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Chicago Publishes Crime Stats Online

2011-09-14T17:44:00.001-07:00

CHICAGO -- Long a city with a reputation for withholding information, Chicago now wants to make public every crime over the past 10 years — a highly unusual move among the nation's major police departments.

View Chicago Crime Database

Starting Wednesday, millions of crime statistics dating to 2001 will be posted online in a searchable database. It will be updated daily, providing fodder for residents to evaluate their own neighborhoods, academics to study crime and techie types to create websites or apps.

The release is the latest attempt by the administration of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who took office in May, to make city dealings more open and counter Chicago's reputation for entrenched systemic corruption and backroom deals. Chicago officials recently posted online the salaries of city employees, city contracts and lobbying data, with more information expected in coming months.

"It's a whole new era of openness and transparency," said Brett Goldstein, the city's chief data officer and former police officer. "You determine your own analysis."

While some city critics are skeptical, Chicago's crime data release goes beyond what other major police departments do, crime experts say. Besides listing every crime over the past decade — some 4.6 million incidents — the database also lists each address, if there was an arrest, the police beat, city ward and case number. That includes everything from sidewalk arrests for marijuana possession to homicides.

An average person can already get details on a crime that happened the day before, but now they'll be able to look back over the past decade on their neighborhood, ward or entire city. It also increases the potential for more long-term studies by experts and, some hope, take steps toward crime prevention.

"It's big," said David Kennedy, director of the Center for Crime Prevention and Control at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. "If not unprecedented, it's very unusual."

While no one tracks the some 15,000 police departments nationwide, a check of other major police departments that post crime statistics online shows nothing as comprehensive as Chicago.

Many, including Los Angeles, use a third-party company that maps data over a limited time period, generally a month or two. Los Angeles also has some historical data available, but it's through static reports or compilations of incidents. That information isn't searchable and a recent check showed links to several years were broken. Houston has a 30-day log. New York publishes weekly data, and has some historical data online, though the department has faced criticism for allegations of manipulating data and the police commissioner recently formed a unit to look into the claims.

The Seattle Police Department appears to come closest to what Chicago is attempting. It offers logs of 911 calls and has a searchable database, but the time and incidents aren't complete.

Prior to Wednesday, Chicago offered a 90-day glimpse of crime in a mapping tool. The city added a yearlong database earlier in the summer.

Chicago's data won't include some cases that are under federal investigation. Also, the database won't specify if the shooting was police officer-involved, for instance, though all homicides will be in the database, city officials said.

Some advocacy groups worry the information doesn't go far enough because it doesn't include race or detailed police reports.

"It would be one small step in the right direction," said Tracy Siska, executive director of the Chicago Justice Project, which helps increase public access to information. He called the police department's reputation "horrible" when it comes to doling out information, citing an incident last year when the group waited 78 days to release details on the sexual assaults, he said.

Also he said such massive information dumps aren't always user friendly to the average person. City officials recognized that fact, but Goldstein said there are more

He said those who stand to benefit the most are academics and journalists because the data will be in one place, cutting down on Freedom of Information Act requests and other time-consuming and costly requests for records.

Yale University professor Tracey Meares, who has long studied Chicago crime, said it sends a message to academics that the Chicago Police Department is "an agency that's willing to share."

"That kind of transparency is a good idea," she said.

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Feds: Taliban supporter charged in NY drug sting

2011-07-29T07:54:00.001-07:00

An indictment accuses Taza Gul of selling assault rifles and heroin to a DEA confidential source

NEW YORK — The Drug Enforcement Administration in New York has arrested several men overseas, including a man they say who agreed to support the Taliban in Afghanistan through drug sales.

Taza Gul Alizai was one of four men charged with conspiracy in a case announced Tuesday by federal authorities in Manhattan.

An indictment accuses Taza Gul of selling assault rifles and heroin to a DEA confidential source. Authorities say the source purported to be a broker of weapons and narcotics who said the proceeds of the sale of the narcotics would ultimately be given to the Taliban.

Three others charged in a separate indictment were accused of agreeing to sell narcotics to a DEA source, knowing that the individual would use profits to support Hezbollah.

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Another Potentially Deadly Laser Incident

2011-07-26T13:00:00.001-07:00

Officials say a laser light was shined into the cockpit of Continental Flight 1531 that was heading to Chicago just after its recent takeoff from Washington States Sea-Tac Airport.

Points to Consider:
Officials say these incidents on the rise, there have been more than 1,100 incidents reported across the nation in 2010 including 26 at Sea-Tac alone. Consider that these lasers can be extremely powerful, and can temporarily blind pilots which is extremely dangerous especially during the most crucial part of flight either takeoff or landing.

Social Networking And Terrorism

2011-07-26T12:58:00.001-07:00

Anyone can have a Facebook page; a person just has to sign up for an account. More than 300 million people worldwide connect with Facebook, which raises the question: Is this, the next wave of terrorist recruiting?

Points to Consider:
With the revelations that that recent terror suspects turned to the internet for counseling on an online Islamic web sites, consider that there are many different ways in which contemporary terrorists use the Internet, ranging from psychological warfare and propaganda to highly instrumental uses such as fundraising, recruitment, and the coordination of actions. Social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, have become increasingly popular. Additionally, Facebook, based in Palo Alto, California already has large numbers of users in the Arab world. There are at least 900,000 users in Egypt, 250,000 in Saudi Arabia, and 300,000 in Lebanon. These sites are a good way to meet people and stay in touch with friends, but there is a dark side as people with evil intentions can also network with like minded or vulnerable individuals, and can provide a perfect venue to expose impressionable people to radical ideologies and extremist elements on the Internet.

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Alert Issued For Terror By Mail

2011-07-26T12:53:00.001-07:00

Due in part to intelligence intercepts suggesting that terror groups were exploring the possibility of sending gift-wrapped parcel bombs to prominent persons, including some politicians, India’s security officials recently issued a warning to be on the lookout for suspicious packages.

Points to Consider:
Consider that package and letter bombs are a common terrorist technique to spread fear. Experts say that the letter bomb may have been in use for nearly as long as the common postal service has been in existence. Letter or package bombs are usually designed to explode immediately on opening, with the intention of seriously injuring or killing the recipient (who may or may not be the person to whom the bomb was addressed). They are hard to stop because you are talking about thousands of packages that mostly do not get checked before they are delivered. Be aware that packaging for package bombs takes many forms, ranging from letter bombs to large packages and can come from any source. Indicators that may help identify a package or letter bomb: package has no return address, or return address is different from location where mailed, incorrect spelling, of address or it is poorly typed, package contains restrictive markings such as Confidential or Personal, excessive postage, unusual odor, oily stains on the package, or protruding wires, string, or tin foil, unusual size, shape, weight, or balance of weight in the package, or excessive string or tape used to secure the package.

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Detergent Suicide In Louisville

2011-07-06T13:50:00.001-07:00

Louisville Fire & Rescue’s hazardous materials team was asked to respond after Metro Police officers found a suspicious vehicle bearing a note that warned “use caution hazardous materials” with an unresponsive man inside.

Points to Consider:
Consider that suicides attributed to inhaling hydrogen sulfide gas created by mixing normal cleaning chemicals have increased. The method, which has been introduced via web sites, has been linked to many suicide cases initially in Japan, but with the availability of H2S ingredients as well as instructions on the Internet for committing suicide using H2S have made it an increasingly popular choice.

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Citizen soldiers: Users must defend cyber front line

2011-05-16T06:06:00.001-07:00

It is neither the National Security Agency nor the Cyber Command, but the user community that is on the front lines of cyber defense. The actions of users that have been attributed to a moderate percentage of cyberattack successes is what has to be addressed. We need to increase the users’ knowledge and awareness.

Given that users are on the front line, cyber threat awareness training is a must in today’s high-threat environment. However, only a small percentage of users receive awareness training about cyberattack techniques that target them. The purpose of cyber awareness training is to focus attention of users on security and common techniques used by attackers. Because this threat environment is so dynamic, cyber threat awareness training must be continual and not a one time thing.

The effort to improve awareness of cyber threats is designed to change the behavior and reinforce good security practices by computer users. To be effective at this, organizations must present meaningful and timely subjects to the general user community on a regular basis. The Technolytics Institute think tank for which I work has analyzed this area and concluded that the awareness training should be conducted every other month rather than each month. That’s because a monthly cycle seems to wear on the users and might be viewed as too received as too heavy. Technolytics found that end-user training topics must include:

*Common mistakes.
*E-mail threats.
*Social engineering.
*Phishing.
*Passwords.
*Cyber terrorism.
*Common attacks.
*Symptoms of attack.
*Anti-virus software.
*Spam threat.
*Personal accountability.
*Other connected devices.

Keeping users aware of cybersecurity threats is a critical aspect of an organization’s overall security program. If we were able to cut routine user mistakes in half, the integrity of our systems would increase exponentially.

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Info from Osama raid shows interest in US trains

2011-05-05T18:45:00.001-07:00

This information appears to be the first widely circulated intelligence pulled from the raid this week on bin Laden's secret compound in Pakistan

WASHINGTON — Some of the first information gleaned from Osama bin Laden's compound indicates al-Qaida considered attacking U.S. trains on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, but counterterrorism officials say they believe the plot was only aspirational and have no recent intelligence about any active plan for such an attack.

As of February 2010, the terror organization was considering tampering with an unspecified U.S. rail track so that a train would fall off the track at a valley or a bridge, according to a Homeland Security intelligence warning sent to law enforcement officials around the country Thursday. The warning was obtained by The Associated Press and marked for "official use only."

This information appears to be the first widely circulated intelligence pulled from the raid this week on bin Laden's secret compound in Pakistan. After killing the terror leader and four of his associates, Navy SEALs confiscated a treasure trove of computers, DVDs and documents from the home where he had been hiding for six years.

Intelligence analysts have been reviewing and translating the material, looking for information about pending plots and other terror connections.

"We want to stress that this alleged al-Qaida plotting is based on initial reporting, which is often misleading or inaccurate and subject to change," Homeland spokesman Matt Chandler said. The government has no plans to issue an official terror alert, he said.

"While it is clear there was some level of planning, we have no recent information to indicate an active ongoing plot to target transportation and no information on possible locations or specific targets," the May 5 warning said.

U.S. officials have disrupted other terror plans that targeted rails, including the 2009 plot to blow up the New York City subway system.

On Monday the FBI and Homeland Security warned law enforcement around the country that bin Laden's death could inspire retaliatory attacks in the U.S. They said the transportation sector — including U.S. rails — remain attractive targets.

By Eileen Sullivan
The Associated Press

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Justice, FBI bust 2 million-computer Coreflood botnet

2011-04-18T19:58:00.001-07:00

Agents use new tactic to disable malware on long-running operation; 13 people charged

By Kathleen Hickey
Apr 14, 2011

The Justice Department and the FBI, using a new tactic, seized control of and disabled a botnet that had infected more than 2 million computers worldwide as part of an international fraud scheme, according to agency officials.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut filed a civil complaint against 13 unnamed defendants, charging them with engaging in wire fraud, bank fraud and illegal interception of electronic communications, Justice and FBI officials said in a joint statement.

Also, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut seized 29 domain names and five command and control servers used to remotely control infected computers. The agencies also issued a temporary restraining order to replace the illegal servers with substitutes to prevent the botnet from running and to disable the malware on infected computers.

The botnet, called Coreflood, exploits computers that run Windows operating systems. It uses keystroke capture to steal private and financial information, including information on corporate networks, for the purpose of stealing funds and conducting other criminal activities. Coreflood is believed to have originated in Russia and been in operation for a decade

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Expect Two Deposits Next Payday

2011-04-13T19:11:00.001-07:00

The following is the latest update from DFAS on the April 15 paycheck snafu.

Due to the near shutdown experience last week, most military will get two deposits in their bank accounts on April 15. According to DFAS, they are now processing the remaining seven days of mid-month pay, so service members will see their normal total mid-month pay, but with more than one deposit into their account.

Note: Active duty and reservists in the Marine Corps who will receive the normal single full

Although Army, Navy, and Air Force active duty members will receive two payments to cover their full mid-month pay on April 15, the most current Net Pay Advice statements will still only show the partial payments for the week of April 1–8.

In addition, Army, Navy and Air Force reservists will receive full mid-month pay by April 15, but again, the most current Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) will still only show the partial payments for April 1–8.

In both cases a full accounting of April pay will be available on the normal end of month LES, posted to myPay accounts on April 22.

Simply put — Everyone (active and reserve) will get paid like normal on April 15 - but they will get it in two deposits (same day) — and the LES’s will be back to normal on April 22. deposit.

CDP information Systems

Feds: No Vests, No Grant Money

2011-04-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department is threatening to withhold millions of dollars in federal aid to local police departments unless they adopt policies that require uniformed officers to wear body armor.

The requirement, which takes effect this month as local agencies apply for as much as $37 million in federal aid to purchase bullet-resistant vests, comes in the wake of a recent surge in fatal shootings of police officers.

Jim Burch, acting director of the department's Bureau of Justice Assistance, said the new policy is in response to the spike in violence -- a 44% jump in fatal police shootings over the same time last year -- and research showing that 41% of police agencies do not require their officers to wear body armor.
"What struck us is the number of agencies that don't have a mandatory policy ... a potential huge vulnerability," Burch said. "If we're investing federal dollars, we should require agencies to have policies."

Last year, the Justice Department distributed $37 million to reimburse 4,127 agencies large and small, from Anchorage and Boston to Chicago, Los Angeles and New Orleans, for the purchase of 193,259 vests.

Justice officials began contemplating changes to the vest program after a 2009 review by the Police Executive Research Forum, a law enforcement think tank, found that 41% of departments do not require officers to wear body armor at least some of the time. The federal program would mandate that officers wear the vests while in uniform.

Among the other findings in forum report, which surveyed 782 agencies: fewer than half of the agencies that required armor had written policies addressing the issue. The overwhelming majority of the agencies -- 90% -- do not regularly inspect the equipment to ensure that it fits or has been properly maintained.

"There is no good reason ... for not requiring it," said Chuck Wexler, the forum's executive director. "This is an appropriate role for the federal government."

The Justice action has prompted a number of police officials to re-evaluate their own policies or risk losing access to federal funding at a time when local government budgets are being slashed and services, including law enforcement, are being cut back.

Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel said he doesn't believe the federal government should dictate how local police operate, including whether officers should be required to wear vests.

Under his department's policy, all officers must have vests. Braziel said he will now require that officers wear vests, if only to ensure federal money keeps flowing. Last year, Sacramento received $45,412 for 360 vests.

"Decisions like these are better left to individual departments," Braziel said. "But right now we're scraping for every dime we can get. We'll be making a quick change" in policy.

Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said his department is drafting a policy to meet the new federal rules. "It wasn't about the money," Flynn said, adding that Justice's action motivated him to focus more attention on officer safety, and he plans to beef up security at police stations.

Seven Milwaukee officers have been wounded in the line of duty in the past two years. All but one was wearing body armor.

Flynn said officers now need to know that armor should be regarded as necessary equipment. "It's a second skin," he said. "It's part of the job. It's what you do."

Alarmed by the spike in officer fatalities, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder last month convened a meeting of law enforcement officials. He said vests purchased through the federal program helped save the lives of six officers this year. "Our law enforcement officers put themselves in harm's way every day to ensure the safety and security of the American people in cities and communities across the country, and we need to do everything we can to protect them."

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Important Email Security Alert

2011-04-04T12:37:00.001-07:00

Security Alert received from Best Buys

Dear Valued Best Buy Customer,

On March 31, we were informed by Epsilon, a company we use to send emails to our customers, that files containing the email addresses of some Best Buy customers were accessed without authorization.

We have been assured by Epsilon that the only information that may have been obtained was your email address and that the accessed files did not include any other information. A rigorous assessment by Epsilon determined that no other information is at risk. We are actively investigating to confirm this.

For your security, however, we wanted to call this matter to your attention. We ask that you remain alert to any unusual or suspicious emails. As our experts at Geek Squad would tell you, be very cautious when opening links or attachments from unknown senders.

In keeping with best industry security practices, Best Buy will never ask you to provide or confirm any information, including credit card numbers, unless you are on our secure e-commerce site,www.bestbuy.com. If you receive an email asking for personal information, delete it. It did not come from Best Buy.
Our service provider has reported this incident to the appropriate authorities.

We regret this has taken place and for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We take your privacy very seriously, and we will continue to work diligently to protect your personal information.

Sincerely,
Barry Judge
Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer
Best Buy

This information brought to you by CDP Information Systems creator of custom database solutions for Law Enforcement.www.cdpinfo.com

Cyber Attacks On Government Networks On The Rise

2011-03-31T07:36:00.001-07:00

Cyber Attacks On Government Networks On The Rise

Experts say cyber-attacks will continue to increase as new technologies and access to mobile devices and social networking sites expands. According to the annual report on federal cyber security efforts by the Office of Management Budget, indicates that cyber attacks against the federal government increased almost 40 % last year.

Points to Consider:
The Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), which is tasked with defending the dot-Gov domain and sharing information with industry and local governments noted that, federal agencies suffered 41,776 cyber attacks in 2010, up from 30,000 the previous year. Of the attacks reported last year, 12,864 (31 %) were classified as malicious code. Another 11,336 (27 %) are under investigation or labeled as "other," and unauthorized access, denial of service, improper usage or Scans probes and attempted access made up the remaining incidents. Be aware that Nation-states are increasingly employing cyber warfare to attack other states or entities, either solely in the cyber domain or as part of a full-spectrum military maneuver. Consider the potential that entities that may be inferior to the U.S. militarily may have identified America's cyber vulnerabilities and exploit them t o attack high value targets for example: shutting down the country’s power stations, telecommunications and aviation systems, or freeze the financial markets. Additionally officials theorize that terrorist groups and organized crime syndicates are increasingly resorting to cybercrime to finance their activities. According to counter terrorism experts various up to date manuals have been found on radical jihadist websites, explaining how to launch cyber attacks including making e-bombs, creating viruses, and how to use encryption techniques.

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First Cameras on I-95 Spark Controversy

2011-03-28T18:57:00.001-07:00

RIDGELAND, S.C. --

As Interstate 95 sweeps past this small town along South Carolina's coastal plain, motorists encounter cameras that catch speeding cars, the only such devices on the open interstate for almost 2,000 miles from Canada to Miami.

The cameras have nabbed thousands of motorists, won accolades from highway safety advocates, attracted heated opposition from state lawmakers and sparked a federal court challenge.

Ridgeland Mayor Gary Hodges said the cameras in his town about 20 miles north of the Georgia line do what they are designed to do: slow people down, reduce accidents and, most importantly, save lives.

But lawmakers who want to unplug them argue the system is just a money-maker and amounts to unconstitutional selective law enforcement.

"We're absolutely shutting it down," said state Sen. Larry Grooms, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.

Earlier this month, Ridgeland Police Officer David Swinehamer sat in a van beneath an overpass as a radar gun in a thicket of electronic equipment outside clocked passing vehicles: 60, 72, 73, 67.

Then a Mercedes with South Carolina tags sped by going 83 - 13 mph over the speed limit. A camera fired and pictures of the tag and driver appeared on a monitor in the van. The unaware motorist continued north, but could expect a $133 ticket in the mail in a couple of weeks.

"I just don't think it's right," said James Gain of Kissimmee, Fla., one of the lawsuit plaintiffs who got a ticket last year while driving between his home and Greensboro, N.C. "If you get a ticket you should be stopped by an officer, know you have been stopped and have an opportunity to state your case."

Gain paid the fine, saying it was less expensive than driving six hours back to Ridgeland for court.

Motorists do get a warning. As they enter town, a blue and white sign says they are entering an area with "Photo-Radar Assisted Speed Enforcement."

Speed cameras are used in 14 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The only other place with a camera on I-95 is in a Maryland work zone.

The cameras have sparked controversy in other places around the nation as well.

Last year, Arizona ended a two-year program with cameras on Phoenix-area expressways and other roads, in part because of perceptions they were being used to raise revenue.

But Cedar Rapids, Iowa, began using cameras last summer on busy I-380. Police there said during the first month of operation, violations dropped 62 percent.

Hodges said since Ridgeland, working with iTraffic Safety, became the first community in South Carolina to deploy cameras in August, motorists are also driving slower along the 7 miles of I-95 passing through the town limits.

From January to July of 2010, there were 55 crashes and four fatalities. From August through the end of last month, there were 38 crashes and no deaths. And since the cameras started operating until last month, there has been almost a 50 percent drop in the number of motorists driving 81 or more.

"You can't argue with the results and the only reason you would be upset is because you are speeding," said Tom Crosby, a spokesman for AAA Carolinas. "All it's doing is enforcing the law and even then you have to be doing over 80 to get a ticket."

Police use driver's license photos or physical descriptions from licenses such as a driver's hair, eye color and weight to identify the motorist. No ticket is issued if there is any question about the driver's identity.

Grooms, the legislator, said since not all speeders are ticketed, it's selective enforcement. He added that while the system may issue a ticket, it doesn't get violators off the road.

"You are driving down the road at 100 mph or you are driving down the road drunk. The camera takes your picture and three weeks later you get a ticket in the mail. There is no element of public safety," he said.

Grooms said the cameras are only a money-maker for the town. Hodges discounts that, saying the town just wants to recover the cost of police and ambulance service for millions of motorists passing through. Two-thirds of ticket money goes to the state, he said.

The town has about $20,000 invested in the van. The contractor, iTraffic Safety, pays the other costs in return for a share of ticket revenue.

While state law prohibits issuing tickets solely on photographic evidence, the mayor said that doesn't apply in Ridgeland because an officer is also there to see the speeder from the van.

But the state Senate, in a 40-0 vote, recently gave approval to changing that and banning speeding tickets from photographs whether the camera is attended or not. The law would also require tickets to be handed directly to a motorist.

The federal lawsuit contends it's unconstitutional to send motorists tickets by mail and to addresses outside town limits.

Ridgeland is one of almost 90 jurisdictions nationwide using cameras to nab speeders and "to our knowledge, every single one of them mails the tickets," Hodges said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calls speed cameras "a very effective countermeasure" to crashes but said they should supplement, not replace, officers patrolling. Ridgeland still uses officers on the interstate.

Hodges is not surprised by opposition to the cameras, particularly with South Carolina's history of motorists' rights. South Carolina was one of the last states to enact a .08 blood-alcohol level for drunken driving and took a long time to pass a primary seatbelt law.

"We went through similar things when breathalyzers came out. We went through similar things when radar guns came out," Hodges said. "It's the same type of mentality."

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Earthquake Magnitude Facts

2011-03-17T14:53:00.001-07:00

Earthquake Magnitude Facts

9.0 - Causes complete devastation and large-scale loss of life.
8.0 - Very few structures are able to withstand. Underground pipes burst. Large rocks move. Smaller objects are tossed into the air. The earth swallows up some objects.
7.0 – Severe shaking, the ground cracks. Roads shake. Weak buildings fall down. Other buildings are badly damaged.
6.0 - Pictures can fall off walls. Furniture moves. In some buildings, walls may crack.
5.0 - Cars may rock. Glasses and dishes may rattle. Windows may break.

There are about five hundred thousand detectable earthquakes globally every year. While a ten thousand of these can be felt, only a hundred can cause serious damage. These quakes are one of the most dangerous of natural calamities. An earthquake occurs due to the strain put on the ground by the tectonic plates when they get stuck. When this strain increases, the rocks give way and this results in an occurrence of fault lines. The earthquake results in the sudden release of the stored energy in the Earth's crust. This creates seismic waves and results in the shaking or a displacement of the ground. Earthquakes can cause shaking and ground rupture, fires, soil liquefaction, landslides and avalanches and tsunamis.

Further, earthquakes can also cause loss of life, disease, loss of basic amenities, property damage, as well as road and bridge damage, building collapses or the destabilization of the base of the building. Therefore, earthquakes result in personal as well as economic losses.

Steps to consider for an effective emergency response:

Gather relevant facts about the incident
Make emergency management decisions (activate appropriate systems)
Ascertain what resources are needed and available
Determine security needs and measures
Release public information

Source publically available information located on the internet. For more visit our website at www.cdpinfo.com

Thousands Of Guns Found Missing

2011-03-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

According to a report by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), since 2008 more than 62,000 guns disappeared from U.S. firearm dealers without any record of being sold.

Points to Consider:

Experts say, the weapons were likely stolen or sold under the table or on the black market, circumventing established registration procedures and background checks, which leaves no a record of purchase, making the weapons hard to trace.

Our] ]blog is derived from public information found on the internet. For more law enforcement news and tools visit http://www.cdpinfo.com/

Feds waste $15.4B annually looking for database info

2011-03-04T17:32:00.001-08:00

Above information was obtained from public sources on the internet. For more Law information visit our website at www.cdpinfo.com

Most-wanted terrorist lists missing most wanted

2011-03-04T17:20:00.001-08:00

Anwar Awlaki, the Yemen-based American Imam inciting Muslims to attack America, has been described by U.S. security officials as "terrorist number one" and as "the most significant risk to the U.S. homeland"; he is the first U.S. citizen ever placed on the CIA targeted killing list; yet, Awlaki remains inconspicuously omitted from federal most-wanted lists -- and in January 2010, customs agents had Awlaki in custody at JFK International Airport in New York on an arrest warrant for passport fraud; according to classified immigration records, JFK agents were advised to release the detainee because the warrant had mysteriously "been pulled back" the day before; inquiring minds want to know what gives

In custody, a warrant "pulled" // Source: sudanforum.net

Appearing before Congress last week, National Counterterrorism Center Director, Michael Leiter, warned that Anwar Awlaki, the Yemeni lecturer credited with turning the Web into a tool for extremist indoctrination, is America’s new top terrorist threat. Despite being the first U.S. citizen ever placed on the CIA targeted killing list, the al Qaeda cleric has managed to elude the State Department’s Reward for Justice and FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists lists. No reward is being offered for his capture, either.

Born in New Mexico in 1971, and having served as an imam in California and Virginia, Awlaki has been linked to Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the U.S. Army psychiatrist accused of killing thirteen people at Fort Hood, Texas, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man who attempted to detonate a bomb on a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas, two of the 9/11 hijackers, and Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American man accused of rigging a car parked in Times Square with explosives.

Shahzad claimed that he had been inspired by the rhetoric of Awlaki’s sermons which encouraged every able Muslim to take arms against America, and to do so “without hesitation.”

In April 2010, the U.S. National Security Council (NSC) gave their consent to making Awlaki the first U.S. citizen ever placed on the CIA’s target list. Despite being called “terrorist number one” by Representative Jane Harman, (D-California) and National Counterterrorism Center Director, Michael Leiter, who said “”I actually consider al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, with Awlaki as a leader within that organization, probably the most significant risk to the U.S. homeland,” Awlaki remains inconspicuously omitted from federal most wanted lists.

The U.S. Department of State’s Counter-Terrorism Rewards for Justice program (RFJ) was established by the 1984 Act to Combat International Terrorism. Administered by the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, the RFJ aims to bring international terrorists to justice by encouraging the reporting of key information to prevent acts of terrorism, find their location, or disrupts their mode of financing.

Rewards range from under $1 million to $25 million, the current price on Osama bin Laden’s head, although the program also pays rewards “in cases where there is no prior reward offer, in appropriate circumstances.” The Web site contains the profiles of forty-three terrorists, while the FBI’s most wanted terrorist list features twenty-nine alleged terrorists that have been indicted by sitting Federal Grand Juries, yet neither mentions Awlaki.

In an effort during the Bush administration to obstruct terrorist funding, the Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) was used by the Treasury to freeze Awlaki’s assets. Progress made by Washington on disrupting Awlaki is being stymied by the reluctance of the FBI and State to advertise how at one point following 9/11, agents released him despite his private meeting with the hijackers, who followed him from a mosque in San Diego to a mosque outside Washington, not far from the Pentagon they attacked.

A year later, January 2010, customs agents had Awlaki in custody at JFK International Airport in New York on an arrest warrant for passport fraud. According to classified immigration records, JFK agents were advised to release the detainee because the warrant had mysteriously “been pulled back” the day before.

“We were stunned” that he was let go, said Ray Fournier, a federal agent who has been tracking Awlaki as part of a joint terrorism task force. “He was a high-value target. Everybody was excited about the prospect of hooking this guy up under a [criminal] charge to motivate a conversation with him regarding his relationship with the [9/11] hijackers.”

When asked to comment on the CIA’s secretive targeted killing list, CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said that it is “remarkably foolish in a war of this kind to discuss publicly procedures used to identify the enemy, an enemy who wears no uniform and relies heavily on stealth and deception.”

This information is obtained from public sources on the internet. For more Laaw Enforcement news and tools visit www.cdpinfo.com

Officials Warn Of Chemical Purchases

2011-03-03T08:48:00.001-08:00

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Denver field office recently appealed to the region’s farm supply stores, asking employees to be aware of anyone who might be acting in a way that could indicate potential terrorist activity, saying “Current trends in terrorist bombings show that fertilizer-based explosives are continuing as a threat throughout the world.”

Points to Consider:

The FBI’s stated that: “Ammonium nitrate and urea-based fertilizers pose an explosive threat if prepared and initiated properly, and that certain pesticides can be used to cause widespread harm to people.” Consider that ammonium nitrate-fuel oil (ANFO) mixtures are a favorite of car and truck bombers, and was the explosive used in the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, and the 2005 bombing of rush-hour London buses and trains. Additionally, in 2006 Canadian authorities arrested 17 terror suspects, charging them with a plot to use ammonium nitrate in a bombing campaign in Toronto.

Information derived from public information found on the internet. For more visit our website at www.cdpinfo.com

Police Find Meth Lab In Laundry Room

2011-02-23T18:54:00.001-08:00

Police recently responded to reports of a domestic disturbance at the Conway Park apartment complex in Tulsa, Oklahoma. When the officers arrived they found an active methamphetamine (meth) lab in the complex’s laundry room.

Points to Consider:
A Tulsa Fire Department’s hazardous materials crew was called in part because the meth lab created an additional hazard because it was located next to a hot water heater. Consider that meth labs contain all sorts of hidden hazards. A clandestine meth lab will likely have hazardous, flammable chemicals stored in every type of container imaginable. Additionally, a variety of gases may be used in meth production; these include phosphine, anhydrous ammonia and methylamine, as well as propane. These gases can be compressed in small cylinders or in tanks. Meth labs also have a wide assortment of metal salts and other inorganic compounds present, such as lead metal, lead acetate, magnesium chloride, palladium, lithium, sodium and potassium metals, iodine crystals, red phosphorous and mercuric chloride, which may be labeled or unlabeled. Furthermore, another class of chemicals contained in meth labs will be acids like hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid (muriatic acid or battery acid) and hydriodic acid and bases like sodium hydroxide (drain cleaner), potassium hydroxide and ammonium hydroxide. Finally, a variety of salts, like mercuric chloride, lead acetate and magnesium sulfate, will also be present.

Information found in public resources on the internet for more information visit our website at CDP Information Systems

Police Seek ATM Bomber

2011-02-23T18:50:00.001-08:00

Police are looking for an unidentified masked man that attached a pipe bomb to the Manning, SC Bank of Clarendon's drive-thru automatic teller machine (ATM) damaging the ATM, but was unsuccessful in cracking the machine's lock box.

Points to Consider:
Police called the incident an amateurish attempt made to blow up ATM. Consider that ATM have been targeted throughout the world using among other things flammable gas or explosives many times resulting in structural damage to the building.

Information found in public resources on the internet for more information visit our website at CDP Information Systems

As good as MS Office but it’s Free

2011-02-22T20:10:00.001-08:00

OpenOffice is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.

For more information or to download visit

http://www.cdpinfo.com/open_office.htm

Toxic Light Bulbs

2011-02-17T20:13:00.001-08:00

Toxic Light Bulbs

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, recently reported that light-emitting diodes (LED) marketed as safe, environmentally preferred alternatives to incandescent lamps and sold as replacements for traditional light bulbs were found to contain lead, arsenic and other hazardous substances.

Points to Consider:
This announcement is a great concern to first responders because the researchers pointed out that lead, arsenic and many additional metals discovered in the LED’s have been linked in hundreds of studies to different cancers, neurological damage, kidney disease, hypertension, skin rashes and other illnesses.

Information from public sources presented by www.cdpinfo.com

Meth Lab Discovered In Hotel Room

2011-02-17T20:06:00.001-08:00

Meth Lab Discovered In Hotel Room
Bibb County deputies investigating a complaint of a smoke and chemical odor at the Baymont Inn and Suites in Macon, GA recently discovered the source of the odor to be a methamphetamine (Meth) lab in one of the hotels guest rooms.

Points to Consider:
Consider that drug processors are secretive and wily, which is why many are now using the cover of a hotel and motel rooms to make the drug. Be aware that methamphetamine is synthesized in these clandestine drug labs from common household products, over-the-counter medications, solvents; metals and strong acids. First responders are at risk for numerous health problems when they come in contact with clandestine meth labs during the course of their duties. Production methods involve numerous chemical reactions that can cause fire, explosion, and release of toxic gases and waste, thereby making these labs potential hazardous waste sites.

Information from public sources presented by www.cdpinfo.com

A great tool for law enforcement officers

2011-02-11T20:50:00.001-08:00

If you’re a police officer who loves to keep track of their own patrol or investigation information you probably have more than one computer your using at different times of the day. A flash drive might be the answer to your synchronization needs.

One application that is a must with the USB flash drive is a Program called PortableApps.

PortableApps is a complete Operating System that installs on the flash and provides a menu system to your software. Included is a copy of Open Office Suite, a shareware version of Microsoft Office. Foxfire web browser, Thunderbird Email program and much more.

All data saved is saved to the flash drive so if your at the office, in the patrol car or at home your files are current.

For more information on PortableApps and flash drives visit our website at http://cdpinfo.com/usbapps.htm or for information on the flash drive with our police software included see the following page http://cdpinfo.com/policeusb.htm

Charles Phelan
cphelan@cdpinfo.com

Official Killed By Motorcycle Bomb

2011-02-11T18:54:00.001-08:00

Official Killed By Motorcycle Bomb
A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle packed with explosives rammed into a car carrying Afghanistan's Kandahar province’s deputy governor recently, killing him and wounding three of his bodyguards.

Points to Consider:
Consider that the vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) is called the “Trojan Horse of Terror”. It arouses little suspicion, making it a not uncommon means of deploying explosives. This tactic has been used indiscriminately utilizing cars, trucks, motorcycles or even bicycle bombs against many targets including first responders.

We attempt to provide information from publically available sources for our users. For more free tools and information visit our website at http://www.cdpinfo.com/

Pair Injured When Meth Lab Explodes

2011-02-11T18:48:00.001-08:00

Pair Injured When Meth Lab Explodes
Police were called to a Fort Wayne, IN home after receiving a report of an explosion. When the officers arrived they found a person with burns to the face and torso and were told of another that had been burned but had fled the scene.

Points to Consider:
When the police searched the basement where the explosion had occurred they found several “one pot method” meth labs. Consider that the “One pot method”, also known as the “Shake and bake” method is the easiest and possibly most dangerous way of making Methamphetamine (meth). Production methods involve numerous chemical reactions that can cause fire, explosion, and release of toxic gases and waste, thereby making these labs potential hazardous waste sites.

We attempt to provide information from publically available sources for our users. For more free tools and information visit our website at http://www.cdpinfo.com/

Police Targeted With Booby-Trapped Bike Bomb

2011-02-11T18:43:00.001-08:00

Police Targeted With Booby-Trapped Bike Bomb
Police in Northern Ireland recently arrested three men in connection with a January assassination attempt. According to officials the men smashed a Belfast store window to lure police to the scene where they had planted improvised explosive device (IED) attached to a child’s bicycle meant to kill the responding officers.

Points to Consider:
Fortunately the bike bomb, which was found in a follow-up search, did not explode. Consider that ever-present bicycle arouses little suspicion, making it a perfect means of deploying an IED. Be aware an improvised explosive device (IED) can be almost anything, with any type of initiator, can be produced in varying sizes, functioning methods, containers, and delivery methods. IED’s can utilize commercial or military explosives, homemade explosives, or military ordnance and ordnance components. Additionally devices with delay mechanisms, or remote controls are a favorite of terrorists, because this tactic ensures surprise, and allows for escape.

We attempt to provide information from publically available sources for our users. For more free tools and information visit our website at http://www.cdpinfo.com/

Our website is back online

2011-01-02T19:09:00.001-08:00

After about a week of work rebuilding our website, from the great DotNetNuke crash of 2010 we’re back

Visit us for the best in low cost database software, free tools and information.

cdpinfo.com

VirtaPay Members Earn $25 VirtaPay Dollars for joining a FREE Program

2010-12-24T10:58:00.001-08:00

VitraPay Members

Earn $25 VirtaPay Dollars

by joining a free program

1. Join Reality Networkers using the link below

2. Confirm your membship by clicking on the link in the welcome email.

3. Send an email to me at cphelan@cdpinfo.com with your name, email address, and virtaPay account user name.

4 Once I verify your membership in my downline I will send $25 VirtaPay dollars to your account.

Click Here to Join

Remember you must join from the link above and be confirmed in my downline inorder to be paid

Charles Phelan
cphelan@cdpinfo.com

Microsoft Office, just say no to high prices and constant paid upgraded

2010-12-09T19:25:00.000-08:00

Open Source Software

The key to low cost applications for Officers
and Small Agencies

Depending on whom you talk to, open-source software is a welcome replacement for expensive commercial software or an out-of-control threat to information technology departments and data security. Some organizations embrace freely distributed programs with a near-religious zeal, but others avoid any code that lacks liability if a problem arises.

No wonder government chief information officers struggle to find open source’s proper niche in their IT operations.

Fortunately, as open-source technologies mature and gain mainstream acceptance, many prevailing but incorrect assumptions about their pros and cons are dissolving. And with those new insights come more effective policies for adopting open source and acquiring it with the same controls as commercial software. (Federal Computer Week 1/23/2008).

OpenOffice.org 2 contains all the office software you need, in one single package. You don't have to worry which version to install: one installation program provides everything. The installation also includes features which some expensive rivals do not - for example, the ability to create .pdf files when you want to guarantee what the recipient sees on their computer. There is also a growing range of extensions: additional features that any developer can provide. OpenOffice.org releases release software several times a year so you can take advantage of new features as quickly as possible.
Key Benefits

■Compares to Microsoft Office 2007
■Freely distributed
■Available by Free download or Low cost CD
Capabilities

Writer - MS Word type word processor
Calc - MS Excel type spreadsheet
Impress - MS Power Point type application
Draw - MS Visio type charting application
Base - MS Access type database application

Click here to get your copy today

Teen Texts Mont. Sheriff to Buy Pot

2010-09-03T13:13:00.001-07:00

HELENA, Mont. --

General rule of thumb: when looking to buy marijuana, don't text the sheriff. Authorities said a Helena teen sent out a text message last week in search of pot, but instead of contacting the drug dealer, he hit a wrong number and inadvertently sent the message to Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton.

The text read, "Hey Dawg, do you have a $20 I can buy right now?"

Dutton told the Helena Independent Record he initially thought it was a joke, but he quickly realized it was a real request for drugs. He responded to the text, and a detective pretending to be the dealer organized a meeting with the boy last Wednesday.

The detective spotted two teenage boys and a man at the arranged meeting spot and called the number three times to make sure he had the right person. Dutton said when the detective showed the teens his badge, their faces turned white and their knees began to wobble. One of the boys even fainted.

The man in the group turned out to be the father of one of the teens, and no citations were issued after the parents of both boys got involved.

"Trying to buy drugs is a crime, but it's probably worse that they had to face their parents," Dutton said.

We attempt to provide information from publically available sources for our users. For more free tools and information visit our website at http://www.cdpinfo.com/

Retired Wis. Cops Allowed to Carry Weapons

2010-09-03T12:39:00.000-07:00

MILWAUKEE --

Retired Milwaukee police officers now have the right to carry a concealed weapon.

The Fire and Police Commission on Thursday night unanimously approved a plan for the Police Department to certify its retirees.

Any qualified citizen can get a permit to carry a concealed weapon in 48 states, so many retired police officers in Milwaukee believe they should be allowed to also.

"I'd like to be able to defend myself. Right now, I don't have that right. So, right now, the only people carrying guns right now are police officers and the criminals," retired Milwaukee police Sgt. Wray Young said.

Young said fellow retirees have been waiting for six years for this request from Milwaukee's police chief to be approved.

The Wisconsin Anti Violence Effort told 12 News "Based on the evidence, we don't think there are benefits. However, we recognize that retired police officers have a different level of training and accountability, and that brings us some comfort."

The officers would have to take a refresher firearms course, qualify on the range and pay a $100 annual fee.

We attempt to provide information from publically available sources for our users. For more free tools and information visit our website at http://www.cdpinfo.com/

Latest and greatest social media site. They pay you to be a member

2010-08-18T21:29:00.000-07:00

Calling all working the internet.

We read daily about how great you can do working Facebook and Myspace to promote your business, Well here's a new one to add to the list.

Fairly new with over 8000 plus users who log on several times a day.

Allow you to sell your product or provide your business information

Allow you to start user groups on any subject.

Plus they pay you to be a member....

Check it out, you'll be glad you did.

Charlie
cphelan@cdpinfo.com

Windows Live at work

2010-08-04T19:10:00.001-07:00

This file created with Windows Live Writer

Market House, Fayetteville, NC

This is a test to check the usability of this program to create software for my customers.

Stimulus Check Promise Lures Florida Fugitives

2010-07-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. --

Several dozen local fugitives were arrested when they showed up to the War Auditorium Memorial this week, thinking they were going to receive stimulus money.

The marquee outside the War Memorial Auditorium said that a group called the South Florida Stimulus Coalition was holding its two-day seminar on Wednesday and Thursday. But only a select few were invited to attend: those with outstanding arrest warrants.

Fort Lauderdale police sent a letter in the mail to several fugitives, saying they were chosen to receive $653 in stimulus money to help boost the economy. The letter had an official seal and came from the fictional "South Florida Stimulus Coalition." Police set up the phony organization to lure the suspects.

"These are individuals who are running away from the law, and it was done in a manner where they came to us freely," said Sgt. Frank Sousa of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

Local 10s Roger Lohse went undercover himself and videotaped the police as they conducted their stimulus sting. One after one, the fugitives pulled in and two police officers in yellow shirts directed them into the parking lot. At the front door, the fugitives handed over their identification to an undercover officer. Not long after he led them inside, officers handcuffed them and shuttled them out the back door to a waiting police cruiser.

Lohse used a home video camera to shoot the arrests and he kept his distance so he wouldnt blow the officers' cover.

One man was so excited to get his money he ran up to the front door of the auditorium, without realizing the officers on the other side were going to arrest him. A few minutes later, Lohse videotaped him coming out the back door in handcuffs.

Another man brought his whole family along to collect. Detectives had to tell a third man that his girlfriend would not be coming back outside.

More than 100 people responded to the letter and set up appointments to pick up their checks. Police made a total of 76 arrests over the two days of the operation.

Source Officer.Com

Law Eliminates NYPD Stop-Frisk Database

2010-07-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK --

Gov. David Paterson signed legislation Friday that eliminates a database of thousands of people stopped and frisked by New York City police without facing charges, calling the practice "not a policy for a democracy."

Paterson signed the law over vehement objections of New York City's mayor and police commissioner, who said the city was losing a key crime-fighting tool.

But the governor said the policy that targets criminals won't be affected by eliminating a database of people who were stopped, then released.

"This law does not in any way tamper with our stop-and-frisk policies," Paterson said. "What it does is it disallows the use of personal data of innocent people who have not done anything wrong. ... That is not a policy for a democracy."

Critics have said information from such stops, mainly of blacks and Latinos who are innocent, can lead to future police suspicion and surveillance. Police say the database helped to solve crimes, including anti-gay and anti-Hispanic bias attacks.

"Albany has robbed us of a great crime-fighting tool, one that saved lives," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a statement. "Without it, there will be, inevitably, killers and other criminals who won't be captured as quickly, or perhaps ever."

Paterson said he had met with Kelly and spoken to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but had not been persuaded that the database protects the city from crime.

"Civil justice, and I think common sense, would suggest that those who are questioned and not even accused of crimes be protected from any further stigma or suspicion," Paterson said.

He signed the bill at a press conference with the bill's sponsors and supporters including the city's public advocate, Bill de Blasio.

"Today's reform of the stop and frisk database reaffirms a basic value of this country. The government cannot keep tabs on people who have done nothing wrong," de Blasio said.

Donna Liberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, praised Paterson for signing the legislation.

"Innocent people stopped by the police for doing nothing more than going to school, work or the subway should not become permanent criminal suspects," said Liberman. "By signing this bill, the Paterson administration has put itself on the right side of history and leaves an important legacy in support of civil rights, civil liberties and common sense."

In his sponsor's memo, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, D-Brooklyn, said that in 2009, the New York Police Department stopped 574,304 people, nearly 90 percent of them people of color, and nine out of 10 were released without any further legal action. Data show 2.5 million stops since 2005.

Sen. Eric Adams, a Brooklyn Democrat and former NYPD captain who sponsored the bill, said Friday the bill would protect innocent people from being targeted by police, especially minorities.

"Our fear is not to have our sons (be) victims of aggressive criminal behavior, but we also don't want our children to be victims of aggressive police behavior," Adams said.

The automated database, believed to be the only one in the country, grew out of a law requiring police to keep details such as age and race on anyone they stop, and it was envisioned as a way to safeguard civil rights.

The law, enacted in 2001, required the police department to turn information over to lawmakers every quarter. It was aimed at uncovering whether police were disproportionately stopping black and Hispanic men. But police also indefinitely hold on to addresses and names of people stopped - information not required by the law.

The bill, which takes effect immediately, would not prohibit police from entering into an electronic database generic identifiers, such as gender, race and location of the stop.

Source Officer.Com

Ruling Tilts Law Against Gun Limits

2010-06-30T18:18:00.001-07:00

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Supreme Court's historic decision Monday allowing gun owners to challenge city and state regulations as a violation of their Second Amendment rights clears the way for new challenges to firearms laws nationwide.

A five-justice conservative majority, over vigorous protests from the four more liberal justices, declared the right to keep and bear arms is fundamental to the American notion of liberty and can shield gun owners from certain regulations across the country. Although the majority noted some gun laws would stand, such as prohibitions on felons possessing firearms, its rationale is certain to usher in a new era of litigation over gun control.

The case stemmed from a 28-year-old Chicago law that was a rare, total ban on handguns. The law was challenged by four homeowners who said they needed handguns for their safety. The high court's decision could fuel lawsuits against myriad local regulations - from firearms licensing requirements to limits on weapons carried outside the home.

"It's going to be city by city, town by town, block by block," National Rifle Association Vice President Wayne LaPierre vowed Monday. "We're going to have to work into every level to make sure this constitutional victory isn't turned into a practical defeat."

Monday's decision was somewhat predictable, based the justices' 5-4 decision in 2008 that first found an individual right to bear arms in the Second Amendment, and on the tenor of oral arguments in the Chicago case in March.

Yet it greatly expands the force and consequences of the ruling two years ago and generated new concern from city officials worried it would undercut gun laws and lead to more violence.

"Across the country, cities are struggling with how to address this issue," Chicago Mayor Richard Daley said at City Hall. "Common sense tells you we need fewer guns on the street, not more guns."

David Pope, president of the village of Oak Park, outside Chicago, which also was defending a handgun ban, said the ruling curbs local flexibility to address crime. "For a long time, we always thought it was reasonable and constitutional for different cities and towns to have different regulations," he said.

Several large cities, including Baltimore, Cleveland and Oakland, had urged the court not to rule against Chicago. They were joined by three states with urban centers, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey, that warned if the high court extended the Second Amendment's reach, "nearly every firearms law will become the subject of a constitutional challenge, and even in cases where the law ultimately survives, its defense will be costly and time-consuming."

Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Violence Policy Center, which supports strict gun-control laws, predicted more than a new tide of lawsuits.

"People will die because of this decision," she said. "It is a victory only for the gun lobby and America's fading firearms industry."

As Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito announced the court's opinion from the bench Monday, though, he said experts differ on whether private gun possession increases or decreases death and injury.

Alito also said that the 2008 case, District of Columbia v. Heller, establishing the right to keep and bear arms under federal law, steered the court's decision Monday. The 2008 case arose from a handgun ban in Washington, D.C.

In Monday's case, Alito deemed the right to bear arms "fundamental" and noted the court had previously held that most provisions of the Bill of Rights apply to both the federal government and the states. He was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas.

Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.

Breyer read portions of his dissent from the bench Monday, warning the new ruling would interfere with legislative efforts nationwide to control firearms and violence.

Dissenting separately, Justice Stevens, who is retiring, criticized the majority's view that the Second Amendment right to firearms is so fundamental and valuable that it must be applied broadly.

"Just as (firearms) can help homeowners defend their families and property from intruders," Stevens wrote, "they can help thugs and insurrectionists murder innocent victims. The threat that firearms will be misused is far from hypothetical, for gun crime has devastated many of our communities."

'Not the end of all gun laws'

Monday's case, brought by Otis McDonald and three other Chicagoans who said they wanted to keep handguns in their home for self-defense, presented the second round of high-stakes litigation over the scope of the Second Amendment.

For decades, despite polls showing Americans believed in an individual right to bear arms, most federal judges had ruled that the Second Amendment covered only a right of state militias, such as National Guards. That changed when the justices ruled definitively in 2008 there is an individual right to firearms in the home for personal safety.

In trying to distinguish its handgun ban from the Washington, D.C., ordinance struck down in 2008, the City of Chicago had argued that firearms violence there was of such a magnitude that the court should not extend its earlier decision to the states.

Chicago officials argued the Second Amendment involves a right to possess an item designed to kill or cause injury and cannot be likened to, for example, the First Amendment right of free speech, because it is not fundamental to individual liberty.

Alito's opinion for the court rejected that idea. He said that "a provision of the Bill of Rights that protects a right that is fundamental from an American perspective applies equally to the federal government and the states." He also dismissed arguments from Chicago officials and their backers that the court's extending the Second Amendment to the states would threaten all existing gun laws.

He said the Heller decision "recognized that the right to keep and bear arms is not 'a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.' We repeat those assurances here. Despite municipal respondents' doomsday proclamations, (the decision) does not imperil law regulating firearms."

Justice Breyer, in his dissenting opinion signed by Ginsburg and Sotomayor, insisted state and local communities have carefully considered how they want to regulate guns and that their judgments would now be usurped by judges.

The Chicago challengers' case was brought on June 26, 2008, the day the Supreme Court struck down the Washington, D.C., handgun ban. Chicagoans Adam Orlov and Colleen and David Lawson joined McDonald in the case.

They were represented by Virginia lawyer Alan Gura, who had taken the lead on Heller.

"The court has made clear that the Second Amendment is a powerful, meaningful right," Gura said Monday.

"This is not the end of all gun laws. We weren't seeking an end to all gun laws. But it is going to be the end of those laws meant only to interfere with people's constitutional rights."

He said some registration laws, for example, can be so cumbersome that they restrict gun rights. Gura said he would soon be filing more lawsuits.

Some cities already revising laws

Chicago's Mayor Daley suggested the court's decision reflected a lack of understanding of the tragedies wrought by gun violence. "To suggest that Chicago's elected officials haven't done enough to protect our city's residents shows many of our highest level officials don't understand that gun violence pervades America, not just Chicago," he said.

He said the city was considering how to revise its law. The justices' rationale is likely to lead to the invalidation of the Chicago handgun ban, but the high court's majority did not definitely rule against the city's ban, and instead sent Monday's case back to lower courts for final action.

Some cities had begun revising their gun-control laws in anticipation of Monday's ruling. In Wilmette, Ill., Village Manager Timothy Frenzer said the community repealed its 19-year-old gun ban shortly after the high court's 2008 decision, largely because the "outcome (Monday) was predictable."

"All the groundwork had been laid in 2008 for the court to take the step it did today," Frenzer says.

In the two years since the community's gun ban was repealed, Frenzer says there has been "no detectable change" in crime.

Some cities, including New York, have strict gun licensing rules that critics such as LaPierre say end up being a ban for some would-be gun owners.

"I will continue to collaborate with mayors across the country to pursue common-sense, constitutional approaches to protecting public safety," said Bloomberg, co-chairman of the national coalition Mayors Against Illegal Guns.

The majority of states sided with those challenging Chicago's ban. Thirty-eight states, led by Texas, said the Second Amendment should apply broadly. They said that some 44 states have a right to keep and bear arms in their own state constitutions.

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers' reactions reflected the public's deep divisions over gun laws.

Judiciary Committee members Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., praised the ruling. Hatch called it a "victory for law-abiding gun owners." Leahy said "state and local governments will now have to proceed more carefully" on gun regulations, but "it will be in respect of a right that belongs to all Americans."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat and member of the Judiciary Committee, countered that she was "extremely dismayed" by the court's ruling.

"I believe the proliferation of guns has made this country less safe, not more safe," said Feinstein, a former San Francisco mayor. She assumed that job in 1978, after then-mayor George Moscone was fatally shot by former supervisor Dan White.

Source Officer.Com

Military likely to shun iPhone

2010-06-17T18:29:00.000-07:00

Open architecture of something akin to the Android OS is more appealing

Jun 14, 2010
As the military continues its search for the best battlefield smart phone, it’s looking more unlikely that the iPhone will be a contender. The biggest hurdle: Apple’s proprietary technology and the massive price tag attached to implementing it across the Defense Department.

Comparatively, a mobile device driven by an open operating system – one that is malleable to DOD needs, perhaps the Android – could be a better fit for rapid design and deployment, according to DOD Buzz.

The Army, in particular, has been leading the charge for smart phones on the front line; besides fostering better connections up and down the chain of command, the presence of a smart phone effectively puts extra sensors on a solider. More sensors means more data, and in this case, more effective data-sharing. The ability to record audio, take pictures and video or exploit any number of custom applications would make for a critical asset in the combat theater.

It’s something military leaders are taking seriously. One example: the Army Apps challenge drew 141 teams that created 53 application proposals last month. Of those app proposals, 17 were for Android, 16 for iPhone, 10 for ASP.NET, seven for the LAMP open software stack, two for the BlackBerry and one for the Army Knowledge Online portal.

“Soldiers and Army civilians are creating new mobile and web applications of value for their peers—tools that enhance warfighting effectiveness and business productivity today,” said Lt. Gen. Jeff Sorenson, Army chief information officer/G-6, in an earlier interview.

Testing is already under way, including within the Army’s Brigade Combat Team Modernization program, on both iPhones and Androids. But already there’s a hefty speed bump: According to DOD Buzz, a Boeing official pegged the cost of a single, proprietary iPhone app at $200. It’s a steep cost for any program, but military smart phones don’t even have a dedicated budget yet.

To Sorenson, attaining the necessary situational awareness is more important than any cost. Getting the right devices and apps into the theater “might in many cases save soldier’s lives, which is priceless,” he said in March.

Source Defense Systems
June 17,2010

Can you hear me now? New Army phone communicates through rocks

2010-06-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

New wireless telephone technology can transmit voice and data through mountains of solid rock

Say hello to the Rock Phone, a novel communication technology that recently emerged in Canada. It won't help you be heard any better at a Coldplay concert, but it will let you transmit real-time voice and data through a mountain of solid rock.

The U.S. Army Contracting Command at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., is in the process of ordering a set of Rock Phones, presumably for testing, according to a presolicitation notice posted online on May 18, 2010.

The Rock Phone system, developed by Ultra Electronics Maritime Systems (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia), uses magneto-inductive technology, which provides users a channel for signal, communication, guidance and navigation. The channel's unique properties let it operate through any medium, including earth, rock, sea or urban structures. According to the company's website, this capability is useful when the environment does not permit penetration by standard radio waves, such as into caves, mines, tunnels or large buildings.

Ultra Electronics claims the unit can operate through hundreds of meters of solid rock, enabling secure data and voice communications for troops or rescuers separated by line-of-sight obstacles underground, underwater or in dense urban environments. Vehicle-mounted systems reportedly are capable of providing extremely secure communications over longer ranges.

Magneto-inductive technology can be used in applications such as data, voice, video, remote control of unmanned ground vehicles and robots, or any other scenario where wireless communications of analog or digital signals are involved.

The Rock Phone device is portable and can be carried in the hand or worn on a belt. Rock Phones can be interfaced with any voice radio system to provide the capability for re-establishing radio contact in areas separated by intervening line-of-sight obstructions.

Since nothing else seems to have worked, maybe the Rock Phone can help the U.S. military find Osama bin Laden, widely presumed to be hiding in the backcountry caves somewhere in Afghanistan. Picture squads of troops or remote-controlled robots, each armed with Rock Phones, dispatched into hundreds of caves and tunnels in the Hindu Kush being able to talk with each other underground.

Scott Dern, a contract specialist for the Picatinny Arsenal, declined a Homeland1 request to comment on the Rock Phone acquisition or to speculate on what the Army intends to do with them.

Be that as it may, homeland security personnel might find Rock Phone technology advantageous for enhancing rescue communications in the aftermath of an earthquake or a mine- or building-collapse disaster.

Source Homeland1 News

Now on Windows Live

2010-06-05T20:47:00.001-07:00

We just finished upgrading our Windows Live system to include the Microsoft Blog Writer.

This system can be seen at our Windows Live website:

CDP Information Systems Profile Page

Feds Issue Terror Watch for the Texas/Mexico Border

2010-06-01T20:25:00.000-07:00

Feds Issue Terror Watch for the Texas/Mexico Border
By Jana Winter

The Department of Homeland Security is alerting Texas authorities to be on the lookout for a suspected member of the Somalia-based Al Shabaab terrorist group who might be attempting to travel to the U.S. through Mexico, a security expert who has seen the memo tells FOXNews.com.

The warning follows an indictment unsealed this month in Texas federal court that accuses a Somali man in Texas of running a "large-scale smuggling enterprise" responsible for bringing hundreds of Somalis from Brazil through South America and eventually across the Mexican border. Many of the illegal immigrants, who court records say were given fake IDs, are alleged to have ties to other now-defunct Somalian terror organizations that have merged with active organizations like Al Shabaab, al-Barakat and Al-Ittihad Al-Islami.

In 2008, the U.S. government designated Al Shabaab a terrorist organization. Al Shabaab has said its priority is to impose Sharia, or Islamic law, on Somalia; the group has aligned itself with Al Qaeda and has made statements about its intent to harm the United States.

In recent years, American Somalis have been recruited by Al Shabaab to travel to Somalia, where they are often radicalized by more extremist or operational anti-American terror groups, which Al Shabaab supports. The recruiters coming through the Mexican border are the ones who could be the most dangerous, according to law enforcement officials.

Source The Counter Terrorist

Threats, Attacks Against Park Rangers on Rise

2010-05-27T17:32:00.000-07:00

LARAMIE, Wyo. --

An environmental group that advocates on behalf of government employees worries anti-government rhetoric fueled a surge in attacks and threats last year against law enforcement rangers in national parks.

The group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility said it used the Freedom of Information Act to compile a list of 158 threats and attacks against law enforcement rangers in national parks in 2009. That's up from 36 tallied in 2008 and the previous high of 111 in 2004.

The group's executive director, Jeff Ruch, said he's concerned anti-government sentiment is partly to blame. People just don't have a high level of respect for park rangers like they did in the past, he said Wednesday.

"There's certainly a change in public attitude," Ruch said. "The exact cause of that may take a social scientist. But there isn't the same warm and fuzzy feeling most people remember as the good old days."

Some rhetoric lately sounds like the "sagebrush rebellion" against federal land managers out West in the 1990s, he said.

The PEER numbers are surprising and the Park Service hasn't studied what caused the increase, said David Barna, the agency's chief of public affairs. But the numbers are worth looking into, he said.

"We can't always stop the number of assaults on our staff, but we can equip and train to respond to them," Barna said.

The number of documented incidents varied widely by park.

PEER documented none in the heavily visited Grand Canyon and Yellowstone national parks. Other popular parks such as Redwoods and Yosemite in California had several. Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada led with 58 incidents.

Ruch said reporting inconsistency from park to park probably accounts for the variation. He criticized the Park Service for not doing more to track threats and assaults on all park employees including law enforcement rangers.

The Park Service is improving by implementing a new tracking system, Barna said.

Incidents nationwide ranged from verbal threats by people told to leash their dogs to drinking and drug-related confrontations. PEER also documented confrontational traffic stops, including a car chase, on the 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.

The Park Service has a long history of downplaying violence and threats against park staff, said Paul Berkowitz, a recently retired Park Service law enforcement officer whose 33-year career included duty in Yosemite and Grand Canyon.

"It goes against the image of what we envision national parks to be," he said.

By MEAD GRUVER
Associated Press Writer

Durham, NC Police Officer Uses His PDA to Fight Crime

2010-05-27T08:48:00.001-07:00

Members of the Durham, NC police department are computer savvy, using laptops in their patrol cars to run tags, wants and warrants, O.L. information, write reports (incident and accident reports, etc) communicate car to car, dispatch calls, etc.

Some officers use their personal PDAs to sketch crime scenes, record interviews, both written and voice recordings, store suspect and wanted persons photos and wanted posters, use mapping software to set up a perimeter during events or a hunt for a suspect, keep NC General Statutes and City Ordinances at hand, store the departments operating procedures and rules/regulations. They also use it in court and to keep notes and photos of the suspect and evidence on it, so they can refer to a photo when they walk in the courtroom.

Sergeant Gunter used his PDA to coordinate a very tense hostage situation at a local mall. He directed cars to secure the area and run the scene. He pulled up a map of the mall on his Axim PDA and used it to direct other Officers. He marked each spot where Officers were located, see areas that would need to be closed off to the public, and have a list of every available unit as it came on scene. By the time the mobile substation arrived, with all of these resources inside, all he needed was a seat to sit down in and wait for the negotiator to arrive. After the situation was diffused he realized the benefit of having floor plans on his PDA he downloaded all of the local school floor plans as well as other large public areas. The plans are on the laptops in the patrol cars, but having them on the PDA enables the Officers not to be ‘stuck’ in the car and to be mobile.

Police Coalition Challenges Arizona Law

2010-05-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

Major-city police chiefs say law is too divisive

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- About a dozen major-city police chiefs will meet today with Attorney General Eric Holder to oppose the controversial Arizona immigration law that they fear could drive a wedge between the community and local law enforcement.

The police coalition -- including officials from Phoenix, Tucson, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Salt Lake City -- represents the largest group of officers to speak against the measure, set to take effect July 29.

"This law is the culmination of a very broken immigration system," Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris said. "It doesn't fix the immigration problem, it only diverts our scarce resources."

"All of us ... are opposed to this," Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said, adding that the law will likely discourage witnesses and victims of crimes from cooperating with police. "This bill breaks the trust with our communities."

Five federal lawsuits challenging the law have been filed since Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, signed the measure last month. Holder is weighing a similar lawsuit on behalf of the federal government.

Brewer spokesman Paul Senseman said other law enforcement officials have "expressed their strong support for the new law."

Pinal County, Ariz., Sheriff Paul Babeu, a supporter of the law and president of the Arizona Sheriffs' Association, said his law enforcement colleagues should be "preparing to implement the law" rather than meeting with Holder.

"We wouldn't have to do this if the federal government had done its job," says Babeu, a supporter of the measure.

Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said it is "important" for the attorney general to hear the police officials' concerns.

"Putting local law enforcement in the cross hairs of illegal immigration is just bad business," San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis said.

The Arizona law requires local police to determine the immigration status of a person during a stop, detention or arrest if "reasonable suspicion" exists that the person is unlawfully in the U.S.

There are an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants in Arizona, state records show.

Babeu says Holder and President Obama should be "ashamed of themselves" for suggesting that the new law would encourage police to engage in racial profiling.

"Racial profiling is against the law," he says.

BY KEVIN JOHNSON
USA TODAY

Searches in Times Square probe yield 3 arrests

2010-05-14T18:18:00.000-07:00

2 Boston-area men arrested had a "direct connection" to suspect Faisal Shahzad; another person in Maine arrested

WATERTOWN, Mass. — Two Pakistani men suspected of providing money to Times Square car bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad were arrested by the FBI in a series of Thursday morning raids across the Northeast, law enforcement officials said.

The searches in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey were the product of evidence gathered in the investigation into the Times Square bomb attempt two weeks ago, but there was "no known immediate threat to the public or any active plot against the United States," FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz said.

Three people were arrested on suspected immigration violations: the two Pakistani men in the Boston area and one person in Maine, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Brian Hale said. All three arrests are administrative and not criminal, he said. The three were not immediately charged with any terrorism-related offenses.

The two Boston-area men had a "direct connection" to Shahzad, a Pakistan-born U.S. citizen, said a top Massachusetts law enforcement official. They are believed to have provided money to him, but investigators weren't sure whether they were witting accomplices or simply moving funds, as is common among people from the Middle East and Central Asia who live in the U.S., said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

"These people might be completely innocent and not know what they were providing money for, but it's clear there's a connection," the official said.

Authorities are now trying to determine the source of any money that might have been moved to the Boston-area men.

"That's the focus of the ongoing investigation," said the official.

All three of the men arrested on suspected immigration violations are Pakistani, according to another law enforcement official. Two of the men have overstayed their visas and the third is already in removal proceedings, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Police cordoned off a small house in Watertown, a suburb about 10 miles west of Boston, and a neighbor reported seeing an FBI raid there.

A Mobil gas station in Brookline, another Boston suburb, also was raided. The entrances and exits to the station were cordoned off by yellow tape, and FBI agents were going in and out of the building. Agents also searched and removing items from a silver Honda Accord in the parking lot.

The car was registered to Mohammad Zameen, 45, confirmed Ann Dufresne, a spokeswoman of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. Zameen also is listed as a resident at the apartment in Watertown. No one answered phone calls at his listed number.

Marcinkiewicz said the arrest in Maine was part of the investigation into the Times Square bomb plot, but said she had no additional details about the arrest.

"They're all connected, but the specifics to Maine I don't specifically know what they were doing," she said.

Homes were searched in Centereach and Shirley, N.Y., both on Long Island, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press Thursday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Ashim Chakraborty, who owns the home in Centereach, said FBI agents and police officers came to his home Thursday morning seeking to question a couple â€” a Pakistani man and an American woman _who have lived in the basement apartment for the past 18 months.

The woman, who did not identify herself, was still in the basement Thursday afternoon, telling reporters only, "Drop dead, I'm an American."

In New Jersey, the FBI searched a home in Cherry Hill, N.J., and a print shop in Camden, N.J., said FBI spokesman J.J. Klaver in Philadelphia.

Two brothers, Muhammad Fiaez and Iqbal Hinjhara, live at the Cherry Hill condominium, Fiaez said. He said his brother owns the print shop.

Authorities arrived at their home at 6 a.m., Fiaez said, questioned him and his brother on how long they have lived in the U.S. and on the business. After questioning, the FBI told Fiaez he wasn't of interest to them.

Shahzad has been in custody at an undisclosed location since his arrest on May 3 from a Dubai-bound plane at Kennedy Airport. He has waived his right to an initial court appearance and will appear in court as soon as he is finished talking with investigators, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Thursday in White Plains, N.Y. Federal investigators say he has told them he received weapons training in Pakistan.

Elias Audy, 61, of Boston, is listed at the owner of the Mobil station. He was seen by reporters leaving the business afterward and had no comment.

Shahzad, 30, is accused of trying to detonate a bomb-laden SUV in Times Square on May 1. Police said the bomb had alarm clocks connected to a can filled with fireworks apparently intended to detonate gas cans and propane tanks.

The vehicle smoldered but didn't explode. Federal agents, tracing Shahzad through the SUV's previous owner, caught him two days later on a plane bound for the United Arab Emirates as it was departing New York's Kennedy Airport.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan on the raids Thursday.

Islamabad has said it was too early to say whether the Pakistani Taliban, which operates from the country's lawless northwest tribal region, was behind the Times Square plot although the U.S. said it found a definite link. But Pakistan promised to cooperate with the investigation and has detained at least four people with alleged connections to suspect Faisal Shahzad.

Vinny Lacerra, 50, who lives across the street from the house raided in Watertown, said he was in his living room about 6 a.m. when he heard somebody say, "FBI! Put your hands up!"

Lacerra said he looked out his windows and saw 15 to 20 FBI agents with their guns drawn surrounding the house.

About 15 minutes later, the agents went inside and came out with one man handcuffed and took him down the street, he said. He also said he saw an agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"I was surprised to see this, because this is what you see on TV," Lacerra said.

There was no indication that Audy, the gas station owner, was a target of the terror probe.

Audy was born in Lebanon, and came to the United States at 19 to study at the University of Houston in Texas and then at Northeastern University in Boston near his brother, according to the website of a used car dealership Audy also owned.

"He's very, very philanthropically-minded as a businessman, very involved in his community," said Harry Robinson, executive director of the Brookline Chamber of Commerce.

Robinson said Audy has a wife and family and has been a longtime U.S. resident. Robinson also said he was not only involved in the chamber, but the local Rotary club.

Shahzad had been living in Connecticut. William Reiner, FBI spokesman in Connecticut, there were no search warrants served in the state Thursday as part of the investigation.

Source Homeland 1

Can Law Enforcement learn from the military view of Social Media

2010-05-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

Social Media being used by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to communicate with their command.

Admiral Mullen’s Social Media Strategy:

If you don’t think Facebook and Twitter have a place in the Department of Defense, tell that to the highest-ranking officer in the U.S. Military, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. Being the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is a pretty demanding job, but Admiral Mullen still finds time to connect; he recently tweeted that his wife @DeborahMullen helps remind him.
Admiral Mullen is active on both Facebook and Twitter. Since social media is quickly becoming mainstream media, the Chairman believes social networking is an absolute necessity to be in touch with younger audiences and the future of our military.

Admiral Mullen’s Public Affairs team recently released his social media strategy. This can be a template that other leaders can use to incorporate new and social media into their Public Affairs communication plans. Check out Admiral Mullen’s Social Media Strategy here and share it with your leadership.

Link to Admiral Mullens, chairman of the JCS, Memo

http://cdpinfo.com/ebooks/jcs.pdf

Source Defence Systems News

McAfee program goes berserk, reboots PCs

2010-04-21T18:14:00.000-07:00

McAfee program goes berserk, reboots PCs

Hospitals, schools, company computers around the world affected by error

NEW YORK - Computers in companies, hospitals and schools around the world got stuck repeatedly rebooting themselves Wednesday after an antivirus program identified a normal Windows file as a virus.

McAfee confirmed that a software update it posted at 9 a.m. Eastern time caused its antivirus program for corporate customers to misidentify a harmless file. It has posted a replacement update for download.

McAfee could not say how many computers were affected, but judging by online postings, the number was at least in the thousands and possibly in the hundreds of thousands.

McAfee said it did not appear that consumer versions of its software caused similar problems. It is investigating how the error happened "and will take measures" to prevent it from recurring, the company said in a statement.

The computer problem forced about a third of the hospitals in Rhode Island to postpone elective surgeries and stop treating patients without traumas in emergency rooms, said Nancy Jean, a spokeswoman for the Lifespan system of hospitals. The system includes Rhode Island Hospital, the state's largest, and Newport Hospital. Jean said patients who required treatment for gunshot wounds, car accidents, blunt trauma and other potentially fatal injuries were still being admitted to the emergency rooms.

Deborah Montanaro of North Kingstown, R.I., told The Providence Journal her son was turned away by the hospital and not given the spinal radiation therapy he needed to treat his leukemia.

"It is impacting patient care," she told the newspaper. "They have no Plan B. I am very upset."

The hospital's computers came back online around 4:30 ET, Jean told the newspaper.

In Kentucky, state police were told to shut down the computers in their patrol cars as technicians tried to fix the problem. The National Science Foundation headquarters in Virginia also lost computer access.

Intel appeared to be among the victims, according to employee posts on Twitter.

"For PCs that have been affected and are in a state of reboot, Intel IT is still working on how to get the deleted files back on the operating system, which will allow PCs to boot normally again," spokesman Bill MacKenzie told The Oregonian.

"We do have instructions out that are working for some people and not for others. We are continuing to work the issue."

Peter Juvinall, systems administrator at Illinois State University, said that when the first computer started rebooting it quickly became evident that it was a major problem, affecting dozens of computers at the College of Business alone.

"I originally thought it was a virus," he said. When the tech support people concluded McAfee's update was to blame, they stopped further downloads of the faulty software update and started shuttling from computer to computer to get the machines working again.

In many offices, personal attention to each PC from a technician appeared to be the only way to fix the problem because the computers weren't receptive to remote software updates when stuck in the reboot cycle. That slowed the recovery.

It's not uncommon for antivirus programs to misidentify legitimate files as viruses. Last month, antivirus software from Bitdefender locked up PCs running several different versions of Windows.

However, the scale of this outage was unusual, said Mike Rothman, president of computer security firm Securosis.

"It looks to be a train wreck," Rothman said.

In Utah, at least 700 of Utah Valley University's 5,000 computers on campus were affected, but university spokesman Chris Taylor said all computers were back up and running by noon Wednesday, as IT officials "were right on top of it."

In Sarasota County, Fla., school district officials said about 800 computers experienced the problem, and power was pulled quickly on the PCs. Officials said they were able to get computer systems up in running again in a little more than half an hour.

Msnbc.com’s Bob Sullivan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36694120/

Stolen goods on EBay

2010-04-09T07:21:00.000-07:00

Early this week a California couple was sentenced to more than a year in prison for selling stolen toys on eBay. The couple might have never been caught had they not boasted about their exploits on the popular TV show "Dr. Phil" in 2008.

Today they're behind bars, and if eBay's new partnership with the National Retail Federation goes as planned, more retail criminals will be caught and punished in the near future.

Retail crime is a growing problem, reports the NRF. In a recent NRF survey, 73 percent of retailers polled said organized retail crime has increased in the past year. And 92 percent of those retailers said they had been victims of organized crime. The total cost of these schemes is an estimated $115 billion a year, according to reports.

In partnership with eBay, the group aims to decrease these numbers through regular meetings to discuss ways to prevent online crimes, identify criminals and collaborate on new technologies that will help reduce the number of crimes, and by working on new legislation to increase the number of resources allotted to fight organized retail crime.

"For years we have engaged online marketplaces, including eBay to partner with our retail members and take an aggressive stance against these illegal operations," notes Joe LaRocca, the NRF's senior asset protection adviser, on the organization's blog.

“NRF and eBay are putting criminals on notice that they will no longer be able to… abuse the online marketplace for profit”

"NRF has done a great job of shining a spotlight on the issue of organized retail crime, but retailers cannot fight this problem alone," says Paul Jones, eBay's global director of asset protection. "Through this partnership, NRF and eBay are putting criminals on notice that they will no longer be able to steal from retailers and abuse the online marketplace for profit."

The partnership will also allow for more information sharing among the two organizations to help law enforcement apprehend criminals.

"eBay has invested in a number of new resources and is making tremendous strides to assist retailers and law enforcement with tracking illegal behavior," LaRocca continues. "The partnership between NRF and eBay will create standards and best practices to stop criminals from fencing their stolen goods."

Relations between eBay and NRF have not always been harmonious. Recently, the two organizations were at odds over legislation aimed at thwarting online fencing activity—bills eBay asserted were more anti-competitive than anti-crime.

Source Auctiva

Misspelling of OxyContin Leads to Okla. Drug Arrest

2010-03-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

OKLAHOMA CITY --

An Oklahoma City pharmacist knew something wasn't quite right when a prescription for OxyContin came in misspelled.

An employee at a CVS pharmacy, located at 4540 NW 23rd St., called the phone number on the prescription pad, according to a police report.

Police said a man answered the phone and said it was a legitimate prescription. However, the pharmacist told authorities he was not convinced.

After some more investigating to determine the prescription was a fraud, the police were called.

Police arrived and arrested the suspect on suspicion of forgery.

Story by koco.com

Nine Teens Charged With Bullying In Girl's Suicide

2010-03-29T19:12:00.000-07:00

March 29, 2010

Insults and threats followed 15-year-old Phoebe Prince almost from her first day at South Hadley High School in Massachusetts. Officials say the Irish immigrant was targeted in the halls, library and in vicious text messages.
Ostracized for having a brief relationship with a popular boy, Phoebe reached her breaking point and hanged herself in January after a day that officials say included being hounded with slurs and pelted with a beverage container on her way home from school.

Now, nine teenagers face charges in what a prosecutor called "unrelenting" bullying; two boys have been charged with statutory rape, and a clique of girls have been charged with stalking, criminal harassment and violating Phoebe's civil rights.

School officials won't be charged, even though authorities say they knew about the bullying and that Phoebe's mother brought her concerns to at least two of them.

Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel, who announced the charges Monday, said the events before Phoebe's death on Jan. 14 were "the culmination of a nearly three-month campaign of verbally assaultive behavior and threats of physical harm" widely known among the student body.

"The investigation revealed relentless activity directed toward Phoebe, designed to humiliate her and to make it impossible for her to remain at school," Scheibel said. "The bullying, for her, became intolerable."

Scheibel said the case is still under investigation and that one other person could be charged. It wasn't immediately known Monday whether the teens who have been charged have attorneys.

Scheibel said the harassment began in September, occurring primarily in school and in person, although some of it surfaced on the social-networking site Facebook and in other electronic forms. At least four students and two faculty members intervened to try to stop it or report it to administrators, she said.

Schiebel refused to discuss the circumstances of the rape charges.

School officials weren't charged because they had "a lack of understanding of harassment associated with teen dating relationships," and the school's code of conduct was interpreted and enforced in an "inconsistent" way, Scheibel said.

"Nevertheless, the actions — or inactions — of some adults at the school are troublesome," she said.

South Hadley Schools Superintendent Gus A. Sayer could not be reached for comment Monday.

Phoebe was born in Bedford, England, and moved to County Clare, Ireland, when she was 2. She moved to South Hadley last summer. Her family has since moved away and could not immediately be located for comment.

"The Prince family has asked that the public refrain from vigilantism in favor of allowing the judicial system an opportunity to provide a measure of justice for Phoebe," Scheibel said at a news conference to announce the charges.

Some students accused of participating in the bullying have been disciplined by the school and will not be returning to classes.

The Massachusetts Legislature cited Prince's death and the apparent suicide of 11-year-old Carl Walker-Hoover of Springfield last year when members passed anti-bullying legislation earlier this month.

South Hadley is among several college towns in western Massachusetts that pride themselves on their urbane cultural offerings, good schools and safe streets. After Phoebe's death, the community formed an anti-bullying task force that drew more than 400 people to its first meeting in February.

Robert Judge, a South Hadley selectman and task force member, said hundreds of people have become involved in hope that something good comes from the incident.

"Like most towns, we like to think of ourselves as a good place to live, and then this happens and your reputation is sullied nationally and even internationally, and people look at you differently, and they make assumptions," Judge said.

Scheibel said the teens will be issued summonses to appear in court on undetermined dates. The teens who face criminal charges under the indictments announced Monday are:

- Sean Mulveyhill, 17, of South Hadley. Charged with statutory rape, violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury, criminal harassment and disturbance of a school assembly. A woman who answered the phone at his home Monday would not identify herself and told The Associated Press, "You don't know the full story."

- Kayla Narey, 17, of South Hadley. Charged with violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury, criminal harassment and disturbance of a school assembly. A message left at a number listed to a Narey family was not immediately returned; another line was out of service.

- Austin Renaud, 18, of Springfield. Charged with statutory rape. A telephone number could not immediately be found.

- Ashley Longe, 16, of South Hadley. Charged as a youthful offender with violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury. A telephone number could not immediately be found.

- Sharon Chanon Velazquez, 16, of South Hadley. Charged as a youthful offender with stalking and violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury. There was no telephone listing.

- Flannery Mullins, 16, of South Hadley. Charged as a youthful offender with stalking and violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury. A message left at a Mullins home was not immediately returned.

Three 16-year-old South Hadley girls, whose names were not released, face delinquency charges that include the civil rights offense, criminal harassment and disturbance of a school assembly

Source AP.

US thieves sentenced after boasting on TV show

2010-03-29T19:08:00.000-07:00

A US couple who boasted on a TV show they made as much as $3,500 (£2,318) a week by selling shoplifted toys online have been sentenced to prison terms.

Matthew Eaton, 34, got 27 months in jail. His wife Laura Eaton, 27, was sentenced to one year.

The couple from southern California pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport stolen goods.

The pair were arrested last September - nearly a year after an appearance on the Dr Phil television show.

The couple from San Marcos, north of San Diego, were sentenced by a district judge on Monday.

Assistant US Attorney Nicole Acton Jones had earlier said the couple made at least $100,000 from June 2007 to March 2009 by stealing Lego toy kits, transporting them across state lines and selling them on eBay and other online auction sites, the San Diego 6 website reported.

Source BBC News

US 'Christian militants' charged after FBI raids

2010-03-29T19:01:00.001-07:00

Nine alleged members of a radical US Christian militia group have been charged with conspiring to kill police officers and wage war against the US.

Eight suspects were detained in a series of FBI raids across the Mid-West, while one remains at large.

Prosecutors say the eight men and one woman belonged to the Hutaree group.

It is alleged they planned to kill a police officer in Michigan and then stage a second attack on the funeral, using landmines and roadside bombs.

Preparing for the Antichrist

The FBI raided properties Michigan, Ohio and Indiana over the weekend in the belief that the group was planning a reconnaissance exercise.

"The indictment... outlines an insidious plan by anti-government extremists to murder a law enforcement officer in order to lure police from across the nation to the funeral where they would be attacked with explosive devices," said Attorney General Eric Holder.

"Thankfully, this alleged plot has been thwarted and a severe blow has been dealt to a dangerous organisation that today stands accused of conspiring to levy war against the United States."

A website in the name of the group shows video footage of military-style training exercises and describes Hutaree as "Christian warriors". It is edited to a backing track of rock music.

A statement on the website says the group are preparing to defend themselves upon the arrival of the Antichrist.

The website says Hutaree is "preparing for the end time battles to keep the testimony of Jesus Christ alive".

In the indictment, Hutaree is described as an "anti-government extremist organisation" advocating violence against the police.

Source BBC News

US credit card hacker sentenced

2010-03-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

Computer expert Albert Gonzalez has been jailed for 20 years in the US for his part in stealing more than 130 million credit and debit card numbers.

The judge who sentenced him described the case as "the largest and most costly example of computer hacking in US history".

Gonzalez, from Miami, pleaded guilty at his trial in September 2009.

He was accused, along with two Russian co-conspirators, of hacking into retailer payment systems.

They targeted more than 250 US companies including payment processor Heartland Payment Systems, food and drink store 7-Eleven and American supermarket Hannaford Brothers Co.

Gonzalez was found to have used SQL injection attacks to exploit weaknesses in payment software programmes and access data, stealing millions of customer card details.

He blamed "curiosity and addiction" for his crimes. As part of a plea bargain, he had handed over to the court expensive jewellery, watches, his car and home.

He also gave $1m in cash that he had buried in his parents' garden.

"Hackers continue to put up a persistent and very real threat to enterprise systems," said Amichai Shulman, chief technology officer of cyber security firm Imperva.

"The current data security spend is focused on enterprise networks, yet the Gonzalez attacks took distinct advantage of weaknesses in the database and applications. This is an industry-wide problem."

Source BBC News

Mexican drug gangs 'spread to every region of US'

2010-03-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

Mexican drug gangs have expanded their activities in the US with heroin production doubling in 2008, the US justice department says in a report.

Despite US funding for the war on drugs, trade in marijuana, ecstasy and methamphetamine also grew, the National Drug Threat Assessment said.

The report found that Mexican groups were active in every region of the US.

Gangs were moving an estimated $40bn (£27bn) in cash back into Mexico across the border each year, it added.

Mexico has long been the main conduit for illicit drugs smuggled into the US but this report suggests that the efforts to halt the flow on both sides of the border have had only a limited impact, the BBC's Richard Lister reports from Washington.

In 2007 the US pledged $1.4bn (£0.9bn) over three years to fight the drugs cartels but the following year heroin production in Mexico rose from 17 to 38 metric tonnes.

This, the report says, led to lower heroin prices and more overdose deaths in the US.

Network growth

The report found that Mexican heroin was poised to take a "more significant share" of the market in US cities where South American heroin has traditionally dominated.

For Asian heroin, the US continued to be a secondary market, it said.

The assessment says that Mexican drug suppliers have increased their co-operation with American street and prison gangs to expand their distribution networks.

Speaking in Mexico City earlier this week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for more efforts to tackle the social issues such as poverty that fuel the drugs trade.

Mexico, which has some 50,000 troops engaged against the cartels, has suggested that American money and equipment has not arrived quickly enough

Source BBC News

Frenchman hacks Obama's Twitter Acount

2010-03-24T18:19:00.000-07:00

A Frenchman who police say hacked Twitter accounts belonging to US President Barack Obama and celebrities could face jail.

The unemployed 25-year-old was arrested on Tuesday after an operation lasting several months, conducted by French police with agents from the FBI.

The 25-year-old is said to have hacked into the micro-blogging website, by simply guessing users' passwords.

The suspect reportedly targeted other celebrities, including Britney Spears.

After being questioned by police, he was ordered to appear at court in the central French city of Clermont-Ferrand on 24 June.

Hacking into a database in France is a crime which can carry a two-year jail term.

The suspect, who used the pseudonym "Hacker Croll", had no specialist training, Adeline Champagnat, head of the French central office against online fraud, told Reuters news agency.

He gained access to Twitter accounts by simply working out the answers to password reminder questions on targets' e-mail accounts, according to investigators.

New partnership with Microsoft

2010-03-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

CDP Informations Systems has been approved and is in the process of completing a partnership with Microsoft to provide our customers with cutting edge software products.

Along with the look and feel of our current products will will be supplying professional grade applications for larger agencies.

With this new alliance we will not forget our core customers. the street officer, by continuing to supply affordable software to meet his needs.

FI Card is now available

2010-03-24T14:47:00.000-07:00

CDP Information Systems has now completed and listed online our latest law enforcement software, FI Card

A complete suspect database solution for officers and small agencies.

Check http://www.cdpinfo.com for more information.

FBI's Chabinsky: Cybercrime is a profession

2010-03-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

A cybercrime may occur in the virtual world, but its damage can be very real. The severity of such crimes is one reason cybercrime has become a top priority for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Every day, foreign countries and terrorist organizations seek to steal U.S. public- and private-sector information "for the purpose of undermining the stability of our government or weakening our economic or military supremacy," said Deputy Assistant FBI Director Steven Chabinsky, speaking at FOSE on Tuesday. "The cyber threat can be an existential threat, meaning it can challenge our country's very existence, or significantly alter our nation's potential," Chabinsky warned.

The people behind these mysterious attacks often view themselves as businessmen because they are typically non-violent, white-collar criminals and cybercrime is their sole source of income. Greater organization by these groups has led to the "professionalization" of cybercrime. Like a corporation, different team members contribute their talents to the project. Chabinsky outlined 10 specializations seen in a typical cybercrime:

1. Coders - Write the malware and exploits necessary to commit the crime;

2. Distributors and vendors - Trade and sell stolen data;

3. Techies - Maintain the critical infrastructure (servers, encryption and database languages);

4. Hackers - Search for and exploit the applications, systems and network vulnerabilities;

5. Fraudsters - Create and deploy social engineering schemes;

6. Hosters - Provide safe hosting of content on servers and sites;

7. Cashers - Provide and manage drop accounts;

8. Money movers - Transfer illicit proceeds;

9. Tellers - Launder money through digital currency services;

10. And finally, Leaders - The "people people," who often have no IT skills, but can keep the entire team working together as planned.

Self-reliance is rare. "Almost every cyber criminal is a member of at least one online forum, website or chat room," says Chabinsky. They use these virtual meeting places to discuss techniques, share tools and tips, and evaluate other users. Over long periods of time the FBI is infiltrating and taking down these networks.

"We've also learned that the communication methods used by these criminals are to them, a social outlet as well...after a time the members of these forums become friends," said Chabinsky. Getting to know the members who frequent these networks can help the FBI recognize their traits, the things they buy and sell and what they are interested in. Even as they change names, email addresses and networks FBI agents are able to recognize them.

"It's not just that cyber criminals steal money, it's the amount that they can steal." They can steal imaginary money--money that isn't backed by gold or hard dollars, and that is the type of damage that can make entire institutions crumble.

The FBI now has more than 1,000 cybersecurity experts throughout its 56 field offices and has made computer forensics a required part of it's special agent training program. What's more, the bureau has bolstered it's international cybersecurity collaboration, working with law enforcement in more than 60 countries, Chabinsky said. But the FBI can't do it alone.

"The cybercrime threat cannot be prevented without collaboration from other agencies," Chabinsky said

Police software Officers daily log with free digital delivery

2010-02-19T10:02:00.000-08:00

Officer's Daily Log

Perfect for Police Officers, platoons, shifts or small agencies.

We are offering our Police officer's daily log software for only $4.95 with free digital delivery.

If you require a CD with this software delivered by 1st class US Mail please add $2.05 S&H.

for more information or to order visit our website at http://www.cdpinfo.com/ and click on the products button.

Our website offers low cost database tools for police, emt's, firefighters.

We also offer a selection of free tools and information to use in your daily routine.

http://www.cdpinfo.com/
sales@cdpinfo.com

Now online Officer's Daily Log

2010-01-07T18:40:00.000-08:00

We have just finished our latest creation Officer's Daily Log and posted it on both our website

and our EBay listings.

This software is ideal for Officers, Platoons and Small Agencies to record the daily work activity of Police Officers.

We are also upgrading our website with more free tools and information for you to use to make you job easier.

An ongoing project is to blend our daily workload, email, and documentents with Google online to provide the ability to work where ever we happen to be, not just at the main working computer.

One problem that has bothered us in using multiple computers is the spreading out of our business emails. By using Google we can read and answer all the email from any computer.

Email us with any thoughts and/or suggestions for future software products.

Charlie

http://www.cdpinfo.com/

sales@cdpinfo.com

Officer's Daily Log Now Online

2010-01-02T18:54:00.000-08:00

Our newest entry for police officer's is now listed in both our website and our EBay listings.

Created for police officer's, platoons and small agencies it stores all the information needed to document your daily patrol activity.

Prices at only $9.95 with free digital download or included $2.05 S&H for a CD sent by 1st class US Mail.

While your at our site be sure to browse our ever growing list of free tools for your use.

Charlie
sales@cdpinfo.com

Our new Website

2009-07-14T19:38:00.000-07:00

For the last few weeks we have been working on our latest creation.

The CDP Information Systems website has been completely rewritten using the latest in CMS (Content Management System) software.

This software allows us to include a wider range of services for our users, which, as always are free of charge.

Services include.

Law Enforcement News Feeds
Coin Collector News Feeds
More free EBooks
Easier to use site navigation through extensive menu system
Complete listing of General Statutes for the entire US
The ability to setup private members area for information exchange (soon)
The ability to have different user levels for different users (soon)
The ability to upgrade the website while remaining online for our users
Subscriber newsletters (soon)
Feedback area for our users (soon)
Announcements area

Current software product projects include the following:

North Carolina general statutes in a Windows help file - Will give officers the ability to have the entire NC book of laws with them in their home or office desktops and patrol car laptop.

Field Card - A database of suspects from FI cards including caution warnings, complete suspect information, tattoos, akas, vehicles and photos.

Hazmat Book in Windows help files format.

Other Law Enforcement manuals in Windows help file format.

Computer Search Warrant instructions in Windows help file format

Stamp Collector database

And much more.....

Bookmark our website and visit often for the latest in Law Enforcement tools and information.

You may also use the feedback section of the website to provide suggestions for other useful products.

As always our software will remain affordable to LEO's

Charles Phelan....... CDP Information Systems