Homicide Investigations

by Tabetha Cooper

Birmingham Homicides - Jan-Apr 2006 (Photo credit: Dystopos)

Criminal investigationis slightly different when dealing with homicide cases.  An investigator has extra steps to take during their investigation.  It also helps if an investigator knows how the body of a victim can provide evidence and what the importance of a modus operandi is when looking for the perpetratorof the homicide.  They also have to know about the different types of homicide and how each one is determined.  They need to be able to differentiate between a homicide and a suicide as well.

In any criminal investigation, according to both Osterburg & Ward (2007) and the Nationa

Modus operandi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

l Medicolegal Review Panel (1999), an investigator must determine if a crime has been committed and what all is part of the crime scene.  After this has been determined, the crime scene needs to be sectioned off for the sake of its preservation.  Chain of custody needs to be established and then documentation, photographs, and a complete evaluation of the crime scene needs to be conducted.  After the scene has been evaluated everything determined to be evidence needs to be collected, inventoried, and preserved.  Any witnesses at the crime scene need to be interviewed.  All the investigative techniques for investigating any crime are the same but other measures need to be taken when dealing with a homicide.  When an investigator gets to the crime scene they need to make sure that the victim is indeed deceased.  After that has been determined, and with help from the medical examiner, the cause of death needs to be established if possible at the crime scene so that investigators can go ahead and look for the murder weapon.  The body needs to be photographed and all injuries need to be 

Skulls on a Beach: "Currents carry many dead things to Punuk Island making it the graveyard of the Bering Sea." (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

documented.  The victim needs to be identified in order to gather information to figure out a motive for their homicide and so that notification of death can be given to the family.

The first thing that an investigator needs to do when they go to a crime scene, where there is a death, is determine if the death was from natural causes, suicide, or a homicide.  A suicide is a death that a person has inflicted on themselves, whereas a homicide is a death inflicted by another person.  When a death is suspected to be suicide information on the victim needs to be gather that can point to that conclusion.  According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the leading causes of suicide are “depression, alcohol/substance abuse, or a major stressful event.”  In light of that information an investigator should look for a history or mental illness, a stressful event, or signs that the victim was using drugs or alcohol on a regular basis.  In a suicide the murder weapon or if it was a case of a drug over dose the bottle of medication or drug paraphernalia should be close to the body. 

            If all signs of the death points to homicide the investigator needs to determine which type of homicide it was.  There are two types, murder which is a premeditated unlawful taking of another’s life or manslaughter which is the unlawful taking of another’s life without the intent to cause death (Osterburg & Ward, 2007, p. 351).  For example, a woman finds out that her husband has been cheating on her with someone she knows.  She takes a knife from her home and enters the other woman’s home illegally and kills her, then disposes of her body in a shallow grave that she had dug earlier that day.  That would be classified as murder because the wife clearly planned to kill and dispose of the body of the other woman.  On the other hand, take a man walking home from work when a teenager decides to rob and beat him.  He sees a pipe lying beside the sidewalk and picks it up to help defend himself.  He swings the pipe in an attempt to get knock the teenager away from him and accidently hits him in the head, killing him.  That would be manslaughter because he never intended to kill the boy; he was just doing whatever he could to get the teenager to leave him alone

. 

US Army CID crime scene investigator (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

            When collecting evidence it is vital for the crime scene investigator to get details from the body of the victim.  The National Institute of Justice (2009), says that an examination of the body can give unbiased information about the “victim’s physical attributes, his/her relationship to the scene, and possible cause, manner, and circumstances of death.”  Examination of the body can also lead to the discovery of blood and other bodily fluids that can give investigators a DNA sample that can be compared to suspects, in hopes of making a positive identification of the perpetrator.  A medical examiner can determine if the body was relocated after death.  This lets investigators know if there is another crime scene that needs to be found and examined, which could give them additional leads.  If the information from the victim’s body can’t lead investigators to a suspect, it can help them to establish a modus operandi (a perpetrators particular means and method to commit a crime) and possibly link the homicide to others in and around the area.  Although, Douglas and Munn (1992) warns that too much stock should not be put into the modus operandi alone.  A criminal’s modus operandi may change over time as certain aspects of the crime don’t go the way it was planned or after the perpetrator has been caught.  They can change their methods to exclude the things that got them caught and include things that will make the crime easier to commit.  In the event that a modus operandi can link a homicide to another within another jurisdiction, it may be possible for departments to share information with each other that may assist with gaining leads.

            When an investigator can conduct an investigation with the proper techniques, know how to differentiate between a homicide and suicide, can recognize the evidentiary value of the body, and utilize the modus operandi, they are well on their way to becoming very successful. Knowing all the right investigative techniques for a murder does not ensure that an investigator will catch a murderer but following all the guidelines does make the prospect of catching the killer much more likely. 

References

Douglas, J.E & Munn, C.. (1992) FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, February 1992. Retrieved February 23,

2010, from http://www.criminalprofiling.ch/violent-crime.html

National Institute of Justice. (2009) A Guide to Death Scene Investigation: Documenting and Evaluating

The Body | National Institute of Justice. Retrieved February 23, 2010, from

 http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/topics/law-enforcement/crime-scene-guides/death-

investigation/document-body.htm

National Institute of Mental Health. (2009) NIMH · Suicide in the U.S.: Statistics and Prevention.

Retrieved February 23, 2010, from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/suicide-in-the-

us-statistics-and-prevention/index.shtml

National Medicolegal Review Panel. (1999) Death Investigation:  A guide for the Scene Investigator.

Retrieved February 23, 2010, from http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/167568.pdf

Osterburg, J.W. & Ward, R.H. (2007) Criminal Investigation: A Method for Reconstructing         the Past (5^th Ed.) Newark, NJ. Mathew Bender & Company, Inc.

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Today’s Investigative Special Report – January 19, 2013 “Dealing With Todays Law Enforcement Specialized Investigations” “The “Fingerprints” Of A Child Sexual Assault Investigation – Part II”

English: A crime scene. . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Lawrence W. Daly, MSc

ForensicExpert – Senior Author

The characteristics of a fingerprint and a child sexual assault investigation (CSAI) are similar in which they parallel one another in many of the facets which cause them to be so unique. When a crime scenetechnician (CST) is called to a crime scene to process the scene for evidence, it seems there is the possibility that the CST no matter how skilled will find difficulty in processing it. No matter what preventive steps an investigator takes to obtain the facts or evidence something may and generally confronted with an unexpected scenario.

In CSAI’s the same problem occurs, no matter how simple the investigation seems. The law enforcement detective will find barriers, barricades, and dead ends at some of the investigative avenues he has chosen to pursue. In fingerprinting, the finger has ridges which when processed are part of the fingerprint.

In the “Daly’s Twelve Investigative Characteristics” the sixth characteristic is labeled the “Ridge Units.” Ridge Units can effectively cause the District Detective to be confronted with specific problems which were not anticipated. Let us define what areas of concerns “Ridge Units” may have on the CSAI:

Characteristic Six – Ridge Units - The District Detective will find that the child sexual assault investigation is not a smooth and clear investigation. Like fingerprints no finger is without a ridge. It is just how biologically the human finger is created.

1.      Sometimes the case will run into roadblocks the District Detective didn't consider in his initial alternative hypothesis

2.      Sometimes there will be unexplained barriers which block the investigation before it is allowed to begin i.e. the child discloses and then later refuses to cooperate or recants her story

3.      Sometimes there will be those who intentionally convolute the investigation by refusing to cooperate with the District Detective

4.      Sometimes these ridges will require the District Detective to be intelligent and logical in his investigative approach to the case

5.      Sometimes these ridges will require the District Detective to step back and reevaluate specifically how the sexual assault disclosure was developed, what role each witness played in the investigation, and maybe just maybe the perpetrator is telling him the truth

The third characteristic is generally performed after the District Detective and his assistant arrive at the crime scene. Generally the District Detective will ask for the assistance of Crime Scene Technicians (CST). The call will be made to the individual who is in charge of the CST’s and depending on the type of crime one or more CST’s will be requested to respond to the crime scene to process it.

In child sexual assault cases the crime scene may be in multiple locations. The incidences could have occurred near the child victim’s home, school, at her home, at the perpetrator’s business, at the perpetrator’s home, and so forth. Studies and professionals opinions on the subject of obtaining of physical, biological, and trace evidence are generally not located at the crime scene where the incident took place. These studies have failed to address the specific issue of ‘why these types of evidence’ is not located. Let us examine some of the reasons that evidence is not located in child sexual assault cases:

1.      The education and training of First Respondersand detectives simply does not happen. Law enforcement management and those in the Special Assault Unit (SAU) are of the opinion that the child sexual assaults occurred a long time ago, therefore CST’s should not be called to the scene. These professionals come to a conclusion which is based on subjective beliefs, which when examined, evaluated, and analyzed prove not to be of substance.

2.      The First Responders and detectives do not ask the complainant or child victim about where the specific location of the sexual assault took place and if the perpetrator used any article of clothing or towels during the sexual assault.

3.      The interrogation of the perpetrator should provide the detective information of where the specific location(s) of where the sexual assault(s) occurred and what was the clothing and towel items were used and where are they now.

4.      Information is provided to the First Responder and the detective of the specific location where the sexual assault(s) occurred, but fail to process the scene for semen, saliva, fingerprints, and so forth. In rape cases the bedding and clothing are always taken. However, in child sexual assault cases emphasis on obtaining evidence is overlooked. Due to the lack of effort the studies would conclude that no evidence was located. If you don’t ask, you will not find it.

When this author was a detective in SAU, the child victim disclosed that the perpetrator who later confirmed the information, that after the sexual assault he would hide the towel he used to wipe himself off. He would hide the towel in the attic above the master bedroom. When I searched the residence I was able to locate multiple towels in similar locations. There was semen and saliva found on the towel belonging to the perpetrator. If I would have failed to ask the child victim and perpetrator the right questions about evidence, the towel would have never been located. Locating evidence in a criminal investigation can and will lead the detective to consider a solid hypothesis i.e. evidence speaks for itself.

Characteristic Three - The District Detective releases the crime scene to the Crime Scene Technicians (CST)

1.      CST will determine if the perimeter around the crime scene is large enough and will prevent others from entering and potentially contaminating the scene

2.      CST will videotape the entire crime scene prior to processing it

3.      CST will then begin the process of identifying, photographing, and the protection of the evidence

4.      CST will begin collecting the evidence

5.      CST will transport the evidence to the evidence room for storage or to the State Laboratory for analyzation

6.      CST will notify District Detective of his findings and turn the evidence over to him

The District Detective, First Responder, and Crime Scene Technicians must have a working relationship which is structured around protocols and procedures which most of the time produce results. In reviewing the sixth and third characteristic of “Daly’s Twelve Investigative Characteristics” it is best law enforcement understand that the twelve are similar to other facts and evidence of any type of sexual assault. The problem with any investigation is to be too structured. If there are no alternative solutions or flexibility at a crime scene to possibly obtain evidence, then the personnel who are responsible to perform their specific tasks are of no value to the investigation.

Law enforcement will generally face controversy, emotion, conflict, barriers, barricades, problems, and etc. in child sexual assault cases. Everyone has an opinion about how the investigation should be performed and what the outcome should be. If law enforcement is thorough and complete and approach the investigation with an open and neutral mind, the outcome will be based on objective findings. These findings will quite those whose opinions differ then theirs when the evidence and facts speaks loudly that what the detective found during the investigation was the truth.

 

Lawrence W. Daly

www.onedaly.com

206-650-0229

onedaly@onedaly.com

Kent, WA

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Today’s Investigative Special Report – January 14, 2013 “Dealing With Todays Law Enforcement Specialized Investigations” “The “Fingerprints” Of A Child Sexual Assault Investigation”

By Lawrence W. Daly, MSc

Forensic Expert – Senior Author

In 1992 Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld created The Innocence Project which is a non-profit

CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS / @CSI?cafe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 legal organization that is committed to exonerating wrongly convicted people through the use of DNA testing, and to reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. To Date, the Innocent Project has freed 301 wrongfully convicted people, including 18 who spent time on death row. (Wikipedia, 2012)

Like DNA, fingerprints play a very important role in finding if an individual committed a crime. The system needs to examine, evaluate, and analyze just how important fingerprints are to ascertaining the truth. When performing an investigation DNA and fingerprints parallel and corroborate law enforcements findings.

Like the characteristics of a fingerprint there are many aspects of a child sexual assault investigation (CSAI) which parallels it. In fact, there are at least twelve characteristics which will be discussed today which may provide you some insight into the world of science. Let us call them “Daly’s Twelve Investigative Characteristics to Finding the Truth.”

Daly’s Twelve Investigative Characteristics are as follows:

1.      Development – There are four stages of development which parallel a fingerprint. Once identified the officer or crime scene technician (CST) will need to develop the fingerprint by using dusting powder, other methods, techniques, chemicals, and etc.

2.      Registration – Once the fingerprint is identified either it is a partial or an entire hand print, the fingerprint is registered into the Automated Fingerprint Index System (AFIS). In sexual assault cases if the perpetrator is found guilty, he will be required by law to register as a sexual offender.

3.      Crime Scene – Fingerprints are found at a crime scene and are identified by an officer or CST. The investigation of what happened at the crime scene and locating a fingerprint at the crime scene go hand in hand.

4.      Processing – In any CSAI the crime scene is processed, the investigation goes through a development process, and etc.

5.      Identification – Who the individual was who left the fingerprint can be identified if his fingerprints are found in the National AFIS. Once the individual is identified as being the perpetrator who committed the sexual assault his fingerprints will be processed and put into AFIS.

6.      Ridge Units – There are several types of ridges in a fingerprint. In a CSAI there will be many ridge units in the investigation in which the District Detective will have to deal with throughout the investigation.

7.      Classifying – The fingerprint is classified as having certain characteristics. This is what makes the fingerprint useful in a court of law because no one has the same fingerprints. In the CSAI the type of sex crime which is classified as being a molestation, sexual assault, or a rape will become important as the law enforcement officer will need to prove this aspect of the case to prove that a crime was committed.

8.      Medical – The fingerprint can be medically removed from a dead body to identify who he is. In CSAI there is a medical examination the child victim will need to submit to and be processed through.

9.      Difference – Since there are no two fingerprint alike there are also no two sexual assault investigations which will be the same.

10.  Impressions – Sometimes a fingerprint which was left at the crime scene will have specific impressions if the surface of where the fingerprints were left. In CSAI the credibility, reliability and backgrounds of the child victim, witnesses, and perpetrator will be important in what impression the District Detective will be able to uncover about each one of them.

11.  Hidden – There are fingerprints which are defined as Latent Fingerprints which means the fingerprint is sometimes not capable of being seen by the human eye. In CSAI the crimes are hidden behind a closed door.

12.  Detection – A trained CST can locate and detect if a fingerprint is present. When the child begins to act differently or tells her mother or father what the perpetrator did to her, the crime is detected, and the development of the CSAI begins.

Today the need to first explain and understand what characteristics of the CSAI will be the first characteristic which is “Development” which is where the complaint is made that a child was sexual assaulted and law enforcement is called and responds to where the complaint is being made and begins the CSAI.

Development

In the development stage of the initial complaint of a child sexual assault, there are many tasks the first responding officer and other officers will be responsible to perform. There are several stages which can be identified during the development phase:

Initial Stages of Development

1.      First Responder investigates the initial allegations

2.      First Responder requests assistance to establish a perimeter inside and outside the residence/building/vehicle. Makes perimeter large enough to protect potential evidence, including vehicles

3.      First Responder determines two extremely important issues 1. The safety and protection of the child 2. If there is probable cause to arrest the alleged perpetrator

4.      First Responder contacts his immediate supervisor and details the case information to him.

5.      First Responder receives authority to call the Sergeant from the Special Assault Unit (SAU) to relay the incident/event information and to request he send at least two detectives to the scene

6.      Once the two detectives arrive at the crime scene, the First Responder who had been in charge of the crime scene, witnesses, child victim and perpetrator relinquishes his responsibilities to the District Detective

Second Stages of Development

1.      Two detectives respond to crime scene. Upon arrival the First Responder relinquishes the crime scene to the District Detective. The Assisting Detective will provide assistance in all areas of the initial follow-up investigation

2.      District Detective contacts radio and requests a crime scene technician(s) to respond to process the crime scene

3.      The District Detective should create a detailed initial investigative plan, sometimes referred to as a Case Action Plan (CAP), discussing the CAP with the Assisting Detective.

a.       This process should be created ‘mentally’ as the District Detective is responding to the crime scene

4.      Once constructed the District Detective will make assignments to the Assisting Detective, Crime Scene Technicians (CST), and the First Responder and other officers who can remain on the scene and assist

Third Stages of Development

1.      District Detective will contact the complainant and perform the child interview

2.      Assisting Detective will assign officer's on the scene to assist in gathering all of the witnesses for identification and interviews

3.      CST will need to establish if the crime scene perimeter established by First Responder and assisting Officer's is sufficient for the protection of the identification and collection of evidence

4.      CST’s will divide who will do what investigative aspects of processing the crime scene

5.      One of the first responding units stays with the perpetrator if he is at the crime scene. He is either released or taken to jail for processing

Fourth Stages of Development

1.      District Detective collects all witness statements and receives information from the lead CST what the findings of processing the crime scene were

2.      District Detective collects all officer's statement in reference to their investigative responsibility at the crime scene

3.      District Detective makes contact at the jail with the perpetrator or has the perpetrator come in to be interrogated by him

4.      District Detective has any and all evidence taken to the State Crime Laboratory for analyzation

5.      District Detective will perform any investigative step necessary to prove if the crime did or didn't occur

6.      District Detective provides Deputy Prosecutor with either an update on the investigation or provides him with the investigative file for the consideration of filing criminal charges

There are eleven more characteristics of a CSAI to examine and understand how they are parallel or similar to the many characteristic of the fingerprint and the information about the two of them. As I explore these parallels and similarities take the time to contemplate and critically think about the methodology which is being utilized to perform investigative functions which may prove that a crime was or wasn’t committed.

 

Lawrence W. Daly

www.onedaly.com

206-650-0229

onedaly@onedaly.com

Kent, WA

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Combating Crime to Cyber Space and Beyond

Article by: Scott Hall docplocky@gmail.com

  

English: A 3-D solid model of a jack inside a cube. Modeled and ray traced using Cobalt. Animation is 120 frames at 25 fps. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

          Technology advances over the past few decades have exploded into a world where wireless communications and interactions are becoming more and more dominant in everyday life, sans a few regions that have not yet accepted or even adapted to simple “pulse” dialing.  Unless you are an avid fan or a historian, few will remember the Altair computer, the Commodore or even what 386 means, however it does not stop us from interacting with more modern evolutions of these items and it also opens a whole new door to criminals who are savvy of the tools available “online” to corrupt even the smallest of regions.  This presents an opportunity as well as disadvantages to both the criminologist and the criminal, specifically in that even the criminal’s best security or hopes online can be “hacked”, same as lawful citizens, just ask President Barak Obama about his own invasions in cell phone land.  Tools in the proper hands can do wonders and in the world of forensics, digital tools and new abilities give a new approach to solving crime.

            One item that is not reported through the major media outlets in solving crime is facial reconstruction and until a few years ago, that meant tedious hours of precision and pegs as well as clay molds and various other mediums to reconstruct an unknown victim’s facial feature in order to verify or attempt to identify the person in question.  In death, we know that our body goes through a decomposition and decay process that over time will eventually erode away muscle, skin and organs leaving only a skeleton.  Forensic anthropologists along with sculptors, creative artistry and time work in cohesion to recreate the human that once roamed the planet, as a starter the sculptor will usually start with 25 to 30 layers of tissue that will eventually become situated around the eyes and select facial areas. 

    

3D polygonal modeling of a human face. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

        Next, the team has to determine approximate age, race, weight and various other factors to determine which set of depth pegs to use, covering the rest of the face and skull regions.  Layering clay to those depths around the set pegs and filling in the remaining gaps with the other clay strips helps to place texture and depth to the once devoid skeleton, keeping in mind that this process is not done in a few mins rather over a period of hours, just to get to the point of 3D viewing of the victim no one can identify otherwise.  Once those items are done, the sculptor / artists must then go to work on the eyes, jaw, mouth, nose, ears, chin and cheek areas as these are generally considered the parts that give “character” to each of us, fun fact:  The eye ballsgenerally do not change in size from birth to death so keep those peepers healthy.  While this process is tedious, there is some math and known’s involved when it comes to certain items of the face, for example the ears length is considered the same as the nose length and width is determined by a measurement of distances between iris, corner of the eye and mouth regions along with a few adjustments in math, these items can easily be “fitted” based on the available 3D model that was layered initially.

            Using our imaginations and a bit of critical thinking skills we can see a rough image of a person, with approximate features, lacking two final items:  Muscle and skin, again the sculptor and forensic anthropologist must combine their skills and approximate how much, how fat or thin and apply layers of skin, as well as making a silicon rubber mold of the initial sculpture.  The elements that no one can really pinpoint are hair style, color and expressional characteristics of the face and in essence only hope to be able to awaken a memory or hope to shake someone’s memory into locating or narrowing down the list of potential victims.  This overview does not account for the detail, time, materials, persons or man hours involved in recreating someone from death to 3D modeling clay nor does it speak for the dedication of those involved in helping to solve these unknown’s.  What has been needed for many years is a new approach:  Enter the computer, a machine often thought of as something to get on the internet with, but rarely remembered for its computational ability and power of deduction based on parameters entered.  

          

Eye death (Photo credit: @Doug88888)

  While using facial reconstruction does require some skills, in the world of computers lots of things change including limiting how much stress is placed upon the skull itself, starting with an 3D X-ray of the skull using a complex series of lasers and mirrors, while the skull rotates on a platform.  The image is then transferred to a computer where special software allows the user to move and interact with the image.  Applying the actual muscle and skin now becomes part of a database based on CT (Computerized Tomography) scans of other persons and known parameters, including shadows that may occur from muscle layering and skin as well as eliminating the Depth Peg and clay layering that once took hours to do.   The Forensic Anthropologistsskills is essential in this area; for example items such as clothing or other items found on the scene as well as any other forensic evidence will help in determining shape, size, weight and race and the Forensic Anthropologist is an expert in determining these values.

     

3D Model Woman (Photo credit: ProLithic 3D)

       By merging the scans of the unknown and the known, along with the same parameters that are predetermined (same as above) the computer reconstructs as closely as possible the same image obtained by the once artist / sculptor and Forensic Team in a matter of a few hours rather than days of work and with the use of lasers and complicated machinery can reconstruct the new image from medium safely, minus color and the same parameters of expression and certain characteristics.  As we can see, the differences in approach between traditional and modern application do not differ in their basis: to solve the unknown victim’s identity the difference is the computational power and application of modern technology and computers being used for something other than internet surfing or role playing games not to mention the total anonyminity that the internet offers its patrons, both paying subscribers and free users. 

            Exploration into Digital Forensic Anthropology is only one of the many facets of our digital evolution and persons who commit crimes against person, property and public are also included in the total use of digital tools.  Person’s who would otherwise have used paper, phone calls and leg work to scam someone now has the ability to email in masses and the percentage of susceptible persons also exponentially increases, thus building an incredible base of victims that unless the perpetrator can be traced or tracked properly, likely will never be found.  The subject of internet “honesty” has long been a topic of debate, including a set of rules or “netiquette” that most are supposed to obey voluntarily, with no real consequence of default, unless the correct set of authorities are applied and even at that point, a simple name change and you are in a new email account.  Pictures, information and a lucrative imagination can produce the fake person with a few clicks who can be your friend, your lover, your confidant and you really never have to physically interact with them, relying on the trust of the platform you are using, known as the internet to guide you, including statements such as “it has to be true, it was on the internet”, never mind the countless applications, programs and widgets that can change the most simplest of items into something other than its original intent.

English: A Tableu internal forensic write-protection module (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

            Enter the criminal mind, the scenario:  I need a phone that can become a mobile hot spot, so I can surf and phish and deceive the public or otherwise conduct fraudulent business.  The process: Go to carrier store such as one for Sprint, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile (along with a few miscellaneous others), and sign up for a new activation 2 year contract.  Once that company conducts a credit check, you will either be assessed a deposit amount or an initial fee to cover in order to obtain the agreement.  Writing a cold check as a secure payment, the transaction is processed; you select your phone and are told the first invoice will appear in 30 days.  You activate your phone, walk out of the store, with no intentions of paying your bill, you have a brand new phone in your hand, the ability to mobile hack almost anyone who uses Bluetooth or a mobile Wi-Fi spot, steal their information or set up a few phishing scams, when the service is cut off, you go to pawn shop (usually remote) and sell the phone for some quick cash or sell it overseas for an exorbitant amount.  The Crime: Fraud, Theft by Unlawful Taking, Theft by Deception, Attempting to Defraud a Business or Government Entity and a host of other charges that are never followed upon due to the excessive mobility gained in just 30 short days, the reason: Exceptionally difficult to locate a moving object or person, without help.  Keep in mind, the geeks teach us all we know, true and they also teach those with sinister intentions, involuntarily. 

English: Backdrop image used in 3D modeling Italiano: Immagine di sfondo utilizzata in modellazione 3D (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

            Platforms such as You Tube, Face Book, Twitter and Linked In, give the public a chance to view almost anything, including videos of violence, compassion, crime, music and “educational” resources, educational in quotations as whether or not the legitimacy of what you are watching is indeed the truth and not edited (video toasted) or altered in some way to make what you see seem real, criminals use this lack of awareness to obtain your trust, then violate your privacy or personal freedoms including sniffing out when you use credit cards or other financial transactions that help to steal your worth and your identity.  Nothing on the internet is truly ever deleted, this is no secret as the FBI stores thousands of items that contain transmitted key words or phrases, pictures or video for review at anytime, as well as intercepting suspects with items such as “StingRay” technology and video camera systems that can “see” through walls, nothing in technology is impossible.  Law enforcement is well aware of every plausible scenario available and discovers new approaches to combating and learning of the evolution of technology in fighting crime, including the UCR which has become more and more accurate as new data comes in from officials who once did not have a simple computer to help. 

            Cell phone technology has evolved into a platform where phones get smaller, then bigger screens, then thinner, then more powerful, then smaller over a repeated process of time; Digital Forensics in this field includes data mining which could reveal a time line history or pattern of established crime that assists law enforcement in apprehending perpetrators of those types of crimes.  To date, there are as many as 40 cellular providers and millions of customers in their combined data bases, law enforcement without the use of computers and other electronic media would no doubt be overwhelmed by the information superhighway.  With the aid of the evolving technology and the right experts focusing on the key task, law enforcement can access any portion of your computer or digital life, including passwords, images, disk encryptions, secured or privately marked file folders, hidden files as well as access these items remotely without your knowledge and without your permission, but with the permission of the judicial system, citing again our example of the President’s own woes, who was angered by having his own “secure” cell phone, opened by a trained person in that field.  Was it criminal to spy, probably, considering the Patriot Act gives Officials eminent power, it becomes almost nerve wracking when the sinister do the same thing, without a whim or much effort. 

3D Model Man (Photo credit: ProLithic 3D)

            In conclusion, our Digital Worlds can only be as safe and effective as we the people allow them to be, including adding some honesty to our own profiles and keeping our eyes open for active sites about the do-do bird, (yes one does exist and if you have to ponder it, might want to leave that site alone, the bird is extinct).  Law enforcement and Criminals battle continually for supremacy in dominating the digital highway, citizens in general are also susceptible to the woes of internet secrecy; including being exposed for pictures, emails, accounts, information that otherwise would have been private.   We the people have more power to secure our personal lives when we use critical thinking skills in positive ways, including finding the lost, the criminal who went into hiding and that perfect table or bed ensemble.  Be wise, be weary and be safe, most of all thank the technology makers for allowing law enforcement to have tools available to keep our lives safe and free from some crimes, the rest is up to us.

http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/00206/pti_facial_reconstruction.htm

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr

http://nij.gov/topics/forensics/evidence/digital/welcome.htm

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/story-index/cyber-crimes

http://www.ic3.gov/media/annualreport/2011_IC3Report.pdf

http://www.scmagazine.com/limitations-of-law-enforcement-in-fighting-cyber-crime/article/250805/

http://www.dhs.gov/defending-against-cybercriminals

            

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