The release of the 2012 Traffic Stop report by the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (AKA "the Crime Commission") spawned the annual article on the racial disparity in traffic stops in Lincoln. I am intimately familiar with these data, and have closely followed our reports since 2002, when the reporting process became law.
The data are virtually unchanged over the years. The headline finding every year has been that in Lincoln and Omaha, black motorists are stopped at a rate significantly greater than population data would predict. We do not know why, and the collection of these data by the State does not even remotely answer the questions. I suspect, based on my own analysis of traffic citations, that income is a major factor--though not the only one. The racial disparity in speeding tickets is virtually nil, yet the racial disparity in expired plates, misdemeanor arrest warrants, suspended drivers, uninsured motorists, and improperly registered vehicles is huge. These are violations closely related to one's ability to fork over the cash needed for fines, insurance premiums, sales tax, wheel tax, motor vehicle fees, SR22 filings, license reinstatement fees, and the like.
When I did my own research into traffic tickets in Lincoln several years ago, I discovered that when you controlled for the age of the vehicle (perhaps a surrogate for income), racial disparity virtually evaporated. At any rate, I do not propose to know what portion of the disparity is attributable to various potential sources, including bias--whether conscious or unconscious--by police officers. Most importantly, I acknowledge the possibility and likelihood of multiple sources, including institutional practices by agencies that tend to have a disparate impact, with scant or no justification.
Disparity in traffic stops seems somewhat inconsequential compared to the racial disparity in income, educational attainment, employment, incarceration, drop out rates, crime victimization, and even life expectancy in the United States. Think about this: in Nebraska, a black citizen is 18 times more likely to be the victim of a homicide than a white resident. My heavens. Should we not all be shocked by this, and should we not all be committed to doing whatever we can, in our own way, to rectify this horrible reality?
To me, the important thing is for police officers and managers to understand these data, to think about this issue, and to commit themselves to doing their best to treat everyone fairly without regard to race. That's what I teach, and that is what I aspire to practice. My opinions on issues of race and racial profiling are not too hard to discern.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
Remounted and refurbished
A pretty slick trick was unveiled to the public yesterday by Lincoln Fire & Rescue. Logistics Chief Kendall Warnock and his staff took an old ambulance that had been relegated to backup status, and worked some real magic on it. Our back up ambulances are the rolling stock we bring up when a front-line unit is temporarily out of commission, or when heavy workload requires standing up additional medic units.
The backups are awfully tired iron: they've already served on the front line for more than ten years, and are pushing 200,000 miles. Those miles, however, are accumulated in emergency response, in a lot of stop and go urban driving, and with tons of idling. You could probably double that mileage for a comparison with a vehicle operated in normal driving conditions.
The cost of replacing an ambulance with a comparable new unit would be in the neighborhood of $175,000. Instead, however, the staff remounted the box from the backup unit on an entirely-new Chevy drive train and chassis. Hoist up the box, drive the old truck out, the new one in, and bolt the box back on. Well, not quite. It was really a quite extensive project.
Along with the new drive train, the ambulance got a new wrap and graphics (at half the cost of a paint job), new LED lighting inside and out, new flooring, new upholstery in the back, and a host of other repairs and replacements. The upfitting is really exceptional, and the net cost was about $85K to $100K less than new.
The unit is on the front line now, in order to put some miles on and get some experience before it returns to first-backup status. We will probably do another remount later this year, and if this all proves as successful as it appears at first blush, I expect this will become the standard way we extend the life of our fleet without compromising performance and patient care.
Nice job by all involved!
The backups are awfully tired iron: they've already served on the front line for more than ten years, and are pushing 200,000 miles. Those miles, however, are accumulated in emergency response, in a lot of stop and go urban driving, and with tons of idling. You could probably double that mileage for a comparison with a vehicle operated in normal driving conditions.
The cost of replacing an ambulance with a comparable new unit would be in the neighborhood of $175,000. Instead, however, the staff remounted the box from the backup unit on an entirely-new Chevy drive train and chassis. Hoist up the box, drive the old truck out, the new one in, and bolt the box back on. Well, not quite. It was really a quite extensive project.
Along with the new drive train, the ambulance got a new wrap and graphics (at half the cost of a paint job), new LED lighting inside and out, new flooring, new upholstery in the back, and a host of other repairs and replacements. The upfitting is really exceptional, and the net cost was about $85K to $100K less than new.
The unit is on the front line now, in order to put some miles on and get some experience before it returns to first-backup status. We will probably do another remount later this year, and if this all proves as successful as it appears at first blush, I expect this will become the standard way we extend the life of our fleet without compromising performance and patient care.
Nice job by all involved!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Online criminal history
The news yesterday was the announcement by the State Patrol and Governor Dave Heineman of a new online state criminal history report. For $18 on your credit card, you can now get a more-or-less instant check of a Nebraska State Patrol criminal history. Lincoln Police Department criminal histories have been available online at $10 each for, oh, about a dozen years, I suppose.
So, what's the difference between a LPD criminal history and an NSP criminal history? A Lincoln Police Department criminal history is a listing of arrests by Lincoln police officers and their disposition (with certain exceptions described here.) It does not include arrests by any other law enforcement agencies. A Nebraska State Patrol criminal history, is a list of arrests and dispositions (with certain exceptions described here) by all Nebraska law enforcement agencies.
Theoretically, then, you would expect an NSP criminal history to be more complete than an LPD criminal history. The answer, however, may be both yes and no. The reason it isn't so simple is this: NSP criminal histories are fingerprint-based. If the defendant wasn't fingerprinted, the arrest will not appear. There are many arrests for which the defendant is not fingerprinted. Nebraska State law favors citation and release for misdemeanor offenses.
In Lincoln, for example, about 80% of misdemeanor arrests are cite-and-release situations: the defendant is issued a ticket and given a court date for something like misdemeanor assault, shoplifting, trespassing, disturbing the peace, urinating in public, vandalism, DWI, driving while suspended, littering, procuring alcohol for a minor, and released with a ticket and a court date--no slammer, no prints, no mugshot. Arrests like this will not show up on an NSP or FBI RAP sheet. There is an acknowledgement on NSP's website of this limitation, but it gives the impression that these are just minor traffic infractions, which is not the case.
Conversely, an LPD criminal history will show all of these arrests and dispositions, whether the defendant was booked into jail and printed or just cited and released. If you really want to get the best information, you'd need to do both a State criminal history and an LPD criminal history. If you only do one or the other, it is something of a crap shoot as to which will be better.
If you're responsible for background checks, it would be wise to re-read my previous post on this topic, and to remember: "online" doesn't necessarily mean "complete." In reality, there is no such thing as a complete criminal history.
So, what's the difference between a LPD criminal history and an NSP criminal history? A Lincoln Police Department criminal history is a listing of arrests by Lincoln police officers and their disposition (with certain exceptions described here.) It does not include arrests by any other law enforcement agencies. A Nebraska State Patrol criminal history, is a list of arrests and dispositions (with certain exceptions described here) by all Nebraska law enforcement agencies.
Theoretically, then, you would expect an NSP criminal history to be more complete than an LPD criminal history. The answer, however, may be both yes and no. The reason it isn't so simple is this: NSP criminal histories are fingerprint-based. If the defendant wasn't fingerprinted, the arrest will not appear. There are many arrests for which the defendant is not fingerprinted. Nebraska State law favors citation and release for misdemeanor offenses.
In Lincoln, for example, about 80% of misdemeanor arrests are cite-and-release situations: the defendant is issued a ticket and given a court date for something like misdemeanor assault, shoplifting, trespassing, disturbing the peace, urinating in public, vandalism, DWI, driving while suspended, littering, procuring alcohol for a minor, and released with a ticket and a court date--no slammer, no prints, no mugshot. Arrests like this will not show up on an NSP or FBI RAP sheet. There is an acknowledgement on NSP's website of this limitation, but it gives the impression that these are just minor traffic infractions, which is not the case.
Conversely, an LPD criminal history will show all of these arrests and dispositions, whether the defendant was booked into jail and printed or just cited and released. If you really want to get the best information, you'd need to do both a State criminal history and an LPD criminal history. If you only do one or the other, it is something of a crap shoot as to which will be better.
If you're responsible for background checks, it would be wise to re-read my previous post on this topic, and to remember: "online" doesn't necessarily mean "complete." In reality, there is no such thing as a complete criminal history.
Monday, March 25, 2013
The mosaic theory
From time to time, I blog about various technologies that collect and collate information about our daily movements and activities. Some of these are investigative tools used by law enforcement, such as automated license plate readers. Some, like traffic cameras or toll booths, are operated by government for non-investigative purposes, such as monitoring and adjusting traffic signal timing or collecting fares. Most, however, are not governmental at all: the access control software at your place of business, the cameras at the convenience store where you buy gas, the credit card that gets swiped at a coffee shop and the dry cleaners, the check of emails and the phone calls that traversed certain cell phone towers, and so forth.
When these small points of data are viewed together, you really can create a history of an individuals travels and activities over time. Increasingly, detectives try to assemble such information about victims and suspects in the most serious criminal cases, such as homicides. It has been a relatively recent, but dramatic addition to the investigators arsenal. In a presentation I did a couple years ago at Ignite Lincoln, I titled this new reality as "Nowhere to Hide." I am certain that we are on the verge of some real hand-wringing and soul searching about the loss of personal privacy that attends the explosion in technology that tracks our daily lives.
I read an interesting article on the state of the law of arrest search and seizure as it pertains to such data last week in the current issue of the Police Chief magazine. I recommend it to my law enforcement audience:
The Mosaic Theory and Electronic Public Safety Technology
When these small points of data are viewed together, you really can create a history of an individuals travels and activities over time. Increasingly, detectives try to assemble such information about victims and suspects in the most serious criminal cases, such as homicides. It has been a relatively recent, but dramatic addition to the investigators arsenal. In a presentation I did a couple years ago at Ignite Lincoln, I titled this new reality as "Nowhere to Hide." I am certain that we are on the verge of some real hand-wringing and soul searching about the loss of personal privacy that attends the explosion in technology that tracks our daily lives.
I read an interesting article on the state of the law of arrest search and seizure as it pertains to such data last week in the current issue of the Police Chief magazine. I recommend it to my law enforcement audience:
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
On a mission
A comment on my post yesterday about public safety mobile applications mentioned a forthcoming app called GeoParade. From the information on the website, and on the developer's blog (Canadian crime analyst Joseph Glover), it appears very similar to the "Missions" function in the Omega Group's CrimeView NEARme, the application that was born here in Lincoln as P3i.
Missions are user-defined areas to which information of interest is attached. As a police officer moves into one of those areas, the background color changes, and an information icon appears. Here's what a Mission area looks like in CrimeView NEARme, along with the details that open with a click on the label.
Lincoln's Crime Analysis Unit Manger Andrew Dasher created this Mission yesterday, in response to a recent spate of burglaries that pop up in Lincoln from time to time. The whole concept here is location-based services: delivering information to personnel in the field that is relevant to their current geographic location, using a map that stays centered on that location by taking advantage of the GPS capability of the device.
Mr. Glover's blog is about a year old, and has some gems for crime analysts and data hounds. I really liked his tutorial on creating heatmaps in Excel, a technique I think does a particularly good job for large datasets with strong temporal patterns.
Missions are user-defined areas to which information of interest is attached. As a police officer moves into one of those areas, the background color changes, and an information icon appears. Here's what a Mission area looks like in CrimeView NEARme, along with the details that open with a click on the label.
Lincoln's Crime Analysis Unit Manger Andrew Dasher created this Mission yesterday, in response to a recent spate of burglaries that pop up in Lincoln from time to time. The whole concept here is location-based services: delivering information to personnel in the field that is relevant to their current geographic location, using a map that stays centered on that location by taking advantage of the GPS capability of the device.
Mr. Glover's blog is about a year old, and has some gems for crime analysts and data hounds. I really liked his tutorial on creating heatmaps in Excel, a technique I think does a particularly good job for large datasets with strong temporal patterns.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Public safety apps
Approaching six years, the Director's Desk is among the old timers in the tiny niche of public safety blogs. As such, you'll find me pretty readily with a Google search. Since one of my more common topics (see the label cloud) is technology and tech-related issues, it's probably not surprising that I get a lot of contacts from around the country--and world--on such topics, from people who have encountered my blog or Googled such things as "police iPad".
Lately, the University of North Carolina has contacted me to seek some publicity for a new application that one of their faculty members has developed. ASSET (Arrest, Search and Seizure, Electronic Tool) is an iOS app with a nice summary of key points of the law of arrest, search and seizure. Although it is tailored to North Carolina statutes, on balance it is a good resource for the most current interpretations of the Federal District Courts and the United States Supreme Court. I particularly appreciate its simplicity and brevity. UNC faculty member Jeff Welty is the developer, and has great credentials for this work. I've added ASSET to the "References" folder on my iOS devices.
On the fire & rescue side of the house, every firefighter with a mobile device should have WISER: the Wireless Information Service for Emergency Responders from the National Library of Medicine at the National Institute of Health. Availabe for Android, iOS, Windows, Blackberry, and even Palm (!). What, no WISER for my Sharp Wizard?
It's been a while since I've blogged about mobile apps for public safety, so I might touch on a few more this week. I'd appreciate any nominations that other readers of the Director's Desk would like to contribute.
Lately, the University of North Carolina has contacted me to seek some publicity for a new application that one of their faculty members has developed. ASSET (Arrest, Search and Seizure, Electronic Tool) is an iOS app with a nice summary of key points of the law of arrest, search and seizure. Although it is tailored to North Carolina statutes, on balance it is a good resource for the most current interpretations of the Federal District Courts and the United States Supreme Court. I particularly appreciate its simplicity and brevity. UNC faculty member Jeff Welty is the developer, and has great credentials for this work. I've added ASSET to the "References" folder on my iOS devices.
On the fire & rescue side of the house, every firefighter with a mobile device should have WISER: the Wireless Information Service for Emergency Responders from the National Library of Medicine at the National Institute of Health. Availabe for Android, iOS, Windows, Blackberry, and even Palm (!). What, no WISER for my Sharp Wizard?
It's been a while since I've blogged about mobile apps for public safety, so I might touch on a few more this week. I'd appreciate any nominations that other readers of the Director's Desk would like to contribute.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Catalytic converter thefts
The Crime Analysis Unit spotted an emerging crime pattern consisting of 17 catalytic converter thefts since the series began on January 14. This compares with a total of 31 in Lincoln during the entire year of 2012. Just a few years ago, I was slightly alarmed by six in eight months.
This is a good example of the value of crime analysis. I was unaware of this trend, and I imagine few if any officers knew about it. Even if you investigated one personally, you would be unlikely to know about other cases reported to other officers on other beats, other shifts, and other days off. Alerting officers to a crime series like this is very good police work.
Catalytic converters contain small amounts of precious metals, such as rhodium and platinum. As a result, they command a hefty price at scrap yards, around $100-$200. That is small potatoes, though, compared to the typical cost of a tow, repairing the damage, and replacing the converter, which runs in the range of $500 to $1,500.
These converters are being sawed off with a hacksaw, or possibly a battery-powered reciprocating saw. Either way, it takes some time and makes a little noise. Some have occurred at an indeterminate time over a period of a few days, but others were cut off in broad daylight. We could really benefit from a little more public awareness. If you happen to see a pair of feet sticking out from beneath a car in a parking lot, we'd like to get a a call.
About half of these recent thefts have occurred in the rectangle bordered by 48th and 84th, A and O Streets. In late breaking news, an arrest was made Thursday that may clear up some or all of these cases. Nonethless, with the value of these converters, this won't be the last spree, and vigilance will be good.
This is a good example of the value of crime analysis. I was unaware of this trend, and I imagine few if any officers knew about it. Even if you investigated one personally, you would be unlikely to know about other cases reported to other officers on other beats, other shifts, and other days off. Alerting officers to a crime series like this is very good police work.
Catalytic converters contain small amounts of precious metals, such as rhodium and platinum. As a result, they command a hefty price at scrap yards, around $100-$200. That is small potatoes, though, compared to the typical cost of a tow, repairing the damage, and replacing the converter, which runs in the range of $500 to $1,500.
These converters are being sawed off with a hacksaw, or possibly a battery-powered reciprocating saw. Either way, it takes some time and makes a little noise. Some have occurred at an indeterminate time over a period of a few days, but others were cut off in broad daylight. We could really benefit from a little more public awareness. If you happen to see a pair of feet sticking out from beneath a car in a parking lot, we'd like to get a a call.
About half of these recent thefts have occurred in the rectangle bordered by 48th and 84th, A and O Streets. In late breaking news, an arrest was made Thursday that may clear up some or all of these cases. Nonethless, with the value of these converters, this won't be the last spree, and vigilance will be good.
Registry updated
Over the course of the past few weeks, the Nebraska State Patrol has rolled out new software for its public Sex Offender Registry website. Without much fanfare, the registry has been significantly updated. Here are a few examples of the new functionality.
1. Search by name
You can now search by first name, last name, or both. You could, for example, search for registered sex offenders whose first name is Edward. The name search automatically uses wildcards, so if you searched for a last name of "Rob", the results would return Roberts, Robertson, Robbins, and even Frobish. The more letters you add, the more specific the results. There must be some soundex algorithim at work as well, since the "Rob" search also returns Rabinowitz.
2. Larger thumbnails
The images returned from a search are significantly larger, a nice improvement. Click on the image to open the offender's information page, with the full size image.
3.. Mapping
Search results produce a map, using the Google Maps API. It may not be 100% accurate, but it's pretty close, and definitely a nice upgrade. Click the icon for the basic information in a pop-up label, and click the label to hyperlink to the details. Or, if you prefer, just scroll down to the results displayed below the map. You can zoom, pan, turn the aerial images on and off, and even use Pegman for StreetView within the Google Maps pane.
4. Buffer search
Click the "Search by Location" button, and you can input an address and select a buffer of 1, 2, or 3 miles. Previously, you could search only within boundaries, such as zip codes, cities, or counties. The ability to select a buffer distance is an improvement. I would prefer a choice for one smaller unit (such as a half mile) but it is still a good feature.
5. Subscriptions
Click the link "Notify Me" and you will have subscribed to that offender. You will receive an email with the information anytime this offender's information has been updated. This is a useful feature, similar to some of the internal subscriptions we offer in the LPD records management system, or to the inmate notification feature available to the public in the excellent VINELink application.
There are a number of other little details, but overall, the new look of the Nebraska Sex Offender Registry is sleek, and the functionality a major improvement over its predecessor. Well done!
1. Search by name
You can now search by first name, last name, or both. You could, for example, search for registered sex offenders whose first name is Edward. The name search automatically uses wildcards, so if you searched for a last name of "Rob", the results would return Roberts, Robertson, Robbins, and even Frobish. The more letters you add, the more specific the results. There must be some soundex algorithim at work as well, since the "Rob" search also returns Rabinowitz.
2. Larger thumbnails
The images returned from a search are significantly larger, a nice improvement. Click on the image to open the offender's information page, with the full size image.
3.. Mapping
Search results produce a map, using the Google Maps API. It may not be 100% accurate, but it's pretty close, and definitely a nice upgrade. Click the icon for the basic information in a pop-up label, and click the label to hyperlink to the details. Or, if you prefer, just scroll down to the results displayed below the map. You can zoom, pan, turn the aerial images on and off, and even use Pegman for StreetView within the Google Maps pane.
4. Buffer search
Click the "Search by Location" button, and you can input an address and select a buffer of 1, 2, or 3 miles. Previously, you could search only within boundaries, such as zip codes, cities, or counties. The ability to select a buffer distance is an improvement. I would prefer a choice for one smaller unit (such as a half mile) but it is still a good feature.
5. Subscriptions
Click the link "Notify Me" and you will have subscribed to that offender. You will receive an email with the information anytime this offender's information has been updated. This is a useful feature, similar to some of the internal subscriptions we offer in the LPD records management system, or to the inmate notification feature available to the public in the excellent VINELink application.
There are a number of other little details, but overall, the new look of the Nebraska Sex Offender Registry is sleek, and the functionality a major improvement over its predecessor. Well done!
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