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All posts by Crime Tech Solutions (www.crimetechsolutions.com)

crime analysis, law enforcement software

Gang Database leads to Arrest

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2017-04-17-image-2El Paso, TX – Gang investigators were told a suspect in surveillance footage matched the description of “Flaco”, a known gang member in the area.
A search of a gang database identified “Flaco” as 32 year old Fidel Trevino, a court document states.

See the original story HERE at kvia.com
Crime Tech Solutions develops and markets the industry leading GangBuster™ gang tracking software for law enforcement. The company offers a suite of crime-fighting software including case management, link analysis, criminal intelligence management, and advanced crime analytics.

crime analysis, SaaS

The Sunny Side of Cloud-Based Solutions

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shutterstock-cloud-computingCloud computing for law enforcement, in simple terms, refers to software hosted off-agency and available to the user through their internet connection. This type of software-as-a-service, or “SaaS” offers several advantages over software that is hosted locally on the user’s hardware.

 Computer hardware is always being tweaked and improved upon, and state-of-the-art equipment can become obsolete extremely quickly in this environment. Many vital pieces of software that law enforcement rely on can be extremely demanding of hardware resources. With cloud-based software solutions, the software and the hardware required to run it are maintained offsite. The agency users simply access the software through an internet browser on a computer or smart phone, and have access to all the functionality of the software with none of the costs or hassle involved in hosting locally. These costs also include maintenance and security. 

Cloud-based solutions such as Case Closed Cloud also allow for software to be more portable, as the software can be easily and readily accessed by any user with a smart phone. In addition, compatibility across platforms becomes less of an issue, as the software only needs an internet browser to function. This means law enforcement officials can seamlessly move from using a MacBook at work, to their Windows Phone at lunch, to a Linux based PC at home, without having three separate installs with varying functionality. 

cloud-computing-benefitThere are some things to look out for. While having software and hardware off-site offers great advantages, it’s important to note that data is hosted off-site as well. It’s important to carefully navigate the terms of use and make certain that the agency is not signing away the rights to important, classified, or proprietary data. 

Still, the major advantages of cloud-based software make it a powerful and very accessible tool for law enforcement. The simplicity and ease of access are defining characteristics of the cloud-based revolution.

crime analysis, Investigation Software, law enforcement software, SaaS

The Case for Software as a Service in Law Enforcement

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Police officers protesting against budget cuts join public sector workers striking over pensionsState and local law enforcement agencies face a growing number of challenges due to lack of resources and the ever-dwindling public coffers. As a result of  legacy technologies that compound costs – through maintenance fees, implementation expenses, hardware purchases, and software upgrades – agencies are constantly challenged to do more with less.

 

To reduce cost and increase flexibility, more and more law enforcement departments are motivated to try cloud computing- Software as a service (SaaS). The benefits of SaaS to law enforcement agencies are many and varied.

 

Reduced Investment in Software Setup

 

shutterstock-cloud-computingThe majority of the law enforcement organizations already have the needed IT infrastructure to access SaaS applications. The essential requirement is a secure and stable Internet connection with devices that can access the web.

 

Cloud Computing Lessens Technical Effort

 

With SaaS solutions, agencies can easily store data or run applications which are accessible from any web-connected device at anywhere and anytime. Instead of investing in capital expenses such as software and computer servers, departments can effectively rent these on a variable payment plan.

 

Rapid Deployment

 

SaaS is typically ready-baked for its adopters. Through SaaS, agencies eliminate much of the delays of a traditional software deployment. Once subscribed, users can literally begin enjoying the benefit of the platform immediately. Contrast that to standard software deployments which can take weeks or months to spin up.

 

cloud-computing-benefit

System Maintenance is Automatic

 

Maintenance costs for SaaS subscribers are almost free. As part of their subscription fee, the SaaS provider manages upgrades, bandwidth adjustment, and bug fixes. It removes many of the headaches that an agency’s IT group experiences with new software versions and updates.

 

Traditional Policies Can Confound Adoption

 

Even though many US agencies are already using – or considering – cloud computing, adoption of SaaS is still a tricky decision for law enforcement. Because of the need to safeguard sensitive and confidential information that is saved offsite, the pace is slower than other market segments. That tide, however, is turning.

Case Closed Software is a leading provider of investigative case management software for law enforcement agencies across the country.

 

Investigation Software, law enforcement software, Major Case Management

Tennessee county turns to Case Closed for investigation management

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(March 27, 2017) Case Closed™ Software, a division of crime fighting software leader Crime Tech Solutions, LLC, announced today that they have signed contract with a large well-known and historic county in Tennessee.
tennesseeThe mid-sized Sheriff’s Department in the Volunteer State chose Case Closed Software after a long, thorough search for a solution provider capable of delivering “a feature-rich, affordable solution for managing investigations and the investigative unit”. The core modules of the software include Investigative Case Management, Link Analysis, Confidential Informants Management, Property & Evidence, Gang Tracking, and Departmental Reporting. According to a company spokesperson, the software also includes a mobile application for investigators in the field, and real-time alerting designed to help agencies solve crimes faster.
Case Closed Software said that the solution is being installed immediately, and that the agency will be fully implemented by April 30, 2017.
For more information on Case Closed, visit www.caseclosedsoftware.com
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crime analysis

UK Intelligence Training Provider Selects Crime Tech Solutions

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February 24, 2017 – Austin, TX   Crime Tech Solutions, a fast-growing software company in Leander, TX today announced that a large, England based intelligence training organization has standardized on the their powerful link analysis software for all ongoing end-user training.
ronfromyorkUnder the terms of the agreement, Crime Tech Solutions will provide the core link analysis software that will be used to train intelligence analysts across the United Kingdom.
Crime Tech Solutions  is an innovator in crime analytics and law enforcement crime-fighting software. The clear price/performance leader for crime fighting software, the company’s offerings also 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.

crime analysis, predictive policing

Jill Leovy on Preventive Policing and Its Effect on Black Communities

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The following article is the work of Joe Muscolino and originally appears at http://www.signature-reads.com/2017/02/jill-leovy-on-preventive-policing-and-its-effect-on-black-communities/ .
Crime Tech Weekly, is reposting for the convenience of our readers.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joQ7EJSzzFI]

This may not come as a shock: there’s very little incentive in America to fix the homicide rates plaguing the poorer parts of our country’s cities. The fact that it’s not that shocking is perhaps part of the problem, and it’s one of the many points finely sharpened and well-defended by Jill Leovy in Ghettoside, a book that both documents a single murder investigation as well as zooms out to offer a searing look at the stasis we’ve settled into as a country.

Leovy, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and creator of The Homicide Report, joins Signature in the video above to discuss the consequences to the policy of preventive policing. The upshot of preventive policing, Leovy argues, is the enforcement of minor crimes: “The result of that when you’re in it is that your son is getting pulled over every day, and humiliated, and hemmed up against a wall for seemingly no reason. And yet, your nephew’s murder is still unsolved.” This, in turn, encourages communities to enter the lawless world of self-policing.
The relationship between our nation’s police force and black communities remains so rocky and so politically charged that simply raising the subject is like blowing a battle horn. Leovy, though, does so in a way that antagonizes no one and instead, with empathy and insight, seeks to answer how we as a community and country can simply do better to solve the problem. Read on for the transcript of the video, or visit the ten most salient lessons we learned from Leovy’s book here.
We’ve always had these ways of kind of clearing the streets of people who might be threatening and might be menacing, and yet having a very poor record of solving homicides. You have a history of policing that focuses on nuisance policing, predictive policing, preventive policing, which translated means enforcing minor crimes.
The result of that when you’re in it is that your son is getting pulled over every day, and humiliated, and hemmed up against a wall for seemingly no reason. And yet, your nephew’s murder is still unsolved. You can’t but be infuriated by it, and many people are infuriated. It’s a huge incentive for retaliation if someone killed your brother and they’re walking around the neighborhood and the police aren’t going to do anything about it. The temptation to retaliate yourself becomes much greater.
I interviewed a mother of a murder victim the day after her son was murdered who told me that she knew who did it, they were neighbors down the street, and that they had come to her door after he died and taunted her and laughed at her for her grief, and told her that if she told police they would kill her, and so she was remaining silent and not cooperating with the police investigation. Even an outsider almost wants to kill in a situation like that, so for the people living this everyday it’s a constant temptation to self-police, and indeed you do see this high rate of self-policing in these neighborhoods.
-end-
 

crime analysis

Case Closed™ Software signs contract with Iowa-based Police Department

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(February 3, 2017) Case Closed™ Software, a division of fast-growing crime fighting software provider Crime Tech Solutions, LLC, has announced a new multi-year contract with a law enforcement agency in the great State of Iowa.
iowaThe mid-sized Hawkeye State police department selected Case Closed due to its robust Property & Evidence functionality, along with its highly-regarded Investigation Case Management capabilities. Case Closed software is a feature-rich, affordable solution for agencies of all size. The core modules of the software include Case Management, Confidential Informants, Property & Evidence, Gang Tracking, Link Analysis, and Departmental Reporting.
The company said that the software is being implemented immediately, and that the agency will be fully implemented by March 31, 2017.
For more information on Case Closed, visit www.caseclosedsoftware.com
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crime analysis

Crime Tech Solutions inks multi-year contract in California

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(January 20, 2017)  Crime Tech Solutions, LLC – a fast-growing and vibrant investigation and crime analytics software company based in Austin, TX – today announced that they have secured a multi-year contract to provide advanced criminal intelligence and crime analysis software to a progressive Northern California police department.
The Bay Area city of approximately 300,000 residents is implementing the software company’s IntelNexus™ and Sentinel Visualizer™ solutions. IntelNexus is criminal intelligence database management system designed to help the department gather, store, and disseminate sensitive criminal intelligence data. The program complies with the US federal regulation 28 CFR Part 23, which is a set of guidelines that help law enforcement agencies balance the need to collect and store criminal intelligence with the individual civil liberties of residents. The software ensures that only the correct type of data is stored, and that it is disseminated to authorized users only on a need-to-know basis.
Sentinel Visualizer is a sophisticated data visualization software program that assists crime analysts by finding and displaying non-obvious connections between people, places, and other entities. The link analysis software clearly displays how entities are connected with each other, and is rapidly becoming a staple of investigators and analysts across the country.
Crime Tech Solutions also develops powerful investigation management software called Case Closed™.

analytics, crime mapping, law enforcement software

A Look at Digital Policing

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For law enforcement and other police service agencies, the ability to rapidly manage and interpret massive amounts of data is of paramount importance. Front line officers require timely and accurate data that enables intelligence-led decision making, and officers must be deployed proactively in order to deter and prevent criminal behavior.
abmpegasus-intelligence-led-policingAs we have written before, the true lifeblood of effective policing is data. With disparate and poorly integrated systems, however, the intelligence that can be gleaned from that data is mitigated. The information is too often hidden or lost.
In order to better utilize data – coming from sources such as Records Management Systems, Computer Aided Dispatch, Criminal Intelligence Systems, and other such repositories – innovative law enforcement agencies turn to technology-agnostic, scalable analytics platforms which blend historical and real-time data to both solve today’s crimes and predict tomorrow’s. Supported by purpose-built law enforcement analytics, agencies can keep pace with growing volumes of data and stay one step ahead of the criminals via actionable insights.
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For disparate data to be transformed to actionable insights, law enforcement agencies must deal with several challenges:

  • Timeliness – Unlike fine wine, data tends to lose value over time. Crime happens in real time, and what was the case six months ago may not be the case today.
  • Reliability – The data absolutely must be trusted by the officers entrusted with using it.
  • Fragmentation – If the data is overly fragmented or otherwise unavailable, it becomes cumbersome to use and holds little value.
  • Auditability – Without a clear and recognized audit trail, agencies are not able to effectively track the decisions made in the field versus what the analytics pointed to.

5WAn analytics solution helps blend data from disparate sources in order to provide officers with a trusted, single view of the truth. Simply put, the right analytics software will help agencies manage the challenges above.

While there has been a ton of negative news related to predictive policing, recently, using an analytics platform approach allows agencies to consolidate, analyze, and utilize ALL of their data. This analysis can – and does – help agencies become more efficient and more effective.

crime analysis, Investigation Software, Major Case Management

The Case for Investigative Case Management

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Lost in the news of the recent demise of New Zealand based crime-fighting software developer Wynyard Group, is an interesting report published just weeks before the company ceased operations.

55According to the study, just 55% of U.S. law enforcement agencies currently utilize investigative case management software (CMS), and the majority of users are unhappy with their current systems.

Thirty-seven percent of the study respondents are not currently using any type of automated system, and rely mainly on paper files and spreadsheets to manage their investigations.

Investigative case management software has long been the domain of larger agencies and departments, and is only now truly affordable for smaller departments. The software allows investigators to manage the investigation process from start to finish. The more robust software allows agencies to assign cases and tasks, manage deadlines, store and maintain physical and multimedia evidence, and to search for relevant information across disparate databases.

According to a press release issued at the time, the survey queried users on how likely they would be to recommend their current system to another agency. While most users were unhappy with their current investigative case management system, there was a clear difference between agencies using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software and those using home grown, legacy systems. The latter fared very poorly in the survey results.

The survey also measured the use of smart devices by front-line officers. Forty three percent indicated that they currently utilize smart phones and tablet computers, and 23% indicated they had neither device.

The most-desired features in investigative management software include:

  • Management Dashboards
  • Reports – Standard and ad hoc
  • Case Assignment and Reminders
  • Actions and Incident Management
  • Mobile and Front-Line Case Access
  • Evidence Management and Chain-of-Custody
  • Multimedia Handling
  • Audit Logs
  • Collaboration
  • Gangs and Organized Crime Management
  • Data Visualization and Link Analysis
  • Case Closure / Evidence Brief

An investigative case management system for law enforcement and commercial investigation agencies is rapidly becoming a ‘must-have’. In an era of shrinking budgets and competing resources, a high value is placed on getting the biggest ‘bang for the buck’. The study indicates that agencies are looking to maximize the value of their investigative case management software by incorporating a robust feature set with an affordable price.

Case Closed Software, a division of Crime Tech Solutions, is a powerful and affordable investigative case management solution for law enforcement agencies. Case Closed is also available via the cloud with the innovative Case Closed Cloud. Created by former law enforcement investigators, the COTS software is designed with ease-of-use in mind. The software is deployed in agencies – large and small – across the country.

Investigation Software