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There are approximately 18,000 law enforcement agencies across the United States – local, state, tribal, and federal— generally working independently,  each gathering clues, conducting interviews, solving crimes, and generating reports and information. Within their jurisdictions.

So the 2011 question is: in an age supporting a very mobile and transient number of people, obviously crime will cross many jurisdictions, how can we get these 18,000+ agencies connected rapidly and in an automated environment to share their information…not only to catch criminals and terrorists but also to spot crime trends and patterns and help prevent attacks?

After all, beyond a few national criminal justice systems like the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) , most information-sharing between police agencies today is still done on a case-by-case basis or through local and regional information systems.

In a three-year project (from 2008 – 2010), the FBI has been working on just such a system that incorporates all of the information maintained by all of these American law enforcement agencies and compiled this data into a single registry – the Law Enforcement  National Data Index, N-DEx.  N-DEx includes all of the traditional “hard” data: criminal backgrounds, parolee statuses, wants/warrants and can deliver highly effective reports connecting people, places and events by various methods such as MO comparisons, crime trends and familial DNA comparisons, to name several techniques.

It is the literal equivalent of each law enforcement agency, regardless of size, having its own CSI lab, forensics psychiatrist, anti-terrorism expert and other crime solving capabilities generally affordable only by large cities and the national l.e. organizations. N-DEx brings this  broader scope, more tightly focused physical and psychological database to a one sheriff town and to the Homeland Security Administration. The final implementation of N-DEx occurred quietly at the end of 2010. It is this tireless work by our security and law enforcement expert that allows the FBI (and now many others in the field)  to track and more often than not, stop terrorists, cult members and violent criminals before they commit additional heinous crimes.

It is expected that the N-DEx will become available to state and local district attorneys, (all need to know requests are recorded) and may be accessed via FOIL, albeit, for attorneys and private investigators, probably with highly redacted/limited information and very specific rules monitoring the N-DEx’s use.

That this crime information and trend data has finally all come together in one registry is a good thing.  Too often, too many criminals have slipped through the cracks, knowing how to work the “systems” and normal time delays.  Now, we’ll have the ability to access relevant aggregated information to solve cases quickly and effectively and aggressively deter potential threats.

BNI Operatives: A step ahead.

As always, be safe.

Related articles

• FBI Data Exchange System Now Fully Operational (informationweek.com)

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Each year, around the beginning of March, I begin to check the FBI most wanted lists. Mostly as an exercise in how far I can get in locating information not previously released by the FBI. #10 on this list has an interesting FB page.  And a $1 million tag on his head. Usually it’s a tip off from a civilian that gets one of these 10 ten villains nailed.  Browse through – some of the personal info is hysterical, but always bear in mind that they are all extremely dangerous. (I’d add dangerous “people” but I’m not a hypocrite.)

FBI Facts:

Employees

On January 4, 2011, the FBI had a total of 35,506 employees. That included 13,807 special agents and 21,699 support professionals, such as intelligence analysts, language specialists, scientists, information technology specialists, and other professionals.

Locations

The FBI works literally around the globe. Along with Headquarters in Washington, D.C., they have 56 field offices located in major cities throughout the U.S., 400+ smaller offices called resident agencies in cities and towns across the nation, and more than 60 international offices called “legal attachés” in U.S. embassies worldwide.

Budget

In fiscal year 2010, the FBI  total budget was approximately $7.9 billion.

History

The FBI was established in 1908. It was simply referred to as a special agents force for its first 27 years. The name, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) became effective on March 22, 1935, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Motto

“Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity.”

Ten Most Wanted

The FBI is offering rewards for information leading to the apprehension of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.

ALEXIS FLORES
SEMION MOGILEVICH
JOE LUIS SAENZ
EDUARDO RAVELO
USAMA BIN LADEN

Murder of U.S. Nationals Outside the United States; Conspiracy to Murder U.S. Nationals Outside the United States; Attack on a Federal Facility Resulting in Death USAMA BIN LADEN             Date of Photograph Unknown     Multimedia: Images Aliases: Usama Bin Muhammad Bin Ladin, Shaykh Usama Bin Ladin, the Prince, the Emir, Abu Abdallah, Mujahid Shaykh, Hajj, the Director DESCRIPTION Date(s) of Birth Used: 1957 Place of Birth: Saudi Arabia Height: 6′ 4″ to 6′ 6″ Weight: Approximately 160 pounds Build: Thin Occupation: Unknown Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown Complexion: Olive Sex: Male Nationality: Saudi Arabian Scars and Marks: None known Remarks: Bin Laden is the leader of a terrorist organization known as Al-Qaeda, “The Base”. He is left-handed and walks with a cane. CAUTION Usama Bin Laden is wanted in connection with the August 7, 1998, bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. These attacks killed over 200 people. In addition, Bin Laden is a suspect in other terrorist attacks throughout the world. REWARD The Rewards For Justice Program, United States Department of State, is offering a reward of up to $25 million for information leading directly to the apprehension or conviction of Usama Bin Laden. An additional $2 million is being offered through a program developed and funded by the Airline Pilots Association and the Air Transport Association. CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS If you have any information concerning this person, please contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate. Field Office: New York June 1999 Poster Revised November 2001 Poster Classification: Ten Most Wanted Fugitives

JASON DEREK BROWN
JAMES J. BULGER
GLEN STEWART GODWIN
ROBERT WILLIAM FISHER
VICTOR MANUEL GERENA

Part II of ” The FBI – Behind the Dark Suits” illustrates the FBI’s latest technique for centralizing criminal justice information – N-DEx. Up until now, this registry has only been available to limited law enforcement officials. It is now being opened up to thousands more criminal justice agencies. We’ll also explore FOIL and need-t0-know accessability in defense cases.

BNI Operatives: A step ahead.

As always, be safe.

Related Articles

• IDAHO: Triple-murder suspect held on $1 million bond (daancaanetwork.org)
• FBI Buys Billboard to Help Nab One of Their 10 Most Wanted (laist.com)
• Idaho triple-murder suspect extradited from Mexico ()

The FBI  produced a mathematical model in which 50,000 fingerprints were compared with 50,000 other fingerprints. And their model told them that it was mathematically impossible, one chance in ten to the 16th, that’s one in 10 million billion, for two fingerprints to agree in more than four Galton characteristics.  In the United States is a very loose convention,  basically 12 points of similarity , that is 12 Galton characteristics would constitute a bomb proof identification.  The British were more conservative and insisted on 16 points.  The FBI laboratory has taken the position that eight characteristics was enough, particularly if they were clear.   Bear in mind that here in the U.S., the court-acceptable number of fingerprint points varies per jurisdiction.  Below is the Galton model from which fingerprint point are defined.

                                        Island                       Dot                       Bifurcation           Ending Ridge

Print with points highlighted:

Point Key:

Basic and composite ridge characteristics  (minutiae)
Minutiae	Example	Minutiae	Example
ridge ending		bridge
bifurcation		double bifurcation
dot		trifurcation
island (short ridge)		opposed bifurcations
lake (enclosure)		ridge crossing
hook (spur)		opposed bifurcation/ridge ending

As always, stay safe.

Related Articles

• When did we start using fingerprinting in crimes? (greenanswers.com)
• Eastern Police District to expand fingerprint database (newsinfo.inquirer.net)

It seems we’d just written about a similar process just  a few months ago:

from The Beacon Bulletin, September, 2009:

We’ve been monitoring the development of a relatively new investigation tool  in law enforcement and litigation closely; that of prosecutors, the FBI and other investigative/authorized agencies using the DNA samplings of relatives to locate potential criminals/defendants.

In the majority of familial DNA usage cases,  the jurisdictional agency will run a suspect’s genetic material through the FBI’s 6 million+ DNA samples database.   States are scrambling to legislate procedure for this investigative tool.  The ABA cites California as having already set up familial DNA usage protocol.

In unusual cases, (see: NPR reports of matching familial DNA in capturing the BTK (Bind, Torture and Kill) murderer) normal, routine medical samples (in the BTK killer case, his daughter’s pap smear test) are being subpoenaed for testing within the FBI’s DNA database.

Furthering compounding the issue are potential situations of identical DNA, such as has occurred in the German case involving identical twins, ultimately released without being charged, as it could not be determined which brother had perpetrated a massive jewelry heist. 

Strap in tight.  It’s going to be a bumpy road, folks.

BNI Operatives: Street smart; Web Savvy.

As always, be safe.

SITE OF THE WEEK:  http://www.blockyourex.com No further explanation necessary!

Background:

At some point in 2007, Mr. Digati purchased a variable universal life insurance (VUL) policy with New York Life.  Unlike term or whole life policies, a VUL allows the insured to select the premiums investment funds placement.   A VUL’s value fluctuates with the stock market.  Apparently unhappy with his policy’s performance, in January 2010, Mr. Digati spoke with a NYL customer service representative.  The issue was obviously not resolved then as Mr. Digati then took the following steps:

Extortion activities:

1. Subsequent to his NYL CS personnel conversation, Mr. Digati purchased a domain: www.newyorklifeproducts.com.

2. On February 4, 2010, he then sent a letter, via USPS regular mail,  to the New York City headquarters of NYL,  demanding the immediate return of all of his paid premiums.

3. On February 11, 2010, Mr. Digati was sent a letter from a NYL representative, declining to refund Mr,. Digati’s paid premiums; also explaining to him that his policy was tied to the stock market and therefore performed on a fluctuating basis.

4. On February 22, 2010, Mr. Digati sent an email to several dozen NYL employees, including one board member, directing them to the website: www.newyorklifeproducts.com.

5. On this very public website,  Mr, Digati posted an escalating, date-driven, monetary demand timetable.  (If his initial demands for approximately $198,000+ were not met by March 8, 2010, the new extortion rate would jump to $3 million.)

6. Mr. Digati outlined his plan to achieve this money demand in great details.  He had compiled a list of people aged 25 – 40 who might be interested in a NYL insurance policy and one of 200,000 NYL insurance agents.  With the first list, he intended to direct innocent potential policy purchasers to his site to reveal to them hidden the “evils” of NYL products.  With the latter, his intent was to cause confusion and disrupt business as usual as the agents would then be upset and calling in, requiring explanations, assurances… that the company was stable and not “On The Run”.

A direct post from  Mr.  Digati’s site:

” No judge in the world is going to rule for a 200 billion dollar company when there is a lonely customer that you stole from!”

As you can imagine, the complaint is full of these types of incredible statements and even more headshaking comments such as: “I know how to do this and effect maximum damage to your company’s reputation”.  It is impossible  to discern Mr.  Digati’s thought process in placing these extorting  posts on such a very public forum!

For additional legal commentary, please proceed to the entire indictment.

BNI Operatives: Street smart: Web savvy.

As always, stay safe.

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III today announces the FBI’s commemoration of its famous “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” program, created 60 years ago.

In 1949, a reporter for the International News Service (the predecessor to United Press International) approached the FBI and asked about writing a story about the “toughest guys” being sought by the FBI at the time. The Bureau provided the names and descriptions of 10 fugitives to the reporter. The resulting feature became a major story and gained national attention. As a consequence of overwhelming public interest, on March 14, 1950, then-Director J. Edgar Hoover inaugurated the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives program.

“Fun” FAQs About The List:

Are the Top Ten actually ranked? No.

Who selects the Most Wanted fugitives? All 56 FBI field offices submit their candidates for the list and eventually the FBI Director signs off on his selections.

How many women have been on the Most Wanted List? 8, beginning with Ruth Eisemann-Schier in 1968.

How many fugitives have been on the list?  494,  of  which, 463 have been captured. (As of October 21, 2009.)

Are there rewards offered for the capture of  a Most Wanted fugitive?  At a minimum, a reward of up to $100,000 is offered by the FBI for information which leads directly to the arrest of an individual on the  ”Top Ten” list.

Obvious Warning: If you know or have reason to believe you may know the whereabouts of any dangerous fugitives, please immediately contact the police at 911 or the FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI (225-5324).

The most current Top Ten Most Wanted fugitives, courtesy of the FBI:

Is that Ben Stiller to the right of the word “fugitives” in the poster?  Not opining on the quality of his films; just asking… 

Semi-spoiler: We may do a live polygraph next week.  Stay tuned.

BNI Operatives: Street smart: Web savvy.

As always, stay safe.

Back on topic, we’ve been monitoring the development of a relatively new investigation tool  in law enforcement and litigation closely; that of prosecutors, the FBI and other investigative/authorized agencies using the DNA samplings of relatives to locate potential criminals/defendants.

In the majority of familial DNA usage cases,  the jurisdictional agency will run a suspect’s genetic material through the FBI’s 6 million+ DNA samples database.   States are scrambling to legislate procedure for this investigative tool.  The ABA cites California as having already set up familial DNA usage protocol.

In unusual cases, (see: NPR reports of matching familial DNA in capturing the BTK (Bind, Torture and Kill) murderer) normal, routine medical samples (in the BTK killer case, his daughter’s pap smear test) are being subpoenaed for testing within the FBI’s DNA database.

Furthering compounding the issue are potential situations of identical DNA, such as has occurred in the German case involving identical twins, ultimately released without being charged, as it could not be determined which brother had perpetrated a massive jewelry heist. 

Strap in tight.  It’s going to be a bumpy road, folks.

BNI Operatives: Street smart; Web Savvy.

Our wishes for a healthy, sane and relaxing Labor Day!

As always, be safe.

TIP OF THE WEEK FOR OUR SUBSCRIBED READERS:  How to confirm the death status of a subject, without his/her SSN.

03/19/2009

Twins Suspected in Spectacular Jewelry Heist Set Free

Saved by their indistinguishable DNA, identical twins suspected in a massive jewelry heist have been set free. Neither could be exclusively linked to the DNA evidence.

German police say at least one of the identical twin brothers Hassan and Abbas O. may have perpetrated a recent multimillion euro jewelry heist in Berlin. But because of their indistinguishable DNA, neither can be individually linked to the crime. Both were set free on Wednesday.

Using a relative’s DNA to catch criminals

US News  03/06/09

By Scott Michels

When a woman was brutally raped in Denver in 2003, DNA found at the crime scene was similar to that of a felon whose genetic profile was kept in Oregon’s DNA database–so similar that the man in Oregon was probably a close relative of the suspect, says Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey. But FBI rules on interstate cases prevented Oregon’s crime lab from sharing the man’s name with out-of-state police, effectively stalling the investigation.

“This may be the father or son of the rapist I’m looking for,” says Morrissey. “At least give us the chance to look.”

He may soon get his chance. Prompted by cases like Morrissey’s, the FBI is making it easier for police to use DNA databases to investigate the relatives of the 3.3 million known criminals whose genetic profiles are being kept by the government. In limited situations, crime labs may now release the name of a person in the database who is not actually a suspect but whose DNA is similar to DNA recovered from a crime scene–leading police to then investigate that person’s family. And some prosecutors are pushing states,which set their own policies for in-state cases, to even more aggressively use so-called family searching–a potentially powerful crime-fighting tool whose effect on civil liberties alarms privacy advocates.

It’s getting scary out there!

BNI Operatives: Street smart, web savvy.

Stay safe.