Victoria Police issue statewide fire SMS and Twitter alerts

Victoria Police have taken the unprecedented step of sending a text message to every mobile phone in the state, warning of extreme weather conditions on Monday night and Tuesday, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. The text message read:

Msg from Vic Police: Extreme weather in Vic expected Mon night & Tues. High wind & fire risk. Listen to local ABC Radio for emergency updates. Do not reply to this.

It is the first time Victoria Police has utilised SMS messaging as a virtual doorknock to all Victorians, according to police spokesman Glen Atwell. The same message was also sent via Twitter, linking to the Victoria Police website.

Bling campaign targets criminals

In a scheme that from a distance sounds like innocent people could get hurt from ill intended denunciations, a police campaign targeting people living lavish lifestyles has begun in Sussex. The premise is to catch people who live on the proceeds of crime and money laundering. The BBC reports.

Crimestoppers and Sussex Police joined forces for the campaign called "Too Much Bling, Give Us a Ring".

People are urged to report their suspicions about apparently wealthy people with no legitimate income.

... Police's money laundering investigation team, said: "Members of the public are sick and tired of seeing people with no legitimate income living a lavish lifestyle and this is their opportunity to do something about it."

Community Crime-Fighting Goes Cellular in the District

D.C. police have launched a citywide text messaging system to alert residents about crimes soon after they occur and ask for their help, reports The Washington Post.

The system, known as D.C. Police Alert, offers a short recap of the crime, a description of the suspect and instructions to call 911 if they see anyone matching the description.

It also adds some prudent advice to any would-be hero: "Do not take action," the bulletin implores.

Txt Crimes, Sex Crimes and Murder - The Science of Forensic Linguistic

Text and instant messaging may soon cease to be an anonymous method of communication as advances in forensic linguistic research make it possible to identify the sender and also predict the gender and age of the author with some degree of success. Cellular News reports.

"At the UK's BA Festival of Science, Dr Tim Grant, the Deputy Director of the Centre for Forensic Linguistics at Aston University, describes how language analysis is increasingly playing a key part during police investigations and court cases to help identify the author of incriminating material, whether it be a threatening note, documents planning a terrorist attack or a sexually explicit chat room conversation involving an adult and a child.

... Linguistic evidence demonstrating who sent a particular text message has been significant in a growing number of cases where criminals have attempted to use them as alibis. These include difficult murder cases where victims’ bodies were never found, such as the recent prosecution of David Hodgson, who was convicted in February of the murder of his ex-lover Jenny Nicholl."

... Dr Grant has put together a database of more than 7000 texts as part of his research into text messaging style and variation between individuals and groups of individuals. The public can contribute to his ongoing research by submitting text samples to www.forensiclinguistics.net/texting. His study seeks to establish base rate information for certain features in texting language, and will also highlight how groups of people who text one another frequently grow more similar in their texting style."

TipSoft helping fight crime, anoymously

If you were to witness a crime, but didn’t want to ‘get involved’, a new SMS service could make it easy for you to help the police without revealing your identity.

Already in use by Canadian CrimesStoppers, TipSoft SMS allows users to send information to an central number that strips it of identifying data and forwards it to law enforcement.

The anonymity is two way, so if the police want to ask for further details they can ony do so by using the service in reverse.

Unlike so-called ‘Zero Knowledge’ authentication systems, presumably there is some record connecting your phone number to a particular tip so that the reverse contact can take place. Even if the facilitating company promises to keep this information secure, it may be possible that a court order could force it to be revealed.

TipSoft SMS is to be rolled out in the USA later this year and may reach the UK soon after.

[reBlogged from Pocket Picks]

Greater Connectivity Between British Police, Residents Enhanced

The British police is tapping Information Technology to connect better with their neighborhood, reports All Headline News.

"Under a $639 million plan, the method of policing will adapt a more local approach. All households in England and Wales will receive a mobile phone number and email address for police assistance.

The plan, to be effective April, will also require police heads to conduct regular public meetings. The new system is under pilot testing at Lambeth, south London."

Police to use text message tactics to snare rape suspects

Police and prosecutors in rape cases are set to experiment with controversial techniques designed to make suspects incriminate themselves through phone calls or text messages. The Guardian reports.

"The tactic, used by investigators in the United States, involves women sending texts or making calls to their alleged attackers to see if they can extract an admission of guilt.

Lawyers and detectives believe the approach could be vital in helping to boost the stubbornly low rape conviction rate in England and Wales, where barely 6% of cases reported to police end in conviction.

"Police get the victim to send a text saying something like 'how could you do that to me?'" said a senior CPS source. "They sometimes get a text back saying 'I'm really sorry, I know I was out of order, it won't happen again' or something like that."

The so-called "pretext" phone call, which is lawful in some US states but not in others, is considered one of the strongest tools in the armoury of the rape investigator. It is widely used in the typical rape case where juries are reluctant to convict, those in which the man and woman know each other and the evidence comes down to his word against hers."

[via SMS Text News]

Liberian Government Handing Out Free Mobile Phones

Liberia's government has started giving away specially programmed mobile phones to villages so that they can report crimes to the local police. Cellular News reports.

"The government project aims to give up to 10 phones to prominent people in each of 400 neighborhoods in and around the capital city, Monrovia.

The phones are pre-programmed to call the police for free - while commercial networks charge for such phone calls. "

Mobile Forensics: Phone-Shield with faraday window

I'm not sure why this beats the simple paper bags Sara Sidle et al use on CSI:, where found evidence is sealed and labeled, but a company called Disklabs has come up with a Phone-Shield with a faraday window "to ensure that data on a suspect’s mobile phone can be investigated without that data being compromised when the phone connects to its relevant network.

Phone-Shield successfully keeps suspects’ mobile phones secure from any incoming communications from the networks at the point of police capture, irrespective of the type of phone, frequency or network. "

[Press release. Picture from forensicfocus]

More on mobile forensic techniques.

Crime prevention tips via bluetooth

Shoppers in Seaham and Peterlee will be among the first in the UK to benefit from text messages aimed at beating crime, according to the Sunderland Echo.

"Durham Police will send text messages warning people about the dangers of leaving valuables on show in cars, urge shoppers to ensure their purse or wallet is kept safe and appeal for help to find missing people.

A sending device would be activated in the town centres to send messages to all mobile phones with Bluetooth technology within 10 metres."

Police: Crime Tip Texting System Working Well

We read about these projects, but it's good to hear actual feedback. Boston police say their new plan to use text messaging to make streets safer is now paying off in a big way, reports The Boston Channel.

"Officials told the Boston Herald that police have received 230 crime tip text messages since June. That's compared to only about 10 telephone tips per month.

-- Police said they received a text message just minutes after the stabbing death of Adam Rich, 26, at the Six House bar in South Boston back in June. The suspect in that case is now awaiting trial.

-- Police are also crediting a texted tip with helping them get to the bottom of the case in the shooting death of Laquarrie Jefferson, 8, whose mother initially said her son was killed in a home invasion. A text message to police, however, soon revealed that the real shooter in the accident was the child's 8-year-old cousin.

-- The texting program has also helped police crack down on a number of drug rings. To text police, callers only have to text the word "tip" and then C-R-I-M-E, which is 2-7-4-6-3."

Boston launches anonymous SMS "Crime Stoppers" hotline

In collaboration with the City of Boston and the Boston Police Department, Hill|Holliday, a communication agency, have announced the unveiling of an anonymous text message tip line for law enforcement in Boston. This is the first such initiative in the United States.

In a press conference held today, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis unveiled the major initiative to revitalize the city’s anonymous crime tip hotline.

The tip hotline program, called Crime Stoppers, is being enhanced by enabling citizens to text message an anonymous tip to police. In addition, the program will be promoted to Bostonians though a targeted pro bono advertising campaign. Boston is the first city in the nation to give it citizens the ability to submit an anonymous tip from their mobile phone via text messaging." Press release

Similar hotlines around the world:

-- China's New Participatory Citizen Surveillance

-- UK Police texting scheme nets first criminal

-- Shanghai police to open SMS hot line

-- India SMS service to keep rickshaw drivers in check

-- The Netherlands Dutch police start SMS-alert service

Police technology cost £5 million ($10million)

a href="http://www.police.uk">police.ukPolice Portal, a system which hosted Suffolk's Police Direct Service cost £5.1million ($10.2million) to run last year. An on-line petition has been created to remove the costly service. The Evening Star reports.

"The service provided an on-line crime reporting system in Suffolk as well as Police Direct messaging service which sent crime and appeal information via text message and e-mail to about 25,000 subscribers."

For all 53 police forces in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. police.ukPolice Portal consists of a web presence, online non-emergency crime reporting system and a public messaging system which makes use of inbound and outbound sms/mms and telephony capabilities."

Mobile forensics turns up heat on suspects

Textually has picked up on these kind of stories before, I find them so interesting, how forensic science is developping new tools to investigate cell phone data - even when deleted - and solve crimes. There's an interesting piece in The Register today.

"The latest version of the top computer forensics package will be the first to include a mobile phone component. The move signals how vital mobile data has become to many prosecutions.

... A police source told us: "It's [a suspect's mobile phone] one of the first things we look for in serious crimes these days."

Brian Karney, Guidance's product management director, told El Reg: "Your whole life's on there. Everything about you. The SIM card, the memory, it's all in there and we can go in and get." The package allows access to call logs, stored files, SIM information, JAVA programs, and crucially, deleted data."

Related:

-- Fighting Crime With Cellphones' Clues Extracting clues and leads from mobile electronics is no cakewalk.

-- Cellphone Forensics at Crime Scenes - Logicube has developed a portable kit which can extract data from over 160 handset when needed by the police and forensic staff.

--Digital evidence is increasingly crucial to criminal investigations - Cell phones have become the new "smoking gun" for prosecutors and police in the Twin Cities and around the world.

-- UK police making Gil Grissom jealous... - The Forensic Science Service (FSS) has developed a mobile laboratory which will travel to crime scenes and carry out real-time forensic investigation and analysis.

-- The field of Cell Phone Forensics - Modern detectives are now using cell phone forensics to capture more and more criminals.

-- Police turn forensic skills on handhelds - Handhelds are likelier to lead to handcuffs for techie criminals following the release of a report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

-- Mobile phone forensics 'hole' reported - Police investigations are being hindered by the use of proprietary mobile phone technologies, say forensics experts

Korea's SMS "Child Finding Service" finds young girl

An article in JoongAng Daily describes how a missing child was found thanks to the Korean equivalent of a mobile Amber alert, called the Child Finding Service.

"Joo Ah-young, a 15-year-old with a mental handicap, was separated from her parents on an outing, and was missing for 15 days before the police decided to take another approach to the search.

An SMS message with her photo was sent to people in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. Two days after the message was sent, a call came to the police from a security guard of a shopping mall in Dongdaemun, saying that he had found Ms. Joo.

... Similar to child-finding services, there is also a mobile broadcasting service to find lost senile elderly citizens."

Bourne boy saved in Georgia after text-messaging family

A man was arrested after a 17-year-old Cape Cod boy he met on MySpace.com sent a text message to his family back home claiming he was being held against his will on the man's west Georgia farm, police said, reports the Associated Press.

"When the boy was left unattended after several hours in the home, he was able to send a text message from his cell phone to his family in Bourne asking for help and giving his address, Massie said. The family told the local police in Bourne, who notified Troup County authorities.

Massie refused to disclose what exactly the boy's text message said, adding that the information was evidence. He said police are also analyzing computers from Williams' home that were seized."

Similar story: - Text Messaging saves kidnapped girl

Crime victims urged to SMS 999

UK crime victims are being urged to summon police help by sending them a text message, according to The Sun.

"Cops hope the alternative to dialling 999 will appeal to younger people — and be of practical help to the hard of hearing.

The idea is being tried out by Essex Police and the number will be released later. But the force stressed that 999 should still be used if possible.

Some detectives criticised the text move, fearing it will cause delays and possible dangers."

Digital prints speed up detection

UK scientists say their new system for checking fingerprints is having a big impact in the fight against crime. The BBC reports.

"Six police forces are now using the technology, which relies on new compression techniques to transmit digital prints over mobile phones. Professor Nigel Allinson from Sheffield University said matches could now be made within hours as opposed to days."

Cops follow texting trail

Cops follow texting trail: Investigators routinely retrieve cell phone text messages as clues in everything from killings to divorce proceedings. ipCoomunications reports.

"Text messages surfaced as evidence in the Kobe Bryant rape proceedings before the alleged victim refused to testify." (cf Bryant's Attorneys File Motion to Access SMS Data)

Overseas news reports link text messages to bribes in Zimbabwe, a robbery in Australia and a homicide in Sweden."

Related articles in textually and picturephoning categories:

-- SMS used by the police

-- SMS used as evidence in court

-- Camphone snapshots nab criminals

Text Message 'Accents' Could Catch Crooks

Mobile phone users' text message 'accents' could be used as evidence to cage criminals, eports Life Style Extra.

Researchers at the University of Leicester (UK) say texters can be identified by their messaging style and that groups of people pick up similar styles, in the same way as regions and gangs have particular accents.

Now forensic psychologists have launched a study to assess the similarities and differences between individuals and groups of people.

In 2002, a court heard that the alibi of Stuart Campbell, the builder who murdered his 15-year-old Danielle Jones, was flawed. It rested on Danielle sending him SMS, but analysis showed the texts were not written in her style. Campbell was convicted of the murder. Dr Tim Grant, one of the project leaders, said this showed texts could be invaluable in evidence, and said he hoped the research would take the forensic implications of text evidence further forward.

Dr Grant said that groups and gangs develop a similar texting style or "accent". "As texting is a relatively new mode of communication, there are no generally accepted constraints and rules of grammar are quite weak. This freedom allows for significant individual differences in text messaging style, and this can be used to identify the text's authors."

Dr Grant added that there is a possibility of producing a computer program that could use the findings to analyse text messages, but it would depend on the frequency of cases."

Dutch Police send out SMS after child-abduction bids

Dutch police have warned local people in the south of the country to be on the lookout for two men who tried to abduct two young boys in separate incidents this week. [via Expatica]

... "The Dutch Police used the SMS alarm system to warn mobile phone users in a 10km radius around the town to watch out for the car and the men. A police search was also mounted on Wednesday."

Crime alerts at your fingertips in Boston

Boston has become the latest - and largest - U.S. city to launch a crime alert system designed to get the word out about murders, bank robberies and other crimes to residents and businesses via e-mail, text messaging and fax, reports Associated Press.

"Alerts are sent not only about various violent crimes, but also about trends, such as car break-ins. Specific types of businesses, such as pizza shops, can be warned of robberies. Alerts also can be sent about fugitives and missing persons.

The program is designed to both disseminate and solicit information, at a time when prosecutors complain that witnesses too often remain quiet. The program allows anonymous tips.

... The department's first alert was about a May 30 bank robbery in South Boston. A young woman wearing dark sunglasses and a Gap sweat shirt made off with an undetermined amount of cash.

An alert was sent after two men were fatally shot outside a Dorchester store on Wednesday afternoon. None of the cases have been solved, but officials say there are success stories in other cities using the technology."

Cellphones Used to Track Down Crooks in Kenya

Police in Kenya have been exploiting cell phone technology to solve high-profile murder and robbery cases, reports MobileAfrica.

"Police and prosecutors are increasingly relying on call records from mobile telephone operators Safaricom and Celtel to pick out suspects during investigations and link them to crimes.

Among the high-profile cases police have solved using the technology are the sensational kidnapping of tycoon Abdul Karim Popat and 15-year old Manik Gokals; tracing of police killer Daniel Kiptum Cheruiyot to his hideout; killing of land dealer Lawrence Githinji Magondu; and a Sh4 million robbery at the Bank of India in Westlands, Nairobi.

The cellphone was crucial to investigations into the killing of Mombasa Port CID chief Hassan Ahmed Abdillahi."

Related articles:

-- Fighting Crime With Cellphones' Clues

-- Cellphone Forensics at Crime Scenes

--Digital evidence is increasingly crucial to criminal investigations

-- UK police making Gil Grissom jealous...

-- The field of Cell Phone Forensics

-- Police turn forensic skills on handhelds

Fighting Crime With Cellphones' Clues

" Cellphones are everywhere and they are playing ever larger roles in the lives of almost everyone — including criminals. Drug dealers, rapists and murderers across the country have been caught based, at least partly, on the electronic gadgets they carry around. The New York Times reports.

"But extracting clues and leads from mobile electronics is no cakewalk. Unlike personal computers, 90 percent or more of which use the Windows operating system, cellphones rely on a confusing jumble of software that varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and even phone to phone. Data is often hidden or encrypted. And as long as a phone is connected to its cellular network, there is always a chance that its call histories and text messages will be erased, deliberately or otherwise.

Police departments have only recently begun training investigators in the delicate art of mobile-electronics forensics.

... With a court order, investigators can usually get a code from the manufacturer that unlocks the PIN. Inside the phone, there is often an astounding amount of information: deleted text messages; lengthy call histories; pictures and movies taken so long ago that the owner may not even remember taking them".

Related articles:

-- Cellphone Forensics at Crime Scenes - Logicube has developed a portable kit which can extract data from over 160 handset when needed by the police and forensic staff.

--Digital evidence is increasingly crucial to criminal investigations - Cell phones have become the new "smoking gun" for prosecutors and police in the Twin Cities and around the world

-- UK police making Gil Grissom jealous... - The Forensic Science Service (FSS) has developed a mobile laboratory which will travel to crime scenes and carry out real-time forensic investigation and analysis

-- The field of Cell Phone Forensics - Modern detectives are now using cell phone forensics to capture more and more criminals.

-- Police turn forensic skills on handhelds - Handhelds are likelier to lead to handcuffs for techie criminals following the release of a report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

China's New Participatory Citizen Surveillance

China's Public Ministry of Public Security has launched "an ID service where mobile phone users can send text messages to a government ID database as a way to confirm a person's identity," according to the China Digital Times. This service is also available through the internet.

[via Smart Mobs.

Police texting scheme nets first criminal

A 43-year-old man was arrested in Brandon on Tuesday thanks to Police DIrect, a service that notifies residents of current crimes by text message or email. Bury St Edmonds Today reports.

"Launched last August by Suffolk Police, the scheme enables the force to send out more than 200,000 messages in an hour.

In the past, it has been used to warn residents about bogus callers who may be operating in their midst, but this week it was used to trace a wanted criminal.

Around 6,000 messages were sent out on Tuesday lunchtime warning users of a prolific church burglar believed to be in the area – and it worked.

Within an hour, an eagle-eyed resident had called the police saying they had spotted the man, who was promptly arrested and charged with theft and burglary.

"We've had lots of small successes with the scheme, with upwards of 6,000 people now signed up, but this is the first apprehension we have had. Chf Supt Mark Cordell, area commander for Suffolk Police said. "It just shows what an excellent crime-fighting tool it is. By using the eyes and the ears of the public, we can help make the county an even safer place to live in". [via SMSTextNews]

'Too trendy' text alert by police force backfires

Police in Avon and Somerset (UK), are being ridiculed for using placards in Bristol's Kingswood area written in text message terminology, reports The Guardian.

"One says: 'Du ur olds knw whr U r o wot ur doin coz D bil wl tel em', which translates as 'Do your parents know where you are or what you are doing? Because the police will tell them.'

The signs, intended to reduce crime, have been attacked for straining too hard. Guy Bailey, a Jamaican community leader, said: 'It is wrong for the police to single out any one particular group, especially in a manner such as this. These signs should be written so everybody can understand them.'

A police spokesman said: 'This was considered the best way to reach people.'

Cell phone tracing helps nab criminals

... Investigative technologies for public telephones, cell phones and automobiles have improved significantly. A senior National Police Agency official said, "Kidnapping for ransom has become a crime in which criminals can't expect to succeed", reports TMCnet from Tokyo.

"A cell phone was used first in a kidnapping case in that of a Fuji Bank clerk in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in November 1991. Such phones are said to be difficult to trace compared with public phones.

Since then, a prepaid cell phone and a cell phone registered in another person's name have been used to prevent police tracing the perpetrator of a kidnapping, including that of a second-grade primary school student of Yokohama in April 2000.

But even if police fail to trace a cell phone, it is still possible to narrow down the whereabouts of the user within a radius of several hundreds meters, as long as the power is on. As a result of technological advances and cooperation between cell phone companies and police, the ability to trace cell phones has improved greatly, leading to a number of arrests in recent years.

A law aimed at confirming the identity of cell phone users was enforced in April 2005. Due to the law, it is difficult to obtain such a phone in another person's name."

SMS Alert Service for Dutch Police

Emexus, a global mobile services company, provided the Netherlands police force with a special alert system which uses SMS mobile technology to improve local security and provide a communication system for alarming local residents in case of a crisis.

After a very successful pilot in Tilburg, the Dutch police force is now ready to roll out the service to the rest of the Netherlands, starting in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The SMS alert system allows local residents to subscribe according to their zip code, and receive SMS text alerts from the police regarding activity in their community. [via Press release]

Finnish Police may reprimand citizens via SMS

Finnish police may approach unruly citizens via text message, according to Newsroom Finland.

"For example in Salo, the cradle of the Finnish mobile phone industry, police have adopted the practise of sending motorists text messages into their mobile phones about for example faulty lights. Also the highest echelons of the Finnish police administration try to think of ways in which the technology could be utilised to a greater extent than now.

Police administration wants to make absolutely sure that the right person gets the text message. Also the person receiving the message must be sure it really was sent by the police."