Policing has grown increasingly reliant on cellular and GPS data, including information gleaned from geofence warrants. A geofence is a location-based service that uses GPS or other cellular data to create a virtual fence around a geographic location and notes mobile devices that enter. However, such technology is far from the only resource in a criminal investigator’s arsenal.
Here are the ways law enforcement uses technology to investigate crimes and track persons of interest.
ShotSpotter
ShotSpotter is a network of microphones placed through high-crime areas of the city. The microphones detect gunshots and triangulate the location of where the weapon was fired. In Cincinnati, police respond to every ShotSpotter report. In most cases, no one was shot and the shooters are gone, but evidence like shell casings are often collected.
The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network
A technician examines the back of a shell casing so the data from it can be entered into the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, also known as NIBIN.
Known as NIBIN, this system creates a digital fingerprint for shell casings. Each firearm leaves unique imprints on the casings, which are frequently left behind at crime scenes. Investigators match casing found at different crime scenes showing that the same gun was used in multiple incidents. This can be done before police have ever found the gun, but once a person is arrested with a firearm, it too can be fired and its casing can be compared to others already in the system.
Cell phone pinging and tracking
Police can link cell phones to individual cell phone towers. This can happen after a cell phone has been obtained from a suspect, or it can be used to find the location of a person while they still have the phone. Tracking a phone or accessing location data related to a phone almost always requires a warrant signed by a judge. Devices, commonly called Stingrays, can mimic cell tower signals but are controlled by law enforcement allowing investigators to see which phones are in a given area.
Facial recognition
Federal, state and local law enforcement have relied on facial recognition technology to quickly search through billions of images to identify missing persons or a possible suspect in a criminal investigation. However, civil rights advocates have raised concerns that the technology’s potential for misidentification could lead to the arrest and prosecution of innocent people.
Touch DNA
Huge strides have been made in obtaining DNA from evidence. In the past, hair or blood might have been required to get a conclusive DNA sample, but now DNA can be obtained in some cases when a suspect has only touched an object like a gun or bullets. In Cincinnati, the Crime Gun Intelligence Center conducts a thorough examination of every gun recovered in the city, and this often involves processing it for DNA.
Genealogy
Among the advancements in forensic technology, police have turned to genealogical DNA matching to solve decades-old cold cases to identify suspects by matching existing DNA evidence with genealogy database results. It’s also been used to identify homicide victims long after their deaths. Investigators submitted DNA samples to a third-party company, which built a comprehensive DNA profile usable in a genealogical search, to solve the 1976 killing of 16-year-old Carol Sue Klaber.
License plate readers
Automated networks of license plate readers are becoming more common, especially with the widespread adoption of Flock cameras. These readers can be installed on police cruisers or in stationary positions throughout the city. These allow police to see which cars were in an area at the time of a crime. If police are searching for a vehicle, the network can alert police if that specific license plate is spotted and where.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Police use more than phones to ID suspects. See what tech they use