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

1. Advanced Information Technology in Law Enforcement: Challenges and Barriers to Implementation Andreas M. Olligschlaeger, Ph.D. President, TruNorth Data Systems, Inc. (724) 775-8441 olli@TruNorthSystems.com

2. Overview What are some of the key IT challenges to law enforcement? Current state of the art in technology Barriers to the implementation of new technologies

3. IT Challenges Information sharing • Sharing information can help prevent crime and terrorism before it occurs • Proactive law enforcement requires putting together many pieces of a puzzle; private industry owns a large part of the puzzle • While there is no guarantee that information sharing will prevent all attacks or crimes, failure to do so will almost certainly guarantee future attacks and crime

4. IT Challenges Proactive analytical capabilities • Forecasting • Real-time monitoring of large data sets • Space/Time Pattern analysis • Data Mining Multi-Modal Query and Display • Query and visualize data in multiple ways Ubiquitous Access to Information • Handheld computers, laptops, etc.; more than simple query interfaces Secure Communications • Currently almost non-existent for broadband Data Standards • Crucial to information sharing

5. Homeland Security • Merges 22 agencies • Over 55 U.S. government databases containing information on terrorists • Hundreds of other databases, varying by: • Type • Platform • Operating system • Database schema

6. Homeland Security “The Mother of all Information Integration Programs” • Bob Shepherd, Director of Information Integration, Office of Homeland Security

7. Example: Australia Centrelink project consolidates 19 million citizens’ access to government information • 14 agencies • 40 databases Integrated warehouse is growing at the rate of 2.5 Terabytes per week Source: US Chamber of Commerce, 2002

8. Extrapolation: United States Assuming the amount of information per citizen and the number of systems are the same, merging Homeland Security systems would result in a weekly growth rate of 36.6 Terabytes

9. How Much Information is 36.6TB? • 7,320 DVDs • 58,560 CDs • 73,200 filing cabinets containing single spaced, double sided typed pages of text • 36,600,000 books Assuming the Homeland Security Warehouse starts with zero information, it’s size would be 1,903.2 Terabytes after one year At 165,000 employees, each Homeland Security staff member would have to read 221.8 books a week to digest it all! In 2003 the largest known database in the world contained 500 terabytes of information (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center)

10. Current State of the Art in LE Data Sharing/Integration: • Most recent efforts have concentrated in this area • Examples of current efforts: • Organization for Structured Information Standards LegalXML Lawful Intercept Standard • IACP Information Integration Planning Model • RISSNet • No major integration efforts implemented yet at the national level

11. Current State of the Art in LE Data Processing/Analysis: • Least amount of effort spent in this area • Lots of analytical tools, but very few databases are integrated enough to allow multi-modal analysis • Integrated databases tend to be specialized for one or two purposes (GIS, link analysis, etc.) • Some data mining

12. Current State of the Art in LE Analytical tools: • Crime Mapping • Link Analysis • Toll analysis • Geographic Profiling • Case Management • Crime Forecasting • Multimedia Databases • Facial Recognition • Biometrics Many advances have been made in integration and analysis, but they have not yet been applied in law enforcement

13. Current State of the Art in LE Many analytical/integration tools are based on old technology Some tools don’t work as advertised • Implemented before the technology is mature Many tools inadequate for modern law enforcement needs Some modern tools, but outdated databases

14. Current State of the Art in LE Data Mining SQL Queries based on expert opinion Pattern Recognition and detection algorithms • Known patterns • Facial recognition • Unknown patterns • Space/Time patterns Fractal algorithms Associative and predictive artificial neural networks Goal: provide automatic detection of potential new cases

15. Barriers • Law enforcement has limited resources • Not enough manpower/computing power to assess all available information • Private industry has greater technical expertise • FBI Trilogy project • Law Enforcement is a niche market • Projects cost much more to implement than in private industry • Technical infrastructure • Outdated technology, networks

16. Barriers Poor marketing on part of the government • Examples: • Total Information Awareness project (TIA) • Matrix • Game theoretic approaches • Various TSA efforts • Projects started without public input or awareness until after the fact • Damage not limited to federal government projects • Private industry and state/local agencies more reluctant to take part in controversial projects

17. Barriers • FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) • Concerns about liability with regards to false positives • Uncertainty about constantly changing federal laws • Concerns about technical life cycle in government • Government lifecycles tend to be longer • Over time technology gap will continue to widen

18. Barriers Privacy Concerns: • Lack of safeguards • Currently no guarantee to privacy • EU laws very different; allow for more effective law enforcement Public misconception of what privacy is • Anonymity not the same as privacy • Anonymity reduces responsibility

19. The End