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Handwriting analysis offers alternate lie detection method
Israeli researchers discover that with the aid of a computerized tool, handwriting characteristics can be measured more effectively; they have found that these handwriting characteristics differ when an individual is in the process of writing deceptive sentences as opposed to truthful sentences
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CCTVs do not help U.K. cut crime
The United Kingdom has around four million CCTVs installed (one camera for every fourteen people); it takes 1,000 CCTV cameras to solve a single crime, London’s Metropolitan Police has admitted
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U.K. considers Taser's latest device
Taser’s new “eXtended Range Electronic Projectile” is, according to the company, “the most technologically advanced projectile ever deployed from a 12-gauge shotgun”; the Home Office considers equipping policemen with the device
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The technology: Israeli scientists find way to combat forged DNA
Forensic DNA profiling is today one of the most powerful tools applied on crime scenes, and is often used to convict or acquit suspects in rape and murder cases
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The company: Nucleix fighting biological identity theft
Its assay technology is in advanced stages of development. Several patents have already been granted; CEO Elon Ganor made his name mainly at VocalTec, a company that pioneered telephony over Internet
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Police to use DNA "mugshots" as a predictive tool to narrow search
Scientist say that rather than simply try to match DNA to individuals already in their database, DNA should be used to suggest what a suspect might look like
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The cat did it: man blames cat for child porn downloads
A Florida man who was arrested for possessing child pornography says his cat jumped onto his computer keyboard while he was in another room; according to the man, the cat’s walking back and forth on the keyboard resulted in 1,000 images of child porn being downloaded from the Web and stored on the PC’s hard drive
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U.K. authorities made more than 500,000 surveillance requests last year
U.K. police, councils, and the intelligence services made about 1,500 surveillance requests every day last year; this is the annual equivalent to one in every 78 people being targeted
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Coast Guards interdicts smugglers' semi-submersible
Latin American drug lords now rely on semi-submersibles to smuggle drugs into the United States; the other day, the USCG interdicts one semi-submersible in the Eastern Pacific
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NYPD to receive stimulus money -- after Justice funds were denied
New York City officials were livid earlier this week after the Justice Department excluded NYC from law enforcement grants it gave cities that “needed it most” (among these cities: Caribou, Maine; Greybull, Wyoming; and Bayou La Batre, Alabama); DHS will now give NYPD $35 million in federal stimulus money
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Soldiers, first responders will self-power their gear
Soldiers and first responders will soon power electronic devices such as personal radios using just their own movements
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Taser shows multi-shot stun gun
The new device is capable of shocking three people without having to reload
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Cops tasered three kids, threatened one with sodomy
Police officers use tasers repeatedly on three youth in Illinois; a girl who tried to intervene is choked and locked in a closet
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The business aspects of get-tough immigration policy
The post-9/11 get-tough policy toward immigration has meant booming business for private prison-management companies; the building of prisons and detention centers is now a much-needed source of income for cash-strapped rural communities
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Houston computer forensics lab accredited
Newly accredited Houston lab expands Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory Network (RCFL), a national network of sixteen FBI-sponsored digital forensics laboratories and training centers devoted entirely to the scientific examination of digital evidence in support of criminal investigations
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The long view
Need for National Information Clearinghouse for Cybercrime Data, Categorization of Cybercrimes: Report
There is an acute need for the U.S. to address its lack of overall governance and coordination of cybercrime statistics. A new report recommends that relevant federal agencies create or designate a national information clearinghouse to draw information from multiple sources of cybercrime data and establish connections to assist in criminal investigations.
Twenty-One Things That Are True in Los Angeles
To understand the dangers inherent in deploying the California National Guard – over the strenuous objections of the California governor – and active-duty Marines to deal with anti-ICE protesters, we should remind ourselves of a few elementary truths, writes Benjamin Wittes. Among these truths: “Not all lawful exercises of authority are wise, prudent, or smart”; “Not all crimes require a federal response”; “Avoiding tragic and unnecessary confrontations is generally desirable”; and “It is thus unwise, imprudent, and stupid to take actions for performative reasons that one might reasonably anticipate would increase the risks of such confrontations.”
Luigi Mangione and the Making of a ‘Terrorist’
Discretion is crucial to the American tradition of criminal law, Jacob Ware and Ania Zolyniak write, noting that “lawmakers enact broader statutes to empower prosecutors to pursue justice while entrusting that they will stay within the confines of their authority and screen out the inevitable “absurd” cases that may arise.” Discretion is also vital to maintaining the legitimacy of the legal system. In the prosecution’s case against Luigi Mangione, they charge, “That discretion was abused.”
Are We Ready for a ‘DeepSeek for Bioweapons’?
Anthropic’s Claude 4 is a warning sign: AI that can help build bioweapons is coming, and could be widely available soon. Steven Adler writes that we need to be prepared for the consequences: “like a freely downloadable ‘DeepSeek for bioweapons,’ available across the internet, loadable to the computer of any amateur scientist who wishes to cause mass harm. With Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4 having finally triggered this level of safety risk, the clock is now ticking.”
How DHS Laid the Groundwork for More Intelligence Abuse
I&A, the lead intelligence unit of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) —long plagued by politicized targeting, permissive rules, and a toxic culture —has undergone a transformation over the last two years. Spencer Reynolds writes that this effort falls short. “Ultimately, Congress must rein in I&A,” he adds.