Posted by Crime Tech Solutions
Gangs are everywhere, it seems.
They’re known and feared across the world. Their nasty reputations are due to the nature of their crimes: arson, murder, drug-trafficking, armed robbery, etc.. But today’s street gangs are less The Wire and more Wired.
In the digital era, gangs are putting an increased amount of focus on white-collar crimes. In April, members of a California gang were convicted of crimes including identity theft and credit card fraud.
In New York, a gang made $1,500,000 in a year running a money order scam. A New Jersey chapter of the Crips manufactured counterfeit gift cards. Florida gangs are stealing identities to file false fax returns.
Diedre Butler, a unit chief at the National Gang Intelligence Center, says gangs are switching to financial crimes because, “the likelihood of being caught is less, the sentences once you are caught are less, and the actual monetary gain is much higher.” Gangs are also using social media such as facebook as recruitment tools, and to present an image of toughness online. Authorities are learning to closely monitor social media for evidence of gang activity.
The merging of gang crime and financial crime poses a problem for police departments who often have separate units for dealing with each type of crime. Police also warn that gangs are still as violent as ever, despite their foray into white-collar crimes, causing the NYPD to take measures such as introducing a Grand Larceny Division.
The world is becoming increasingly digitized, and criminals will always follow the money. In order for law enforcement to fight this new wave of crime they must be proactive and adapt to the modern world.
Crime Tech Solutions is proud to deliver GangBuster™ the industry’s price performance leading gang intelligence software.
All posts by Crime Tech Solutions (www.crimetechsolutions.com)
May 20/16 Five Craziest Crimes of the Week
Enjoy! Here are the five craziest crimes of the week,
courtesy of Newser and Crime Tech Solutions!
(NOTE: Crime Tech Solutions is an Austin, TX based provider of crime and fraud analytics software for commercial and law enforcement groups. We proudly support the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Units (LEIU) and International Association of Crime Analysts (IACA). Our offerings include sophisticated link analysis software, comprehensive crime analytics with mapping and predictive policing, and criminal intelligence database management systems.)
Untweetable: Social Media and Law Enforcement
Posted by Crime Tech Solutions – Your Source for Investigation Software
“I’m addicted to Twitter. My doctor says it’s untweetable” – Norm Macdonald, Comedian.
Social Media has infiltrated every aspect of our lives in a very real way. Friends and family use it to stay connected, businesses use it for advertising and PR and journalists use it to keep the public informed with up-to-the-minute developments.
Whether public or private sector, it seems every organization uses social media to connect to millions of people over services like Facebook or Twitter. But law enforcement is a different beast altogether. How have the police adapted to “always connected” culture we find ourselves living in?
Law enforcement has become as entwined in social media as any other industry. According to the International Association of Chiefs of Police 2013 Social Media Survey, 95.9 percent of police precincts have adopted the use of social media platforms. Some other highlights from the survey include:
- 9 % of agencies surveyed use social media in some capacity.
- The most common use of social media is for criminal investigations at 86.1%.
- 4% of agencies report that social media has helped solve crimes in their jurisdiction.
- 1% of agencies state that social media has improved police-community relations in their jurisdiction.
With over 80 percent of precincts reporting that public outreach via social media can be a crime solving tool, it seems like a match that brings us a great many success stories. It has, however, also been the foundation for many blunders.
In 2014, the NYPD encouraged the people of New York City to take pictures of local law enforcement helping the community and post them to Twitter with the hashtag #myNYPD, but instead twitter was flooded with pictures of police abuse and misconduct as well as jokes at the NYPD’s expense.
Again in 2014, the police in Prince George County, in suburban Washington, DC, announced plans to live-tweet a prostitution sting operation and post names and pictures of those arrested. The idea was unpopular with the public, who expressed their outrage via PGPD’s social media accounts. The police eventually backpedaled on the live-tweeting, and declared the initial threat a success since nobody showed up to hire a prostitute the day of the sting. Perhaps that is a victory in and by itself, but one would assume that prostitution activities returned to normal shortly thereafter.
The problems are not limited to American police departments. In 2014 police in Helsinki, Finland and Salford, England, were accused of victim-blaming over social media.
Our two cents: If law enforcement can use social media as an effective tool to prevent and solve crimes, as well as build rapport with the public, then it is important that they continue do so. It is, however, important for police departments to learn from blunders such as these in order to keep social media working for them. Not against them.
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(NOTE: Crime Tech Solutions is an Austin, TX based provider of crime and fraud analytics software for commercial and law enforcement groups. Our offerings include sophisticated Case Closed™ investigative case management and major case management,GangBuster™ gang intelligence software, powerful link analysis software, evidence management, mobile applications for law enforcement, comprehensive crime analytics with mapping and predictive policing, and 28 CFR Part 23 compliant criminal intelligence database management systems.)
May 13/16 Five Craziest Crimes of the Week
Enjoy! Here are the five craziest crimes of the week, courtesy of Newser and Crime Tech Solutions!
(NOTE: Crime Tech Solutions is an Austin, TX based provider of crime and fraud analytics software for commercial and law enforcement groups. We proudly support the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Units (LEIU) and International Association of Crime Analysts (IACA). Our offerings include sophisticated link analysis software, comprehensive crime analytics with mapping and predictive policing, and criminal intelligence database management systems.)
An Example: Why 28 CFR Part 23 is important
Posted by Crime Tech Solutions
28 CFR Part 23 is a federal guideline that prescribes how criminal intelligence systems should be implemented in order to protect the privacy of all Americans.
Here’s an article out of the UK that illustrates EXACTLY why compliance with criminal intelligence guidelines is important!
Oh, and check out Crime Tech Solution’s 28 CFR Part 23 compliant criminal intelligence system HERE. Powerful criminal intelligence: Secure – Effective – Compliant.
(NOTE: Crime Tech Solutions is an Austin, TX based provider of crime and fraud analytics software for commercial and law enforcement groups. Our offerings include sophisticated Case Closed™ investigative case management and major case management,GangBuster™ gang intelligence software, powerful link analysis software, evidence management, mobile applications for law enforcement, comprehensive crime analytics with mapping and predictive policing, and 28 CFR Part 23 compliant criminal intelligence database management systems.)
PredPol… welcome to the safety state of tomorrow.
Posted by Crime Tech Solutions
Good read in today’s Toronto Star HERE
(Note: Crime Tech Solutions delivers a leading suite of crime-fighting software and analytics. Based in Austin, TX, the company develops and markets powerful intelligence software for predictive policing, crime mapping, link analysis and data visualization, enterprise search tools, and criminal intelligence software)
It's unofficial "Hug A Crime Analyst Day"
Posted by Tyler Wood, Operations Manager at Crime Tech Solutions
Well, if it’s not… it should be.
Crime analysis, or the act of analyzing and observing patterns and trends in crime, has become the new norm in law enforcement, with 85% of American police agencies employing the technique. This coincides with what is now a wide availability of powerful crime analysis software such as link analysis, crime mapping, investigation management, and criminal intelligence tools. Crime analysis has the potential to increase the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies through better collection, structuring and presentation of information.
A crime analyst uses data to explore relationships between instances of crime and related factors (such as location, demographic, time of day, etc…). Powerful crime analysis software now helps crime analysts explore these types of links in ways that previously were seen as overwhelming, taking too many resources, or simply impossible. This data can be used to help law enforcement predict trends in crime and even take steps to prevent it.
Crime analysis can take many forms, from more detailed data collection (made possible by the ability to more effectively analyze larger amounts of information), to developing more effective law enforcement solutions (such as focusing effort on crime “hot spots”), to long-term strategic optimization and redistribution of resources. Whatever form it takes, powerful technology is becoming increasingly important in the 21st Century’s fight against crime. That technology in the hands of specialized and well-trained crime analysts is a lethal weapon against crime and fraud.
So, if you see your crime analyst today… give them some love!
(NOTE: Crime Tech Solutions is an Austin, TX based provider of crime and fraud analytics software for commercial and law enforcement groups. We proudly support the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Units (LEIU) and International Association of Crime Analysts (IACA). Our offerings include sophisticated link analysis software, comprehensive crime analytics with mapping and predictive policing, and criminal intelligence database management systems.)
May 6/16 Five Craziest Crimes of the Week
Enjoy! Here are the five craziest crimes of the week, courtesy of Newser and Crime Tech Solutions!
(NOTE: Crime Tech Solutions is an Austin, TX based provider of crime and fraud analytics software for commercial and law enforcement groups. We proudly support the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Units (LEIU) and International Association of Crime Analysts (IACA). Our offerings include sophisticated link analysis software, comprehensive crime analytics with mapping and predictive policing, and criminal intelligence database management systems.)
Does Predictive Policing Actually Work?
Posted by Crime Tech Solutions – Your Source for Investigation Software.
An interesting read on predictive policing if you can stomach the blatant vendor sales pitch.
Read it HERE
(NOTE: Crime Tech Solutions is an Austin, TX based provider of crime and fraud analytics software for commercial and law enforcement groups. We proudly support the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Units (LEIU) and International Association of Crime Analysts (IACA). Our offerings include sophisticated link analysis software, comprehensive crime analytics with mapping and predictive policing, and criminal intelligence database management systems.)
April 29/16 Five Craziest Crimes of the Week
Enjoy! Here are the five craziest crimes of the week, courtesy of Newser and Crime Tech Solutions!
(NOTE: Crime Tech Solutions is an Austin, TX based provider of crime and fraud analytics software for commercial and law enforcement groups. We proudly support the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Units (LEIU) and International Association of Crime Analysts (IACA). Our offerings include sophisticated link analysis software, comprehensive crime analytics with mapping and predictive policing, and criminal intelligence database management systems.)