Successful information sharing in law enforcement depends on what information is available. Different roles in law enforcement need various pieces of information related to crime. How and when that information is shared is vital to solving crimes and gathering crime rate statistics. Many police departments are changing the way they manage and share data outside their agency and with other…
An estimated 50 million homes in the United States contain a smart device such as the Amazon Echo or Google Home. Smart devices are only supposed to record the user’s command and the speaker’s response. Once a request is fulfilled, the “listening” stops. Amazon and Google have not publicly disclosed the exact length of time a device continues recording and…
For the past 40 years, the science of neurolaw has been more prevalent in court rooms. Neurolaw is using neuroscience such as MRI and fMRI to look at the brain. When it comes to the courtroom, neuroscience is used to diagnose mental health disorders when it comes to criminal defense and prosecution. One of the first instances of this type…
The new generation of 911 systems incorporate expanded technology to better get help in an emergency. According to the CDC National Center for Health Statistics, 137 million adults in the United States live in homes only with mobile phones. 48 million children also live in homes with only mobile phones without access to a landline phone. As technology and the…
Recent news headlines highlight the creative and effective ways law enforcement agencies are using commercial direct to consumer (DTC) genealogy tests to close decades-old cold cases. By using DTC genealogy testing services, police have been able to identify suspects to several cold cases, most famously the Golden State Killer in 2018. This investigation technique opens the door to potentially solving…
Cops are unique. There are occupations that may face similar stresses (military, firefighting, EMS, first responders), but the job of a police officer stands unique in its own right. The best men and women who take on the vocation of being a police officer understand that it truly is a “calling” and not just a job. A good cop must…
The Kentucky State Police started using a new DNA test in February that law enforcement officials say could completely revolutionize criminal investigations, analyzing the data in under two hours instead of days or weeks. Colorado-based ANDE rapid DNA is offering its quick DNA testing to Kentucky state police for free as part of an ongoing pilot program. Kentucky is the…
During the heyday of L.A.’s gang wars in the late ’90s, crime spilled into the tidy, working-class neighborhoods of this small city in Los Angeles County. Today, some 20 years later, community leaders and residents are able to concern themselves less with crime and more with quality-of-life issues, like the famously congested SoCal traffic. That’s thanks in part to a…
