps tested, the iPhone apps transmitted more data than the apps on phones using Google Inc.'s Android operating system. Because of the test's size, it's not known if the pattern holds among the hundreds of thousands of apps available.
Apps sharing the most information included TextPlus 4, a popular iPhone app for text messaging. It sent the phone's unique ID number to eight ad companies and the phone's zip code, along with the user's age and gender, to two of them.
Many apps don't offer even a basic form of consumer protection: written privacy policies. Forty-five of the 101 apps didn't provide privacy policies on their websites or inside the apps at the time of testing. Neither Apple nor Google requires app privacy policies.
To expose the information being shared by smartphone apps, the Journal designed a system to intercept and record the data they transmit, then decoded the data stream. The research covered 50 iPhone apps and 50 on phones using Google's Android operating system
Link:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704694004576020083703574602.html
These phones don't keep secrets. They are sharing this personal data widely and regularly, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.
An examination of 101 popular smartphone "apps"—games and other software applications for iPhone and Android phones—showed that 56 transmitted the phone's unique device ID to other companies without users' awareness or consent. Forty-seven apps transmitted the phone's location in some way. Five sent age, gender and other personal details to outsiders.
The findings reveal the intrusive effort by online-tracking companies to gather personal data about people in order to flesh out detailed dossiers on them.
Among the apps tested, the iPhone apps transmitted more data than the apps on phones using Google Inc.'s Android operating system. Because of the test's size, it's not known if the pattern holds among the hundreds of thousands of apps available.
Apps sharing the most information included TextPlus 4, a popular iPhone app for text messaging. It sent the phone's unique ID number to eight ad companies and the phone's zip code, along with the user's age and gender, to two of them.
Many apps don't offer even a basic form of consumer protection: written privacy policies. Forty-five of the 101 apps didn't provide privacy policies on their websites or inside the apps at the time of testing. Neither Apple nor Google requires app privacy policies.
To expose the information being shared by smartphone apps, the Journal designed a system to intercept and record the data they transmit, then decoded the data stream. The research covered 50 iPhone apps and 50 on phones using Google's Android operating system
Link:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704694004576020083703574602.html
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Private investigators can use "Glympse" to track people.
Want to track your significant other, kids or friends?
Glympse is a groundbreaking new way to share your location with anyone for a specified period of time.
This also opens the door for law enforcement to subponea your "Glympse" account.
Link: http://www.glympse.com/
Glympse is a groundbreaking new way to share your location with anyone for a specified period of time.
This also opens the door for law enforcement to subponea your "Glympse" account.
Link: http://www.glympse.com/
Friday, December 17, 2010
Understanding the nature of footwear impression evidence.
"Footwear impressions represent the ultimate enigma in forensic science. They are among the most prevalent types of evidence to be found at crime scenes, but they are simultaneously the least sought-after clues. Over the years, a number of myths regarding footwear evidence have permeated our lexicon and drained our institutional knowledge of effective processing techniques. Police officers and criminalists alike are disadvantaged by this condition, resulting in valuable evidence going unnoticed.
Footwear impressions can tell us about both the criminal and the crime. We may be able to determine the make and style of shoe, and even the identity of the shoe to the exclusion of all others in the world. We can even use these impressions to rule out certain shoes and narrow the suspect pool.
Equally important is our ability to use footwear to tell us how the criminals moved through the scene. Did they climb through a window or boot open a locked door? Did they walk away from the scene or run? Did they enter a particular room or leave it untouched? All of these questions may be answered—but only if we discover the impressions".
Link:
http://www.evidencemagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=385&Itemid=26
Footwear impressions can tell us about both the criminal and the crime. We may be able to determine the make and style of shoe, and even the identity of the shoe to the exclusion of all others in the world. We can even use these impressions to rule out certain shoes and narrow the suspect pool.
Equally important is our ability to use footwear to tell us how the criminals moved through the scene. Did they climb through a window or boot open a locked door? Did they walk away from the scene or run? Did they enter a particular room or leave it untouched? All of these questions may be answered—but only if we discover the impressions".
Link:
http://www.evidencemagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=385&Itemid=26
Texas: Man sues police officer and claims he was texting while driving using his "Mobile Data Computer" in his police cruiser.
AUSTIN, Texas - A motorcyclist claims an Austin police officer who was texting while driving ran a stop sign and creamed him, hurting him so badly he needed 12 surgeries. The biker sued the city and two tech companies, for making the police computers without a lockout system to prevent texting while driving.
Louis Olivier says he was driving legally when police Officer Damon Dunn ran a stop sign hit him: "The force of the collision literally knocked Mr. Olivier out of his shoes. He sustained severe and life-altering injuries, requiring 12 surgeries, as a result of the accident."
Olivier claims Officer Dunn hit him because he was using his "Mobile Data Computer," which "disastrously diverted his attention from the roadway."
"Officer Dunn operated an Austin Police Department patrol vehicle equipped with a Mobile Data Computer (Panasonic Toughbook) with software designed, marketed, and sold by defendants TriTech Software Systems and Versaterm U.S. Corp." according to the complaint in Travis County Court "Defendants' software enabled, condoned, and promoted texting while driving."
The complaint adds: "Patrol officers utilizing a mobile data computer while driving remove their eyes from the roadway 4 out of every 6 seconds. During the 2 seconds the patrol officer's eyes are on the roadway, inattention blindness prevents him from processing the size, color, or importance of what he sees. APD Officer Dunn did not see Louis Olivier until he struck him."
And, the complaint states: "Over 100 cities have passed regulations prohibiting texting while driving. In October of 2009, Austin passed an ordinance prohibiting texting while driving, but, without informed and considered deliberations, exempted the Austin Police Department."
Links: http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/12/17/32682.htm
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/12/17/Texting.pdf
Louis Olivier says he was driving legally when police Officer Damon Dunn ran a stop sign hit him: "The force of the collision literally knocked Mr. Olivier out of his shoes. He sustained severe and life-altering injuries, requiring 12 surgeries, as a result of the accident."
Olivier claims Officer Dunn hit him because he was using his "Mobile Data Computer," which "disastrously diverted his attention from the roadway."
"Officer Dunn operated an Austin Police Department patrol vehicle equipped with a Mobile Data Computer (Panasonic Toughbook) with software designed, marketed, and sold by defendants TriTech Software Systems and Versaterm U.S. Corp." according to the complaint in Travis County Court "Defendants' software enabled, condoned, and promoted texting while driving."
The complaint adds: "Patrol officers utilizing a mobile data computer while driving remove their eyes from the roadway 4 out of every 6 seconds. During the 2 seconds the patrol officer's eyes are on the roadway, inattention blindness prevents him from processing the size, color, or importance of what he sees. APD Officer Dunn did not see Louis Olivier until he struck him."
And, the complaint states: "Over 100 cities have passed regulations prohibiting texting while driving. In October of 2009, Austin passed an ordinance prohibiting texting while driving, but, without informed and considered deliberations, exempted the Austin Police Department."
Links: http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/12/17/32682.htm
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/12/17/Texting.pdf
Corrections Corporation of America the nation's largest private prison company is accused of beating inmates and more.
HONOLULU: Guards at a privately run prison in Arizona stripped, beat and kicked inmates and threatened to kill them, banged their heads on tables while they were handcuffed, and "the warden himself" joined in threatening their families, 18 inmates say in state court. Then the Corrections Corporation of America and its employees, who run the prison,
"deliberately destroyed and failed to preserve evidence of their wrongdoing, including videotapes," and "deliberately falsified reports," according to the complaint.
The beatings and death threats came at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Ariz., to which Hawaii sent its prisoners to be held by CCA, the nation's largest private prison company.
The inmates say CCA guards beat them to retaliate for a July 26 fight or "disturbance" in which "a lieutenant or other employee of CCA was injured."
The guards beat the plaintiffs to coerce "statements" from them, and "when plaintiffs wrote brief statements, defendants demanded that plaintiffs disclose more, and then engaged in the acts alleged herein [in] an effort to coerce further statements," the complaint states.
Links: http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/12/15/32607.htm
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/12/15/CCA.pdf
"deliberately destroyed and failed to preserve evidence of their wrongdoing, including videotapes," and "deliberately falsified reports," according to the complaint.
The beatings and death threats came at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Ariz., to which Hawaii sent its prisoners to be held by CCA, the nation's largest private prison company.
The inmates say CCA guards beat them to retaliate for a July 26 fight or "disturbance" in which "a lieutenant or other employee of CCA was injured."
The guards beat the plaintiffs to coerce "statements" from them, and "when plaintiffs wrote brief statements, defendants demanded that plaintiffs disclose more, and then engaged in the acts alleged herein [in] an effort to coerce further statements," the complaint states.
Links: http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/12/15/32607.htm
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/12/15/CCA.pdf
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Many foreclosures have been thrown into question because of false attorney signatures.
Many foreclosures have been thrown into question because of flawed documentation such as inaccurate affidavits describing a mortgage's history. But three recent court cases point to another type of flaw in foreclosure filings that could place thousands more cases in doubt: false attorney signatures on court documents.
Experts said that foreclosures that relied on court documents with the signatures of attorneys who in fact neither signed nor reviewed them are vulnerable to being thrown out in the 23 states in which foreclosures must be approved by a judge.
False attorney signatures are different from robo-signing, in which mortgage company officials sign large numbers of foreclosure documents without checking the accuracy of the details. Bob Davis Jr., a Pennsylvania lawyer who concentrates on the defense of attorney ethics cases, said that falsified signatures from lawyers on case pleadings can void a foreclosure by rendering key documents invalid before the court.
"In litigation the signature of an attorney means something very specific: that they've read the material and attest that it's truthful," Davis said.
Davis said that while it is not good practice, it is permitted to use a name stamp or have another person physically sign an attorney's name, but only if the attorney has personally conducted due diligence and determined that the material is truthful. He also distinguished between documents with false signatures and those whose contents are materially false. If an attorney has allowed another person to sign court documents in the attorney's name without reviewing them, but the underlying evidence is accurate, Davis said it may be possible -- but is by no means certain that the pleadings could be corrected and re-submitted to the court.
Lawyers who are found to have authorized fake signatures could face sanctions, such as reprimands, or suspensions of license, said Dianne Coscarelli, a partner at the firm Thompson Hine and the vice-chair of the American Bar Association's Real Estate Finance Group.
Gardner, the consumer bankruptcy lawyer, said he expected that false attorney signatures will become the target of increasing scrutiny. He said that additional class action suits against law firms that specialize in foreclosures, sanctions by state bar associations against offending lawyers, and investigations of the practice by state attorneys general are all likely possibilities.
Link:
http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/false-attorney-signatures-cast-new-doubts-on-foreclosures
Experts said that foreclosures that relied on court documents with the signatures of attorneys who in fact neither signed nor reviewed them are vulnerable to being thrown out in the 23 states in which foreclosures must be approved by a judge.
False attorney signatures are different from robo-signing, in which mortgage company officials sign large numbers of foreclosure documents without checking the accuracy of the details. Bob Davis Jr., a Pennsylvania lawyer who concentrates on the defense of attorney ethics cases, said that falsified signatures from lawyers on case pleadings can void a foreclosure by rendering key documents invalid before the court.
"In litigation the signature of an attorney means something very specific: that they've read the material and attest that it's truthful," Davis said.
Davis said that while it is not good practice, it is permitted to use a name stamp or have another person physically sign an attorney's name, but only if the attorney has personally conducted due diligence and determined that the material is truthful. He also distinguished between documents with false signatures and those whose contents are materially false. If an attorney has allowed another person to sign court documents in the attorney's name without reviewing them, but the underlying evidence is accurate, Davis said it may be possible -- but is by no means certain that the pleadings could be corrected and re-submitted to the court.
Lawyers who are found to have authorized fake signatures could face sanctions, such as reprimands, or suspensions of license, said Dianne Coscarelli, a partner at the firm Thompson Hine and the vice-chair of the American Bar Association's Real Estate Finance Group.
Gardner, the consumer bankruptcy lawyer, said he expected that false attorney signatures will become the target of increasing scrutiny. He said that additional class action suits against law firms that specialize in foreclosures, sanctions by state bar associations against offending lawyers, and investigations of the practice by state attorneys general are all likely possibilities.
Link:
http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/false-attorney-signatures-cast-new-doubts-on-foreclosures
MA: Court officers allegedly involved in the political patronage "pay-for-play" scandal.
Court officers under the control of state judges have ponied up tens of thousands in campaign contributions to the same lawmakers under fire in the pay-for-play Probation Department scandal — further spotlighting the sweeping extent of political patronage in state government, a Herald review found.
Amid swirling federal and state probes into the Probation scandal, the court officers union is also looking at the role of political influence in hiring and promoting in its own ranks. The union has asked court officers to come forward if they believe they were wrongfully overlooked.
Recommendations from lawmakers are common “throughout the system,” said former state Rep. Marie Parente, a Milford Democrat named in the Ware report.
“The same thing goes on in the Trial Court and worse,” Parente told the Herald. “It goes on in every department . . . I wish I had a dollar for every time someone called me about a job at Massport.”
Link:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20101215court_officers_doled_out_130g_opened_wallets_for_lawmakers_in_probation_scandal/srvc=home&position=0
Amid swirling federal and state probes into the Probation scandal, the court officers union is also looking at the role of political influence in hiring and promoting in its own ranks. The union has asked court officers to come forward if they believe they were wrongfully overlooked.
Recommendations from lawmakers are common “throughout the system,” said former state Rep. Marie Parente, a Milford Democrat named in the Ware report.
“The same thing goes on in the Trial Court and worse,” Parente told the Herald. “It goes on in every department . . . I wish I had a dollar for every time someone called me about a job at Massport.”
Link:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20101215court_officers_doled_out_130g_opened_wallets_for_lawmakers_in_probation_scandal/srvc=home&position=0
MA: Private universities fight releasing police reports to the public.
After an alleged rape at a Tufts University fraternity house was reported Halloween weekend, Tufts police e-mailed students within two days and posted fliers. The campus alert did not include details such as the fraternity's name, which police gave the student newspaper three weeks later.
Across the country, many universities like Tufts use an array of electronic tools to quickly inform students of public safety threats. Boston University police use Twitter, while Harvard and MIT post a crime blotter on their web sites. Others text students or send e-bulletins for serious threats such as assaults or armed robbery.
Yet for a college student in Massachusetts seeking to find out more about an on-campus crime -- or a neighbor who lives close to one of Boston's sprawling universities -- gaining access to campus police reports is a crap shoot. Walk down Columbus Avenue to the Northeastern police and you may be told to set up an appointment to review the daily log. Ditto at UMass Boston. And campus police often hand-pick which incident reports student journalists can view and release filtered details about serious crimes.
Each private college or university in the Bay State sets its own policy on providing crime reports to the public. And there's the rub, according to campus safety advocates. Whether you attend a public or private college, campus police at either are sworn in as special State Police officers. Publicly-funded universities like UMass are supposed to provide full disclosure of police reports in compliance with state public records law, and advocates want the privates to do the same.
An unwillingness to disclose crime reports is not limited to colleges in Boston. In 2008 the Student Press Law Center checked Framingham State College and Merrimack College in its survey of all 50 states. Framingham State officials took 14 days to provide a daily crime log and almost three weeks to turn over a redacted incident report. Merrimack College police provided a log in two days but after two weeks withheld an incident report, the center found.
Link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-brack/push-to-open-campus-polic_b_795694.html
Across the country, many universities like Tufts use an array of electronic tools to quickly inform students of public safety threats. Boston University police use Twitter, while Harvard and MIT post a crime blotter on their web sites. Others text students or send e-bulletins for serious threats such as assaults or armed robbery.
Yet for a college student in Massachusetts seeking to find out more about an on-campus crime -- or a neighbor who lives close to one of Boston's sprawling universities -- gaining access to campus police reports is a crap shoot. Walk down Columbus Avenue to the Northeastern police and you may be told to set up an appointment to review the daily log. Ditto at UMass Boston. And campus police often hand-pick which incident reports student journalists can view and release filtered details about serious crimes.
Each private college or university in the Bay State sets its own policy on providing crime reports to the public. And there's the rub, according to campus safety advocates. Whether you attend a public or private college, campus police at either are sworn in as special State Police officers. Publicly-funded universities like UMass are supposed to provide full disclosure of police reports in compliance with state public records law, and advocates want the privates to do the same.
An unwillingness to disclose crime reports is not limited to colleges in Boston. In 2008 the Student Press Law Center checked Framingham State College and Merrimack College in its survey of all 50 states. Framingham State officials took 14 days to provide a daily crime log and almost three weeks to turn over a redacted incident report. Merrimack College police provided a log in two days but after two weeks withheld an incident report, the center found.
Link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-brack/push-to-open-campus-polic_b_795694.html
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Two studies have found at least 40% of police officer families experience domestic violence.
The National Center for Women and Policing, based in Arlington, Va., backs these headlines with three studies that indicate domestic violence is two to four times more common among police families, compared with 10 percent of families in the general population.
Theoretically, at even 10 percent, that means if there are 500,000 police officers in the U.S., there are at least 50,000 domestic violence offenders in police ranks.
Victims often fear calling the police, because they know the case will be handled by officers who are colleagues and/or friends of their abuser. Victims of police family violence typically fear that the responding officers will side with their abuser and fail to properly investigate or document the crime.
Despite headlines and statistics, few police departments in the country have policies and programs to address the problem, according to the National Center for Women and Policing. Citing a 1994 nationwide survey, they say almost half of the police departments surveyed had no specific policy for dealing with officer-involved domestic violence.
Instead, agencies "typically handle such cases informally, often without an official report, investigation, or even a check of the victim's safety," says the Center's Police Family Violence Fact Sheet. "The reality is that even officers who are found guilty of domestic violence are unlikely to be fired, arrested, or referred for prosecution, raising concern that those who are tasked with enforcing the law cannot effectively police themselves."
The reality is that even officers who are found guilty of domestic violence are unlikely to be fired, arrested, or referred for prosecution, raising concern that those who are tasked with enforcing the law cannot effectively police themselves.
Links: http://www.womenandpolicing.org/violenceFS.asp
http://www.womensenews.org/story/crime-policylegislation/101202/police-drag-heels-officers-domestic-abuse
Theoretically, at even 10 percent, that means if there are 500,000 police officers in the U.S., there are at least 50,000 domestic violence offenders in police ranks.
Victims often fear calling the police, because they know the case will be handled by officers who are colleagues and/or friends of their abuser. Victims of police family violence typically fear that the responding officers will side with their abuser and fail to properly investigate or document the crime.
Despite headlines and statistics, few police departments in the country have policies and programs to address the problem, according to the National Center for Women and Policing. Citing a 1994 nationwide survey, they say almost half of the police departments surveyed had no specific policy for dealing with officer-involved domestic violence.
Instead, agencies "typically handle such cases informally, often without an official report, investigation, or even a check of the victim's safety," says the Center's Police Family Violence Fact Sheet. "The reality is that even officers who are found guilty of domestic violence are unlikely to be fired, arrested, or referred for prosecution, raising concern that those who are tasked with enforcing the law cannot effectively police themselves."
The reality is that even officers who are found guilty of domestic violence are unlikely to be fired, arrested, or referred for prosecution, raising concern that those who are tasked with enforcing the law cannot effectively police themselves.
Links: http://www.womenandpolicing.org/violenceFS.asp
http://www.womensenews.org/story/crime-policylegislation/101202/police-drag-heels-officers-domestic-abuse
10 Tips for protecting your jewelry from thieves.
Keeping valuables safe from potential thieves is one situation that should be considered with much thought. For sure the day of hiding things in the sock drawer or between the mattress and springs is long gone.
Think like a robber for a moment. Where would one likely go to find cash or fine jewelry? Then after you have made your list, do just the opposite! Hide your treasures in unlikely places. It will also throw off the thinking of people who are so dumb as to break into your home in the first place. We should be able to outsmart them.
Link:
http://www.homealarmmonitoring.org/year/10-tips-for-protecting-your-jewelry-from-thieves/
Think like a robber for a moment. Where would one likely go to find cash or fine jewelry? Then after you have made your list, do just the opposite! Hide your treasures in unlikely places. It will also throw off the thinking of people who are so dumb as to break into your home in the first place. We should be able to outsmart them.
Link:
http://www.homealarmmonitoring.org/year/10-tips-for-protecting-your-jewelry-from-thieves/
Los Angeles, CA: Jeremy Marks, a special education student was arrested for filming an LAUSD campus cop hitting a student.
On Dec. 2, Jeremy Marks, a Verdugo Hills High School special education student, was offered a new plea offer by the L.A. County District Attorney: If he pled guilty to charges of obstructing an officer, resisting arrest, criminal threats and "attempted lynching," he'd serve only 32 months in prison.
That actually was an improvement from the previous offer made to the young, black high schooler — seven years in prison.
The D.A. then handed Angela Berry-Jacoby, Mark's lawyer, a stack of 130 documents, and the message within those thick files was clear: She says District Attorney Steve Cooley's prosecution team plans to try to discredit Marks, and several other Verdugo Hills High School students on the witness stand, by dragging out misbehavior incidents from their school records over the years.
Marks, 18, has been sitting in Peter Pitchess Detention Center, a tough adult jail, since May 10. Bail was set at $155,000, which his working-class parents can't pay to free their son for Christmas. His mother is a part-time clerk at a city swimming pool, his father is a lab tech.
The first thing to understand is that Jeremy Marks touched no one during his "attempted lynching" of LAUSD campus police officer Erin Robles.
The second is that Marks' weapon was the camera in his cell phone.
The third is that Officer Robles' own actions helped turn an exceedingly minor wrongdoing — a student smoking at a bus stop — into a state prison case.
The altercation that has ruined Marks' life occurred in early May at a Metro bus stop on a city street a few blocks from Verdugo Hills High School as about 30 kids were waiting to board a bus.
Students and Berry-Jacobs allege to L.A. Weekly that Robles then slammed the student’s head against the bus window — a violation of numerous police policies. After that, several stunned students got out their cell phone cameras to record what was unfolding.
Robles struck the 15-year-old's head on the window so hard, eyewitnesses tell the Weekly, that the window was forced out of its rubberized casement and broken.
Robles has changed her story in documents obtained by the Weekly, as she describes which student allegedly called out, "Kick her ass!" — the phrase at the heart of Cooley's case against Marks, and the basis of the “attempted lynching” charge against him.
Link: http://www.laweekly.com/content/printVersion/1143089/
That actually was an improvement from the previous offer made to the young, black high schooler — seven years in prison.
The D.A. then handed Angela Berry-Jacoby, Mark's lawyer, a stack of 130 documents, and the message within those thick files was clear: She says District Attorney Steve Cooley's prosecution team plans to try to discredit Marks, and several other Verdugo Hills High School students on the witness stand, by dragging out misbehavior incidents from their school records over the years.
Marks, 18, has been sitting in Peter Pitchess Detention Center, a tough adult jail, since May 10. Bail was set at $155,000, which his working-class parents can't pay to free their son for Christmas. His mother is a part-time clerk at a city swimming pool, his father is a lab tech.
The first thing to understand is that Jeremy Marks touched no one during his "attempted lynching" of LAUSD campus police officer Erin Robles.
The second is that Marks' weapon was the camera in his cell phone.
The third is that Officer Robles' own actions helped turn an exceedingly minor wrongdoing — a student smoking at a bus stop — into a state prison case.
The altercation that has ruined Marks' life occurred in early May at a Metro bus stop on a city street a few blocks from Verdugo Hills High School as about 30 kids were waiting to board a bus.
Students and Berry-Jacobs allege to L.A. Weekly that Robles then slammed the student’s head against the bus window — a violation of numerous police policies. After that, several stunned students got out their cell phone cameras to record what was unfolding.
Robles struck the 15-year-old's head on the window so hard, eyewitnesses tell the Weekly, that the window was forced out of its rubberized casement and broken.
Robles has changed her story in documents obtained by the Weekly, as she describes which student allegedly called out, "Kick her ass!" — the phrase at the heart of Cooley's case against Marks, and the basis of the “attempted lynching” charge against him.
Link: http://www.laweekly.com/content/printVersion/1143089/
Does a police state exist in Rhode Island? Some juveniles that verbally offend truant officers are sent to jail.
For years, magistrates for Rhode Island Family Court’s truancy program have imprisoned students who misbehave during hearings on their attendance, despite a state law created to keep the government from locking up juveniles for noncriminal offenses.
The magistrates, who run the weekly truancy court in classrooms, cafeterias and school offices around the state, have declared youths as young as 12 in criminal contempt of court for not answering their questions, swearing, slamming a door on their way out of the room or otherwise showing “total disregard for authority,” according to court documents and interviews.
Once inside the state’s juvenile correctional system, the youths are forced to undergo strip searches, urine and blood tests. They wear prison uniforms and, for a night or two, mix with teenagers accused of drug dealing, robbery, weapons possession, assault and other violent crimes.
Since 2005, the magistrates have sent at least 28 youths from truancy court to the Training School, records show, under an exception in the state law for criminal contempt of court. Few if any have been represented by a lawyer prior to their detention, as is their constitutionally guaranteed right. The proceedings are closed to the public, and the records are private.
“These are blatant violations,” Rhode Island Public Defender John J. Hardiman said. “There’s no ‘this is a gray area of the law.’ It’s clear you can’t detain [in] these cases.”
Link:
http://www.projo.com/news/content/truancy_court_12-12-10_0GLBM2E_v325.2fa2f5d.html
The magistrates, who run the weekly truancy court in classrooms, cafeterias and school offices around the state, have declared youths as young as 12 in criminal contempt of court for not answering their questions, swearing, slamming a door on their way out of the room or otherwise showing “total disregard for authority,” according to court documents and interviews.
Once inside the state’s juvenile correctional system, the youths are forced to undergo strip searches, urine and blood tests. They wear prison uniforms and, for a night or two, mix with teenagers accused of drug dealing, robbery, weapons possession, assault and other violent crimes.
Since 2005, the magistrates have sent at least 28 youths from truancy court to the Training School, records show, under an exception in the state law for criminal contempt of court. Few if any have been represented by a lawyer prior to their detention, as is their constitutionally guaranteed right. The proceedings are closed to the public, and the records are private.
“These are blatant violations,” Rhode Island Public Defender John J. Hardiman said. “There’s no ‘this is a gray area of the law.’ It’s clear you can’t detain [in] these cases.”
Link:
http://www.projo.com/news/content/truancy_court_12-12-10_0GLBM2E_v325.2fa2f5d.html
Salem, MA: Police officer charged with drunk driving, steroid possession.
William D. Riley, 46, faces charges of drunken driving, assault with a dangerous weapon, carrying a firearm under the influence of alcohol, and possession of steroids.
Riley was released on bail and will be arraigned tomorrow in Salem District Court.
Police were called to Riley's Dunlap Street home at 5:36 p.m. when a woman accused Riley of making a "threat regarding a firearm," the report said
Link:
http://www.salemnews.com/local/x765877711/Police-officer-charged-with-drunk-driving-steroid-possession
Riley was released on bail and will be arraigned tomorrow in Salem District Court.
Police were called to Riley's Dunlap Street home at 5:36 p.m. when a woman accused Riley of making a "threat regarding a firearm," the report said
Link:
http://www.salemnews.com/local/x765877711/Police-officer-charged-with-drunk-driving-steroid-possession
NJ: Police & firefighters on steroids provided by a doctor, how rampant is steroid use in other departments across the country?
A seven-month Star-Ledger investigation drawing on prescription records, court documents and detailed interviews with the physician’s employees shows Doctor Joseph Colao ran a thriving illegal drug enterprise that supplied anabolic steroids and human growth hormone to hundreds of law enforcement officers and firefighters throughout New Jersey.
From a seemingly above-board practice in Jersey City, Colao frequently broke the law and his own oath by faking medical diagnoses to justify his prescriptions for the drugs, the investigation shows.
Many of the officers and firefighters willingly took part in the ruse, finding Colao provided an easy way to obtain tightly regulated substances that are illegal without a valid prescription, the investigation found.
Others were persuaded by the physician’s polished sales pitch, one that glossed over the risks and legal realities, the newspaper found. A small percentage may have legitimately needed the drugs to treat uncommon medical conditions.
In most cases, if not all, they used their government health plans to pay for the substances. Evidence gathered by The Star-Ledger suggests the total cost to taxpayers reaches into the millions of dollars.
In just over a year, records show, at least 248 officers and firefighters from 53 agencies used Colao’s fraudulent practice to obtain muscle-building drugs, some of which have been linked to increased aggression, confusion and reckless behavior.
For many in the physician’s care, use of the drugs apparently didn’t end with Colao’s death.
They instead sought other doctors who specialize in prescribing growth hormone or testosterone, an anabolic steroid, according to patients, legal documents and the doctors themselves. The physicians have not been accused of wrongdoing.
Link:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/hundreds_of_nj_police_firefigh.html
From a seemingly above-board practice in Jersey City, Colao frequently broke the law and his own oath by faking medical diagnoses to justify his prescriptions for the drugs, the investigation shows.
Many of the officers and firefighters willingly took part in the ruse, finding Colao provided an easy way to obtain tightly regulated substances that are illegal without a valid prescription, the investigation found.
Others were persuaded by the physician’s polished sales pitch, one that glossed over the risks and legal realities, the newspaper found. A small percentage may have legitimately needed the drugs to treat uncommon medical conditions.
In most cases, if not all, they used their government health plans to pay for the substances. Evidence gathered by The Star-Ledger suggests the total cost to taxpayers reaches into the millions of dollars.
In just over a year, records show, at least 248 officers and firefighters from 53 agencies used Colao’s fraudulent practice to obtain muscle-building drugs, some of which have been linked to increased aggression, confusion and reckless behavior.
For many in the physician’s care, use of the drugs apparently didn’t end with Colao’s death.
They instead sought other doctors who specialize in prescribing growth hormone or testosterone, an anabolic steroid, according to patients, legal documents and the doctors themselves. The physicians have not been accused of wrongdoing.
Link:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/hundreds_of_nj_police_firefigh.html
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Private investigators will find Psychology Today, the poor man's polygraph tests parts1-5 to be helpful when conducting interviews.
The Poor Man's Polygraph consists of a series of techniques that increase the probability of detecting deception using verbal cues. The Poor Man's Polygraph provides deceptive indicators, not proof of deception. No one verbal cue indicates deception, but the probability of deception increases when clusters of deceptive indicators are present. The Poor Man's Polygraph provides non-threatening, techniques to test the veracity of others using the cluster method.
The Poor Man's Polygraph consists of the following techniques: Well..., Land of Is, Forced Response, Why should I believe you?, and Parallel Lie. The Poor Man's Polygraph will be presented in a five part series. Part 1 presented the Well... technique. Part 2 presented the Land of Is. Part 3 presented Forced Response. Part 4 will present Why Should I Believe You? The Poor Man's Polygraph can be found in its entirety in Psychological Narrative Analysis: A Professional Guide to Detect Deception in Oral and Written Communications. Part 5 The Parallel Lie provides an additional indicator of veracity.
Links:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201011/poor-mans-polygraph-part-1
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201011/poor-mans-polygraph-part-2
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201011/poor-mans-polygraph-part-3
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201012/poor-mans-polygraph-part-4
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201012/poor-mans-polygraph-part-5
The Poor Man's Polygraph consists of the following techniques: Well..., Land of Is, Forced Response, Why should I believe you?, and Parallel Lie. The Poor Man's Polygraph will be presented in a five part series. Part 1 presented the Well... technique. Part 2 presented the Land of Is. Part 3 presented Forced Response. Part 4 will present Why Should I Believe You? The Poor Man's Polygraph can be found in its entirety in Psychological Narrative Analysis: A Professional Guide to Detect Deception in Oral and Written Communications. Part 5 The Parallel Lie provides an additional indicator of veracity.
Links:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201011/poor-mans-polygraph-part-1
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201011/poor-mans-polygraph-part-2
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201011/poor-mans-polygraph-part-3
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201012/poor-mans-polygraph-part-4
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/let-their-words-do-the-talking/201012/poor-mans-polygraph-part-5
Friday, December 10, 2010
Missouri: Man charged with "obstructing government operations" because he refused to allow a deputy to search his house without a warrant.
The incident occurred November 22nd. when Benton County deputy Dana Winn was questioning John Lewis outside his home about a man who used to live there wanted on a felony warrant.
Lewis, who doesn't trust cops, has various cameras hidden around his home, including a small camera inside his sunglasses.
Winn said he didn't believe Lewis was telling him everything he knew, so he continued to push him for answers.
"I have nothing else to say, you got the information on who owns this property and you got my name sir," said Lewis.
Winn responded, "I've been nothing but cordial with you and you're being a jackass." Winn went on to say, "I will come back here every day until I find out, I'll bang on your door until something happens."
Deputy Winn also got frustrated with Lewis because he wouldn't address him with the proper title. Lewis kept calling Winn "Mr." and "Officer."
"It's not officer it's deputy I don't work for the city I work for the county, you have a problem with that we'll discuss it down at the jail," said Winn.
Winn asked to search the home but was denied because he didn't have a search warrant. Lewis was arrested a short time later for obstructing government operations.
So essentially he was obstructing government operations when he refused to allow a cop without a warrant to search his home?
Link:
http://www.kspr.com/news/local/kfsm-news-nwa-hidden-camera-benton-county-arrest,0,1493981.story
Lewis, who doesn't trust cops, has various cameras hidden around his home, including a small camera inside his sunglasses.
Winn said he didn't believe Lewis was telling him everything he knew, so he continued to push him for answers.
"I have nothing else to say, you got the information on who owns this property and you got my name sir," said Lewis.
Winn responded, "I've been nothing but cordial with you and you're being a jackass." Winn went on to say, "I will come back here every day until I find out, I'll bang on your door until something happens."
Deputy Winn also got frustrated with Lewis because he wouldn't address him with the proper title. Lewis kept calling Winn "Mr." and "Officer."
"It's not officer it's deputy I don't work for the city I work for the county, you have a problem with that we'll discuss it down at the jail," said Winn.
Winn asked to search the home but was denied because he didn't have a search warrant. Lewis was arrested a short time later for obstructing government operations.
So essentially he was obstructing government operations when he refused to allow a cop without a warrant to search his home?
Link:
http://www.kspr.com/news/local/kfsm-news-nwa-hidden-camera-benton-county-arrest,0,1493981.story
What are the odds someone else has used your Social Security number? One in seven.
That’s the stunning conclusion of a San Diego company's analysis of 290 million Social Security numbers, which found that 40 million of them have been attached to more than one name. The study, conducted by the fraud-fighting firm ID Analytics, is the first of its kind that’s been made available to the public.
We first wrote about the problem of “SSN-only” identity theft five years ago, and estimated that millions of Americans were on the “secret list of identity theft victims” whose SSNs had been misappropriated by an imposter to obtain work or credit.
The IRS often knows when this happens, when the imposter pays taxes. The Social Security Administration knows, too, for the same reason. And the nation's credit bureaus usually know, because the imposter often ends up applying for some form of credit. Plenty of financial institutions also have access to this information.
But no one is telling you. In short, all these government agencies and financial firms don't think you have a right to know.
Normally, the company receives credit applications from clients and checks them against its vast database, looking for signs of fraud. Criminals do crafty things like apply for a credit card at 10 different banks using SSNs that are only one digit away from each other. Or they use slightly different first names or street addresses in an attempt to evade a poor credit history or crime record. Because ID Analytics receives applications from multiple industries, it can spot these signs of fraud in ways that the individual companies cannot.
One typical pattern: An imposter uses one name but alternate Social Security numbers in an attempt to circumvent the credit reporting system; ID Analytics is geared up to spot just that kind of evasion. It’s a tough job, because the incidence of multiple numbers connected to the same name is enormous: Dr. Stephen Coggeshall, chief technology officer at the firm, said 20 million Americans have multiple SSNs associated with their names, or 6 percent of the total population.
ID Analytics says it has 3 million to 4 million names that have been used to commit identity fraud.
That’s an astonishing number, but it pales in comparison to the next figure.
Five million SSNs attached to three or more people
Recently, Coggeshall decided to reverse his research. Instead of looking for people connected to multiple SSNs, which is most useful for businesses, he looked at SSNs that are connected to multiple people, much more interesting to consumers. In other words, how many people in the U.S. are essentially sharing their identities with someone else?
The answer: 40 million. That means nearly one in 7 SSN holders in the U.S. have two or more names attached to their SSN records.
Please note, this is not an estimate conjured up from a sample. This is ID Analytics looking at its own data, picking out SSNs that have more than one name attached and building its own list. We now know: The secret list of ID theft victims has 40 million people on it.
Link:
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2010/12/odds-someone-else-has-your-ssn-one-in-7.html
We first wrote about the problem of “SSN-only” identity theft five years ago, and estimated that millions of Americans were on the “secret list of identity theft victims” whose SSNs had been misappropriated by an imposter to obtain work or credit.
The IRS often knows when this happens, when the imposter pays taxes. The Social Security Administration knows, too, for the same reason. And the nation's credit bureaus usually know, because the imposter often ends up applying for some form of credit. Plenty of financial institutions also have access to this information.
But no one is telling you. In short, all these government agencies and financial firms don't think you have a right to know.
Normally, the company receives credit applications from clients and checks them against its vast database, looking for signs of fraud. Criminals do crafty things like apply for a credit card at 10 different banks using SSNs that are only one digit away from each other. Or they use slightly different first names or street addresses in an attempt to evade a poor credit history or crime record. Because ID Analytics receives applications from multiple industries, it can spot these signs of fraud in ways that the individual companies cannot.
One typical pattern: An imposter uses one name but alternate Social Security numbers in an attempt to circumvent the credit reporting system; ID Analytics is geared up to spot just that kind of evasion. It’s a tough job, because the incidence of multiple numbers connected to the same name is enormous: Dr. Stephen Coggeshall, chief technology officer at the firm, said 20 million Americans have multiple SSNs associated with their names, or 6 percent of the total population.
ID Analytics says it has 3 million to 4 million names that have been used to commit identity fraud.
That’s an astonishing number, but it pales in comparison to the next figure.
Five million SSNs attached to three or more people
Recently, Coggeshall decided to reverse his research. Instead of looking for people connected to multiple SSNs, which is most useful for businesses, he looked at SSNs that are connected to multiple people, much more interesting to consumers. In other words, how many people in the U.S. are essentially sharing their identities with someone else?
The answer: 40 million. That means nearly one in 7 SSN holders in the U.S. have two or more names attached to their SSN records.
Please note, this is not an estimate conjured up from a sample. This is ID Analytics looking at its own data, picking out SSNs that have more than one name attached and building its own list. We now know: The secret list of ID theft victims has 40 million people on it.
Link:
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2010/12/odds-someone-else-has-your-ssn-one-in-7.html
Jurors across the U. S. are using Facebook, Twitter and smart phones which cause mistrials, appeals and overturned verdicts.
The explosion of blogging, tweeting and other online diversions has reached into U.S. jury boxes, raising serious questions about juror impartiality and the ability of judges to control courtrooms.
A Reuters Legal analysis found that jurors' forays on the Internet have resulted in dozens of mistrials, appeals and overturned verdicts in the last two years.
For decades, courts have instructed jurors not to seek information about cases outside of evidence introduced at trial, and jurors are routinely warned not to communicate about a case with anyone before a verdict is reached. But jurors these days can, with a few clicks, look up definitions of legal terms on Wikipedia, view crime scenes via Google Earth, or update their blogs and Facebook pages with snide remarks about the proceedings.
The data show that since 1999, at least 90 verdicts have been the subject of challenges because of alleged Internet-related juror misconduct. More than half of the cases occurred in the last two years.
Judges granted new trials or overturned verdicts in 28 criminal and civil cases — 21 since January 2009. In three-quarters of the cases in which judges declined to declare mistrials, they nevertheless found Internet-related misconduct on the part of jurors. These figures do not include the many incidents that escape judicial notice.
Link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40578962/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/
A Reuters Legal analysis found that jurors' forays on the Internet have resulted in dozens of mistrials, appeals and overturned verdicts in the last two years.
For decades, courts have instructed jurors not to seek information about cases outside of evidence introduced at trial, and jurors are routinely warned not to communicate about a case with anyone before a verdict is reached. But jurors these days can, with a few clicks, look up definitions of legal terms on Wikipedia, view crime scenes via Google Earth, or update their blogs and Facebook pages with snide remarks about the proceedings.
The data show that since 1999, at least 90 verdicts have been the subject of challenges because of alleged Internet-related juror misconduct. More than half of the cases occurred in the last two years.
Judges granted new trials or overturned verdicts in 28 criminal and civil cases — 21 since January 2009. In three-quarters of the cases in which judges declined to declare mistrials, they nevertheless found Internet-related misconduct on the part of jurors. These figures do not include the many incidents that escape judicial notice.
Link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40578962/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/
New study claims prosecutorial misconduct is rampant in California.
A Report on Prosecutorial Misconduct in California: 1997-2009, identified more than 4,000 federal and state criminal cases on appeal in California during the 13-year span in which prosecutorial misconduct was an issue raised by the defense. The report found:
• 707 cases in which courts determined that prosecutors had committed misconduct, such as making improper statements to the jury in closing arguments, improperly coaching witnesses, or failing to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense.
• 159 cases in which courts found that the level of misconduct was harmful enough to reverse the conviction, declare a mistrial or bar the evidence.
• 67 prosecutors had been found by courts to have committed misconduct more than once, while three prosecutors did it in four cases and two did so in five different cases.
In 282 cases, the court refrained from making a ruling on the prosecutorial misconduct issue, holding instead that any error would have been harmless or that the issue was waived.
The study also found that the State Bar of California took disciplinary action in only six misconduct cases. Three of the six prosecutors were suspended from the practice of law, while two were publicly reprimanded and one was placed on probation.
“Plain and simple, California has a legal system that does not hold prosecutors accountable when they abuse the public trust,” says study co-author Kathleen Ridolfi, a Santa Clara law professor and director of the Northern California Innocence Project. “We have serious problems with prosecutorial misconduct in California and it is not being addressed. These cases are just the tip of the iceberg.”
Link:
http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/harmless_error_new_study_claims_prosecutorial_misconduct_rampant/
• 707 cases in which courts determined that prosecutors had committed misconduct, such as making improper statements to the jury in closing arguments, improperly coaching witnesses, or failing to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense.
• 159 cases in which courts found that the level of misconduct was harmful enough to reverse the conviction, declare a mistrial or bar the evidence.
• 67 prosecutors had been found by courts to have committed misconduct more than once, while three prosecutors did it in four cases and two did so in five different cases.
In 282 cases, the court refrained from making a ruling on the prosecutorial misconduct issue, holding instead that any error would have been harmless or that the issue was waived.
The study also found that the State Bar of California took disciplinary action in only six misconduct cases. Three of the six prosecutors were suspended from the practice of law, while two were publicly reprimanded and one was placed on probation.
“Plain and simple, California has a legal system that does not hold prosecutors accountable when they abuse the public trust,” says study co-author Kathleen Ridolfi, a Santa Clara law professor and director of the Northern California Innocence Project. “We have serious problems with prosecutorial misconduct in California and it is not being addressed. These cases are just the tip of the iceberg.”
Link:
http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/harmless_error_new_study_claims_prosecutorial_misconduct_rampant/
Thursday, December 9, 2010
The U. S. Justice Department allegedly conceals its own investigations of misconduct from the public.
The Justice Department often classifies as mistakes violations that result in overturned convictions. Even when judges have cited prosecutors for flouting constitutional rules, the government often clears the attorneys of wrongdoing and concludes the violations were unintentional. The agency's internal ethics watchdog, the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), found wrongdoing in about one-quarter of the roughly 750 complaints it investigated during the past decade.
Even when investigators conclude that prosecutors committed misconduct, they are unlikely to be fired. Department records suggest that violations more often result in reprimands, suspensions or agreements that allow lawyers to leave the government with their reputations intact and their records unblemished.
After a judge in Massachusetts freed two convicted Mafia figures from prison because of " extremely serious government misconduct" by the lead prosecutor, for example, officials gave the prosecutor a written reprimand. U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf wrote in a 2008 letter to then-attorney general Michael Mukasey that the episode — which occurred before Mukasey became attorney general — "raises serious questions about whether judges should continue to rely upon the Department to investigate and sanction misconduct by federal prosecutors."
The Justice Department consistently conceals its own investigations of misconduct from the public. Officials say privacy laws prevent them from revealing any details of their investigations. That secrecy, however, makes it almost impossible to assess the full extent and impact of misconduct by prosecutors or the effectiveness of the department's attempts to deter it.
Links:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2010-12-08-prosecutor_N.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2010-12-09-RW_prosecutorbar09_ST_N.htm
Even when investigators conclude that prosecutors committed misconduct, they are unlikely to be fired. Department records suggest that violations more often result in reprimands, suspensions or agreements that allow lawyers to leave the government with their reputations intact and their records unblemished.
After a judge in Massachusetts freed two convicted Mafia figures from prison because of " extremely serious government misconduct" by the lead prosecutor, for example, officials gave the prosecutor a written reprimand. U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf wrote in a 2008 letter to then-attorney general Michael Mukasey that the episode — which occurred before Mukasey became attorney general — "raises serious questions about whether judges should continue to rely upon the Department to investigate and sanction misconduct by federal prosecutors."
The Justice Department consistently conceals its own investigations of misconduct from the public. Officials say privacy laws prevent them from revealing any details of their investigations. That secrecy, however, makes it almost impossible to assess the full extent and impact of misconduct by prosecutors or the effectiveness of the department's attempts to deter it.
Links:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2010-12-08-prosecutor_N.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2010-12-09-RW_prosecutorbar09_ST_N.htm
It has never been easier or more dangerous to record the police.
University of Pennsylvania law professor Seth Kreimer, author of a 2010 paper in the Pennsylvania Law Review about the right to record, says such legal vagueness is a problem. Citing decisions by three federal appeals courts, Kreimer says the First Amendment includes the right to record public events. “The First Amendment doesn’t allow for unbridled discretion” by police, he says, “and it’s particularly concerned with clear rules when free speech rights are at stake. Even if there is a privacy interest here, people have to know when they’re going to be subject to prosecution.”
The ambiguity may be of dubious constitutionality, but it’s common. In Massachusetts, the only all-party-consent state aside from Illinois that does not have an expectation-of-privacy provision in its wiretapping law, the Supreme Judicial Court in 2001 upheld the conviction of a man who surreptitiously recorded police officers during a traffic stop. The court ruled that the wiretapping law granted no exception for citizens recording police officers.
The state’s lower courts have interpreted that ruling as applying only to covert recordings of police: People get convicted of secretly recording police, while charges against people who record police openly have generally been thrown out. But arrests and threats of arrest continue under both scenarios. In January 2010, the The Boston Globe reported that it was becoming increasingly common for Massachusetts police to threaten or arrest even people who record them openly. State Attorney General Martha Coakley told the paper her office took no position on the arrests, or on the distinction between open and secretive recording.
In general, Cassilly says, police actions in front of large crowds probably can be recorded without breaking the law, but privacy claims are stronger when few people are around. But this standard undermines the use of citizen video as a check against police misconduct. Police actions in front of large crowds will naturally have a lot of witnesses, a fact that not only deters misconduct but makes video evidence less important. But what if a police officer is harassing or intimidating someone when there aren’t many witnesses, such as during a traffic stop or on an empty street at night? Would it be a felony to record the interaction? “I’m not going to respond to any hypothetical scenarios,” Cassilly says. “It just depends on the circumstances.”
In July, after I spoke with Cassilly, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office responded to a state legislator’s inquiry by issuing an opinion that said “it’s unlikely that most interactions with police could be considered private, as some law enforcement agencies have interpreted the state’s wiretapping act.” But that opinion was only advisory, and Cassilly announced in a subsequent radio interview he had no intention of abiding by it.
If the vagueness and inconsistent application of these statutes weren’t bad enough, there is also a clear double standard when it comes to the consequences of misunderstanding what the law requires. Citizens who do not know about wiretapping laws face arrest, felony charges, and jail time. Police and prosecutors who wrongly threaten, detain, arrest, and charge people based on a misinterpretation of these laws are rarely disciplined, much less subjected to civil liability or criminal charges. Police are protected by qualified immunity, which makes it difficult to win damages for an unlawful arrest. Prosecutors are protected by absolute immunity, which makes it nearly impossible.
Link: http://reason.com/archives/2010/12/07/the-war-on-cameras/
The ambiguity may be of dubious constitutionality, but it’s common. In Massachusetts, the only all-party-consent state aside from Illinois that does not have an expectation-of-privacy provision in its wiretapping law, the Supreme Judicial Court in 2001 upheld the conviction of a man who surreptitiously recorded police officers during a traffic stop. The court ruled that the wiretapping law granted no exception for citizens recording police officers.
The state’s lower courts have interpreted that ruling as applying only to covert recordings of police: People get convicted of secretly recording police, while charges against people who record police openly have generally been thrown out. But arrests and threats of arrest continue under both scenarios. In January 2010, the The Boston Globe reported that it was becoming increasingly common for Massachusetts police to threaten or arrest even people who record them openly. State Attorney General Martha Coakley told the paper her office took no position on the arrests, or on the distinction between open and secretive recording.
In general, Cassilly says, police actions in front of large crowds probably can be recorded without breaking the law, but privacy claims are stronger when few people are around. But this standard undermines the use of citizen video as a check against police misconduct. Police actions in front of large crowds will naturally have a lot of witnesses, a fact that not only deters misconduct but makes video evidence less important. But what if a police officer is harassing or intimidating someone when there aren’t many witnesses, such as during a traffic stop or on an empty street at night? Would it be a felony to record the interaction? “I’m not going to respond to any hypothetical scenarios,” Cassilly says. “It just depends on the circumstances.”
In July, after I spoke with Cassilly, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office responded to a state legislator’s inquiry by issuing an opinion that said “it’s unlikely that most interactions with police could be considered private, as some law enforcement agencies have interpreted the state’s wiretapping act.” But that opinion was only advisory, and Cassilly announced in a subsequent radio interview he had no intention of abiding by it.
If the vagueness and inconsistent application of these statutes weren’t bad enough, there is also a clear double standard when it comes to the consequences of misunderstanding what the law requires. Citizens who do not know about wiretapping laws face arrest, felony charges, and jail time. Police and prosecutors who wrongly threaten, detain, arrest, and charge people based on a misinterpretation of these laws are rarely disciplined, much less subjected to civil liability or criminal charges. Police are protected by qualified immunity, which makes it difficult to win damages for an unlawful arrest. Prosecutors are protected by absolute immunity, which makes it nearly impossible.
Link: http://reason.com/archives/2010/12/07/the-war-on-cameras/
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
In a span of 30 years Texas executed 464 people and only 12 people on death row were exonerated.
Some statistics on the application of the death penalty in Texas: In the last 30 years, the state has executed 464 people, far more than in any other state.
The Lone Star state has also exonerated a dozen death-row inmates during that time period.
The question, then: At what point do the false-positives (so-to-speak) reach an unacceptable level? If 100 death-row inmates were exonerated, many would likely say without equivocation that something was seriously wrong. If only one had been exonerated, many would call it an aberration, the exception that proves the rule.
Link:
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/12/06/deep-in-the-heart-of-texas-death-penalty-goes-on-trial/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+wsj/law/feed+(WSJ.com:+Law+Blog)&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher
The Lone Star state has also exonerated a dozen death-row inmates during that time period.
The question, then: At what point do the false-positives (so-to-speak) reach an unacceptable level? If 100 death-row inmates were exonerated, many would likely say without equivocation that something was seriously wrong. If only one had been exonerated, many would call it an aberration, the exception that proves the rule.
Link:
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2010/12/06/deep-in-the-heart-of-texas-death-penalty-goes-on-trial/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+wsj/law/feed+(WSJ.com:+Law+Blog)&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher
Criminals find the key to vehicle ignition immobilizers.
AFTER a 16-year decline, car theft in Germany rose in 2009, according to figures released recently by the German Insurance Association. One "white hat" hacker, who probes security systems to flag up flaws that can then be patched, thinks he knows why. Karsten Nohl of Security Research Labs in Berlin, Germany, has identified vulnerabilities in the engine immobilizers used to protect modern cars from theft.
A device fitted within the key fob of a modern car broadcasts an encrypted radio signal to the car as the driver starts the vehicle. If the signal is recognized by the car's receiver, it responds by sending an encrypted signal to the engine control unit (ECU), which allows the car to start. If the driver tries using the incorrect car key fob, the ECU locks down the engine.
For over a decade, immobilizers have played a crucial role in reducing car theft, says Nohl. But the proprietary encryption keys used to transmit data between the key fob, receiver and engine are so poorly implemented on some cars that they are readily cracked, Nohl told the Embedded Security in Cars conference, in Bremen, Germany, last month.
Last year he took just 6 hours to uncover the algorithm used to create the encryption key in a widely used immobilizer - the Hitag 2 made by Dutch firm NXP Semiconductors - making it easy to "de-immobilize" any car using that algorithm. And in 2005 Ari Juels of RSA Labs in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, took under an hour to crack an encryption system sold by US technology firm Texas Instruments.
Link:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827894.500-criminals-find-the-key-to-car-immobilisers.html
A device fitted within the key fob of a modern car broadcasts an encrypted radio signal to the car as the driver starts the vehicle. If the signal is recognized by the car's receiver, it responds by sending an encrypted signal to the engine control unit (ECU), which allows the car to start. If the driver tries using the incorrect car key fob, the ECU locks down the engine.
For over a decade, immobilizers have played a crucial role in reducing car theft, says Nohl. But the proprietary encryption keys used to transmit data between the key fob, receiver and engine are so poorly implemented on some cars that they are readily cracked, Nohl told the Embedded Security in Cars conference, in Bremen, Germany, last month.
Last year he took just 6 hours to uncover the algorithm used to create the encryption key in a widely used immobilizer - the Hitag 2 made by Dutch firm NXP Semiconductors - making it easy to "de-immobilize" any car using that algorithm. And in 2005 Ari Juels of RSA Labs in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, took under an hour to crack an encryption system sold by US technology firm Texas Instruments.
Link:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827894.500-criminals-find-the-key-to-car-immobilisers.html
Police use fingerprint scans in Raleigh, North Carolina how soon will police departments everywhere attempt the same thing.
RALEIGH - Next month, 13 law enforcement agencies in the region will begin using a new handheld device that lets an officer scan a person's fingerprints and seek a match in an electronic database - all without going anywhere.
Police say taking fingerprints in the field will allow them to work more efficiently and safely. But the ACLU North Carolina in Raleigh worries that the device may allow officers to violate privacy rights.
The ACLU is concerned about what will become of fingerprint scans that are sent to other databases, such as the National Crime Information Center.
"Part of the danger is the idea of the government creating a database on its citizens," said Sarah Preston, policy director for ACLU North Carolina. "Citizens should be allowed some degree of privacy."
Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/12/08/849887/print-scans-raise-worries.html
Police say taking fingerprints in the field will allow them to work more efficiently and safely. But the ACLU North Carolina in Raleigh worries that the device may allow officers to violate privacy rights.
The ACLU is concerned about what will become of fingerprint scans that are sent to other databases, such as the National Crime Information Center.
"Part of the danger is the idea of the government creating a database on its citizens," said Sarah Preston, policy director for ACLU North Carolina. "Citizens should be allowed some degree of privacy."
Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/12/08/849887/print-scans-raise-worries.html
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Private investigators being hired to conduct surveillance's of employees when they call in sick.
Rick Raymond parked his black Kia SUV behind a row of trees and peered out at his target. It was 4 a.m., and Raymond - a seasoned private detective who has worked roughly 300 cases, from thieves to philandering spouses - was closing in on a different sort of prey.
Raymond recently has come to occupy a new and expanding niche in the surveillance universe. Corporations pay him to spy on workers who take "sick days" when they may not, in fact, be sick.
In what became the landmark case for corporate snooping, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago dismissed her lawsuit. A panel of judges declared that while surveillance "may not be preferred employer behavior," it wasn't unlawful.
According to Susan Kline, a partner at the Baker & Daniels law firm in Indianapolis, the case encouraged companies "to consider hiring their own private detectives." It also set a precedent, she said, that "reasonable suspicion" is sufficient justification for employer spying.
Such techniques have become permissible at a time when workers are more likely to play hooky. Kronos, a workforce productivity firm in Chelmsford, Mass., recently found that 57 percent of salaried employees take sick days when they're not sick - almost a 20 percent increase from statistics gathered between 2006 and 2008.
Link:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/06/BUK81GLNK1.DTL
Raymond recently has come to occupy a new and expanding niche in the surveillance universe. Corporations pay him to spy on workers who take "sick days" when they may not, in fact, be sick.
In what became the landmark case for corporate snooping, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago dismissed her lawsuit. A panel of judges declared that while surveillance "may not be preferred employer behavior," it wasn't unlawful.
According to Susan Kline, a partner at the Baker & Daniels law firm in Indianapolis, the case encouraged companies "to consider hiring their own private detectives." It also set a precedent, she said, that "reasonable suspicion" is sufficient justification for employer spying.
Such techniques have become permissible at a time when workers are more likely to play hooky. Kronos, a workforce productivity firm in Chelmsford, Mass., recently found that 57 percent of salaried employees take sick days when they're not sick - almost a 20 percent increase from statistics gathered between 2006 and 2008.
Link:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/06/BUK81GLNK1.DTL
Chicago police subdued 700 people last year and the police decide against investigating every time an officer uses a Taser.
A new report shows that Chicago police used Tasers to subdue nearly 700 offenders over 12 recent months, a dramatic increase that reflects the department's decision earlier this year to expand its use of the weapons.
In a wide-ranging annual report issued today, the Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates serious accusations of police misconduct, said the increased use of the sometimes-controversial electrical devices has not generated many complaints, however.
As a result, the agency said it has decided against investigating every time an officer uses a Taser, saying the hundreds of incidents were "overwhelming" its resources. Instead, it will do so only if allegations of misconduct are made, serious injury or death resulted, or a minor or senior citizen was targeted.
According to the report, officers used Tasers on 683 occasions in the year ended Sept. 30, up sharply from 197 in 2009 and 163 in 2008.
But that's not surprising since the department in March more than doubled the number of available Tasers -- to 660, up from 280 -- and put them in the hands of patrol officers for the first time. Previously, only sergeants and field training officers were allowed to carry them, but now all squad cars and special-deployment teams are equipped with the weapons.
Link:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/12/chicago-police-expand-use-of-tasers.html
In a wide-ranging annual report issued today, the Independent Police Review Authority, which investigates serious accusations of police misconduct, said the increased use of the sometimes-controversial electrical devices has not generated many complaints, however.
As a result, the agency said it has decided against investigating every time an officer uses a Taser, saying the hundreds of incidents were "overwhelming" its resources. Instead, it will do so only if allegations of misconduct are made, serious injury or death resulted, or a minor or senior citizen was targeted.
According to the report, officers used Tasers on 683 occasions in the year ended Sept. 30, up sharply from 197 in 2009 and 163 in 2008.
But that's not surprising since the department in March more than doubled the number of available Tasers -- to 660, up from 280 -- and put them in the hands of patrol officers for the first time. Previously, only sergeants and field training officers were allowed to carry them, but now all squad cars and special-deployment teams are equipped with the weapons.
Link:
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/12/chicago-police-expand-use-of-tasers.html
Monday, December 6, 2010
When did the U. S. become a communist country? The DHS "If you see something say something" campaign promises to makes spies of your neighbors.
Washington, D.C. - Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced the expansion of the Department's national "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign to hundreds of Walmart stores across the country - launching a new partnership between DHS and Walmart to help the American public play an active role in ensuring the safety and security of our nation.
"Homeland security starts with hometown security, and each of us plays a critical role in keeping our country and communities safe," said Secretary Napolitano. "I applaud Walmart for joining the ‘If You See Something, Say Something' campaign. This partnership will help millions of shoppers across the nation identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to law enforcement authorities."
The "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign—originally implemented by New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority and funded, in part, by $13 million from DHS' Transit Security Grant Program—is a simple and effective program to engage the public and key frontline employees to identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.
More than 230 Walmart stores nationwide launched the "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign today, with a total of 588 Walmart stores in 27 states joining in the coming weeks. A short video message will play at select checkout locations to remind shoppers to contact local law enforcement to report suspicious activity.
Over the past five months, DHS has worked with its federal, state, local and private sector partners, as well as the Department of Justice, to expand the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign and Nationwide SAR Initiative to communities throughout the country—including the recent state-wide expansions of the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign across Minnesota and New Jersey. Partners include the Mall of America, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, Amtrak, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, sports and general aviation industries, and state and local fusion centers across the country.
Links: http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1291648380371.shtm
http://www.infowars.com/big-sis-invades-wal-mart-if-you-see-something-say-something/
"Homeland security starts with hometown security, and each of us plays a critical role in keeping our country and communities safe," said Secretary Napolitano. "I applaud Walmart for joining the ‘If You See Something, Say Something' campaign. This partnership will help millions of shoppers across the nation identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to law enforcement authorities."
The "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign—originally implemented by New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority and funded, in part, by $13 million from DHS' Transit Security Grant Program—is a simple and effective program to engage the public and key frontline employees to identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.
More than 230 Walmart stores nationwide launched the "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign today, with a total of 588 Walmart stores in 27 states joining in the coming weeks. A short video message will play at select checkout locations to remind shoppers to contact local law enforcement to report suspicious activity.
Over the past five months, DHS has worked with its federal, state, local and private sector partners, as well as the Department of Justice, to expand the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign and Nationwide SAR Initiative to communities throughout the country—including the recent state-wide expansions of the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign across Minnesota and New Jersey. Partners include the Mall of America, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, Amtrak, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, sports and general aviation industries, and state and local fusion centers across the country.
Links: http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1291648380371.shtm
http://www.infowars.com/big-sis-invades-wal-mart-if-you-see-something-say-something/
When prosecuting people for attempted crimes, does the Federal government go too far in making cases against citizens?
Professor Tung Yin planned to teach about sentencing laws Monday night at Lewis & Clark Law School. But shortly before class, he switched gears, opening a lively debate on a case ripped from the news: USA v. Mohamed Osman Mohamud.
Students in his criminal procedure class, known informally as "Bail to Jail," spent 75 minutes discussing whether the government overstepped its legal boundaries to make a terrorism case against the 19-year-old college student.
The 43-year-old professor and his students covered some of the legal terrain lawyers in the case are expected to navigate before U.S. District Judge Garr M. King in the coming months. The Mohamud case is likely to offer a primer on the subjects of entrapment, FBI stings and the hurdles that confront the government when prosecuting people for attempted crimes.
One in four people prosecuted in U.S. courts for terrorism plots that involved informants claimed the government entrapped them, according to a study of major terrorism cases between 2001 and 2010 by the Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law. But none of those claiming entrapment were successful.
When trying such cases, the government must prove its agents didn't entrap a defendant, according to model jury instructions kept by the region's federal appeals court. The government must show the defendant was predisposed to commit the crime before contact with government agents or was not induced by the agents to commit a crime.
Links: http://www.lawandsecurity.org/publications/TTRC2010Final.pdf
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/12/portland_bomb_plot_case_likely.html
Students in his criminal procedure class, known informally as "Bail to Jail," spent 75 minutes discussing whether the government overstepped its legal boundaries to make a terrorism case against the 19-year-old college student.
The 43-year-old professor and his students covered some of the legal terrain lawyers in the case are expected to navigate before U.S. District Judge Garr M. King in the coming months. The Mohamud case is likely to offer a primer on the subjects of entrapment, FBI stings and the hurdles that confront the government when prosecuting people for attempted crimes.
One in four people prosecuted in U.S. courts for terrorism plots that involved informants claimed the government entrapped them, according to a study of major terrorism cases between 2001 and 2010 by the Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law. But none of those claiming entrapment were successful.
When trying such cases, the government must prove its agents didn't entrap a defendant, according to model jury instructions kept by the region's federal appeals court. The government must show the defendant was predisposed to commit the crime before contact with government agents or was not induced by the agents to commit a crime.
Links: http://www.lawandsecurity.org/publications/TTRC2010Final.pdf
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/12/portland_bomb_plot_case_likely.html
Michigan: Police department's had "ticket qoutas."
Michigan House and Senate vote to eliminate loophole that allowed police ticket quotas.
The Michigan state legislature fought back against heavy lobbying efforts from the ticketing industry to adopt a more complete ban on the practice of quotas Thursday. Existing law in Michigan offers a loophole for police to be evaluated based on the number of citations issued, as long as the numbers are only considered as part of a broader set of criteria. The House voted 96 to 1 to delete the loophole, and the Senate voted 33 to 0.
"A police officer shall not be required to issue a predetermined or specified number of citations for violations of this act or of local ordinances substantially corresponding to provisions of this act, including parking or standing violations," House Bill 5287 states. "A police officer's performance evaluation system shall not require a predetermined or specified number of citations to be issued."
"Some fear that the lingering state recession, which has shrunk funding for public services, may be an enticement for local governments to increase revenue by encouraging, if not pressuring, police officers to write more tickets," the House Legislative Analysis summary of the bill stated. "Such practices can undermine the public's perception of police officers as protectors and detract from the officers' mission to focus on public safety. Thus, some believe that an existing exception to the ban on ticket quotas that allows quotas as part of a police officer's evaluation system should be eliminated."
Link:http://www.thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/2010/mi-hb5287.pdf
The Michigan state legislature fought back against heavy lobbying efforts from the ticketing industry to adopt a more complete ban on the practice of quotas Thursday. Existing law in Michigan offers a loophole for police to be evaluated based on the number of citations issued, as long as the numbers are only considered as part of a broader set of criteria. The House voted 96 to 1 to delete the loophole, and the Senate voted 33 to 0.
"A police officer shall not be required to issue a predetermined or specified number of citations for violations of this act or of local ordinances substantially corresponding to provisions of this act, including parking or standing violations," House Bill 5287 states. "A police officer's performance evaluation system shall not require a predetermined or specified number of citations to be issued."
"Some fear that the lingering state recession, which has shrunk funding for public services, may be an enticement for local governments to increase revenue by encouraging, if not pressuring, police officers to write more tickets," the House Legislative Analysis summary of the bill stated. "Such practices can undermine the public's perception of police officers as protectors and detract from the officers' mission to focus on public safety. Thus, some believe that an existing exception to the ban on ticket quotas that allows quotas as part of a police officer's evaluation system should be eliminated."
Link:http://www.thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/2010/mi-hb5287.pdf
Sunday, December 5, 2010
The Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division of the TSA will allegedly put citizens who are critical of them on the "Do Not Fly List."
Under the new labeling procedures, those who choose to opt-out of airport screenings or are perceived as being troublemakers will be detained, questioned and processed for further investigation:
The terminology contained within the reported memo is indeed troubling. It labels any person who “interferes” with TSA airport security screening procedure protocol and operations by actively objecting to the established screening process, “including but not limited to the anticipated national opt-out day” as a “domestic extremist.” The label is then broadened to include “any person, group or alternative media source” that actively objects to, causes others to object to, supports and/or elicits support for anyone who engages in such travel disruptions at U.S. airports in response to the enhanced security procedures.
For individuals who engaged in such activity at screening points, it instructs TSA operations to obtain the identities of those individuals and other applicable information and submit the same electronically to the Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division, the Extremism and Radicalization branch of the Office of Intelligence & Analysis (IA) division of the Department of Homeland Security.
Shortly after he began a series of investigative reports that were critical of the TSA in May 2008, CNN journalist Drew Griffin was placed on a watch list that at the time had swelled to over a million names. TSA claimed that he was unfortunate enough to share the name with another Drew Griffin who had been legitimately placed on the list, but then denied that he was on the list altogether and blamed the airlines. The airlines responded by saying they were merely following a list provided to them by the TSA.
CNN Reporter Put On Watch List After Criticizing TSA:
“Coincidentally, this all began in May, shortly after I began a series of investigative reports critical of the TSA,” said Griffin. “Eleven flights now since May 19. On different airlines, my name pops up forcing me to go to the counter, show my identification, sometimes the agent has to make a call before I get my ticket,” Griffin reported. “What does the TSA say? Nothing, at least nothing on camera. Over the phone a public affairs worker told me again I’m not on the watch list, and don’t even think that someone in the TSA or anyone else is trying to get even.”
Given the fact that the TSA has made a habit out of deceiving the American people and spinning the truth about airport security, the notion that Griffin was deliberately targeted by the TSA as a punishment for his critical reports about the agency is almost a given.
Links:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/tsa-administrative-directive-opt-outters-to-be-considered-%E2%80%9Cdomestic-extremists%E2%80%9D.html
http://www.prisonplanet.com/cnn-reporter-put-on-watch-list-after-criticizing-tsa.html
The terminology contained within the reported memo is indeed troubling. It labels any person who “interferes” with TSA airport security screening procedure protocol and operations by actively objecting to the established screening process, “including but not limited to the anticipated national opt-out day” as a “domestic extremist.” The label is then broadened to include “any person, group or alternative media source” that actively objects to, causes others to object to, supports and/or elicits support for anyone who engages in such travel disruptions at U.S. airports in response to the enhanced security procedures.
For individuals who engaged in such activity at screening points, it instructs TSA operations to obtain the identities of those individuals and other applicable information and submit the same electronically to the Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division, the Extremism and Radicalization branch of the Office of Intelligence & Analysis (IA) division of the Department of Homeland Security.
Shortly after he began a series of investigative reports that were critical of the TSA in May 2008, CNN journalist Drew Griffin was placed on a watch list that at the time had swelled to over a million names. TSA claimed that he was unfortunate enough to share the name with another Drew Griffin who had been legitimately placed on the list, but then denied that he was on the list altogether and blamed the airlines. The airlines responded by saying they were merely following a list provided to them by the TSA.
CNN Reporter Put On Watch List After Criticizing TSA:
“Coincidentally, this all began in May, shortly after I began a series of investigative reports critical of the TSA,” said Griffin. “Eleven flights now since May 19. On different airlines, my name pops up forcing me to go to the counter, show my identification, sometimes the agent has to make a call before I get my ticket,” Griffin reported. “What does the TSA say? Nothing, at least nothing on camera. Over the phone a public affairs worker told me again I’m not on the watch list, and don’t even think that someone in the TSA or anyone else is trying to get even.”
Given the fact that the TSA has made a habit out of deceiving the American people and spinning the truth about airport security, the notion that Griffin was deliberately targeted by the TSA as a punishment for his critical reports about the agency is almost a given.
Links:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/tsa-administrative-directive-opt-outters-to-be-considered-%E2%80%9Cdomestic-extremists%E2%80%9D.html
http://www.prisonplanet.com/cnn-reporter-put-on-watch-list-after-criticizing-tsa.html
Friday, December 3, 2010
NYPD and their Internal Affairs Bureau has serious issues, how many other police departments have similar issues?
Earlier this year, the Voice uncovered a troubling pattern of how the NYPD operates, relying on secretly recorded tapes to show that street cops are under intense pressure to achieve seemingly contradictory goals set down by their superiors. Years of recordings, lawsuits, and testimonies by active and retired police officers reveal that Ray Kelly's police department has been on an intense program that punishes innocent bystanders while intimidating and harassing actual crime victims.
Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) complaints are supposed to be confidential. That rule is necessary because police officers who complain about their colleagues can and do face retaliation. But the reality seems to be that an officer's home command will find out fairly quickly that an Internal Affairs complaint has been made. Several officers have complained to the Voice that shortly after they filed complaints with Internal Affairs, their home commands knew about it and then pursued various types of retaliation against them.
Second, whether big or small, IAB cases seem to plod through the system at the same snail's pace. There doesn't seem to be any mechanism to deal quickly with a minor case—an office dispute, for example. Thus, cases drag on, and aggrieved, frustrated cops turn to the courts to resolve their issues. That, in turn, costs the city more money in legal bills and settlements.
Third, it's impossible—even for the people who file the complaints—to find out what was done and what happened with a complaint. Internal Affairs investigators often don't return complainants' phone calls.
Fourth, it seems that often, very little happens with a complaint—and it takes a long time not to happen.
Finally, the system is fairly capricious, and its decisions are often puzzling. In two cases with similar circumstances, one detective might be allowed to retire without charges, while another might be charged and face termination. And because of the insular nature of today's NYPD, it's not likely you'll find out why. Police officers who fall out of favor are just as likely to receive an unfavorable assignment as face a charge—a point made by a former departmental trial commissioner now in private practice.
Link:
http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-12-01/news/internal-injustice-in-nypd-s-internal-affairs-bureau/
Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) complaints are supposed to be confidential. That rule is necessary because police officers who complain about their colleagues can and do face retaliation. But the reality seems to be that an officer's home command will find out fairly quickly that an Internal Affairs complaint has been made. Several officers have complained to the Voice that shortly after they filed complaints with Internal Affairs, their home commands knew about it and then pursued various types of retaliation against them.
Second, whether big or small, IAB cases seem to plod through the system at the same snail's pace. There doesn't seem to be any mechanism to deal quickly with a minor case—an office dispute, for example. Thus, cases drag on, and aggrieved, frustrated cops turn to the courts to resolve their issues. That, in turn, costs the city more money in legal bills and settlements.
Third, it's impossible—even for the people who file the complaints—to find out what was done and what happened with a complaint. Internal Affairs investigators often don't return complainants' phone calls.
Fourth, it seems that often, very little happens with a complaint—and it takes a long time not to happen.
Finally, the system is fairly capricious, and its decisions are often puzzling. In two cases with similar circumstances, one detective might be allowed to retire without charges, while another might be charged and face termination. And because of the insular nature of today's NYPD, it's not likely you'll find out why. Police officers who fall out of favor are just as likely to receive an unfavorable assignment as face a charge—a point made by a former departmental trial commissioner now in private practice.
Link:
http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-12-01/news/internal-injustice-in-nypd-s-internal-affairs-bureau/
GlaxoSmithKline, often paid ghostwriters to pen medical studies, editorials and a textbook that listed physicians as the authors.
The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that champions good government reforms. POGO’s investigations into corruption, misconduct, and conflicts of interest achieve a more effective, accountable, open, and ethical federal government. We take a keen interest in strengthening the integrity of federally funded science, and have particular concerns involving the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which receives around $30 billion a year in federal taxpayer dollars to fund biomedical research.
We are writing to urge that NIH curb the practice of ghostwriting in academia. As the Director of the world’s largest and most prestigious funding source for biomedical research, you must set policies that require NIH-funded academic centers to ban ghostwriting to strengthen scientific integrity.
According to the documents, GSK began to push sales of Paxil in the early 1990s with an extensive ghostwriting program run by the marketing firm Scientific Therapeutics Information (STI). For instance, STI wrote a proposal to organize GlaxoSmithKline’s Paxil Advisory Board Meeting in 1993 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. STI chose Dr. Charles Nemeroff of Emory University as their speaker to lay out the meeting’s agenda and objectives. Dr. Nemeroff apparently led discussions on how to “evaluate clinical research/promotional programs” and “generate information for use in promotion/education.
Earlier this year, a study in a scientific journal analyzed how medical ghostwriting works. It found that simply acknowledging ghostwriters “does not accurately reflect their authorship role.” It also found that, of the top 50 medical schools, only 10 explicitly ban ghostwriting.
Links:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2814828/?tool=pmcentrez
http://www.pogo.org/pogo-files/letters/public-health/ph-iis-20101129.html
http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/drug-company-used-ghostwriters-to-write-work-bylined-by-academics-documents
We are writing to urge that NIH curb the practice of ghostwriting in academia. As the Director of the world’s largest and most prestigious funding source for biomedical research, you must set policies that require NIH-funded academic centers to ban ghostwriting to strengthen scientific integrity.
According to the documents, GSK began to push sales of Paxil in the early 1990s with an extensive ghostwriting program run by the marketing firm Scientific Therapeutics Information (STI). For instance, STI wrote a proposal to organize GlaxoSmithKline’s Paxil Advisory Board Meeting in 1993 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. STI chose Dr. Charles Nemeroff of Emory University as their speaker to lay out the meeting’s agenda and objectives. Dr. Nemeroff apparently led discussions on how to “evaluate clinical research/promotional programs” and “generate information for use in promotion/education.
Earlier this year, a study in a scientific journal analyzed how medical ghostwriting works. It found that simply acknowledging ghostwriters “does not accurately reflect their authorship role.” It also found that, of the top 50 medical schools, only 10 explicitly ban ghostwriting.
Links:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2814828/?tool=pmcentrez
http://www.pogo.org/pogo-files/letters/public-health/ph-iis-20101129.html
http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/drug-company-used-ghostwriters-to-write-work-bylined-by-academics-documents
Thursday, December 2, 2010
U.S. Department of Justice: Indicators of school crime and safety 2010 report.
This report covers topics such as victimization, teacher injury, bullying, school conditions, fights, weapons, availability and student use of drugs and alcohol, and student perceptions of personal safety at school. Indicators of crime and safety are compared across different population subgroups and over time. Data on crimes that occur away from school are offered as a point of comparison where available.
Ensuring safer schools requires establishing good indicators of the current state of school crime and safety across the nation and regularly updating and monitoring these indicators. This is the aim of Indicators of School Crime and Safety.
Link: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/iscs10.pdf
Ensuring safer schools requires establishing good indicators of the current state of school crime and safety across the nation and regularly updating and monitoring these indicators. This is the aim of Indicators of School Crime and Safety.
Link: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/iscs10.pdf
Criminals are using handheld audio players and cheap spy cams to make ATM skimmers.
Criminals increasingly are cannibalizing parts from handheld audio players and cheap spy cams to make extremely stealthy and effective ATM skimmers, devices designed to be attached to cash machines and siphon card + PIN data, a new report warns.
The European ATM Security Team (EAST) found that 11 of the 16 European nations covered in the report experienced increases in skimming attacks last year. EAST noted that in at least one country, anti-skimming devices have been stolen and converted into skimmers, complete with micro cameras used to steal PINs.
EAST said it also discovered that a new type of analog skimming device — using audio technology — has been reported by five countries, two of them “major ATM deployers” (defined as having more than 40,000 ATMs).
According to the website, hackers in Eastern Europe will sell anyone ATM skimmers!
"Recently, I had a chance to chat via instant message with a hacker in Eastern Europe who sells both audio-based ATM skimmers and the technology needed to decode audio skims or dumps.”
Link:
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2010/11/crooks-rock-audio-based-atm-skimmers/
The European ATM Security Team (EAST) found that 11 of the 16 European nations covered in the report experienced increases in skimming attacks last year. EAST noted that in at least one country, anti-skimming devices have been stolen and converted into skimmers, complete with micro cameras used to steal PINs.
EAST said it also discovered that a new type of analog skimming device — using audio technology — has been reported by five countries, two of them “major ATM deployers” (defined as having more than 40,000 ATMs).
According to the website, hackers in Eastern Europe will sell anyone ATM skimmers!
"Recently, I had a chance to chat via instant message with a hacker in Eastern Europe who sells both audio-based ATM skimmers and the technology needed to decode audio skims or dumps.”
Link:
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2010/11/crooks-rock-audio-based-atm-skimmers/
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Juvenile Justice System guide is a comic book posted on the ABA Journal website.
I Got Arrested! Now What? is a four-page instructional pamphlet that now is distributed to anyone under the age of 16 who is arrested on delinquency charges in New York City. It takes young readers on an easy to follow journey from booking to sentencing by breaking down complicated legal concepts into language they can understand.
For example:
“File a Petition: This is what it’s called when the Law Department decides to bring a case to Family Court.”
“Remand: When the judge decides to send you to a detention facility during your case.”
“Parole: When the judge sends you home during your case instead of putting you in detention.”
Information in the comic book was compiled through interviews with lawyers, probation officers and judges, as well as parents and kids who have experienced the juvenile court process.
“From my perspective the comic book embodies one of our core beliefs that knowledge is power,” says Greg Berman, director of the Center for Court Innovation.
The comic book was so well-received that Berman plans to add a second year to the Youth Justice Board program. The new “action year” will allow participants to go from idea to actuality.
“You cannot imagine the sense of pride and accomplishment when they saw the results,” Berman says. “To devote all this time and energy and deliver a product out of nothing—there’s nothing more powerful than that. In some small way I think this is a contribution to making government more transparent and to increasing public faith in justice.”
Link: http://www.abajournal.com/files/12OJUVY_ComicBook-5pg.pdf
For example:
“File a Petition: This is what it’s called when the Law Department decides to bring a case to Family Court.”
“Remand: When the judge decides to send you to a detention facility during your case.”
“Parole: When the judge sends you home during your case instead of putting you in detention.”
Information in the comic book was compiled through interviews with lawyers, probation officers and judges, as well as parents and kids who have experienced the juvenile court process.
“From my perspective the comic book embodies one of our core beliefs that knowledge is power,” says Greg Berman, director of the Center for Court Innovation.
The comic book was so well-received that Berman plans to add a second year to the Youth Justice Board program. The new “action year” will allow participants to go from idea to actuality.
“You cannot imagine the sense of pride and accomplishment when they saw the results,” Berman says. “To devote all this time and energy and deliver a product out of nothing—there’s nothing more powerful than that. In some small way I think this is a contribution to making government more transparent and to increasing public faith in justice.”
Link: http://www.abajournal.com/files/12OJUVY_ComicBook-5pg.pdf
Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz says: Bankers who have commited fraud etc., should be jailed.
The legal system is supposed to be the codification of our norms and beliefs, things that we need to make our system work. If the legal system is seen as exploitative, then confidence in our whole system starts eroding. And that’s really the problem that’s going on.
There are many aspects of deterring people from committing crime. Economists focus on the whole notion of incentives. People have an incentive sometimes to behave badly, because they can make more money if they can cheat. If our economic system is going to work then we have to make sure that what they gain when they cheat is offset by a system of penalties.
And that’s why, for instance, in our antitrust law, we often don’t catch people when they behave badly, but when we do we say there are treble damages. You pay three times the amount of the damage that you do. That’s a strong deterrent. Unfortunately, what we’ve been doing now, and more recently in these financial crimes, is settling for fractions – fractions! – of the direct damage, and even a smaller fraction of the total societal damage. That is to say, the financial sector really brought down the global economy and if you include all of that collateral damage, it’s really already in the trillions of dollars.
But there’s a broader sense of collateral damage that I think that has not really been taken on board. And that is confidence in our legal system, in our rule of law, in our system of justice. When you say the Pledge of Allegiance you say, with “justice for all.” People aren’t sure that we have justice for all. Somebody is caught for a minor drug offense, they are sent to prison for a very long time. And yet, these so-called white-collar crimes, which are not victimless, almost none of these guys, almost none of them, go to prison.
I don’t think Americans understand how bad it is. It becomes really very difficult for individuals to discharge their debt. The basic principle in the past in America was people should have the right for a fresh start. People make mistakes. Especially when they’re preyed upon. And so you should be able to start afresh again. Get a clean slate. Pay what you can and start again. Now if you do it over and over again that’s a different thing. But at least when there are these lenders preying on you should be able to get a fresh start.
But they [the banks] said, “No, no, you can’t discharge your debt,” or you can’t discharge it very easily.
Links:
http://www.businessinsider.com/nobel-economist-says-we-have-to-prosecute-fraud-or-else-the-economy-wont-recover-2010-11
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/11/galbraith-white-houses-sole-goal-is-to.html
There are many aspects of deterring people from committing crime. Economists focus on the whole notion of incentives. People have an incentive sometimes to behave badly, because they can make more money if they can cheat. If our economic system is going to work then we have to make sure that what they gain when they cheat is offset by a system of penalties.
And that’s why, for instance, in our antitrust law, we often don’t catch people when they behave badly, but when we do we say there are treble damages. You pay three times the amount of the damage that you do. That’s a strong deterrent. Unfortunately, what we’ve been doing now, and more recently in these financial crimes, is settling for fractions – fractions! – of the direct damage, and even a smaller fraction of the total societal damage. That is to say, the financial sector really brought down the global economy and if you include all of that collateral damage, it’s really already in the trillions of dollars.
But there’s a broader sense of collateral damage that I think that has not really been taken on board. And that is confidence in our legal system, in our rule of law, in our system of justice. When you say the Pledge of Allegiance you say, with “justice for all.” People aren’t sure that we have justice for all. Somebody is caught for a minor drug offense, they are sent to prison for a very long time. And yet, these so-called white-collar crimes, which are not victimless, almost none of these guys, almost none of them, go to prison.
I don’t think Americans understand how bad it is. It becomes really very difficult for individuals to discharge their debt. The basic principle in the past in America was people should have the right for a fresh start. People make mistakes. Especially when they’re preyed upon. And so you should be able to start afresh again. Get a clean slate. Pay what you can and start again. Now if you do it over and over again that’s a different thing. But at least when there are these lenders preying on you should be able to get a fresh start.
But they [the banks] said, “No, no, you can’t discharge your debt,” or you can’t discharge it very easily.
Links:
http://www.businessinsider.com/nobel-economist-says-we-have-to-prosecute-fraud-or-else-the-economy-wont-recover-2010-11
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/11/galbraith-white-houses-sole-goal-is-to.html
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