Forensic Apps for First Responders

Law Enforcement Training and Resource Group LLC., (www.letrg.com) has come out with a new suite of applications for all smart phones. The suite is built around the needs of the first responder’s response to services calls.

This suite is available for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry smart phones and should be used with those phones with at least a 5 megapixel camera (for best results). The suite of more than a dozen different applications comes complete. The applications are divided into: tools, calculators, and evidence.

Tools include a caliper, level (in degrees and percentage of slope), audio officer notes, field contact report, DOA notes, and References files. The three calculators included are Skid Mark Calculator (for minimum speed, Yaw, and friction factor), pictorial blood spatter trajectory calculator, and a pictorial digital dimension calculator. The evidence applications include two for photos (pre-scaled and scaled photo sets), two apps for video (again one pre-scaled and one for scaled video) along with a field contact audio recorder.

After a simple two step setup, the suite is ready to use. All evidence files are encoded with metafiles that include: agency identifier, officer identifier, case number, GPS location of the scene, date, time, and picture/video/audio numbering.

Upon completion of the call the responder should download the case folders onto a computer with a DVD disk drive and then label the DVD with the case number for evidence, remembering to always follow agency SOPs.

Tool Use
In alphabetical order, the AUDIO NOTE TAKER is just that, a way for the responder to take notes on the fly without stopping to write things down. The CALIPER app will give readings between the jaws in either metric or fractional. The COMPASS app is just that. The DOA notes app give the responder a list of items to fill in using dropdown menus, checks, and fill in the blank to note what was observed “without touching the victim”. In some cases the medical examiner/coroner may assist in the field. The FIELD CONTACT REPORT is expanded to include more than what is necessary but is quite complete, fill in whatever your needs are. The LEVEL application gives a reading of how level the phone is in both degrees and also has a percentage of slope readout. Lastly the REFERENCES app is just that, a list of references that are useful for responders, and includes: Miranda, probable cause statement, three field sobriety tests, and silhouettes of handguns, shotguns, rifles, and assault rifles.

Calculators
The three calculators include SKID MARKS which calculates not only minimum speed, but also yaw and friction. The BLOOD SPATTER application is innovative. By taking a picture of blood spatter and marking the minor and major axis the application will calculate how many pixels wide by long the spatter is and then give you the angle it hit the object at. The DIMENSION app uses the same concept using a known item within a picture that is on a parallel plane to the camera when the picture was taken. Then by calculating the pixels and applying those calculations to other points within the picture it will draw lines and write in the distance on the picture. The app will keep both the original picture and the finished dimensionalized picture in a folder for downloading.

Evidence
The three basic applications included in the suite deal with AUDIO WITNESS/VICTIM/SUBJECT comments (check with SOPs for audio recording requirements). There are also two PHOTO apps and two VIDEO apps. In each case, you have a folder for making your documentation prior to setting scales and markers or “as found” pictures, and another set with scales and markers.

Each of the applications has its own instructions included on screen, (just tap the “I” button). All file folders for a specific case are kept by case and date. When you return to the station download, using your phone’s normal download method, onto a computer with a DVD drive and copy the evidence files to a disk for evidence storage (check your agency’s SOPs for special instructions). For more information, visit www.letrg.com.

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Big Tokyo earthquake likely 'within the next few years'

The chance of a big earthquake hitting the Japanese capital in the next few years is much greater than official predictions suggest, researchers say.

The team, from the University of Tokyo, said there was a 75% probability that a magnitude seven quake would strike the region in the next four years.

The government says the chances of such an event are 70% in the next 30 years.

The warning comes less than a year after a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan's north-eastern coast.

The last time Tokyo was hit by a big earthquake was in 1923, when a 7.9 magnitude quake killed more than 100,000 people, many of them in fires.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo's earthquake research institute based their figures on data from the growing number of tremors in the capital since the 11 March 2011 quake.

They say that compared with normal years, there has been a five-fold increase in the number of quakes in the Tokyo metropolitan area since the March disaster.
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Japan quake victim in 2011

What chance of a 'big one' in Tokyo?

They based their calculations on data from Japan's Meteorological Agency, They said their results show that seismic activity had increased in the area around the capital, which in turn leads to a higher probability of a major quake.

The researchers say that while it is "hard to predict" the casualty impact of a major quake on Tokyo, the government and individuals should be prepared for it.

Correspondents say that while the university calculations take account of greater seismic activity since March, government calculations may use different or less up-to-date data and different modelling techniques.

The 9.0 magnitude earthquake last year also crippled the cooling systems at the Fukushima nuclear power station, causing meltdowns in some of its reactors.

Japan is located on a tectonic crossroads dubbed the "Pacific Ring of Fire" which is why its is commonly regarded as one of the world's most quake-prone countries, with Tokyo located in one of the most dangerous areas.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/16681136

23 January 2012 Last updated at 15:29

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