Advanced Information Technology in Law Enforcement: Challenges and Barriers to Implementation

Andreas M. Olligschlaeger, Ph.D.President, TruNorth Data Systems, Inc.(724) 775-8441olli@TruNorthSystems.com

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 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– Forecasting– Real-time monitoring of large data sets– Space/Time Pattern analysis– Data Mining

Multi-Modal Query and Display– Query and visualize data in multiple ways

Ubiquitous Access to Information– Handheld computers, laptops, etc.; more than simple query interfaces

Secure Communications– Currently almost non-existent for broadband

Data Standards– Crucial to information sharing

Homeland Security

Merges 22 agencies Over 55 U.S. government databases

containing information on terrorists Hundreds of other databases, varying by:

– Type– Platform– Operating system– Database schema

Homeland Security

“The Mother of all Information Integration Programs”

- Bob Shepherd, Director of Information Integration, Office of Homeland Security

Example: Australia

Centrelink project consolidates 19 million citizens’ access to government information

– 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?

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:– Most recent efforts have concentrated in this area– Examples of current efforts:

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:– Least amount of effort spent in this area– Lots of analytical tools, but very few databases

are integrated enough to allow multi-modal analysis

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:– 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 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 MiningSQL Queries based on expert opinionPattern Recognition and detection algorithms

Known patterns– Facial recognition

Unknown patterns– Space/Time patterns

Fractal algorithmsAssociative and predictive artificial neural networks

Goal: provide automatic detection of potential new cases

Barriers

– Law enforcement has limited resources Not enough manpower/computing power to assess all

available information

– Private industry has greater technical expertise FBI Trilogy project

– Law Enforcement is a niche market Projects cost much more to implement than in private industry

– Technical infrastructure Outdated technology, networks

Barriers

Poor marketing on part of the government– Examples:

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 Private industry and state/local agencies more reluctant to

take part in controversial projects

Barriers

– 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

Government lifecycles tend to be longer Over time technology gap will continue to widen

Barriers

Privacy Concerns:– Lack of safeguards– Currently no guarantee to privacy– EU laws very different; allow for more effective

law enforcement

Public misconception of what privacy is– Anonymity not the same as privacy– Anonymity reduces responsibility

The End