Issue link: http://lawandordermag.epubxp.com/i/144260
In a world where criminals grow ever more brazen in their use of technology to thwart law enforcement, it only makes sense for the police departments to fght back using cutting-edge technology to more effectively deploy offcers where they are needed, ensure their safety, and gain effciencies. Using high-accuracy location to help locate and track criminals offers several advantages. First, location tracking provides a solution to monitor suspects and better allocate resources to meet the needs of the community, for example, during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Second, offcer safety. High-accuracy wireless location enables authorities to locate and track suspects, preventing ambushes and ensuring an adequate response force. Location tracking ensures dispatchers have the visibility that is needed to protect offcers. Third, better intelligence. Criminal tracking provides data to build a prosecution's case. Police departments can prove where suspects were at the time of an incident, helping re-create crime scenarios and convincing jurors that their version of a case is the correct one. Location Technologies Differ Many police departments have relied on GPS devices to track criminals, but this only works if a) the suspect is in possession of a GPS-enabled phone; b) that he/she has not disabled the GPS chip inside the phone; and c) that he/ she is not indoors where it is near-impossible for GPS satellites to obtain a location fx. If any of those conditions are not met, then the requested location information is not useful. Likewise, criminal tracking using GPS is less than reliable. A standardsbased alternative location method is Radio Frequency Pattern Matching (RFPM). This network-based positioning method uses a mobile device's own radio signals to identify its owner's location, eliminating any dependency on satellites or other network hardware. RFPM is able to locate suspects across any air interface and in any environment, eliminating limitations related to the device type or network technology. RFPM works extremely well in non Tracking suspect movements helps to prevent ambushes and ensure an adequate response force. line-of-sight conditions such as dense urban and indoor environments and cannot be disabled by the criminal, unlike GPS, making it highly reliable for mission-critical law enforcement needs. In order to comply with federal and state laws, law enforcement agencies must typically present a search warrant, a court order, or a formal subpoena to a wireless network operator, such as Verizon or AT&T;, in order to gain access to a suspect's location. According to a recent Congressional inquiry led by Massachusetts Congressman Edward Markey, U.S. law enforcement agencies issued 1.3 million requests for wireless subscriber information in 2011. These requests for subscriber call records and subscriber location, specifcally aided by GPS, have come into question by privacy advocates and the courts, but a fnal ruling on constitutionality has not been made. There are, however, more mundane concerns that impact the usefulness of what could be a game-changing tool in anti-crime efforts. The process by which a law enforcement agency obtains subscriber location information is considered cumbersome and antiquated by both law enforcement and the wireless industry. After obtaining the warrant and issuing a request to the wireless operator, the law enforcement agency often must navigate multiple offces and contacts within the operator organization to get the requested information. At stake is money (cash-strapped law enforcement agencies would like to scale back the number of man hours devoted to manually processing requests to and responses from wireless operators) and time (an "immediate" response to a law enforcement request may still take up to eight hours, for which wireless operators often charge a premium, which federal law explicitly allows). Even after going through that process, subscriber location information may not be accurate. Most operators rely on GPS to identify suspect location, but GPS-capable phones are not universal, in addition to the other limitations of GPS described above. For mission-critical law enforcement needs, a more reliable solution is required. The Ideal Solution So what would an ideal solution look like? Law enforcement agencies agree on the need for a solution that tracks www.lawandordermag.com 31