Matrix revolution: sophisticated technology allows law enforcement across the nation to communicate quickly and solve crimes.On May 8, 1998, a 23-year-old doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania (body, education) University of Pennsylvania - The home of ENIAC and Machiavelli. http://upenn.edu/. Address: Philadelphia, PA, USA. was raped and murdered. Through DNA evidence Among the many new tools that science has provided for the analysis of forensic evidence is the powerful and controversial analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, the material that makes up the genetic code of most organisms. , police knew she was the victim of a serial rapist who had attacked at least five other women in Philadelphia. But other than that, they had few leads. The case went cold. Three years later at least six women were sexually assaulted across the country in Fort Collins, Colo., home to Colorado State University Colorado State University, at Fort Collins; land-grant with state and federal support; chartered 1870, opened 1879 as an agricultural college, assumed present name in 1957. There is a veterinary teaching hospital, an agricultural campus, and a research campus. . Police in Colorado were unaware of the attacks that took place in Philadelphia. An FBI national data center--VICAP--however, revealed similarities between the crimes. Investigators in both cities were notified. DNA analysis DNA analysis Any technique used to analyze genes and DNA. See Chromosome walking, DNA fingerprinting, Footprinting, In situ hybridization, Jeffries' probe, Jumping libraries, PCR, RFLP analysis, Southern blot hybridization. confirmed the crimes were committed by the same person, allowing investigators to focus on men fitting certain physical characteristics who had ties to both Fort Collins and Philadelphia. To compile a list of suspects, the Philadelphia police turned to Seisint, a Florida-based company that specializes in processing data from its multibillion record repository. Using sophisticated algorithms and retrieval technology, Seisint produced a list of 40 men who had lived in Philadelphia and Fort Collins during the time of the attacks. The rapist captured as a result of that data analysis is now serving a life sentence in Colorado. It took several months to investigate the suspects on the list. "Had our database contained DMV DMV abbr. Department of Motor Vehicles (motor vehicle division) and other government records we could have narrowed the list considerably," says Bill Shrewbury, a Seisint law enforcement specialist. MATRIX CREATED Now it does. Last year, Seisint teamed up with Florida and other states to create MATRIX, the Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange The Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange Program, also known by the acronym "MATRIX", was a federally funded data mining system originally developed for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement described as a tool to identify terrorist subjects. system, a pilot project initiated to improve the sharing of criminal information among local, state and federal law enforcement. As the name suggests, the system was designed to give law enforcement the tools needed to fight terrorism. Those same tools also can be used to solve crimes. Information that states contribute to MATRIX, including such things as criminal and DMV records, are combined with commercially available information, such as addresses obtained from phone books going back 30 years. MATRIX then allows an investigator to find, for instance, the name, picture and address of every brown-haired owner of a green Honda Civic The Honda Civic is a compact car manufactured by Honda. It was introduced in July 1972 as a two-door coupe, followed by a three-door hatchback version that September. With the transverse engine placement of its 1169 cc engine and front-wheel drive, like the British Mini, the within a 25-mile radius of a reported crime. A few more clicks and the investigator can determine previous addresses for that suspect, who his neighbors or associates are and with whom he has lived previously. "The information is already being used, but with a program like MATRIX it's only seconds away, instead of clays or even weeks," says Missouri Representative Harold R. Selby, who served on NCSL's Task Force on Protecting Democracy. The system that currently includes Connecticut, Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, was created following the 9/11 tragedy to reinvent the way law enforcement shares information to protect the public. The Bureau of Justice Assistance Noun 1. Bureau of Justice Assistance - the bureau in the Department of Justice that assists local criminal justice systems to reduce or prevent crime and violence and drug abuse BJA awarded $4 million to the MATRIX project, to allow participating agencies to connect through a secure computer network. An additional $8 million came from the Office for Domestic Preparedness, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Noun 1. Department of Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States , to expand system access. "Criminal investigations are like putting a puzzle together," says Guy Tunnel, commissioner of the Florida Department Florida is a department (departamento) of Uruguay. Population and Demographics As of the census of 2004, there were 68,181 people and 21,938 households in the department. The average household size was 3.1. For every 100 females, there were 100.4 males. of Law Enforcement. "But we have to do it without the picture on the box." Criminal databases are a key component for making connections between known facts and individuals. They dramatically shorten the time of an investigation, saving police hours and possibly lives. Their effectiveness is closely related to the amount of information placed in them. More information means greater odds that a database can produce "hits" that solve crimes. So lawmakers in many states have expanded their DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. databases. A decade ago, states were just beginning to bank DNA samples from convicted sex offenders. Now, all states have DNA databases and 35 can collect DNA samples from all convicted felons. Louisiana and Virginia can collect samples from certain arrestees. "The more offender samples you have on hand, the greater the ability of law enforcement to identify suspects and protect the public," says New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Assemblyman Joseph Lentol Joseph Lentol represents District 50 in the New York State Assembly, which is comprised of Greenpoint, Williamsburg and Fort Greene, among other neighborhoods located in the northern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. , chairman of the Assembly Codes Committee. The pilot MATRIX system takes much more mundane data, such as home addresses, motor vehicle registrations and driver's licenses, and uses supercomputer capabilities to run queries that can identify and locate suspects. The information used is either public information or data provided by participating states and generally available to law enforcement, such as crime records and sex offender registries. What makes MATRIX unique is that it integrates public, commercial and law enforcement information into one system that can provide almost instant leads. "It's about speed, whether you are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. terrorists or a child," says Jeff Portz, an inspector with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement who works with MATRIX. He says the system does not give them information they could not get elsewhere, it just gives them the ability to search billions of records in a few seconds. PRIVACY CONCERNS Still, others see the need to proceed with caution. "The technology is impressive but there have to be safeguards," says Representative Michael Lawlor, chairman of the Connecticut General Assembly's Joint Judiciary Committee Judiciary Committee may refer to:
Ensuring that crime databases don't compromise sensitive information requires policy decisions both about what information is available and secure operations. Portz in Florida says that MATRIX has built-in security to automatically log and review every query. Any irregularities, he said, are flagged and investigated. Law enforcement personnel who are allowed to use the system receive training that further supports its security and integrity. Critics of the project claim the ability of MATRIX to cull cull the act of culling. Called also cast. and quickly analyze information from various sources encroaches on individual privacy. Because powerful databases like MATRIX can use old information in new ways, they prompt concern about personal information and privacy. Policymakers must consider, for example, if it is proper that a phone number and address someone had listed a decade ago be part of a computer database used for crime investigations today. "It's the genie in a bottle," says Doug Bodero, president of the Institute for Intergovernmental Research in Tallahassee, Fla. "Once you let it out, how do you get it back?" Bodero works with law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is a term used to describe any agency which enforces the law. This may be a local or state police, federal agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). on crime information and training issues. "Legislators must decide where to draw the line on how much privacy we give up for security. Then agencies have to make sure we operate within those parameters." Indeed, states are looking today at where to draw that line. The pilot program had 13 states participating at its peak, but as of March 2004 only five remained. Earlier this year, Utah governor Olene Walker formed an oversight committee designed to evaluate security, accessibility and privacy surrounding MATRIX. The joint committee, made up of members from the executive and legislative branches, along with a citizen representative, will make recommendations regarding Utah's participation. "We should know all we can about MATRIX before the state makes a decision to continue participation in the program," says Governor Walker. FBI'S VICAP VICAP Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (FBI) VICAP Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program HELPS SOLVE CRIMES The Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP) is part of the FBI's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime In November 1982, following a meeting between members of the Criminal Personality Research Project advisory board and other specialists, the concept of a single National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) was put forward. , which helps federal, state and local law enforcement investigate these felonies. VICAP can compare case information with everything in the system from similar crimes, look at it from different aspects to identify patterns and help solve the crime. Cases examined by VICAP include: * Homicides or attempts, especially those that involve an abduction Abduction Balfour, David expecting inheritance, kidnapped by uncle. [Br. Lit.: Kidnapped] Bertram, Henry kidnapped at age five; taken from Scotland. [Br. Lit. ; are apparently random, motiveless, or sexually oriented; or are known or suspected to be part of a series. * Missing persons where the circumstances indicate a strong possibility of foul play foul play n. Unfair or treacherous action, especially when involving violence. foul play Noun 1. violent activity esp. murder 2. , and the victim is still missing. * Unidentified bodies where the manner of death is suspected to be homicide. Forty-two states have agreements with the FBI to send their violent crime data to the nationwide VICAP database. DATABASE DEBATE Advances in technology have increased the ability of government agencies to electronically collect, analyze and disseminate information. But agencies must consider individual privacy, or concerns can bring a program to a halt. That happened last year with the Pentagon's Terrorism Information Awareness (TIA (1) (Telecommunications Industry Association, Arlington, VA, www.tiaonline.org) A membership organization founded in 1988 that sets telecommunications standards worldwide. It was originally an EIA working group that was spun off and merged with the U.S. ) program, formerly known as Total Information Awareness. It was being developed to sift through multiple government and commercial data sources to find patterns of terrorist activities. Congress froze TIA funding when the project came under fire for its sweeping use of individual information. "If the government is to sustain public support for its efforts, it must demonstrate that the information it seeks to acquire is genuinely important to the security mission. It also must show that it is obtained and used in a way that minimizes the impact on privacy and civil liberties," said a report from the Markle Foundation The Markle Foundation is an organization concerned with technology, health care, and national security. People associated
The National Criminal Justice Association has created guidelines for responsibly collecting and sharing data. Key provisions suggest: * Personal information should be collected for specified purposes only. * It should be limited to necessary information. * Information needs to be complete, current and accurate. * Use of information should be limited to the stated purpose. * Security measures Noun 1. security measures - measures taken as a precaution against theft or espionage or sabotage etc.; "military security has been stepped up since the recent uprising" security must prevent unauthorized access. * Notice should be given on how information is collected, maintained and disseminated. * Individuals should be given access to their information. * Oversight and accountability are required. Other policy recommendations include the ability to purge unnecessary information and assess penalties for those who misuse information. These privacy guidelines were developed as part of the U.S. Department of Justice Global Justice Sharing Initiative. For more information go to http://it.ojp.gov/index.jsp DNA INFORMATION GIVES LEADS The FBI's Combined DNA Index System Noun 1. Combined DNA Index System - the DNA file maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (CODIS CODIS Combined DNA Index System (US FBI) CODIS Convicted Offender DNA Index System CODIS Component and Distributed Systems ) enables federal, state and local crime labs to compare DNA profiles electronically, thereby linking crimes to each other and to convicted offenders. CODIS generates investigative leads The term investigative leads refers to any information which could potentially aid in the successful resolution of the investigation. For example investigative leads pertaining to robbery offense might include: description of the perpetrator(s), visible impression(s) of in crimes where biological evidence is recovered at the scene. A forensic index contains DNA profiles from crime scene evidence. An offender index contains DNA profiles of individuals convicted of sex offenses A class of sexual conduct prohibited by the law. Since the 1970s this area of the law has undergone significant changes and reforms. Although the commission of sex offenses is not new, public awareness and concern regarding sex offenses have grown, resulting in the (and other violent crimes). Many states have expanded legislation to include other felonies. Matches made among profiles in the forensic index can link crime scenes, possibly identifying serial offenders. Based on a match, police in multiple jurisdictions can coordinate their respective investigations and share the leads they develop independently. Matches made between the forensic and offender indexes provide investigators with the identity of the perpetrators. After CODIS identifies a potential match, qualified DNA analysts in the laboratories contact each other to validate or refute the match. The DNA Index System contained 75,507 forensic profiles and 1,570,577 convicted offender profiles as of February. So far, the information contained in these databases has aided 12,278 investigations. REPRESENTATIVE HAROLD R. SELBY MISSOURI REPRESENTATIVE MICHAEL LAWLOR CONNECTICUT Blake Harrison tracks crime and crime information issues in NCSL's Criminal Justice Program in Denver, Colo. |
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