Everybody hates getting a ticket, so what better way to take the edge off than delivering payment in an inconvenient, quirky way? That’ll really show those cops who’s boss! More »
An $18 million dollar radio system purchased by the Oakland Police Department has been giving static instead of 10-30s in progress, and the interfering party has now been collared — AT&T. Local officials and the FCC told the mobile network that its towers were blocking police communication, particularly when patrol cars were within a quarter-mile of one. However, some local pundits have said the problem is of the PD’s own making, claiming it invested in an inferior system and didn’t check carefully enough for interference before making the buy. As a result, AT&T has temporarily shut down 2G frequencies around the city — giving the telecom giant an unplanned sneak preview of the upcoming phase-out.
Filed under: Cellphones
AT&T suspends 2G in Oakland after cell towers step on police frequencies originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 16:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
It’s not the backdoor access that the FBI has been pushing for, but US District Judge William Pauley III has now ruled that it and other law enforcement agencies are entitled to view your Facebook profile if one of your “friends” gives them permission to do so. As GigaOm reports, that ruling comes as part of a New York City racketeering trial, in which one of the accused, Melvin Colon, had tried to suppress evidence turned up on Facebook that led to his indictment. That information was obtained through an informant who gave investigators access to the profile, something that Colon had argued violated his rights against unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment. In the ruling, Judge Pauley dismissed that claim, likening the Facebook access instead to a phone wiretap in which one person on the call allows the government to monitor it — a practice that has been ruled constitutional. GigaOm also has the ruling in its entirety at the source link below for those interested.
Filed under: Internet
Judge rules Facebook users can share friends’ profiles with the feds originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you go through tin foil like there’s no tomorrow (or because you think there’s no tomorrow), you might want to head down the store. A recent 2 – 1 ruling by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has determined that law enforcement agencies can obtain cellphone location data, without the need for a warrant. The decision comes after a defendant in a drug-related case claimed protection from his phone’s GPS location data being used under the Fourth Amendment. Judge John Rogers stated that the defendant didn’t have a reasonable expectation of privacy for data given off by a voluntarily purchased phone, going on to state that if tools used in such crimes give off a trackable signal, police should be allowed to use it. Rogers likened it to the use of dogs tracking a scent, and criminals complaining they didn’t know they were giving one off, or that the dog had picked it up. The use of technology in crime prevention, be it police tools, or that belonging to the greater population, has long been a source of complex discussion, and this latest development is unlikely to be the end of it. But for now, at least one guy is rueing his decision to get a better phone. Hit the source for the full case history.
Filed under: Cellphones, Misc. Gadgets
Sixth Circuit rules that law enforcement doesn’t need a warrant to track your phone originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The PlayBook may not have taken off in the consumer market, but its enterprise-friendly features may help it find a home elsewhere — especially now that it’s packing a speedy 4G radio. Fresh on the heels of the LTE edition hitting Canadian shores, Intergraph has unveiled its Mobile Responder app that turns RIM’s slate into a formidable tool for police and other emergency responders. The app taps into the company’s Computer Aided Dispatch system, which pulls in data from police databases, keeps dispatch centers just a tap away and allows the immediate filing of incident reports. The suite is getting its first public demo next week at the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police Conference in Nova Scotia. For more, check out the PR after the break.
Continue reading PlayBook Mobile Responder app puts police tools in a finger-friendly package
Filed under: Tablet PCs, Software
PlayBook Mobile Responder app puts police tools in a finger-friendly package originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 01:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The Nonami Group at Chiba University is developing drone robots for information gathering, and the group has demonstrated four multi-rotor helicopters, flying in formation using image processing.
“The cameras capture the markers, and send all the images to the host computer, which calculates the position and attitude. Positioning can be done to within 1 mm. The control frequency is 100 Hz, so position and attitude are calculated every 10 ms, to prevent collisions.”
Each helicopter …
Formation-flying quadrocopters have already given us hours of entertainment, but now they’ve also accomplished something serious. Earlier this month, mini choppers developed at Japan’s robot-loving Chiba University assisted in an emergency drill that simulated an explosion at a chemical plant. Four machines and a host computer (shown off after the break) used spherical markers, image processing and a heck of a lot of math to autonomously scan the site for survivors. The researchers claim the exercise went “very well” and that the local police force would like to “introduce this system” for genuine reconnaissance. That could include monitoring volcanic eruptions or inspecting power lines, but alas there’s no mention yet of using quadrocopter swarms to sneak up on yakuza.
Continue reading Swarming quadrocopters complete trial recon mission for Japanese police (video)
Filed under: Robots
Swarming quadrocopters complete trial recon mission for Japanese police (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 23:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It’s not uncommon for the ACLU to defend people against the police in court when the ACLU feels the police have stepped over the line. There’ve been a few instances around the country where police arrested citizens who were recording them on mobile phones or video cameras. Despite the fact that Americans have a constitutional right to record the police, many people who have done this have ended up in jail and at times in a courtroom.
The New Jersey ACLU has offered up a new app called the Police Tape App that is designed to secretly allow people to record the police during traffic stops or other law enforcement confrontations. The app on the Android smartphones can record audio and video and minimizes itself while leaving the screen blank to make the phone look like it’s not on. An iPhone version of the app will be coming in a few months that will offer audio only.
The app is also designed to make deleting video and audio content a multistep process to prevent the content from being deleted by officers or the user without effort. The ACLU says the app is an essential tool for police accountability. Check out the video above for more details about the app.
It happens even to the best people you know. They might have had too much to drink at a party that was unexpectedly wild, and now they’re too drunk to drive themselves home. The unfortunate thing to this is that sometimes, they’re not aware of that fact themselves.
This is a situation that the folks over in Michigan know all too well, because they’ve devised these talking urinal cakes that tell drunk folks not to drink and drive – as they’re peeing.
Once some pee passes through it, it pipes up to say:
Hey there big guy! Having a few drinks? Then listen up! Think you’ve had one too many? Then it’s time to call a cab or a sober friend for a ride home. It sure is safer and a hell of a lot cheaper than a DWI. Make the smart choice tonight, don’t drink and drive. Remember, your future is in your hand.
Another one goes something like:
Here’s a real friendly reminder. Don’t drive drunk. If you do and you get arrested, the next urinal you pee in will be in jail, with a hairy guy named Bubba standing behind asking you to pick up the soap…
The Michigan State Police have made these available to 200 selected bars all across the state. It sounds funny and quirky, but I think it’s one smart idea to remind drunk drivers to stay off the road. At least, some of them, anyway.
[via NY Daily News via Dvice]
Image credit: Nexstar Broadcasting Group
In Evansville, Indiana, a Police SWAT team has executed a search warrant on a home in full tactical gears. The reason: threats perpetrated against local Police forces over the internet, threatening the officers lives, their family, including the mention of home-made bombs. The Police needed no more to quickly find what Internet address was used to send the threats, and what physical address it was linked to.
But when they executed the search warrant -with flash bangs (sounds/light grenades designed to disorient) and all- they found an innocent family that had no idea of why this was happening. Shortly after, the Police realized that they were misled by the IP address from the threat message, and that they got the wrong folks. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: eHarmony confirms password breach , Radio Tactics’ ACESO Kiosk mobile data extraction to be used by London Police,
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