Transcript Crime And Intelligence Analysis in the 21st Century: A

Advanced Information Technology in Law Enforcement:
Challenges and Barriers to Implementation
Andreas M. Olligschlaeger, Ph.D.
President, TruNorth Data Systems, Inc.
(724) 775-8441
[email protected]
Overview
What are some of the key IT challenges to law
enforcement?
Current state of the art in technology
Barriers to the implementation of new
technologies
IT Challenges
Information sharing
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Sharing information can help prevent crime and
terrorism before it occurs
Proactive law enforcement requires putting together
many pieces of a puzzle; private industry owns a large
part of the puzzle
While there is no guarantee that information sharing will
prevent all attacks or crimes, failure to do so will almost
certainly guarantee future attacks and crime
IT Challenges
Proactive analytical capabilities
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Forecasting
Real-time monitoring of large data sets
Space/Time Pattern analysis
Data Mining
Multi-Modal Query and Display
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Query and visualize data in multiple ways
Ubiquitous Access to Information
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Handheld computers, laptops, etc.; more than simple query interfaces
Secure Communications
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Currently almost non-existent for broadband
Data Standards
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Crucial to information sharing
Homeland Security
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Merges 22 agencies
Over 55 U.S. government databases
containing information on terrorists
Hundreds of other databases, varying by:
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Type
Platform
Operating system
Database schema
Homeland Security
“The Mother of all Information Integration
Programs”
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Bob Shepherd, Director of Information Integration, Office
of Homeland Security
Example: Australia
Centrelink project consolidates 19 million citizens’
access to government information
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14 agencies
40 databases
Integrated warehouse is growing at the rate of 2.5
Terabytes per week
Source: US Chamber of Commerce, 2002
Extrapolation: United States
Assuming the amount of information per citizen
and the number of systems are the same,
merging Homeland Security systems would
result in a weekly growth rate of 36.6
Terabytes
How Much Information is 36.6TB?
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7,320 DVDs
58,560 CDs
73,200 filing cabinets containing single spaced, double sided
typed pages of text
36,600,000 books
Assuming the Homeland Security Warehouse starts with zero information,
it’s size would be 1,903.2 Terabytes after one year
At 165,000 employees, each Homeland Security staff member would have
to read 221.8 books a week to digest it all!
In 2003 the largest known database in the world contained 500 terabytes
of information (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center)
Current State of the Art in LE
Data Sharing/Integration:
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Most recent efforts have concentrated in this area
Examples of current efforts:
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Organization for Structured Information Standards
LegalXML Lawful Intercept Standard
IACP Information Integration Planning Model
RISSNet
No major integration efforts implemented yet at
the national level
Current State of the Art in LE
Data Processing/Analysis:
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Least amount of effort spent in this area
Lots of analytical tools, but very few databases
are integrated enough to allow multi-modal
analysis
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Integrated databases tend to be specialized for one or
two purposes (GIS, link analysis, etc.)
Some data mining
Current State of the Art in LE
Analytical tools:
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Crime Mapping
Link Analysis
Toll analysis
Geographic Profiling
Case Management
Crime Forecasting
Multimedia Databases
Facial Recognition
Biometrics
Many advances have been made in integration and analysis, but they
have not yet been applied in law enforcement
Current State of the Art in LE
Many analytical/integration tools are based on old
technology
Some tools don’t work as advertised
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Implemented before the technology is mature
Many tools inadequate for modern law enforcement
needs
Some modern tools, but outdated databases
Current State of the Art in LE
Data Mining
SQL Queries based on expert opinion
Pattern Recognition and detection algorithms
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Known patterns
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Facial recognition
Unknown patterns
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Space/Time patterns
Fractal algorithms
Associative and predictive artificial neural networks
Goal: provide automatic detection of potential new
cases
Barriers
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Law enforcement has limited resources
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Private industry has greater technical expertise
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FBI Trilogy project
Law Enforcement is a niche market
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Not enough manpower/computing power to assess all
available information
Projects cost much more to implement than in private industry
Technical infrastructure
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Outdated technology, networks
Barriers
Poor marketing on part of the government
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Examples:
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Total Information Awareness project (TIA)
Matrix
Game theoretic approaches
Various TSA efforts
Projects started without public input or awareness until
after the fact
Damage not limited to federal government projects
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Private industry and state/local agencies more reluctant to
take part in controversial projects
Barriers
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FOIA (Freedom of Information Act)
Concerns about liability with regards to false
positives
Uncertainty about constantly changing federal
laws
Concerns about technical life cycle in government
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Government lifecycles tend to be longer
Over time technology gap will continue to widen
Barriers
Privacy Concerns:
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Lack of safeguards
Currently no guarantee to privacy
EU laws very different; allow for more effective
law enforcement
Public misconception of what privacy is
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Anonymity not the same as privacy
Anonymity reduces responsibility
The End