TECHBeat, November/December 2016

• NCJ Number: 250513
• Journal: Techbeat Dated: November/December 2016 Pages: 1-20
• Date Published: December 2016
• Length: 20 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2014-IJ-CX-K004
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Technical Assistance; Program/Project Evaluation; Program/Project Description; News and Announcement; Issue Overview

Annotation

Feature articles in this issue describe a free software tool that makes it easier to track data related to repeat crime patterns; a free mobile phone safety application that tracks location, sends alarms, and records data; a real-time crime center that helps resolve incidents safely; and a forensic training tool that takes a "real world" approach to using new technology.

Abstract

"Free Software Tool Can 'Prove' Value of Data Mining" describes software that enables the mining of data related to repeat crime patterns. It has the capability to predict future crime-risk potential and produces both a visual and a statistical report. The procedure for developing this tool is described. "Free Mobile Phone Safety Application Tracks Location, Sends Alarms, and Records Data" describes the features of a free mobile phone app that activates an alarm when the user either misses a designated check-in time or makes a manual call for help by pulling headphones or another accessory out of a phone's audio jack or charging port. In either instance, the phone automatically texts designated friends and family, sending them the GPS coordinates of the user's location. "Fresno Real-Time Crime Center Helps resolve Incidents Safely" describes a system that rates dispatch calls according to whether they involve crimes in progress that are life-threatening. When a call is so rated, the staff of the Fresno Real-Time Crime Center accesses information that could provide assistance to responding officers. The article on the new software forensic training tool from NIJ explains how the tool puts users in a mock laboratory setting where they perform the tasks needed to use the new technology of and learn the science behind massively parallel sequencing in DNA analysis. This issue also provides information sources for new technology.