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GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- In the face of increased gun violence and homicides, Grand Rapids is looking to upgrade its technological support.

Police department leadership and city officials are exploring whether or not to pursue the use of drones and ShotSpotter systems to reduce response time for incidents of violence and other emergencies.

The city hasnt made any decisions regarding additional technology, but police leaders and city officials are beginning the discussions. That included an introductory conversation with the public safety committee Tuesday, Dec. 17, at City Hall.

ShotSpotter is a technology that uses about 20 acoustic sensors per square mile to detect gunfire, determine where it came from, and notify police in less than 45 seconds. The system can send data to police including a precise location on a map, number of rounds fired and type of gunfire.

ShotSpotter is used in more than 85 cities across the country and is used as a component to prevent and reduce gun violence. It allows officers to respond to shootings without waiting on someone in the community to call it in.

This isnt the first time Grand Rapids has considered acquiring ShotSpotter. In April 2015, the city considered a $1.2 million, 4-year deployment plan but put off voting on it.

Then-commissioner Dave Shaffer said he preferred using that money to hire more police officers. Ofc. Andy Bingel, president of the police officers union, called the technology a money pit and said adding officers was a higher priority.

Since then, City Manager Mark Washington and multiple city commissioners have expressed interest in reconsidering the technology. The Rev. Jerry Bishop, pastor for a church on the citys Southeast Side, has also been a vocal advocate of ShotSpotter.

We are looking at policy and we would work with the community to develop it, said Police Chief Eric Payne. Ive had discussions about this concept ... for the most part, its been positive. People have raised the concerns that I feel we could address to the satisfaction of the community and the commission.

Cities including New York, Denver, Sacramento, Fresno, San Diego and Louisville reported that a significant number of ShotSpotter alerts did not have an associated 911 call, meaning officers would likely not have known about the gunfire without the technology.

In Fresno, police response time from a ShotSpotter alert was four minutes, compared to the eight-minute response to a citizen 911 call, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer reported to ShotSpotter.

On Tuesday, Deputy Chief David Kiddle said cities that have been using ShotSpotter have seen significant reductions in gunfire.

The technology is estimated to cost about $65,000 per square mile per year.

The city manager asked that we bring it up and were looking at it, Kiddle said. We would get community feedback, which last time we failed to do sufficiently.

Most of Tuesdays technology discussion revolved around acquiring drones, which can be used for first response, tactical incidents, traffic crash investigation and crime scene investigation.

The highest priority, Kiddle said, would be first response. He cited the only other police department using drones for such -- Chula Vista, California -- as an example for the value of considering drones.

Of the 1,144 calls in which the drone was sent out as a first responder between Oct 22, 2018 and Dec. 3, 2019:

Im hoping to bring this presentation to the committee of the whole with a policy, Kiddle said. I know itll be controversial. We want to work with the community to see how we can use drones effectively within guidelines.

In Chula Vista, the police department has an individual who controls the drone. It is only deployed following a 911 call, and doesnt record until it reaches the scene, according to police.

Here are some examples of the benefits Chula Vista has seen with its drone program:

The Grand Rapids Police Department hopes to have public discussions about the technology, with the goal of initiating a pilot program by spring 2020.

Kiddle said Motorola would be interested in sponsoring the pilot program at no cost to the city. He said the drones typically cost a couple thousand dollars but he didnt know the cost of the software.

City commissioners on the public safety committee who heard Tuesdays presentation include Joe Jones, Nate Moody and Kurt Reppart, as well as commissioner-to-be Milinda Ysasi.

Reppart said he pulled a group of residents together to talk about the technology. He was surprised how open they were to certain aspects, but said they were concerned about a slippery slope regarding the use of drones once the department adds them to its arsenal.

See the article here:
Drones, ShotSpotter to be considered by Grand Rapids police - MLive.com

A reporter caught her boyfriend cheating because of his Fitbit. Her viral story had many others sympathizing.

Fitbit and other fitness tracking devices are increasing the ways criminal investigators and even those outside criminallaw enforcement can gather information about a persons activities.

NFL Network reporter Jane Slater explained in a Dec. 5 tweet how she realized her ex-boyfriend was cheating on her after his activity levels had climbed at 4 a.m. She noticed the odd activity because the pair had synced their Fitbit accounts as a way to motivate each other, she said.

Fitness tracking devices have expanded their capabilities far beyond just counting steps, with newer models now monitoring more detailedmovement and activity, as well as GPS tracking.And outside of the realm of fitness, the devices can be used for more than catching cheating spouses.

This digital DNA is no different albeit more technical than the everyday evidence gathering involved in a crime scene investigation, explained Philip Rosenthal, a veteran private investigator and vice president of Israel-based computer forensics company Bis-Tec Technologies.

He described a crime scene in the aftermath of a burglary: Investigators atthe scene, he explained, are trying to find the evidence that would place a particular person in that office, by getting either their DNA or fingerprints or some other physical evidence to put them at the time and place inside that location. Digital forensics is no different its just that we're looking for digital DNA or fingerprints.

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In other cases often handled by police or investigators,the Fitbit or another fitness tracking device could be usedto determinewhen someones heart had stopped beating, indicating his or her likely time of death.

The data is recorded through cell towers and satellite technology, which links one person to another based on his or her locations,digital forensics expert Thomas Yohannan told FOX Business.

Movement and location are probably the biggest two things that these devices could do, Yohannan said.

Fitbit, which recently announced plans to be acquired by Google, provides some of the most accurate data out of the fitness tracking gadgets on the market, he said.

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The FBI used the data tracked from Mollie Tibbetts Fitbit after the 20-year-old went missing in the summer of 2018, in the hopes of learning more about where she was and whom she saw before she disappeared, CBS reported at the time.

In any criminal case, investigators can not only show a person was in this area, but they could also actually show that person was close to someone else, Yohannan said.

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The location tracking capability, however, is not unique to Fitbit, he added.

That doesn't always have to happen through just Fitbit or smartwatches, he said. You could do it also if a person has a Fitbit and another person has an ankle bracelet because they are under house arrest, you could say ... there's an interaction, just in terms of technology, between just different devices that could say here's the location of that person.

While the data does not provide any immediate solutions to a crime, it provides law enforcement an understanding of where someone was at some point in time, he said.

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You have to help understand the context What time is it? All those things that law enforcement has to do in order to create the context, Yohannan said. It's not giving you a final solution. It's just giving you an understanding.

Read this article:
Fitbit devices being used in criminal cases, to catch cheating spouses - Fox Business

Written by Varinder Bhatia, Edited by Explained Desk | Chandigarh | Updated: December 13, 2019 7:29:11 am Haryana Police claims it is the countrys first police force to have introduced this unique barcoding for forensic reports. (AP/Representational Image)

Haryana Police has adopted a unique barcoding software Trakea to ensure that thousands of forensic reports that form the backbone of the criminal investigation system and subsequent trials in the courts of law, are not tampered with.

According to the police, Trakea ensures foolproof security of the samples collected from the scene of crime, and the forensic analysis reports, and is different from traditional methods that the state police force has been following for decades.

Haryana Police claims it is the countrys first police force to have introduced this unique barcoding for forensic reports.

The software was originally designed by a prisoner who was lodged in Bhondsi jail for 13 months. A software engineer by profession, the man was facing charges of having murdered his wife, but was ultimately acquitted by the trial court.

In the 13 months that he spent in jail, however, the man worked on the software, writing algorithms and, once out of jail, became the source for Haryana Police acquire his creation. The software was adopted after certain modifications to suit the specific requirements of the Haryana Police.

The same software engineer had earlier designed a software digitising data pertaining to prison inmates and prison operations across all 19 jails of Haryana.

Trakea is aimed at ensuring security and a tamperproof tracking system for forensic reports. It streamlines the functioning of Forensic Science Laboratories.

Essentially, it is a forensic evidence management system that helps in automation of the entire procedure, right from the stage when forensic experts collect vital samples from the scene of crime to conducting analysis of the samples, followed by tracking casewise forensic reports electronically through barcodes.

Even the selection of forensic teams is done randomly through this software.

The system includes features of two-stage barcoding to maintain the secrecy of the samples, sent along with a strong, unbroken biometrically authenticated chain of custody trial, coupled with features to eliminate chances of pick-and-choose by automated case allocation to the scientists, followed by report-generation and real-time tracking of the status of cases through automated e-mail and SMS notifications.

Due to the unique barcoding, only the authorised investigating officers and forensic science experts shall be able to track the crime exhibits and scientific examination reports, reducing the chances of tampering/leakage of the report at any stage.

Also, there will be no case details mentioned on the crime exhibits/samples/parcels except the unique bar code, that can only be read through the biometric system.

Additional Director General of Police Shrikant Jadhav, who is Director, FSL, Madhuban, Karnal, Haryana said: In India, this system is the first of its kind implemented by any police force and FSL, from police station level to Forensic Science Laboratory, without disclosing details such as FIR number, name of parties etc., which could be used by miscreants to track the samples to influence the scientists or tamper with the examination reports at the forensic laboratories.

The roadmap for the future includes the expansion of the software on an app-based android platform for real-time online reporting of crime scene investigation visits by officers of mobile forensic science units of the Forensic Sciences Laboratory posted in each district, and its integration with the judicial system to reduce time lags and the chances of malpractices even at later stages.

Using this software, the judiciary too will be able to track the forensic examination report during the trial, significantly cutting down on delays.

As per the conventional practice all over the country, the crime exhibits (samples/parcels) are labeled with complete details, including the case FIR number; the police station; and the names and addresses of the victim, accused, medical officers, etc. With these details available, the crime exhibits can be easily traced and tracked by virtually anyone.

The crime exhibits could include DNA samples, documents, and reports of ballistics examinations, serology, biology, toxicology, lie-detection, etc. From the time the sample is collected to the time when forensic experts draw their final conclusion, there are multiple stages where the accused can use their influence to tamper with the sample in order to get a favourable forensic report.

Dont miss from Explained: How does an e-plane work, and how far is the world from flying fully electric?

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Explained: What is Trakea, used by Haryana Police to make forensic reports tamper-proof? - The Indian Express

A man was killed and another is in custody in a shooting in Stony Point, said Alexander County Sheriff Chris Bowman.

Bowman stated in a news release that a call was received at 12:32 p.m. Tuesday regarding a shooting at a home on Spring Pointe Drive. Deputies arrived and found a man with several gunshot wounds to the chest area, Bowman said. The male was pronounced dead at the scene by Alexander County EMS.

Bowman said deputies located 39-year-old Joshua Lee Branch, of Stony Point, at the scene of the shooting. He was detained, taken to the sheriff's office and charged with murder.

Bowman did not release the name of the victim, but did say the investigation is ongoing.

Earlier in the day, around 3:30 p.m., off a remote road in the 700 block of Spring Pointe Drive, roughly two miles away from the Iredell and Alexander county line, authorities worked in the front yard of the home. Several patrol cars and a crime scene investigation van were also parked in the driveway.

A photo of Branch and his bond amount were not immediately available.

Read more from the original source:
Stony Point man charged with murder; investigation into shooting ongoing - Statesville Record & Landmark

By: Ross Fodera

ARLINGTON, MA In 2016, the Arlington Police Department searched for a way to involve the community in what really happens in the daily life of an officer in their town. This led Captain James Curran to find the funding to revive a program from the early 2000s. The Citizens Police Academy (CPA) is a rising trend around the country. This program also exists in Texas, Kansas, and Georgia, among other states, along with cities and towns of Watertown, Springfield and Hingham right here in Massachusetts. Local police stations are encouraging their residents to participate in a program tailored to explain the basic operations of the department.

Anyone over the age of eighteen can apply to this twenty-student program each year, which takes place over nine weeks in the fall and concludes with a graduation ceremony. Each class is hosted at the station on Thursday nights from 6 9 PM, and the application is due by mid-August. There is no entry fee to apply or cost for the classes themselves. However, because of the high volume of applicants, the class is limited to Arlington residents.

Each week, the class tackles different topics in police education, ranging from their K-9 unit to crime scene investigation. Participants get a behind-the-scenes look at the 911 operators for the town, the cell block, and a tour of the entire station.

Subjects covered include:

These classes provide much more interactivity than mere lectures. The program allows its participants to explore the daily life of a police officer through ride-alongs that show what is involved in routine traffic stops. The notorious climax of the course is a visit to Camp Curtis Guild National Guard Reservation, where participants get to access the Reading Police Academy simulator and use a fake gun to experience real-life situations officers may face in the field.

Lt. Brendan Kiernan, a CPA supervisor, describes some of the core elements of the program, We go through what the detectives do, going to court, what the patrol officer does on the street, how responding to calls work, we do dispatch and what they do on a daily and nightly basis as far as answering calls and what their role is in the department.

If youre an Arlington resident and interested in law enforcement, dont miss out on this opportunity, as well as other programs offered by the Arlington Police Department, such as the R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense) program for females, a nationwide offering that APD does particularly well.

More:
Arlington Police Educate Community on Police in their Town - Arlington Public News