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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:24 pm
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5 results foundAuthor: Casady, Tom K. Title: A Randomized-Trial Evaluation of a Law Enforcement Application for Smartphones and Laptops that Uses GIS and Location-Based Services to Pinpoint Persons-of-Interest Summary: This report summarizes a project that developed, implemented, and evaluated a GIS-enabled application that dynamically identifies the location of persons of interest, such as gang members, sex offenders, parolees, and so on. The application, called P3i, is designed for use by law enforcement officers. P3i pushes the location data to officers' smartphones, tablets, and MDT (mobile display terminal)/laptops. A randomized evaluation was conducted with the Lincoln (Nebraska) Police Department (LPD). Officers (N = 90) were randomly assigned to one of five GPS-enabled devices or a no-P3i, control condition. Over a six-month period, 75 treatment officers were compared to the 15 control officers on a variety of productivity measures as well as to officers' prior year's performance. Measures included citation arrests, warrant arrests, and information reports. We also collected self-report data from surveys asking officers about the duration, frequency, and intensity of their use of the technology. Analyses provide some evidence that officers who used the P3i application on GPS-enabled devices were more productive than controls and more productive than they had been during the prior year. Follow-up analyses suggested a variety of individual difference factors (e.g., high performance officers in 2011, low performance officers in 2010, males) also were correlated with increases in productivity. In focus group discussions with a subset of the officers in the study, the officers expressed great enthusiasm for the P3i application and their use of new mobile technologies in general. The officers had many suggestions for improvements and provided insights into how they specifically used their devices and P3i. A cost-benefit analysis suggested that implementation of the device results in a savings of around $800 per officer, assuming a five-year device life and 7% interest rate. Additional assumptions considering different economic and technical scenarios were also developed and reported, but the results remained basically positive except for iPads, only have positive net benefits when there are no usage costs, while other devices have positive net benefits in almost all cases. In order to better understand officer adoption of P3i as well as their use of smartphones and tablets for work purposes, the project also examined what might account for the use of technology. Consistent with other studies, we found performance expectancy, a belief that the application would aid the participant in the performance of his or her duties, had the primary, significant effect on P3i usage. Thus, this study supports the position that if technology is made available, and officers have a reasonable expectation that it will help them in their work, they will utilize the technology. Further, if that technology actually can help them in their efforts, it is likely that the increase in productivity can be measured and captured. Our project also shows, however, that it may be difficult to find sensitive measures that will capture increases in productivity. One problem that can be anticipated is that outcomes are multi-determined, and thus it can be difficult to find measures that will be sensitive to positive impacts because of the multiple causes for the effects in which we are interested. Details: Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2015. 96p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 9, 2015 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/248593.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/248593.pdf Shelf Number: 134761 Keywords: ComputersCost-Benefit AnalysisGeographical Information Systems (GID)Police Technology (U.S.)Smartphones |
Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office Title: Smartphone Data: Information and Issues Regarding Surreptitious Tracking Apps That Can Facilitate Stalking Summary: GAO found that the majority of the reviewed websites for smartphone tracking applications (apps) marketed their products to parents or employers to track the location of their children or employees, respectively, or to monitor them in other ways, such as intercepting their smartphone communications. Several tracking apps were marketed to individuals for the purpose of tracking or intercepting the communications of an intimate partner to determine if that partner was cheating. About one-third of the websites marketed their tracking apps as surreptitious, specifically to track the location and intercept the smartphone communications of children, employees, or intimate partners without their knowledge or consent. The key concerns of the stakeholders with whom GAO spoke-including domestic violence groups, privacy groups, and academics-were questions about: (1) the applicability of current federal laws to the manufacture, sale, and use of surreptitious tracking apps; (2) the limited enforcement of current laws; and (3) the need for additional education about tracking apps. GAO found that some federal laws apply or potentially apply to smartphone tracking apps, particularly those that surreptitiously intercept communications such as e-mails or texts, but may not apply to some instances involving surreptitiously tracking location. Statutes that may be applicable to surreptitious tracking apps, depending on the circumstances of their sale or use, are statutes related to wiretapping, unfair or deceptive trade practices, computer fraud, and stalking. Stakeholders also expressed concerns over what they perceived to be limited enforcement of laws related to tracking apps and stalking. Some of these stakeholders believed it was important to prosecute companies that manufacture surreptitious tracking apps and market them for the purpose of spying. Domestic violence groups stated that additional education of law enforcement officials and consumers about how to protect against, detect, and remove tracking apps is needed. The federal government has undertaken educational, enforcement, and legislative efforts to protect individuals from the use of surreptitious tracking apps, but stakeholders differed over whether current federal laws need to be strengthened to combat stalking. Educational efforts by the Department of Justice (DOJ) have included funding for the Stalking Resource Center, which trains law enforcement officers, victim service professionals, policymakers, and researchers on the use of technology in stalking. With regard to enforcement, DOJ has prosecuted a manufacturer and an individual under the federal wiretap statute for the manufacture or use of a surreptitious tracking app. Some stakeholders believed the federal wiretap statute should be amended to explicitly include the interception of location data and DOJ has proposed amending the statute to allow for the forfeiture of proceeds from the sale of smartphone tracking apps and to make the sale of such apps a predicate offense for money laundering. Stakeholders differed in their opinions on the applicability and strengths of the relevant federal laws and the need for legislative action. Some industry stakeholders were concerned that legislative actions could be overly broad and harm legitimate uses of tracking apps. However, stakeholders generally agreed that location data can be highly personal information and are deserving of privacy protections. Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2016. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 16, 2016 at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/676738.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/676738.pdf Shelf Number: 139047 Keywords: Domestic ViolenceOnline CommunicationsSmartphonesStalkingViolence Against Women |
Author: Irwin-Rogers, Keir Title: Social Media as a Catalyst and Trigger for Youth Violence Summary: Social media now plays a central role in the lives of young people in the UK, with the vast majority of teenagers using smartphones and tablets to access online platforms throughout their waking hours. The integration of social media into the daily lives of young people has left online - offline boundaries increasingly blurred. Whilst online activity offers huge potential to enhance the quantity and quality of communication between people across the world, it also raises some serious challenges. This report focuses on one of these challenges, namely, the links between young people's use of social media and youth violence. Whilst social media platforms are being used to glamorise, display and incite serious acts of violence, this content currently drifts under the radar of responsible adults and organisations which have the potential to respond to and challenge this behaviour. The report makes for uncomfortable reading, particularly for those who work with young people and recognise the daily challenges that many face. The attitudes and behaviour of the young people discussed in this report must be viewed within the wider social and economic context of their lives. Many will have grown up in areas of socioeconomic deprivation, may be struggling to cope with serious issues around trauma stemming from early childhood experiences and are therefore exhibiting attitudes and behaviours that are tragically understandable when considered in this context. All of the findings presented in this report are intended to be read in light of the above. By highlighting the ways in which social media is acting as a catalyst and trigger for serious incidents of violence between young people in real life, the report provides a springboard for action and collaborative exchanges between a full range of stakeholders as we move forward. It identifies a number of measures aimed at preventing young people harming, and being harmed by, other young people as a result of activity on social media. Its recommendations, however, should not be taken as a fixed blueprint, but as a means of kick-starting the development of appropriate and effective policy and practice in this area. 1.1 Key findings - No holds barred online: Because social media is commonly perceived to be hidden from adults, a virtual free-for-all space has emerged in which a small minority of young people share various forms of material that both display and incite serious incidents of violence in real life. - Impact of the smartphone: Whilst some of the online activities discussed in this report have been occurring for several years, they now pose far greater challenges because of the recent developments in smartphone technology, which have radically altered both the nature and prevalence of young people's use of social media. - Growing audience: By collapsing time and space, social media platforms are providing young people with unprecedented opportunities to disrespect one another. Before the advent of these platforms, incidents of violence, disrespect and provocation were typically confined to relatively small audiences, as well as a single location and point in time. Now, however, visceral displays of violence and disrespect are being captured via photographs and videos, and may be replayed at any time as the content spreads virally over multiple platforms. In addition, the enhanced audience size facilitated by social media makes violent retaliation more likely because of the unprecedented potential for disrespectful online activity to undermine young people's perceived status and reputation. - Threats and provocation in music videos: Young people and professionals reported concerns around what they referred to as drill music videos, which threaten and provoke individuals and groups from rival areas. A clear distinction must be made between the vast majority of music videos that simply provide a raw reflection of the realities of young people's lives (content that does not provoke real-life violence), and a much smaller number of videos that go well beyond this, through displays of young people brandishing weapons, incendiary remarks about recent incidents of young people being seriously injured and killed, and explicit threats to stab or shoot specific individuals and members of rival groups. - Violent intent is the exception rather than the norm: It is important to highlight that the vast majority of young people do not want to live the violent and risky lifestyles that are being glamorised in drill music videos. Many attempt to launch careers as music artists as a means of escaping life 'on road'. In addition, these videos should not be seen as a root cause of youth violence. According to young people and professionals, however, they are acting as a catalyst and trigger for serious incidents of face-to-face violence between young people. - Daily exposure to online violence: A small minority of young people are exposed daily to social media content that displays or incites serious violence in real life. This includes uploads of photos and videos of individuals and groups trespassing into areas associated with rival groups, and serious incidents of theft and violence perpetrated against young people. Some of the latter are being taken within prison settings 5 and broadcast live over social media by prisoners with access to smartphones. Some social media accounts are dedicated entirely to archiving and sharing material that displays young people being seriously harmed, disrespected and humiliated. - Social pressures: When young people are disrespected by content uploaded to social media, this can generate significant social pressure to retaliate in real life to protect their perceived status and reputation. Moreover, when young people witness graphic displays of real-life violence involving their friends and family, this can leave them suffering from significant levels of anxiety and trauma. Those who initially upload the content disrespecting a particular individual or group become prone to retaliatory acts of serious violence and theft, which in turn are often recorded and broadcast over social media, creating a vicious cycle of retaliation. - Vulnerability of young women: Professionals and young people reported cases of girls being violently attacked and sexually assaulted by members of rival groups after appearing in content uploaded online. In addition, professionals described cases in which young women who commented on content uploaded to social media were subsequently groomed and pressured into risky activities such as holding and storing weapons or drugs. - Negative implications for education and employment: The social media accounts of some people who self-identify as being part of a street gang are being followed by tens of thousands of young people. This continuous lens into a seemingly seductive and lucrative lifestyle that glamorises violence and the pursuit of money through illegal activities such as drug distribution further undermines the commitment of some young people to education and legitimate forms of employment. Details: London: Catch22, 2017. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 6, 2017 at: http://eugangs.eu/pdf/05012017/Catch22-Report.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://eugangs.eu/pdf/05012017/Catch22-Report.pdf Shelf Number: 146029 Keywords: Media ViolenceOnline VictimizationSmartphonesSocial MediaViolenceViolent CrimeYouth Violence |
Author: Berghuis, Bert Title: Declining Juvenile Crime: Explanations for the International Downturn Summary: The Netherlands registered youth crime figures show a spectacular downward trend from 2007 (minus 60%). This decrease can be seen amongst girls and boys, and also amongst ethnic minorities and the native Dutch. This trend can also be observed in a lot of other countries. It is striking that also in international terms youth crime has been capped. A strikingly similar picture is apparent to the one in the Netherlands. The level of the available evidence of the decrease in youth crime in a large number of different countries means that the possibility of a coincidental development occurring at the same time is extremely small, and hence there must be a causal connection. It seems that a number of international developments created a climate favorable for juvenile crime reduction: more (techno)prevention, less use of alcohol, more commitment to schooling, more satisfaction with living conditions, and the use of time. For The Netherlands this goes together with an diminished willingness of the Dutch police to follow up on suspicions that a youngster committed a minor offense. However, the real trigger for the freefall of youth crime seems to be the extensive worldwide dissemination of smartphones and online-games that started in 2006/7. This led to a lot of free time spent 'looking at screens' and not being present on the street and public space. So the main factor responsible for the fall in youth crime can be found in the use of free time and a different role and influence of peer groups. Details: Brussels, Belgium: European Union, 2018. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 16, 2019 at: https://eucpn.org/document/declining-juvenile-crime-explanations-international-downturn-0 Year: 2017 Country: International URL: https://eucpn.org/sites/default/files/content/download/files/54._declining_juvenile_crime_-_explanations_for_the_international_downturn__0.pdf Shelf Number: 154228 Keywords: Crime TrendsJuvenile CrimeSmartphonesYouth Crime |
Author: Carter, William A. Title: Low-Hanging Fruit: Evidence-Based Solutions to the Digital Evidence Challenge Summary: Executive Summary The growth of digital technologies and the rise of mobile computing over the past decade have created new opportunities and new challenges for law enforcement. On one hand, the proliferation of digital communications, digital storage devices, and ubiquitous connectivity has made more information available than ever before on the movements, conversations, and behavior of people. On the other hand, rapidly changing technologies, shifts in terms of who controls the data, adoption of sophisticated anonymity and obfuscation tools, and jurisdictional uncertainty create new and critical challenges for the detection, surveillance, and attribution of criminal activity. In fact, survey findings indicate that law enforcement officials across federal, state, and local entities encounter difficulties in effectively accessing, analyzing, and utilizing digital evidence in over one-third of their cases that involve digital evidence - a problem that is likely to grow over time absent national attention to this problem. The purpose of this report is to focus attention on a range of too-often neglected challenges and opportunities faced by law enforcement as they seek to access and use digital evidence in their cases. Recently, most of the discussions have focused on encryption: to what extent, and in what circumstances, if any, should one be compelled to facilitate access to encrypted communications or otherwise inaccessible devices? But the obstacles posed by encryption are just one aspect of the challenge in accessing digital evidence, albeit an important one. In many investigations, a range of data is potentially accessible to law enforcement pursuant to lawful means. For a variety of reasons, however, law enforcement officials often face significant obstacles in being able to access, decipher, or otherwise use that data, even when they have the legal authority to do so. Our survey of federal, state, and local law enforcement officials suggests that challenges in accessing data from service providers - much of which is not encrypted - is the biggest problem that they currently face in terms of their ability to use digital evidence in their cases. Specifically, the inability to effectively identify which service providers have access to relevant data was ranked as the number-one obstacle in being able to effectively use digital evidence in particular cases. Difficulties in obtaining sought-after data from these providers was ranked as a close second. These challenges ranked significantly higher than any other challenges - including challenges associated with accessing data from devices or interpreting the data that has been obtained. This is an issue that has received relatively little attention and resources, and certainly not enough compared to the need. The sole federal entity with an explicit mission to facilitate more efficient cooperation between law enforcement and industry - the National Domestic Communications Assistance Center (NDCAC) - has a budget of $11.4 million, spread among several different programs designed to distribute knowledge about service providers policies and products, develop and share technical tools, and train law enforcement on new services and technologies, among other initiatives. Another important digital evidence training center - the National Computer Forensic Institute, run by the Secret Service - has to fight each year for adequate appropriations. This year it was awarded $18.9 million, enough for it to train approximately 1,200 students. If fully funded, it could train over 3,000 students per year. An array of federal and state training centers, crime labs, and other efforts have been developed to help fill the gaps, but they are able to fill only a fraction of the need. Meanwhile, there is no central entity responsible for monitoring these efforts, taking stock of the demand, and filling the gaps. Nor is there any central entity responsible for the range of other, related policy concerns that have emerged and will undoubtedly continue to do so. The good news is that these are problems that can be solved, or at the very least much better managed than they are now. This will require a national commitment, adequate resourcing, and a shift in policy. The costs are moderate and the payoffs likely large. To fill these needs, this report calls for a new National Digital Evidence Policy, to be spearheaded by a National Digital Evidence Office that will have the responsibility for overseeing and coordinating the many efforts to fill the gaps. This office should, among other things, work with federal, state, and local law enforcement to track trends and challenges, and work with the other existing entities and individuals focused on these issues to improve law enforcement access to digital evidence, consistent with civil liberties. It should, for example, facilitate improved cooperation with service providers and help disseminate knowledge and analytical tools that can assist law enforcement in deciphering data that has been disclosed. And it should promote greater transparency about the nation's digital evidence policies and programs, ensure that new initiatives are being conducted in a manner consistent with privacy and civil liberties, and make recommendations with respect to new legal authorities and policy changes that are needed or being pursued. The report further calls for the authorization and adequate resourcing of NDCAC or an equivalent entity to serve as a training and technical support center within this new office. Building on NDCAC's current mission, this support center would conduct and develop both in-person and online trainings; collect and disseminate knowledge about provider policies and products; educate law enforcement about how to submit lawful and appropriately tailored requests for data; develop and maintain technical tools for analyzing lawfully obtained digital evidence; and disseminate these tools to appropriately trained law enforcement personnel around the country. Put simply, the current model - pursuant to which each and every office is largely expected to develop and maintain its own expertise - is not sustainable. Even with an extraordinary increase in funding and training, it is not practical or possible for every one of the thousands of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies across the country to have, within their own department, adequate access to all of the resources and expertise needed. In fact, more than half of those surveyed stated that they lacked sufficient internal resources to handle digital evidence - a problem that is likely to grow as more and more information becomes digitalized. It is possible, however, to effectively train agents and other relevant officials as to when expert advice or technical assistance is needed and where to go to seek it - so long as the training and expert assistance is widely available. In support of these efforts, the report also calls for the creation of an expert advisory board, comprised of experts from law enforcement, industry, and members of civil society, to advise the National Digital Evidence Office in a consultative role. This will facilitate better policies with broad multi-stakeholder support, foster the kinds of conversations and interactions needed to build trust (if not agreement) between parties, ensure a full range of perspectives are considered, and provide a venue for providers and other outside voices to raise concerns and/or push for policy changes. Importantly, any workable solution will require renewed efforts by both law enforcement and the private companies that manage and hold data of interest. This report thus calls on tech companies that manage, store, and have access to data to do more as well. Specifically, the tech companies should commit to maintaining up-to-date law enforcement guidance, and better educating law enforcement on how their systems work and the kinds of data available, so as to avoid situations in which law enforcement has to guess what to ask for. This will in turn facilitate the submission of better and more tailored data requests from law enforcement, thereby eliminating a major source of concern on both sides of the process. The report further calls on providers to maintain, and, if applicable, develop, online mechanisms through which law enforcement can make lawful requests for data; to commit to fast response times for emergency requests; and to ensure that there is a human being for law enforcement to speak with in the event of emergency. Providers should also commit to continued transparency about the nature and volume of requests, to challenge what they perceive to be overbroad or unlawful demands for data that they might receive, and to report trends of concern to the National Digital Evidence Office, via input to the expert advisory board or otherwise. None of this is meant to replace the excellent work already underway in parts of the Department of Justice, across federal and district attorneys' offices, at federal and state crime labs, and in various other centers of excellence around the country. Nor is it meant to displace the efforts already underway by providers that have developed online portals to facilitate law enforcement access, make guides available to law enforcement, provide trainings, and engage in transparency reporting regarding law enforcement requests for data. But both survey results and interviews suggest that there is more to be done. A National Digital Evidence Office would build on, elevate the prominence of, and ensure adequate resourcing for the successful initiatives already underway, and also help to ensure that training and technical assistance is provided not just to those that already receive it, but across the many federal, state, and local offices where the need arises. Continued and increased engagement by tech companies would help ensure that law enforcement knows where to go to request particular data, the range of data available, and how to appropriately tailor their requests. Moreover, there is a clear need for best practices and industry standards that new entrants to the market and smaller-scale providers can adopt as well. Some of these steps will take longer to achieve. It will, no doubt, take some time and effort to authorize and set up a new National Digital Evidence Office. But there are a number of steps that can and should be taken immediately. The Department of Justice can and should set up an internal national digital evidence coordinating body to fill the important policy and oversight needs. Congress can and should adequately resource NDCAC to serve the training and technical roles that already fall within its mission. The many excellent training centers that already exist should also be fully funded and should expand their mission to reach a wider set of students and address a wider set of issues. Providers can and should also take voluntary steps to better facilitate access and tailored requests, consistent with the law and the need to protect privacy and civil liberties. The remainder of the report draws on survey results and a broad range of interviews to provide a detailed accounting and analysis of the four key areas of this report's focus: resource constraints, training programs, cooperation with service providers, and related legal and policy issues. Part II provides a detailed set of recommendations; part III provides conclusions. Details: Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2018. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 16, 2019 at: https://www.csis.org/analysis/low-hanging-fruit-evidence-based-solutions-digital-evidence-challenge Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/publication/180724_Carter_Digital_Evidence_FINAL.pdf?IwEUbeNl2632hDj.KIuMqJ_x0RBR_HI4 Shelf Number: 154224 Keywords: Cell PhonesDigital CommunicationsDigital EvidenceDigital TechnologiesEncryptionLaw EnforcementSmartphones |