Archive for the ‘Surveillance Services’ Category

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Stanley Cup Riot Investigation Making Progress – IRIT Identifies More Rioters

By Dawn in Interrogation, Investigations, MSI Detective Services, Surveillance Services, Violence at November 4th, 2011 | No comments

On Monday, the Integrated Riot Investigation Team will recommend more charges against identified rioters. Since June, IRIT has sifted through a mound of digital evidence and has identified more rioters from the Stanley Cup riot in downtown Vancouver than expected. In the beginning of the investigation stage, 40 people were charged. Several hundred more charges are expected to be coming.

Each individual will have a minimum of two charges brought forward: participating in a riot and at least one other charge. The digital evidence packages, many of which include a 500- to 700-page report, will now be forwarded to Crown for approval.

Names are going to be withheld, but police will release details of each case, such as the age of suspects and their exact charges.

“This is what we have been looking for, to finally see the work that we’ve done come to fruition,” IRIT team commander Insp. Les Yeo said in an exclusive interview with 24 Hours Vancouver earlier this month.

“We’ll be working through this until we’re finished and every last (person) is held accountable.”

IRIT was also expected to release footage today of arrests being made, some occurring as recently as Friday. Yeo has said it could take up to two years before all suspects are charged.

A website titled, “Canucks Riot 2011″ is depicting images on its website of people who are alleged to have committed criminal offenses and asking the public to contact Vancouver Police Department investigators if they recognize anyone at riot@vpd.ca or (604) 717-2541 or leave an anonymous tip with Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

It is really unfortunate that rioting after sports games has become more common. For us Chicagoans, we can still remember riots in the street by locals in 1991 even though the Bulls won their first NBA Championship! Win or lose, it seems some people just need a reason to act crazy and violent. Someday, these people may ruin it for everyone. Who knows what restrictions may have to be imposed around these games. With most local governments running out of money, they will no longer be able to afford to pay overtime to the police to babysit these foolish people.

Much of the research for this story came from STEPHANIE IP, 24 HOURS@ vancouver

 

 

 

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Think Tank Retracts Flawed Study on Marijuana Clinic Closings

By Dawn in Crime, Criminal Records, Investigations, MSI Detective Services, Police Records, Politics, Private Investigator, Surveillance Services at November 1st, 2011 | No comments

A nonprofit think tank retracted a widely reported study that linked last year’s closing of hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles to a rise in crime rates in surrounding neighborhoods.

Medical marijuana dispensaries with rooms of high-priced marijuana and cash registers brimming with cash are often seen as magnets for crime, a perception deepened by a few high-profile murders. But a report from the Rand Corp. reaches a startling conclusion: The opposite appears to be true.

Santa Monica-based Rand Corp. said in a statement that questions raised after the study was released last month prompted an unusual internal review.

Researchers relied on a commercial crime mapping service, believing it included information from various jurisdictions, including the Los Angeles Police Department. However, that agency did not give data to the service.

Researchers with the Santa Monica-based think tank used crime data compiled by a firm that collects information from about 1,200 law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, but not the LAPD.

“That review determined the crime data used in the analysis are insufficient to answer the questions targeted by the study,” the statement said.

The study looked at crime reports for neighborhoods surrounding 600 dispensaries in the 10 days before and 10 days after Los Angeles officials shuttered the pot clinics last summer after a new ordinance went into effect. The analysis showed crime increased about 60 percent within three blocks of a closed dispensary compared with those that remained open.

Ironically, the report found that the further away from the clinics, the less crimes were committed. Read the full article »

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Police Busted for Alleged Gun Smuggling

By Dawn in Crime, Investigations, MSI Detective Services, Police Records, Stolen Property, Surveillance Services at October 27th, 2011 | No comments

Eight NYPD officers and one New Jersey corrections officer have been arrested on charges that they were running a gun-smuggling ring that trafficked more than $1 million in illegal weapons and stolen goods.

The officers arrested include five active-duty officers assigned to Brooklyn and three retired NYPD officers, although two of the retired officers were active when committing the alleged crimes, prosecutors said. All those arrested were picked up by FBI agents and NYPD Internal Affairs investigators early Tuesday.

According to the criminal complaint, some of those arrested  smuggled 20 firearms as recently as Sept. 22. The cache included three M-16 rifles, one shotgun and 16 handguns, most of which had their serial numbers removed.

One officer bragged to an informant in July, as an associate displayed a shotgun for sale, that it was a “sample” and that they could get anything “from A to Z.”

The allegations are no doubt troubling for the NYPD, whose commissioner, Ray Kelly, has joined with Mayor Bloomberg in speaking out on illegal guns as a nationwide scourge that threatens public safety, particularly that of police officers.

Bloomberg said in a statement that the charges, if true, are a “disgraceful and deplorable betrayal of the public trust.”

Read entire story@ msnbc

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Dallas plans on tracking down its debtors with surveillance

By alisa in invasion of privacy, Privacy, Surveillance Services, Technology at September 10th, 2011 | No comments

The city of Dallas will soon employ a collections team armed with security cameras who will roam the streets to catch people with outstanding city debt.

The kicker is a law firm will fund the new project and will reap profits for every person who pays the city what’s owed. The law office of Linebarger, Goggan, Blair and Sampson doubles as a collection agency. They are prepared to collect from violators and use the money collected to pay for the system. According to The Dallas Morning News, Linebarger, Goggan, Blair and Sampson have decided to use Houston-based, Municipal Intelligence Group as violation hunters using this license plate recognition software to help catch those who owe money to the city. More than 1,800 field agents will be armed with cameras scanning and photographing vehicles for violations. The software will process your vehicle if you owe money to the city and a sticker will be placed on your car as a warning for you to contact the law office for an outstanding debt – if you don’t pay within a certain amount of time, you could go to jail.

The North Texas Transportation Authority (NTTA) has already been using this technology with its TollTag system, sending bills to customers months after they pass through toll ways. The major difference is that no one is physically scanning your vehicle and entering the information into the city’s database. Now, the same system used by the NTTA will hit the streets, but with human collection officials scouring roads for people who owe the city money. Read the full article »

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