Electronic Evidence in Criminal Investigations and Actions

Are you wondering how electronic evidence holds up in the courts of law? 

Electronic Evidence in Criminal Investigations and Actions: Representative Court Decisions and Supplementary Materials, Ronald J. Hedges, Editor, is available at this link.

How to Prevent Wire Transfer Fraud

How to Prevent Wire Transfer Fraud is a video interview available at this link. One of the panelists is Matthew O’Neill, special agent at the U.S. Secret Service.

Learn about:

Common methods of wire transfer fraud;

Technologies that can be leveraged to mitigate the fraud risks;

Why employee training is an essential component of fighting fraud.

Anti-money laundering (AML)

Are you working on money laundering investigations? Here are some resources to help you understand the current environment and the future of money laundering regulations and enforcement efforts.

Read Deloitte's Anti-money laundering (AML) program effectiveness views and watch videos at this link.

Read  Orrick's Guide toThe Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 at this link.

Read Enhancing National Security by Reimagining FinCEN at this link.

7th edition of the National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends report

 The 7th edition of the National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends report is available at this link.

“Intelligence does not claim infallibility for its prophecies. Intelligence merely holds that the answer which it gives is the most deeply and objectively based and carefully considered estimate.”

-Sherman Kent

Founder of the Office of National Estimates

Welcome to the 7th edition of the National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends report. Published every four years since 1997, Global Trends assesses the key trends and uncertainties that will shape the strategic environment for the United States during the next two decades.

Global Trends is designed to provide an analytic framework for policymakers early in each administration as they craft national security strategy and navigate an uncertain future. The goal is not to offer a specific prediction of the world in 2040; instead, our intent is to help policymakers and citizens see what may lie beyond the horizon and prepare for an array of possible futures.

Each edition of Global Trends is a unique undertaking, as its authors on the National Intelligence Council develop a methodology and formulate the analysis. This process involved numerous steps: examining and evaluating previous editions of Global Trends for lessons learned; research and discovery involving widespread consultations, data collection, and commissioned research; synthesizing, outlining, and drafting; and soliciting internal and external feedback to revise and sharpen the analysis.

The Suspicious Transaction Report Podcasts

 The Suspicious Transaction Report Podcasts are available at this link.

The Suspicious Transaction Report is the flagship podcast of RUSI’s Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies (CFCS). It offers 'behind-the-scenes' insights and practical advice on how to implement the latest financial crime research and policy developments in the real world – from anti-money laundering and illicit flows to sanctions evasion and cryptocurrency abuse.

The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) is the world’s oldest and the UK’s leading defence and security think tank.

What We Know About Maritime Illicit Trades

 What We Know About Maritime Illicit Trades is a report available at this link.

What We Know About Maritime Illicit Trades is the second in a series of reports as part of the Transnational Organized Crime at Sea: New Evidence for Better Responses project. The project is a collaboration between the SafeSeas Network, based at the Universities of Bristol (UK) and Copenhagen (Denmark) and the One Earth Future Foundation’s Stable Seas program and is funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research (PaCCS) and the One Earth Future Foundation.

This paper provides an overview of what we know about maritime illicit trades, how data is collected, what information is available, and which organizations are analyzing these data.

The first report in the series, What We know About Piracy, is available at this link.

The report, What We Know About Piracy is the first in a series of reports on Transnational Organised Crime at Sea. The project is a collaboration between the SafeSeas Network, based at the Universities of Bristol (UK) and Copenhagen (Denmark) and the One Earth Future Foundation’s Stable Seas program.

Presenting Data for Analysts

 CompStat360: Presenting Data for Analysts from National Police Foundation on Vimeo.

Timelines

 I love timelines because they tell a story.

TIMELINES

Document significant events

Help us forecast what might happen next

Summarize large amounts of information

Can include the activities of one or many persons

Can be created in software such as i2 Analysts's Notebook

Can be created in MS Excel

Can be created in MS Word

Can be created in MS PowerPoint

When you create a timeline, check to see if you have covered these areas:

Apply: Center for Homeland Defense and Security Master's Degree Program

U.S. law enforcement analysts: you may be eligible for this well-respected program. Check it out at this link. The application deadline is December 1, 2021.

"The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Preparedness Directorate, FEMA and the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) have pioneered graduate education programs for homeland security. Since 2003, CHDS has built a cadre of graduate education programs and resources used by universities and agencies across the country. The Master of Arts (M.A.) degree program is offered at no cost to eligible local, state, tribal, territorial, and federal officials."

Time as a Variable

Analysts focus on time because it matters in our analyses. Patterns of time help us link crimes. 

Time of day – when? Example that time matters: burglaries when people are at work.

Day of week – when? Example that time matters: robberies only on weekends in bar areas.

Day of month – when? Example that time matters: purse sancthings near ATMS on dates of the month when people receive benefit deposits.

Date – when? Example that time matters: a frequency of every-other-day larcenies of motor vehicles in a neighborhood.

Significant dates – when? Example that time matters: anniversaries of a mass shooting that indicate a new threat.

Pattern in time –when? Example that time matters: an escalation of sex crimes attempts and occurrences  by a violent criminal occurring closer and closer in time.

Opportunities – when? Example that time matters: crimes that occur at times when there are no suitable guardians around.

Season – when? Example that time matters: thefts of snowblowers only when it is winter in a community.

Time is recorded in crime reports, as exact or in time ranges. It is recorded it calls for service. 

Some other places where time is recorded:

Antinalysis

Read an article about "Antinalysis," a "new service has launched on the darknet offering criminals a way to check how "clean" their digital coins are," in this article from the BBC.

BEATING CRIME PLAN: Fewer victims, peaceful neighbourhoods, safe country

The United Kingdom's July 2021 BEATING CRIME PLAN: Fewer victims, peaceful neighbourhoods, safe country is available at this link. It is very worth reading.

An interesting statistic from this document:

"As we increasingly rely on technology and spend greater proportions of our lives online, criminals seek to exploit whatever digital opportunities they can. Fraud and cyber-related offences are growing rapidly and now make up over 50% of all crime."

Another interesting statistic:

"Nearly a quarter of all neighbourhood crime was committed in just 5% of local areas in 2018-19."

One role for analysis:

"By analysing where crime takes place, we can target resources more accurately and return a sense of governed space to the areas where it is needed most. And by deepening our understanding of the problems particular parts of our country face, we can invest in the things that will make the biggest difference: removing opportunities to commit crime; increasing the capacity of partners to cut crime; and making it more difficult for criminals from one part of the country to export the crimes they commit to another."

Money Laundering and High-Risk Businesses

I believe all law enforcement analysts should understand money laundering, even if they are not tasked with investigating it. Money laundering is itself a system that plays a part in a number of seemingly unrelated crimes. Understanding more about high-risk businesses can help analysts identify problems that are not obvious at first glance.

Read Money Laundering 101 at this link.

New to Financial Analysis?

 The Internal Revenue Service's Part 9. Criminal Investigation, Chapter 5. Investigative Process, Section 9. Methods of Proof is available at this link. It can help you if you are new to financial crimes, as might the chart below.

Some analytical tools you could use:

Spreadsheets

Filtering

Pivot Tables

Mathematical analyses

Databases

I2 Analyst’s Notebook 

Research

~~

What tools do you recommend?

Revolution in Intelligence Affairs: Colloquium Series

Colloquium 3 on August 25, 2021 from 11am-5pm ET: Future Strategic Environment, of the Revolution in Intelligence Affairs: Colloquium Series, is a free online event.  

Intelligence gathering and analysis at the national and international levels requires skills and awareness from which law enforcement analysts can learn.

"Emerging and disruptive technologies are in the process of facilitating a revolution in intelligence affairs (RIA). These technological drivers will impact intelligence strategy, operational and organizational concepts, and contribute to shaping the future strategic environment. This revolution will create new threats, opportunities, and challenges for the U.S. Intelligence Community." 

For those analysts interested, sign up at this link.

Fusion Center Locations and Contact Information

If you are a new analyst in the United States, you may not be aware of the list of Fusion Center Locations and Contact Information available at this link.

Reach out to them if you need assistance on cases! See if they would like to be in your distribution list for analytical products. Find out what they have that might be useful to you.

Network!

Effective Mentoring

Law Enforcement Analysis Podcasts video Quick Take E2 - Effective Mentoring offers tips for both mentors and those they mentor.

Homeland Security Affairs online journal

" Homeland Security Affairs is the peer-reviewed online journal of the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS), providing a forum to propose and debate strategies, policies, and organizational arrangements to strengthen U.S. homeland security. The instructors, participants, alumni, and partners of CHDS represent the leading subject matter experts and practitioners in the field of homeland security."

It is available at this link.

2021 Cambridge Evidence-Based Policing Conference Videos

You can watch the full 2021 Cambridge Evidence-Based Policing Conference on YouTube at this link. 

So much learning is possible, but so little extra time for many working analysts. 

Understanding Crime: Analyzing the Geography of Crime

Understanding Crime: Analyzing the Geography of Crime , a 2021 book by Spencer Chainey, "delves into both theory and technique to explain the geographic analysis of crime. Intended as a comprehensive resource and textbook, this book breaks down old, new, and complex approaches to make crime analysis more accessible for readers wanting to improve their own understanding of crime."

Learn more about it, and how to purchase it, at this link.

Is crime analysis at the heart of policing practice? A case study

Is crime analysis at the heart of policing practice? A case study is a research paper available online at this link.

From the study:

It could be argued that the lack of conceptual clarity around exact role or job description of analysts as well as varied understanding of the main purpose of analysis might explain why crime analysis is still in the process of trying to find its niche at the heart of policing practice.

So true!

Read a blog post about the National Intelligence Model (UK) at this link.

Using Archive.org for OSINT Investigations

Have you tried using The Internet Archive (also known as the Wayback Machine) in your law enforcement analysis work, and felt frustrated, like I have?

The blog article Using Archive.org for OSINT Investigations,  available at this link, provides excellent tips on using the site to find the information you are looking for.

Experiment!

Arizona State University Online Master of Science In Crime Analysis

Check out the new Arizona State University Online Master of Science In Crime Analysis program at this link.

"Help law enforcement solve crimes and learn to lead a crime analysis unit in the online crime analysis graduate program. You’ll gain a strong understanding of the fundamental issues, strengths and limitations associated with crime analysis."

Using Crime Script Analysis

Crime Script Analysis is an underutilized tool in the analyst toolbox. You can learn more about it by reading the research article Theft of oil from pipelines: an examination of its crime commission in Mexico using crime script analysis by Arantza Alonso Berbotto & Spencer Chainey, available at this link.

"The theft of refined oil products provides criminal groups with significant financial resources that threaten the environment and socio-economic stability of countries where it occurs. Violence is also associated with this criminal activity. Using crime script analysis, a detailed interpretation of the theft of oil via the illegal tapping of pipelines in Mexico was constructed. The analysis revealed the roles performed by members of criminal groups, the recruitment of individuals outside of the criminal group to provide information about the pipelines and perform technical activities, and the supporting role of citizens and businesses from local communities."

Arantza Alonso Berbotto & Spencer Chainey (2021) Theft of oil from pipelines: an examination of its crime commission in Mexico using crime script analysis, Global Crime, DOI: 10.1080/17440572.2021.1925552

Using Cellular Records Analysis in Insurance Claims

"The effective use of cellular records analysis and mapping in civil insurance claims and investigations is simply building a better mousetrap."

Using Cellular Records Analysis in Insurance Claims is an informative article available at this link.

It has a few thumbnail case studies that are interesting. 

Some of you work with insurance agencies on fraud cases,  or maybe someday will work FOR them. 

Check it out!