One of our students, Bridget Finn, recently put together a pretty cool product using Dipity, an online timeline tool, to show the timeline of significant events in Egypt since Mubarak stepped down.
She intends to continue to update the timeline with a specific focus on women's issues and social media, so check back in a few days and see what she has done with it!
Egypt on Dipity.
25 Şubat 2013 Pazartesi
Interactive Online Timeline Of Events In Egypt Since Mubarak Stepped Down (Infographic)
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Sources And Methods Games? Yes!
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There's more, but this list is a good start. The bottomline is that this effort -- which is as much a research project as a company -- gives me a chance to explore these questions in a more realistic way. I recognize that much of the evidence I gather will be anecdotal but I think I will be better able to orient myself on important issues as a result.
This is not the first time I have owned a games company, though. I ran a small company, Wheaton Publications, back in the early 80's while I was still in law school - ran it right into the ground. Despite having two pretty good, well-reviewed games, the company was massively under-capitalized and had to be shuttered within 18 months.
While it was painful at the time, I remember how much I learned from the experience. While I am no Rockefeller, my financial position has improved a bit since I was a poor law student living in a basement and eating mac and cheese 4 times a week. I still have good games (including one I which I am about to launch in the next couple of weeks -- if you are interested you can get more information here). So, who knows? Maybe I'll make it 24 months this time!
Well, I went and did it! Started my own company - Sources And Methods Games!
No, I am not quitting my day job.
But ... I do want to explore the intersection between games, intelligence, learning and entrepreneurship (4 big passions of mine). Doing so from the safety of the University and with someone else's money, however, just didn't seem right somehow. I suppose I just like testing theories more than talking about them.
What specifically, do I hope to learn?
- What makes a game good?
- How do games teach?
- Is it possible to make good games that teach intelligence concepts or methods?
- Does it make more sense, from the standpoint of teaching intelligence, to focus on tabletop or video games?
- How is crowdfunding (KickStarter, IndieGoGo, etc.) changing the gaming industry (particularly the tabletop games industry)?
- What are the intelligence requirements of a globalized, crowdfunded, social media driven business environment?
- Given the research into effectual reasoning and entrepreneurship, what is intelligence's role in a start-up?
- What are an entrepreneur's Essential Elements of Information (EEIs)?
- How can they best be met?
There's more, but this list is a good start. The bottomline is that this effort -- which is as much a research project as a company -- gives me a chance to explore these questions in a more realistic way. I recognize that much of the evidence I gather will be anecdotal but I think I will be better able to orient myself on important issues as a result.
This is not the first time I have owned a games company, though. I ran a small company, Wheaton Publications, back in the early 80's while I was still in law school - ran it right into the ground. Despite having two pretty good, well-reviewed games, the company was massively under-capitalized and had to be shuttered within 18 months.
While it was painful at the time, I remember how much I learned from the experience. While I am no Rockefeller, my financial position has improved a bit since I was a poor law student living in a basement and eating mac and cheese 4 times a week. I still have good games (including one I which I am about to launch in the next couple of weeks -- if you are interested you can get more information here). So, who knows? Maybe I'll make it 24 months this time!
Entrepreneurial Intelligence (ENTINT?)
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All entrepreneurs are crazy.
Nuts. Cuckoo. Certifiable dingbats. Need evidence? How about this: According to a study published last year, only about 25% of companies that take venture capital are able to make any money off it -- the other 75% lose at least some and perhaps all of the money.
Need more? According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about a third of all small businesses make it for longer than 10 years and 30% fold within the first two years! You have to be crazy to go up against those odds...
Intelligence analysts live to forecast and one of the easiest forecasts you can make, or so it seems, is the sooner-rather-than-later demise of a new business.
Easy but worthless.
It is a situation that is sort of like the 1990 National Intelligence Estimate on what is now the former Yugoslavia. It was completed just before the war broke out in full force. It turned out to be extremely accurate but was virtually useless to the policymakers of the day. In fact, it was probably counterproductive as it validated the inertia that was prevalent in Washington regarding the issue at the time.
You see, it was in the US's interests -- heck, it was in everyone's interests -- to keep Yugoslavia from breaking up or, if it had to break up, to do it in a way that was neither bloody nor lengthy. Saying, as the NIE did, that the breakup was inevitable and that there was nothing policymakers could do about it was singularly unhelpful. The policymakers needed to try and they could have used some intelligence insights to help them.
So it is with entrepreneurs. Telling them that they are likely to fail probably isn't going to dissuade them from trying; its just going to make them think that intelligence isn't going to be very valuable. This is a shame, since entrepreneurs probably have more questions about things that are critical to their success or failure but are outside their control (the essence of an intelligence question) than most businesses.
For the last several months I have been busy starting my own company and working on a number of games (one of them - Widget - is about ready to launch. You can find out more about it here if you are interested). I know intelligence has a role to play in entrepreneurship but am just beginning to understand what that role is and how it is both different and the same as more traditional notions of intelligence in business. As I learn new things and gain understanding, I intend to explore these ideas in an occasional series of posts on the topic.
On The Intelligence Requirements Of Entrepreneurs (ENTINT)
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Entrepreneurs, according to Sarasvathy's research, operate on five principles. These principles, in turn, give an insight into the intelligence needs of entrepreneurs:
This certainly tracks with my own experience to date. I don't need perfect answers. I certainly don't need long-term predictions about the health of the tabletop gaming industry. I need good-enough answers about things I am working on right now.
This, in turn, suggests the form of an intelligence activity designed to support entrepreneurs. It would have to be staffed by a variety of high-quality generalists, able to provide answers on a wide range of topics quickly. Since almost no entrepreneurs have money to burn, it would likely have to provide support to a number of entrepreneurs at a number of different low-cost support levels (perhaps by subscription or even by the question). It would have to be available 24/7 and, it almost goes without saying, it would have to be available online and possibly through phone or text message.
Such a service already exists. Called Fancy Hands, this online site bills itself as a virtual assistant service. While it provides a wide variety of services, all at a reasonable flat fee per month for a pre-defined number of requests, I have used Fancy Hands almost exclusively as a research service - a proto-intelligence service for entrepreneurs, if you will.
Fancy Hands, of course, does much more than research for their clients and, I am sure, would dispute any claim that they are an intelligence service of any kind (proto or not). My point is not to disagree with them (I like their service too much to gratuitously seek to irritate them...). My point is that any organization seeking to provide intelligence services to entrepreneurs could learn from them. Much of what they do and, more importantly, the way they do it, is exactly what entrepreneurs require.
(Note to readers: This is the continuation of an occasional series of posts about providing intelligence support to entrepreneurs This issue interests me for both academic and personal reasons. Academically, I can think of no one who has touched it and, personally, I have recently started a games company and am about to launch my first game, Widget.)
To understand the intelligence requirements of entrepreneurs, it helps, I think, to have an understanding of what makes a "good' entrepreneur. When you consider that both the guy with 10 million dollars in venture capital and the guy with 50 bucks of used CDs are both technically entrepreneurs, such a task might seem difficult, if not impossible.
Recently, though, some very good research has come out of the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. Saras Sarasvathy, (who, it should be noted, got her start at Carnegie Mellon working with Nobel Laureate, Herbert Simon), has done extensive research on how great entrepreneurs think.
Great entrepreneurs, it seems, are "effectual reasoners". They start with broad goals, assess their means - the birds in their hands - and then move as far as their resources will allow. This is in contrast to more typical "causal reasoning" which starts with a specific goal and a clear plan for achieving it. The image below, from the Society for Effectual Action, visualizes the difference:
 |
| http://www.effectuation.org/learn/effectuation-101 |
- Bird in the Hand. Entrepreneurs start by imagining what they can do with what they have rather than setting a goal and then abandoning it if they do not have the means to achieve it. Helping the entrepreneur identify what they "have" in this global economy would seem to be at least one intelligence requirement.
- Affordable Loss. Instead of large all or nothing plans, entrepreneurs seek, like Napoleon, to conduct "a well reasoned and extremely circumspect defensive, followed by a rapid and audacious attack." In other words, they seek to determine what they can afford to lose at each step rather than hyper-focus on expected return. Intelligence should, then, focus on the near-term, external, potential causes of loss.
- Lemonade. Entrepreneurs tend to see surprises as opportunities. Intelligence would be useful in helping the entrepreneur explore, understand and exploit those opportunities.
- Patchwork Quilt. Entrepreneurs worry less about competition and more about building partnerships with people who want to work with them. Intelligence could play a significant role in helping the entrepreneur identify potential partners.
- Pilot in the plane. Entrepreneurs believe that the future is "neither found nor predicted, but rather made." Sarasvathy contrasts this to managerial thinking which accepts that trends will hold and the future is predictable.
This certainly tracks with my own experience to date. I don't need perfect answers. I certainly don't need long-term predictions about the health of the tabletop gaming industry. I need good-enough answers about things I am working on right now.
This, in turn, suggests the form of an intelligence activity designed to support entrepreneurs. It would have to be staffed by a variety of high-quality generalists, able to provide answers on a wide range of topics quickly. Since almost no entrepreneurs have money to burn, it would likely have to provide support to a number of entrepreneurs at a number of different low-cost support levels (perhaps by subscription or even by the question). It would have to be available 24/7 and, it almost goes without saying, it would have to be available online and possibly through phone or text message.
Such a service already exists. Called Fancy Hands, this online site bills itself as a virtual assistant service. While it provides a wide variety of services, all at a reasonable flat fee per month for a pre-defined number of requests, I have used Fancy Hands almost exclusively as a research service - a proto-intelligence service for entrepreneurs, if you will.
Fancy Hands, of course, does much more than research for their clients and, I am sure, would dispute any claim that they are an intelligence service of any kind (proto or not). My point is not to disagree with them (I like their service too much to gratuitously seek to irritate them...). My point is that any organization seeking to provide intelligence services to entrepreneurs could learn from them. Much of what they do and, more importantly, the way they do it, is exactly what entrepreneurs require.
MRAP
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Recently I have been reading a lot on the Internet about people who are worried that the Federal government law enforcement agencies have been buying large amounts of ammo, guns and armored cars. One report was the DHS had 2,700 MRAP armored cars. I support local law enforcment but I don't think the Federal government is planning to install President Obama as the dictator. I do think President Obama is a terrible president and I did not vote for him either time.
As the military downsizes or gets new vehicles they are often given to local law enforcement. I work as a reserve police sergeant at a small agency in Southern California. In the 22 years I have been there we have gotten several CCUV trucks (all gone now) and one Cadillic armored car. The armored car was a hand me down from another police department, but they got it from DOD and were upgrading to a new armored car. The other agency was ten times our size. Most people don't know this but there are over 10,000 local law enforcement agencies in the United States, most cities have their own police and every county has a county sheriff, in addition to state police, game wardens
and many other agencies.
I suspect that's where most of theose MRAPS are going since the Iraq was has been winding down. Remember too the USA is a big place, if you need an armored car to respond to a terrorist incident you have to have hundreds, if not thousands, pre-positioned all over the nation to have one or two close enough to get to the incident in a reasonable time. US police have used armored cars for almost a century now, and it's a good idea; that's what the SGT Says.
As the military downsizes or gets new vehicles they are often given to local law enforcement. I work as a reserve police sergeant at a small agency in Southern California. In the 22 years I have been there we have gotten several CCUV trucks (all gone now) and one Cadillic armored car. The armored car was a hand me down from another police department, but they got it from DOD and were upgrading to a new armored car. The other agency was ten times our size. Most people don't know this but there are over 10,000 local law enforcement agencies in the United States, most cities have their own police and every county has a county sheriff, in addition to state police, game wardens
and many other agencies.
I suspect that's where most of theose MRAPS are going since the Iraq was has been winding down. Remember too the USA is a big place, if you need an armored car to respond to a terrorist incident you have to have hundreds, if not thousands, pre-positioned all over the nation to have one or two close enough to get to the incident in a reasonable time. US police have used armored cars for almost a century now, and it's a good idea; that's what the SGT Says.
24 Şubat 2013 Pazar
Oh please! Military's new medal for cyber warriors and drone pilots
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"Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, who announced the new award on Wednesday, said the military needed a medal that recognizes that post-9/11 warfare is different with servicemembers at consoles in the U.S. directly affecting the outcome of enemy engagements." [VFW Wants New Medal Ranked Lower].
Worse yet the medals are ranked higher than "both the Bronze Star with Combat "V" and the Purple Heart – medals typically awarded for combat in which the servicemember's life is at risk." The VFW's position: "The VFW fully concurs that those far from the fight are having an immediate impact on the battlefield in real-time, but medals that can only be earned in direct combat must mean more than medals awarded in the rear." [VFW Wants New Medal Ranked Lower].
While defending your country sitting in front of what might well be considered little more than a game console exhibiting skills that gamers across the world exhibit for entertainment might deserve some recognition; however, it ought to be measured against the risk of the particular service performed.
It is incomprehensible that anyone, especially the military, could equate the roles played by those in a comparative cushy environments with those actually placing their lives on the line in service to their country. "Thank you for your service" will be an empty phrase. The ranking of these cyber warrior medals dishonors the service of men and women that have fought in combat.
The two medals mentioned by the VFW are medals for extra-ordinary service, not something for completion of a tour of duty or completion of the term of enlistment.
Worse yet the medals are ranked higher than "both the Bronze Star with Combat "V" and the Purple Heart – medals typically awarded for combat in which the servicemember's life is at risk." The VFW's position: "The VFW fully concurs that those far from the fight are having an immediate impact on the battlefield in real-time, but medals that can only be earned in direct combat must mean more than medals awarded in the rear." [VFW Wants New Medal Ranked Lower].
While defending your country sitting in front of what might well be considered little more than a game console exhibiting skills that gamers across the world exhibit for entertainment might deserve some recognition; however, it ought to be measured against the risk of the particular service performed.
It is incomprehensible that anyone, especially the military, could equate the roles played by those in a comparative cushy environments with those actually placing their lives on the line in service to their country. "Thank you for your service" will be an empty phrase. The ranking of these cyber warrior medals dishonors the service of men and women that have fought in combat.
The two medals mentioned by the VFW are medals for extra-ordinary service, not something for completion of a tour of duty or completion of the term of enlistment.
"The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military." [Purple Heart - Wikipedia].
"The Purple Heart differs from all other decorations in that an individual is not "recommended" for the decoration; rather he or she is entitled to it upon meeting specific criteria. A Purple Heart is awarded for the first wound suffered under conditions indicated above, but for each subsequent award an oak leaf cluster is worn in lieu of the medal. Not more than one award will be made for more than one wound or injury received at the same instant. A "wound" is defined as an injury to any part of the body from an outside force or agent sustained under one or more of the conditions listed above. A physical lesion is not required; however, the wound for which the award is made must have required treatment by a medical officer and records of medical treatment for wounds or injuries received in action must have been made a matter of official record. When contemplating an award of this decoration, the key issue that commanders must take into consideration is the degree to which the enemy caused the injury. The fact that the proposed recipient was participating in direct or indirect combat operations is a necessary prerequisite, but is not sole justification for award. The Purple Heart is not awarded for non-combat injuries.[6]" [Purple Heart - Wikipedia].
"The Bronze Star Medal is an individual military award of the United States Armed Forces. It may be awarded for acts of heroism, acts of merit, or meritorious service in a combat zone. When awarded for acts of heroism, the medal is awarded with the "V" device." [Bronze Star Medal - Wikipedia].
"The "V" device may be authorized for wear on specific decorations awarded to any service member. In the Army and Air Force the device denotes that a specific individual decoration resulted from an act of combat heroism. In the Navy and Marine Corps, the Combat "V" may be authorized for wear to denote valor or being exposed to personal hazard involving direct participation in combat operations." [Bronze Star Medal - Wikipedia].Where is the heroism and valor in military gaming?
US senator proudly asserts 4,700 killed in drone strikes
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""We've killed 4,700," [Repulican Senator] Graham was quoted as saying by the Easley Patch, a local website covering the small town of Easley. "Sometimes you hit innocent people, and I hate that, but we're at war, and we've taken out some very senior members of al-Qaeda," he told the local Rotary Club."" [US senator says 4,700 killed in drone strikes].
Collateral damage in an undeclared war fought by military gamers. I wonder how many "senior members of al-Qaeda" are in the 4,700? I sure feel relieved that the good senator hates killing innocent people.
Gee - as long as "war" is declared, however waged unconstitutionally, then the killing of innocent people is justified.
Collateral damage in an undeclared war fought by military gamers. I wonder how many "senior members of al-Qaeda" are in the 4,700? I sure feel relieved that the good senator hates killing innocent people.
Gee - as long as "war" is declared, however waged unconstitutionally, then the killing of innocent people is justified.
Another less-than-successful green venture funded in part by the feds
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Autoblog Green has this interesting piece about a South Korean firm LG Chem that has committed fraud against the US government and GM. Now no one is calling it "fraud" or even "criminal," but if there is a distinction it is drawn with a very fine line. [DOE confirms LG Chem battery plant workers were paid not to make Chevy Volt batteries].
LG Chem was to produce batteries for the GM Volt in 2012. To that end, LG Chem was funded by the feds $142 million in cash (possibly drawn down from a credit line) and $175 million in tax breaks, and, of course, they were to hire 400. Well they hired 200 and failed to produce one battery. And the 200 hired were paid not to work.
Somebody blew the whistle and the feds audited: "We confirmed the allegations. We found that work performed under the grant to LG Chem Michigan had not been managed effectively. Based on progress to date and despite the expenditures of $142 million in Recovery Act funds, LG Chem Michigan had not yet achieved the objectives outlined in its Department-approved project plan."
I especially liked the "had not been managed effectively" part. A gross understatement that. And the response, a second try at explaining, from LG Chem: "In a statement to Automotive News, LG Chem admitted that the audit was correct and that it was "acutely aware of the disappointment from the delays in our start of production."
And the spin: they were "acutely aware of the disappointment . . . ." However, not even obliquely referenced in the Autoblog article is the cost to GM for the failed production. Apparently the feds are seeking repayment, but what about the tax breaks? I wonder - what will be the administrative costs to reset the clock?
Autoblog muses: "Whether LG Chem joins the list of less-than-successful ventures funded in part by the federal government – A12 Systems [should be A123 Systems], EnerDel and Solyndra – remains to be seen." [Links are Autoblog's.] These three companies have suffered bankruptcies.
Thus, the difference is that LG Chem is apparently not in any financial difficulty. Autoblog: "In 2011, Lux Research ranked LG Chem tops in the lithium-ion battery industry . . . ." Given the GM Volt experience -how does LG Chem make the top of the list?
$142 mil in cash and $175 mil in tax breaks - for 200 jobs that produced nada. At least some of the 200 "used the work day to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, at animal shelters and outdoor nature centers." That was probably a better use of the stimulus funds.
LG Chem was to produce batteries for the GM Volt in 2012. To that end, LG Chem was funded by the feds $142 million in cash (possibly drawn down from a credit line) and $175 million in tax breaks, and, of course, they were to hire 400. Well they hired 200 and failed to produce one battery. And the 200 hired were paid not to work.
Somebody blew the whistle and the feds audited: "We confirmed the allegations. We found that work performed under the grant to LG Chem Michigan had not been managed effectively. Based on progress to date and despite the expenditures of $142 million in Recovery Act funds, LG Chem Michigan had not yet achieved the objectives outlined in its Department-approved project plan."
I especially liked the "had not been managed effectively" part. A gross understatement that. And the response, a second try at explaining, from LG Chem: "In a statement to Automotive News, LG Chem admitted that the audit was correct and that it was "acutely aware of the disappointment from the delays in our start of production."
And the spin: they were "acutely aware of the disappointment . . . ." However, not even obliquely referenced in the Autoblog article is the cost to GM for the failed production. Apparently the feds are seeking repayment, but what about the tax breaks? I wonder - what will be the administrative costs to reset the clock?
Autoblog muses: "Whether LG Chem joins the list of less-than-successful ventures funded in part by the federal government – A12 Systems [should be A123 Systems], EnerDel and Solyndra – remains to be seen." [Links are Autoblog's.] These three companies have suffered bankruptcies.
Thus, the difference is that LG Chem is apparently not in any financial difficulty. Autoblog: "In 2011, Lux Research ranked LG Chem tops in the lithium-ion battery industry . . . ." Given the GM Volt experience -how does LG Chem make the top of the list?
$142 mil in cash and $175 mil in tax breaks - for 200 jobs that produced nada. At least some of the 200 "used the work day to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, at animal shelters and outdoor nature centers." That was probably a better use of the stimulus funds.
Crisis governing where the crises are of government's making
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The sequester has been a series of political gambits by both parties. Its effect will have major impacts on our economy possibly more damaging than the effects of the latest recession. It is apparently real to everyone but the political leaders that continue to wrangle amongst themselves for pure political gain.
If you are interested:
LaHood Tries to 'Wake Up' GOP on Sequester : Roll Call News
The sequester: A Q&A - CBS News
Sequester of Fools - NYTimes.com
The D.C. Dubstep - NYTimes.com
If you are interested:
LaHood Tries to 'Wake Up' GOP on Sequester : Roll Call News
The sequester: A Q&A - CBS News
Sequester of Fools - NYTimes.com
The D.C. Dubstep - NYTimes.com
Self defense? Oscar Pistorius murder case
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The shooter and victim are two high profile people in South Africa. The shooter is an athlete and the victim was a model. The killing took place in a gated community refuge from crime and from black people. This is South Africa where apartheid is not too far in the past. The case is tinged with racism, corrupt and bumbling police and, not surprising, high crime rates.
Certain facts are not in doubt - Pistorius shot and killed his model girlfriend in their residence. She was located in the bathroom toilet. He admits firing four shots through the toilet door. The prosecutors - premeditated murder. Pistorius - self defense believing that the person in the bathroom was an intruder.
The important facts will be ferreted out at the trial. As might be expected most of the media coverage has been more engaged in sensationalism rather than fact finding. I commend the Guardian UK' interactive depicting the crime scene. [Oscar Pistorius: Pretoria house where Reeva Steenkamp was killed - interactive].
The exact time of the shooting is unclear, but the police arrived at 4:15 am. The shooter claims he got up in the middle of the night and [see the interactive] went out to the balcony to the right of the bedroom to collect a fan. It is here on the balcony that he hears an intruder in the bathroom.
Why would any one suspect that there was an intruder was in the bathroom?
One must consider that the bedroom and bathroom is on the second floor. Consider too that the residence is in a community that "is protected by high walls, electric fencing, security guards, laser sensors, biometric “thumbprint” locks, all overseen by closed-circuit cameras." And, peek at the location of the residence within the community, hardly a place an intruder would seek out for any nefarious reason.
Why would an intruder 'hide' in the toilet? And if there - he or she would be cornered. Look at the interactive. The bathroom area is open with only the toilet having a door.
But assume an intruder in the bathroom for some reason. The shooter goes to the bed and gets his gun and proceeds to the bathroom toilet door and fires 4 shots. Why? There was no way out for the "intruder." Surely if he would have called out to the 'intruder' she would have answered.
Assuming he heard an intruder - why didn't he alert his girlfriend who he 'believes' is still sleeping in the bed? The gun was hidden under the mattress. How could he have possibly missed the fact that she was not in the bed? How could he not be aware that it was his girlfriend in the toilet?
There are a host of spurious issues raised, but none so far raise any issue as to what might have motivated a legitimate self defense. Frankly, the death is quite easily explained as premeditated murder, but the bumbling of the police may set this man free. And, interestingly enough, South Africa criminal trials are before a judge - not a jury.
Here is a run at some of the issues that can be seen in the press coverage. ABC News' coverage offers insights into many of them It doesn't appear that he called the police or instigated any calls to security, but the shooter "says he called the manager of the housing estate, and asked him to place a call for an ambulance. He says that he also called a private paramedic service. " But none of the four devices found by the police demonstrate that he called anyone; however, there is a mysterious fifth device claimed.
The locked toilet door. It is unclear if the toilet door was actually locked or not. If there was an intruder in the bathroom toilet - and why would the intruder be there - why not call the police? The locked bathroom door gains some credibility because it was apparently beaten open with a cricket stick. But what kind of lock would it have been? That type of 'lock' is typically designed to deter entrance not prevent.
There is an issue of the apparent line of fire. The shooter is a double amputee and walks on blades that have to be strapped on. Thus his height is considerably different dependent on whether the 'legs' are strapped on or not. The issue is important because the police say he had the blades on and the shooter says not. If the police are correct - not only is the shooter lying it takes away from the urgency of the situation.
Why did he carry her body downstairs and not left upstairs in the bathroom where she was hit with three of the four shots?
It seems an uphill battle to prove self defense, but the crime was committed in a country far different from ours. Justice may well be influenced by the celebrity status of the shooter even though the victim too was a celebrity.
Resources:Oscar Pistorius Murder Case: What Weve Learned So Far - The Daily Beast.Oscar Pistorius: Pretoria house where Reeva Steenkamp was killed - interactive | World news | guardian.co.ukOscar Pistorius Case: Key Elements in the Investigation - ABC NewsA look at South Africa's justice system - Yahoo! SportsThe Pistorius case casts a lurid light on a corrupt and crime-ridden South Africa - Comment - Voices - The IndependentPistorius lived in elite, gated, alternate South Africa - CSMonitor.com
Certain facts are not in doubt - Pistorius shot and killed his model girlfriend in their residence. She was located in the bathroom toilet. He admits firing four shots through the toilet door. The prosecutors - premeditated murder. Pistorius - self defense believing that the person in the bathroom was an intruder.
The important facts will be ferreted out at the trial. As might be expected most of the media coverage has been more engaged in sensationalism rather than fact finding. I commend the Guardian UK' interactive depicting the crime scene. [Oscar Pistorius: Pretoria house where Reeva Steenkamp was killed - interactive].
The exact time of the shooting is unclear, but the police arrived at 4:15 am. The shooter claims he got up in the middle of the night and [see the interactive] went out to the balcony to the right of the bedroom to collect a fan. It is here on the balcony that he hears an intruder in the bathroom.
Why would any one suspect that there was an intruder was in the bathroom?
One must consider that the bedroom and bathroom is on the second floor. Consider too that the residence is in a community that "is protected by high walls, electric fencing, security guards, laser sensors, biometric “thumbprint” locks, all overseen by closed-circuit cameras." And, peek at the location of the residence within the community, hardly a place an intruder would seek out for any nefarious reason.
Why would an intruder 'hide' in the toilet? And if there - he or she would be cornered. Look at the interactive. The bathroom area is open with only the toilet having a door.
But assume an intruder in the bathroom for some reason. The shooter goes to the bed and gets his gun and proceeds to the bathroom toilet door and fires 4 shots. Why? There was no way out for the "intruder." Surely if he would have called out to the 'intruder' she would have answered.
Assuming he heard an intruder - why didn't he alert his girlfriend who he 'believes' is still sleeping in the bed? The gun was hidden under the mattress. How could he have possibly missed the fact that she was not in the bed? How could he not be aware that it was his girlfriend in the toilet?
There are a host of spurious issues raised, but none so far raise any issue as to what might have motivated a legitimate self defense. Frankly, the death is quite easily explained as premeditated murder, but the bumbling of the police may set this man free. And, interestingly enough, South Africa criminal trials are before a judge - not a jury.
Here is a run at some of the issues that can be seen in the press coverage. ABC News' coverage offers insights into many of them It doesn't appear that he called the police or instigated any calls to security, but the shooter "says he called the manager of the housing estate, and asked him to place a call for an ambulance. He says that he also called a private paramedic service. " But none of the four devices found by the police demonstrate that he called anyone; however, there is a mysterious fifth device claimed.
The locked toilet door. It is unclear if the toilet door was actually locked or not. If there was an intruder in the bathroom toilet - and why would the intruder be there - why not call the police? The locked bathroom door gains some credibility because it was apparently beaten open with a cricket stick. But what kind of lock would it have been? That type of 'lock' is typically designed to deter entrance not prevent.
There is an issue of the apparent line of fire. The shooter is a double amputee and walks on blades that have to be strapped on. Thus his height is considerably different dependent on whether the 'legs' are strapped on or not. The issue is important because the police say he had the blades on and the shooter says not. If the police are correct - not only is the shooter lying it takes away from the urgency of the situation.
Why did he carry her body downstairs and not left upstairs in the bathroom where she was hit with three of the four shots?
It seems an uphill battle to prove self defense, but the crime was committed in a country far different from ours. Justice may well be influenced by the celebrity status of the shooter even though the victim too was a celebrity.
Resources:Oscar Pistorius Murder Case: What Weve Learned So Far - The Daily Beast.Oscar Pistorius: Pretoria house where Reeva Steenkamp was killed - interactive | World news | guardian.co.ukOscar Pistorius Case: Key Elements in the Investigation - ABC NewsA look at South Africa's justice system - Yahoo! SportsThe Pistorius case casts a lurid light on a corrupt and crime-ridden South Africa - Comment - Voices - The IndependentPistorius lived in elite, gated, alternate South Africa - CSMonitor.com
23 Şubat 2013 Cumartesi
Pulling back the curtain on prosecutor paranoia
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Ever wonder how prosecutors speak to one another when they think no one's watching? Conservative blogger Big Jolly, a GOP activist in Houston, pulled back the curtain, obtaining a copy of a video under open records of the first mandatory prosecutor training under new Harris DA Mike Anderson, conducted by the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. Here's an excerpt from Jolly's summary:
Similarly, the idea that the Repbublican-dominated Legislature somehow hates prosecutors or is soft on crime beggars belief, but prosecutors and the police unions see themselves particularly at odds with freshman and sophomore Tea-Party types. These special interests are so used to absolute deference that they consider even modest questioning of their practices tantamount to betrayal.
I'll be interested to learn what Mark Bennett, Paul Kennedy, Robb Fickman and other Houston criminal defense lawyers think about the presentation. Sounds like quite a show. Grits hasn't had time to watch the full video yet, and may have more to say about it after I do. (I've heard Kepple's schtick and such paranoid, "us against them" rhetoric fails to shock me as much as it once did.) For now, head over to Jolly's shop to see it for yourself.
MORE: From Big Jolly, breaking out highlights from the two-hour event.
The entire tone of the video suggests a sort of “bunker” mentality, an us against them, almost a “whine-fest” from the trainer, Rob Kepple of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. Did you know the Innocence Project is the “enemy” of prosecutors? Nevermind that their work has resulted in the release of innocent men and women convicted by prosecutorial abuse. DA Anderson goes so far as to say that in the eyes of the Innocence Project, prosecutors are nothing more than pondscum. I suppose the old axiom is true – no good deed goes unpunished.Having worked for several years for the Innocence Project of Texas, I'm pretty used to prosecutors considering that group the "enemy," though like Jolly I've never fully understood it. After all, when an innocent person goes to prison, that means a guilty person remains free. One would think prosecutors would have an interest in rectifying that situation. Still, we see instances like in Williamson County, where DA John Bradley fought for years to keep the national Innocence Project from testing evidence that eventually exonerated Michael Morton. Does anybody believe that, if Bradley had agreed to DNA testing when it was first requested, that Judge Ken Anderson would currently be facing judgment in a court of inquiry? Things got to that point because, thanks to the bellicose stance of the DA, a balls-to-the-wall fight was the only way to prove Morton's innocence. The open-records requests that discovered alleged prosecutorial misconduct would never have even been filed if Bradley had agreed to retesting from the get-go.
The “training” also describes our legislature as “out to get them” – “them” being prosecutors because they are “government employees” and the legislature apparently hates government employees. Oh, and the only reason crime has gone down since the 1980′s in Houston is because the legislature built more prison capacity. But now, “they” want to release criminals in prison for minor offenses because it is a whole lot cheaper to put someone on probation than it is to house them in a prison. Imagine that.
Mr. Kepple goes through a whole series of how people cheat in life and it isn’t cheating if you get away with it. I think his point was to say that prosecutors can’t do that but you’ll have to watch it to see how bad he made that point. And remember Pedro Oregon? You know, the guy that was killed dead, dead, dead because a bunch of yahoo cops forced a drunk driver to give them the address of his “dealer” and then started shooting for no reason? Yeah, he presents that as an example of using Johnny Holmes’ stellar reputation to get away with anything. Just totally bizarre.
Similarly, the idea that the Repbublican-dominated Legislature somehow hates prosecutors or is soft on crime beggars belief, but prosecutors and the police unions see themselves particularly at odds with freshman and sophomore Tea-Party types. These special interests are so used to absolute deference that they consider even modest questioning of their practices tantamount to betrayal.
I'll be interested to learn what Mark Bennett, Paul Kennedy, Robb Fickman and other Houston criminal defense lawyers think about the presentation. Sounds like quite a show. Grits hasn't had time to watch the full video yet, and may have more to say about it after I do. (I've heard Kepple's schtick and such paranoid, "us against them" rhetoric fails to shock me as much as it once did.) For now, head over to Jolly's shop to see it for yourself.
MORE: From Big Jolly, breaking out highlights from the two-hour event.
Story conflates jails, prisons to misrepresent scope of unemployment 'fraud'
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A TV news report out of Houston blares with the headline, "Prisoners collecting millions in unemployment while behind bars," but that claim obscures more truth than it illuminates. The story opened:
Unemployment benefits are supposed to be life lines to out-of-work Texans.Grits replied in the comments, though, that, "If someone is convicted and sent to prison, they shouldn't receive benefits. But most people in jail have been convicted of nothing yet and still enjoy the presumption of innocence. Their benefits should not be terminated. This article lumps those categories together in a way that's fundamentally misleading and borders on demagoguery. Please give the break out for how many of those 1,700 were in jail vs. prison." I'm betting that, if we ever see that data, most of the 1,700 people mentioned were in fact eligible and did not engage in "fraud" at all.
But the KHOU 11 News I-Team uncovered millions of dollars in unemployment payments are flowing into jails and prisons across Texas.
All of it comes as the Texas Workforce Commission insists that fighting fraud is one of the agency’s top priorities.
But after we found more than 1,700 cases of inmates collecting unemployment, some want to know if anyone is really watching the system?
Bill filed to require warrant for GPS tracking of cell phones
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Woo Hoo! Many thanks to state Rep. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola) for filing HB 1608, which would require police to obtain a warrant to access location tracking data from your cell phone or other wireless communications device. Rep. Hughes sits on the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee which would likely hear the legislation. Thanks also to the volunteers who've been helping promote the idea at the Lege, along with EFF-Austin, ACLU of Texas and Texans for Accountable Government, who have now formed a coalition to support the bill.
This is a project your correspondent began working on last year after it was revealed in Congressional hearings that law enforcement made more than 1.3 million requests for location data from cell-phone carriers in 2011.
Grits should add that there's been a lot of interest in the legislation from other members as well, and the process of shopping the bill has convinced me it will receive significant bipartisan support. See more background from EFF-Austin, and find below the jump an op ed I wrote on the subject which was published last month in the Dallas News.
UPDATE (2/23): Excellent news. On Friday, state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, who sits on the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, filed a companion bill, SB 786, so the legislation now has been filed in both chambers.
End unregulated GPS tracking by the police
By Scott Henson, Dallas Morning News, Jan. 25
In an era of smartphones and near-ubiquitous GPS tracking of our cars and electronic devices, Texas statutes protecting its citizens’ privacy have failed to keep up with rapidly changing technology, allowing government access to personal location data from cellphones and other electronic devices without any judicial oversight. Those records are sealed permanently in Texas, without even aggregate data reported, as has long been required when police use old-fashioned wiretaps or trap-and-trace devices.
Mobile-phone carriers told Congress last year that law enforcement accessed their customers’ location data more than 1.3 million times in 2011. Because of outdated surveillance statutes and diminished open-records laws, Texans can’t know how often, nor for what purpose, police gather citizens’ cellphone location data. There’s no way to tell how many of those 1.3-plus million incidents occurred in Texas, nor which agencies most frequently gather location data, much less how often that sort of tracking led to arrests or indictments.
Are such data gathered by “fusion centers” or other intelligence-gathering divisions of law enforcement? Are they used to track political protesters, whether from the Occupy movement or at anti-abortion rallies? Have they ever been misused in ways that resulted in disciplinary actions against officers? Under current statutes, there’s no way to know.
Privacy advocates are asking the Legislature to consider a bill requiring a warrant for law enforcement to access cellphone-location data, with exceptions for emergencies and when the owner of an electronic device reports it stolen. It would also eventually unseal information about law enforcement’s use of those records after the investigation is complete, making such transactions subject to Texas open-records laws. It would require aggregate reporting about GPS tracking comparable to what’s required for old-fashioned (and now rarely used) wiretaps and trap-and-trace devices, giving the public a window onto how frequently law enforcement tracks them.
What little we do know about cases in which location data is gathered raises questions about whether it has been used too broadly. Federal Magistrate Judge Stephen Smith in Houston has written: “Asked to furnish … cases brought against individuals who had been subject to warrantless cellphone tracking since 2001, the Department of Justice identified … about 38 cases a year. Given that the federal government obtains tens of thousands of these orders every year, this data suggests that the government is spending more time chasing the innocent than the black sheep and ne’er-do-wells.”
How state and local jurisdictions in Texas use such data probably varies widely. For the most part, such decisions are made in a murky realm beyond judicial or public oversight that lends itself at a minimum to the appearance of overuse and, potentially, abuse.
Courts have typically been slow to extend constitutional protections to new technologies. The telephone was invented in the 1870s but the Supreme Court did not require a warrant to wiretap a telephone conversation until 1967. There’s no reason to wait that long to install protections for location data emanating from our personal electronic devices.
When the Supreme Court said in U.S. vs. Jones (2012) that placing a physical tracking device on a personal vehicle was a search, Texas law already required a court order, though not a full-blown search warrant, for police to use that tactic. But if police want to request your physical location data over, say, the last six months from your cellphone provider, they need only issue a subpoena. No judge need ever know about it unless they later decide to submit the location data as evidence (which, from the numbers Judge Smith presented from the federal system, doesn’t seem to happen all that often).
These are simple, logical updates to Texas’ criminal law that the Legislature could enact during the 83rd session, without waiting for Congress or the Supreme Court to finally get to the problem many years down the line. Why wait? Texas should act to protect public privacy now and place reasonable limits on location tracking by law enforcement.
This is a project your correspondent began working on last year after it was revealed in Congressional hearings that law enforcement made more than 1.3 million requests for location data from cell-phone carriers in 2011.
Grits should add that there's been a lot of interest in the legislation from other members as well, and the process of shopping the bill has convinced me it will receive significant bipartisan support. See more background from EFF-Austin, and find below the jump an op ed I wrote on the subject which was published last month in the Dallas News.
UPDATE (2/23): Excellent news. On Friday, state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, who sits on the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, filed a companion bill, SB 786, so the legislation now has been filed in both chambers.
End unregulated GPS tracking by the police
By Scott Henson, Dallas Morning News, Jan. 25
In an era of smartphones and near-ubiquitous GPS tracking of our cars and electronic devices, Texas statutes protecting its citizens’ privacy have failed to keep up with rapidly changing technology, allowing government access to personal location data from cellphones and other electronic devices without any judicial oversight. Those records are sealed permanently in Texas, without even aggregate data reported, as has long been required when police use old-fashioned wiretaps or trap-and-trace devices.
Mobile-phone carriers told Congress last year that law enforcement accessed their customers’ location data more than 1.3 million times in 2011. Because of outdated surveillance statutes and diminished open-records laws, Texans can’t know how often, nor for what purpose, police gather citizens’ cellphone location data. There’s no way to tell how many of those 1.3-plus million incidents occurred in Texas, nor which agencies most frequently gather location data, much less how often that sort of tracking led to arrests or indictments.
Are such data gathered by “fusion centers” or other intelligence-gathering divisions of law enforcement? Are they used to track political protesters, whether from the Occupy movement or at anti-abortion rallies? Have they ever been misused in ways that resulted in disciplinary actions against officers? Under current statutes, there’s no way to know.
Privacy advocates are asking the Legislature to consider a bill requiring a warrant for law enforcement to access cellphone-location data, with exceptions for emergencies and when the owner of an electronic device reports it stolen. It would also eventually unseal information about law enforcement’s use of those records after the investigation is complete, making such transactions subject to Texas open-records laws. It would require aggregate reporting about GPS tracking comparable to what’s required for old-fashioned (and now rarely used) wiretaps and trap-and-trace devices, giving the public a window onto how frequently law enforcement tracks them.
What little we do know about cases in which location data is gathered raises questions about whether it has been used too broadly. Federal Magistrate Judge Stephen Smith in Houston has written: “Asked to furnish … cases brought against individuals who had been subject to warrantless cellphone tracking since 2001, the Department of Justice identified … about 38 cases a year. Given that the federal government obtains tens of thousands of these orders every year, this data suggests that the government is spending more time chasing the innocent than the black sheep and ne’er-do-wells.”
How state and local jurisdictions in Texas use such data probably varies widely. For the most part, such decisions are made in a murky realm beyond judicial or public oversight that lends itself at a minimum to the appearance of overuse and, potentially, abuse.
Courts have typically been slow to extend constitutional protections to new technologies. The telephone was invented in the 1870s but the Supreme Court did not require a warrant to wiretap a telephone conversation until 1967. There’s no reason to wait that long to install protections for location data emanating from our personal electronic devices.
When the Supreme Court said in U.S. vs. Jones (2012) that placing a physical tracking device on a personal vehicle was a search, Texas law already required a court order, though not a full-blown search warrant, for police to use that tactic. But if police want to request your physical location data over, say, the last six months from your cellphone provider, they need only issue a subpoena. No judge need ever know about it unless they later decide to submit the location data as evidence (which, from the numbers Judge Smith presented from the federal system, doesn’t seem to happen all that often).
These are simple, logical updates to Texas’ criminal law that the Legislature could enact during the 83rd session, without waiting for Congress or the Supreme Court to finally get to the problem many years down the line. Why wait? Texas should act to protect public privacy now and place reasonable limits on location tracking by law enforcement.
House Appropriations criminal justice highlights
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The Texas House Appropriations Committee yesterday adopted recommendations (pdf) from its subcommittee on Article V of the budget, which covers Public Safety and Criminal Justice. Obviously the Senate Finance Committee will have their say, too, and there's a long way to go before anything is final. But here are a few highlights from adopted committee recommendations on the House side that caught Grits' eye:
Texas probation department directors will be pleased to learn the committee adopted a recommendation to create a line item paying for probation officers' health insurance, allocating $17.6 million toward that end. They also tacked on an additional $30 million for diversion programs in addition to what was in the filed version of the budget, though basic supervision funds were reduced by $5.75 million to account for declining caseloads.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice had requested an additional $102.4 million to pay for inmate health care after slashing the budget by a roughly like amount last session. TDCJ chief Brad Livingston had told the subcommittee such an increase would bring the agency's healthcare budget back up to levels during the 2010-11 biennium. The House Appropriations Committee, though, boosted spending for healthcare by only $47.4 million, which essentially makes up for the shortfall experienced this biennium by the system's providers at UTMB and Texas Tech. They declined additional money for raises for front-line health staff, new capital equipment, medical transportation vehicles, and funding to restore nurses and other front-line positions that were cut in the current biennium.
The parole division was given a $10 million boost to account for rising caseloads, and another $6 million was allocated to treat parolees suffering form mental illness. They also approved funds for seven new hearings officers, two new voting members of the parole board, and $300K for a consultant's study to evaluate parole eligibility guidelines. In addition, TDCJ had requested funding for 100 "reentry coordinators" to assist the 75,000 inmates per year leaving Texas prisons reintegrate into society - the committee gave them funding for 50. A request for $26.3 million to replace old vehicles (last session they were budgeted nothing for that purpose) was whittled down to just $4.2 million. A $7 million request to replace aging personal computers was also shot down.
The Department of Public Safety was given $10 million for new vehicles and $2.4 million to staff their gunboats patrolling the Rio Grande. A request for $52.9 million to expand Fusion Center operations was turned down. DPS would receive an additional $8.7 million for crime labs (representing 28.2 FTEs) and $10.9 million to outsource DNA testing and to upload data into the FBI's CODIS system.
Relatedly, Mike Ward at the Austin Statesman has a report on the Senate Finance Committee's recommendation to shutter two prison units and, oddly, to lease a unit in Jones County that was built on spec in hopes of housing TDCJ prisoners. Now they want the Lege to bail them out. Funding for the Jones County facility was not added to the budget by House Appropriations, so if its inclusion on the Senate side stands the issue would likely be resolved in the conference committee.
Texas probation department directors will be pleased to learn the committee adopted a recommendation to create a line item paying for probation officers' health insurance, allocating $17.6 million toward that end. They also tacked on an additional $30 million for diversion programs in addition to what was in the filed version of the budget, though basic supervision funds were reduced by $5.75 million to account for declining caseloads.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice had requested an additional $102.4 million to pay for inmate health care after slashing the budget by a roughly like amount last session. TDCJ chief Brad Livingston had told the subcommittee such an increase would bring the agency's healthcare budget back up to levels during the 2010-11 biennium. The House Appropriations Committee, though, boosted spending for healthcare by only $47.4 million, which essentially makes up for the shortfall experienced this biennium by the system's providers at UTMB and Texas Tech. They declined additional money for raises for front-line health staff, new capital equipment, medical transportation vehicles, and funding to restore nurses and other front-line positions that were cut in the current biennium.
The parole division was given a $10 million boost to account for rising caseloads, and another $6 million was allocated to treat parolees suffering form mental illness. They also approved funds for seven new hearings officers, two new voting members of the parole board, and $300K for a consultant's study to evaluate parole eligibility guidelines. In addition, TDCJ had requested funding for 100 "reentry coordinators" to assist the 75,000 inmates per year leaving Texas prisons reintegrate into society - the committee gave them funding for 50. A request for $26.3 million to replace old vehicles (last session they were budgeted nothing for that purpose) was whittled down to just $4.2 million. A $7 million request to replace aging personal computers was also shot down.
The Department of Public Safety was given $10 million for new vehicles and $2.4 million to staff their gunboats patrolling the Rio Grande. A request for $52.9 million to expand Fusion Center operations was turned down. DPS would receive an additional $8.7 million for crime labs (representing 28.2 FTEs) and $10.9 million to outsource DNA testing and to upload data into the FBI's CODIS system.
Relatedly, Mike Ward at the Austin Statesman has a report on the Senate Finance Committee's recommendation to shutter two prison units and, oddly, to lease a unit in Jones County that was built on spec in hopes of housing TDCJ prisoners. Now they want the Lege to bail them out. Funding for the Jones County facility was not added to the budget by House Appropriations, so if its inclusion on the Senate side stands the issue would likely be resolved in the conference committee.
Roundup: Fumbling DAs, DPS policy reversal, Harris jail won't privatize
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A few odds and ends from this week's news that failed to make it into individual Grits posts:
DPS reverses policy on shooting at vehicles from helicopters
Too bad it took a tragedy. Shooting hogs form helicopters is still okay.
Harris County won't privatize jail
Too much risk and uncertain savings.
Leadership 'crisis' lamented at McLennan DA
A fumbling, petty PR strategy exacerbated the rift between the District Attorney and Waco Police Department, said the Waco Tribune-Herald editorial board.
Leadership crisis lamented at Dallas DA
Dallas DA Craig Watkins is fumbling through another alleged corruption scandal.
Immigration practicalities
See critical commentary on border security and the importance of illegal immigrants to Texas' construction industry.
The conservative case against solitary confinement
From George Will, of all people.
DPS reverses policy on shooting at vehicles from helicopters
Too bad it took a tragedy. Shooting hogs form helicopters is still okay.
Harris County won't privatize jail
Too much risk and uncertain savings.
Leadership 'crisis' lamented at McLennan DA
A fumbling, petty PR strategy exacerbated the rift between the District Attorney and Waco Police Department, said the Waco Tribune-Herald editorial board.
Leadership crisis lamented at Dallas DA
Dallas DA Craig Watkins is fumbling through another alleged corruption scandal.
Immigration practicalities
See critical commentary on border security and the importance of illegal immigrants to Texas' construction industry.
The conservative case against solitary confinement
From George Will, of all people.
22 Şubat 2013 Cuma
Just Is
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http://www.policeone.com/legal/articles/6103330-Ohio-police-captain-exonerated-of-ex-wifes-murder/
Fifteen years ago a woman was shot to death and suffered a bite from a human. At the time she was divorcing her husband. The prosecution convicted the husband of the crime. The gun was never found. The divorce was very bitter, there don't seem to be any other suspects or any other motive, based on the article.
I don't know enough about the merits of this case. Maybe he did it, maybe he did not. I am always suspicious of people who re-examine a case ten or fifteen years later and come up with a new verdict. At the time of the event, memories are fresh, investigators are available to speak to their collection techniques and prosecutions and provide more witnesses who were not called because their testimony would be redundant.
There is a group going around the nation trying to free criminals who were wrongly convicted. I think their efforts would be better spent trying to prevent crime or solving crimes that have been unsolved. I suspect their motives and think they are more interested in creating distrust of the criminal justice system rather than achieving justice, that's what the SGT Says.
Fifteen years ago a woman was shot to death and suffered a bite from a human. At the time she was divorcing her husband. The prosecution convicted the husband of the crime. The gun was never found. The divorce was very bitter, there don't seem to be any other suspects or any other motive, based on the article.
I don't know enough about the merits of this case. Maybe he did it, maybe he did not. I am always suspicious of people who re-examine a case ten or fifteen years later and come up with a new verdict. At the time of the event, memories are fresh, investigators are available to speak to their collection techniques and prosecutions and provide more witnesses who were not called because their testimony would be redundant.
There is a group going around the nation trying to free criminals who were wrongly convicted. I think their efforts would be better spent trying to prevent crime or solving crimes that have been unsolved. I suspect their motives and think they are more interested in creating distrust of the criminal justice system rather than achieving justice, that's what the SGT Says.
School Guns
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http://patriotaction.net/forum/topic/show?id=2600775%3ATopic%3A6080411&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_topic
A middle school student brought a gun to school. He opened fire and wounded another kid in the neck. An armed guard on campus was able to take the shooter into custody. The school has metal detectors but the shooter was able to get the gun on campus anyway.
The school resource officer was off duty but was at the school and was armed. Despite being off duty he responded to the incident and saved the victim from further injure and saved any other children from harm.
This shows that having armed officers on school campuses is a good idea, one that works even when metal detectors are in place. The arming of school staff who desire to be armed and are willing to take reasonable training is also an excellent idea; that's what the SGT Says.
A middle school student brought a gun to school. He opened fire and wounded another kid in the neck. An armed guard on campus was able to take the shooter into custody. The school has metal detectors but the shooter was able to get the gun on campus anyway.
The school resource officer was off duty but was at the school and was armed. Despite being off duty he responded to the incident and saved the victim from further injure and saved any other children from harm.
This shows that having armed officers on school campuses is a good idea, one that works even when metal detectors are in place. The arming of school staff who desire to be armed and are willing to take reasonable training is also an excellent idea; that's what the SGT Says.
Guns
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I think police should be limited to using the same guns as the citizens of their state. If you think about it, the police are civilians, they are not military. The police are not fighting invaders or enemy armies, they are providing law enforcement services to a civilian community.
At first this may seem a rather limited arsenal would be available to law enforcement. I think quite the contrary. Police should be permitted to own high capacity magazines, patrol rifles, sniper rifles, small concealable handguns, Tasers, and many other weapons that are illegal, or highly restricted in many states.
I think if these restrictions were applied equally to police and everyone else, perhaps police unions and police officers would be more interested in fighting the corrupt politicians that take away the rights of common citizens. Police and citizens should have the right to keep and bear arms; that's what the SGT Says.
At first this may seem a rather limited arsenal would be available to law enforcement. I think quite the contrary. Police should be permitted to own high capacity magazines, patrol rifles, sniper rifles, small concealable handguns, Tasers, and many other weapons that are illegal, or highly restricted in many states.
I think if these restrictions were applied equally to police and everyone else, perhaps police unions and police officers would be more interested in fighting the corrupt politicians that take away the rights of common citizens. Police and citizens should have the right to keep and bear arms; that's what the SGT Says.
Missing Patrol Car
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http://www.wsmv.com/video?clipId=8415896&autostart=true
Watch where you park your patrol car. Police were in pursuit of a car at speeds of over 100 mph. A police car had apparently set up a road block to stop the speeding suspect vehicle. The police car was hit in the middle and as you can see from the video, just disappears. The driver of the suspect car was killed the police car was unoccupied.
The suspect did not even appear to slow or swerve away. It just rammed the police car in the middle. Unlike movies this does not end well. The suspect vehicle did not just jump over the police car and fly away. It was crushed and fell apart.
Using your police car as a barrier is a good idea, it can stop another car. It will not stop another car going 100 miles per hour without first being tossed a great distance down the road. If you do block the street with your car to stop a speeding vehicle, get a good distance away from your unit and away from the direction of travel. You don't want to be crushed by your own car; that's what the SGT Says.
Watch where you park your patrol car. Police were in pursuit of a car at speeds of over 100 mph. A police car had apparently set up a road block to stop the speeding suspect vehicle. The police car was hit in the middle and as you can see from the video, just disappears. The driver of the suspect car was killed the police car was unoccupied.
The suspect did not even appear to slow or swerve away. It just rammed the police car in the middle. Unlike movies this does not end well. The suspect vehicle did not just jump over the police car and fly away. It was crushed and fell apart.
Using your police car as a barrier is a good idea, it can stop another car. It will not stop another car going 100 miles per hour without first being tossed a great distance down the road. If you do block the street with your car to stop a speeding vehicle, get a good distance away from your unit and away from the direction of travel. You don't want to be crushed by your own car; that's what the SGT Says.
Traffic
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http://www.scoop.it/t/parenting-news-views/p/3997077950/watch-deadly-high-speed-chase-ends-with-130mph-passat-hitting-police-car-with-5yro-child-found-in-back-seat
Yesterday I linked to a video of a car hitting a full size police car. The car was a Volkswagen Passant. It was going and estimated 130 miles per hour. The engine was ripped out of the patrol car, the engine, and both cars came to rest a block away.
The driver was being pursued by police. The officer noticed the suspect vehicle had a partially concealed license plate. The suspect had kidnapped his five year old and was hiding him in the car. The suspect was wanted out of state for child abuse.
When you make even the most innocent traffic stop, you don't know who the driver is or what they are wanted for and what they have done. Treat every traffic stop as a potential felon on the run. Call in the traffic stop, don't be afraid to call for back up, don't have anything in your hands that can prevent you from drawing your gun if you need to; that's what the SGT Says.
Yesterday I linked to a video of a car hitting a full size police car. The car was a Volkswagen Passant. It was going and estimated 130 miles per hour. The engine was ripped out of the patrol car, the engine, and both cars came to rest a block away.
The driver was being pursued by police. The officer noticed the suspect vehicle had a partially concealed license plate. The suspect had kidnapped his five year old and was hiding him in the car. The suspect was wanted out of state for child abuse.
When you make even the most innocent traffic stop, you don't know who the driver is or what they are wanted for and what they have done. Treat every traffic stop as a potential felon on the run. Call in the traffic stop, don't be afraid to call for back up, don't have anything in your hands that can prevent you from drawing your gun if you need to; that's what the SGT Says.
21 Şubat 2013 Perşembe
Safe Training
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http://www.lawofficer.com/article/news/baltimore-police-trainee-shot
Police trainees were training with an instructor with firearms. The instructor picked up the wrong gun and shot a trainee in the head. The trainee is in the hospital. The academy training has been suspended as has the instructor. Live ammo and loaded guns should never be around when doing gun take away training.
Never pick up a gun unless you clear it first. I never use real guns in training unless we are using them to shoot with. Deactivated guns can be used for simunitions and similar training but they should be painted in a distinctive color, such as blue and altered in such a manner as to preclude even chambering real ammunition.
I like to use Red Guns for training. They are a solid one piece resin gun that has no moving parts, no sharp edges, and is the same size and weight as the real gun. They fit in holsters and look just like real guns, only they are red. They are excellent for gun takeaway training and other tactical training. They are also much safer than real guns; that's what the SGT Says.
Police trainees were training with an instructor with firearms. The instructor picked up the wrong gun and shot a trainee in the head. The trainee is in the hospital. The academy training has been suspended as has the instructor. Live ammo and loaded guns should never be around when doing gun take away training.
Never pick up a gun unless you clear it first. I never use real guns in training unless we are using them to shoot with. Deactivated guns can be used for simunitions and similar training but they should be painted in a distinctive color, such as blue and altered in such a manner as to preclude even chambering real ammunition.
I like to use Red Guns for training. They are a solid one piece resin gun that has no moving parts, no sharp edges, and is the same size and weight as the real gun. They fit in holsters and look just like real guns, only they are red. They are excellent for gun takeaway training and other tactical training. They are also much safer than real guns; that's what the SGT Says.
Zap
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http://youtu.be/eqxaP4t9gEc
In this video a woman get hit with a Taser. The officer, who I suspect is a security guard working for the business, has been removed from the establishment. She refuses to leave and threatens the officer. The woman then pushes the officer who finally Tasers her.
Note how rapidly the woman stops her assault and is incapacitated. This is how the Taser is supposed to work. Instantly stopping the suspect. I generally recommend that you arrest anyone that you hit with the Taser and that you never Taser anyone who has not committed an arrestable offense.
The officer had the Taser and had a camera as well. The camera did a good job of showing that he was not aggressive, only assertive and that the suspect was clearly in the wrong. The camera did a poor job of showing us the surroundings, the officer seems to be surrounded by people who are unsympathetic to him, if not actually hostile. The officer does a good job by retreating and preparing the Taser for another strike if needed. Sometimes a tactical retreat is the best you can hope for; that's what the SGT Says.
In this video a woman get hit with a Taser. The officer, who I suspect is a security guard working for the business, has been removed from the establishment. She refuses to leave and threatens the officer. The woman then pushes the officer who finally Tasers her.
Note how rapidly the woman stops her assault and is incapacitated. This is how the Taser is supposed to work. Instantly stopping the suspect. I generally recommend that you arrest anyone that you hit with the Taser and that you never Taser anyone who has not committed an arrestable offense.
The officer had the Taser and had a camera as well. The camera did a good job of showing that he was not aggressive, only assertive and that the suspect was clearly in the wrong. The camera did a poor job of showing us the surroundings, the officer seems to be surrounded by people who are unsympathetic to him, if not actually hostile. The officer does a good job by retreating and preparing the Taser for another strike if needed. Sometimes a tactical retreat is the best you can hope for; that's what the SGT Says.
Cyber Attacks
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http://www.militaryaerospace.com/blogs/aerospace-defense-blog/2013/01/dempsey-worries-about-cyberattack-dod-makes-plans-to-hire-additional-cybersecurity-workers.html?cmpid=EnlMAEJanuary302013
The Federal government is hardening their infrastructure to avoidcyber-attacks. Who does your information technology work at your agency? Is itdone by contract workers? Is it done by city workers?
Other countries, independent groups and even gangs have used cyber-attacksagainst police and other government agencies. If your whole system were tocrash, could you still dispatch calls and receive phone calls from citizens? Ifyour system is hacked, can your personal information be made public? How aboutyour city information? Your agency payroll system has all your data on it,where you live, how much you make, your social security number, how aboutidentity theft of all your officers names as a way to get back against youragency.
Anyone who works on your computer and phone system should be subject to abackground check. Your passwords and log in information should be be protectedand changed often. Officers who leave the agency should be removed from thesystem before they are actually terminated. Some computers should not be on anysystem, they should be stand alone so that they can't be hacked. Computersecurity, it's the police work of the 21st Century; that's what the SGT Says.
http://www.militaryaerospace.com/blogs/aerospace-defense-blog/2013/01/dempsey-worries-about-cyberattack-dod-makes-plans-to-hire-additional-cybersecurity-workers.html?cmpid=EnlMAEJanuary302013
The Federal government is hardening their infrastructure to avoidcyber-attacks. Who does your information technology work at your agency? Is itdone by contract workers? Is it done by city workers?
Other countries, independent groups and even gangs have used cyber-attacksagainst police and other government agencies. If your whole system were tocrash, could you still dispatch calls and receive phone calls from citizens? Ifyour system is hacked, can your personal information be made public? How aboutyour city information? Your agency payroll system has all your data on it,where you live, how much you make, your social security number, how aboutidentity theft of all your officers names as a way to get back against youragency.
Anyone who works on your computer and phone system should be subject to abackground check. Your passwords and log in information should be be protectedand changed often. Officers who leave the agency should be removed from thesystem before they are actually terminated. Some computers should not be on anysystem, they should be stand alone so that they can't be hacked. Computersecurity, it's the police work of the 21st Century; that's what the SGT Says.
Blogs
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http://secondcitycop.blogspot.com/
There are lots of blogs out there on police work. Here is one of them.
Police often gather a lot of information in the course of their careers and blogging is one way to pass on that information to other officers. Some of us become trainers. Some of us become FTOs, some of us work at the academy.
Knowing as much as possible is a powerful tool for officers when they are working in the field. Being able to learn from officers who have worked the field and dealt with the situations common to police work is an excellent tool. Pass on what you know, help your partners do their jobs better; that's what the SGT Says.
There are lots of blogs out there on police work. Here is one of them.
Police often gather a lot of information in the course of their careers and blogging is one way to pass on that information to other officers. Some of us become trainers. Some of us become FTOs, some of us work at the academy.
Knowing as much as possible is a powerful tool for officers when they are working in the field. Being able to learn from officers who have worked the field and dealt with the situations common to police work is an excellent tool. Pass on what you know, help your partners do their jobs better; that's what the SGT Says.
Raid
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http://gizmodo.com/5984787/police-raided-a-guys-house-because-he-posted-a-picture-of-a-toy-mortar-on-facebook?utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_facebook&utm_source=gizmodo_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow When conducting a raid on a location it is a good idea to gather as much information about the site and the occupants as possible. Check out the history of the people expected to be inside the location. Check out the nature of the complaint that is the basis of the raid. In this instance someone posted a picture on Facebook. The photo showed a man with a military mortar in the background of the photo. The problem is the man was a GI Joe action figure and it was a toy mortar. A quick inspection of the photo would show a game controller and wall molding that clearly indicate that it was a photo of toys. The police raided the location looking for military weapons. That is a high stress environment. That could have led to the accidental death of the suspect, or even an officer. A little more intelligence gathering would have been a good idea; that's what the SGT Says.
20 Şubat 2013 Çarşamba
Armed Drug Dealer Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison
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PawtucketPolice Investigation Leads to Seizure of Crack Cocaine, .357 Revolver andAmmunition
PROVIDENCE,R.I. – James P. Perry, 35, of Pawtucket, was sentenced today to 10 years infederal prison on drug and firearm charges, announced United States AttorneyPeter F. Neronha and Pawtucket Police Chief Paul King. Perry was arrested byPawtucket Police on March 15, 2012, during an undercover investigation into thetrafficking of crack cocaine.
U.S.District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., also ordered Perry to serve threeyears supervised release upon completion of his prison term. Perry pleadedguilty on August 1, 2012, to possession with the intent to distribute cocainebase and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Accordingto information presented to the court, Pawtucket Police executed a courtauthorized search of Perry‘s Pawtucket residence on March 15, 2012, and seizedapproximately 4.5 grams of crack cocaine; a .357 revolver, a speed loader and50 rounds of ammunition; and various items used in the preparation, packagingand sale of crack cocaine.
Thecase was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Milind M. Shah.
TheBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted Pawtucket Policein the investigation of the firearm seized in this is matter.
PawtucketPolice Investigation Leads to Seizure of Crack Cocaine, .357 Revolver andAmmunition
PROVIDENCE,R.I. – James P. Perry, 35, of Pawtucket, was sentenced today to 10 years infederal prison on drug and firearm charges, announced United States AttorneyPeter F. Neronha and Pawtucket Police Chief Paul King. Perry was arrested byPawtucket Police on March 15, 2012, during an undercover investigation into thetrafficking of crack cocaine.
U.S.District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., also ordered Perry to serve threeyears supervised release upon completion of his prison term. Perry pleadedguilty on August 1, 2012, to possession with the intent to distribute cocainebase and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Accordingto information presented to the court, Pawtucket Police executed a courtauthorized search of Perry‘s Pawtucket residence on March 15, 2012, and seizedapproximately 4.5 grams of crack cocaine; a .357 revolver, a speed loader and50 rounds of ammunition; and various items used in the preparation, packagingand sale of crack cocaine.
Thecase was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Milind M. Shah.
TheBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted Pawtucket Policein the investigation of the firearm seized in this is matter.
Sixteen People Sentenced to Prison for Religiously Motivated Assaults on Practitioners of the Amish Religion
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Sixteen people were sentenced to prison today for hate crimes arising out of a series of religiously-motivated assaults on practitioners of the Amish religion, announced Thomas E. Perez, the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; Steven M. Dettelbach, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio; and Stephen Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI – Cleveland Field Office. The defendants all reside in Bergholz, Ohio, unless otherwise noted. Samuel Mullet, 67, received a 15 year sentence. Johnny S. Mullet, 39; Lester Mullet, 28, of Hammondsville, Ohio; Levi F. Miller, 54; and Eli M. Miller, 33, received seven year sentences. Daniel S. Mullet, 38; Lester Miller, 38; and Emanuel Schrock, 44, received five year sentences. Raymond Miller, 28, of Irondale, Ohio; and Linda Shrock, 45, both received two year sentences. Freeman Burkholder, 32, of Irondale; Anna Miller, 33; Elizabeth A. Miller, 38, of Irondale; Emma J. Miller, 38; Kathryn Miller, 23, of Irondale; and Lovina Miller, 33, all received a sentence of one year and one day. A jury found the defendants guilty last September following a lengthy trial. The convictions stem from five separate assaults that occurred in four Ohio counties between September and November 2011. In each assault, defendants forcibly removed beard and head hair from practitioners of the Amish faith with whom they had ongoing religious disputes. The manner in which Amish men wear their beards and Amish women wear their hair are symbols of their faith, according to trial testimony. Samuel Mullet Sr., Johnny S. Mullet, Daniel S. Mullet, Lester S. Mullet, Levi F. Miller, Eli M. Miller, Emanuel Shrock, Lester Miller, Raymond Miller, Freeman Burkholder, Anna Miller and Linda Shrock were convicted of conspiracy to violate Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 249, also known as the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which prohibits any person from willfully causing bodily injury to any person, or attempting to do so by use of a dangerous weapon, because of the actual or perceived religion of that person, and Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512, which prohibits obstruction of justice, including witness tampering and the destruction or concealment of evidence. The jury also convicted various groups of defendants with separate assaults, and Samuel Mullet Sr. and Lester Mullet with concealing or attempting to conceal various items of tangible evidence, including a camera and photographs of the attacks. Samuel Mullet Sr. is the Bishop of the Amish community in Bergholz, while the remaining defendants are all members of that community. Mullet Sr. exerted control over the Bergholz community by taking the wives of other men into his home, and by overseeing various means of disciplining community members, including corporal punishment, according to trial testimony. As a result of religious disputes with other members of the Ohio Amish community, the defendants planned and carried out a series of assaults on their perceived religious enemies. The assaults involved the use of hired drivers, either by the defendants or the alleged victims, because practitioners of the Amish religion do not operate motor vehicles. The assaults all entailed using scissors and battery-powered clippers to forcibly cut or shave the beard hair of the male victims and the head hair of the female victims, according to trial testimony. During each assault, the defendants restrained and held down the victims. During some of the assaults, the defendants injured individuals who attempted to intervene to protect or rescue the victims. Following the attacks, some of the defendants participated in discussions about concealing photographs and other evidence of the assaults, according to evidence presented at trial. “From the time of its founding as a nation, the United States of America has always been a beacon for those who seek religious freedom,” said Assistant Attorney General Perez. “The Department of Justice and the Civil Rights Division will vigorously defend every American’s right to worship in the manner of their choosing, including the members of the defendants’ community. However, violent assaults are not a form of religious expression. The actions of the defendants were designed to terrorize the victims, desecrate sacred symbols of their faith, and interfere with their right to worship. These prosecutions reflect the fact that the Department of Justice will not tolerate religiously motivated violence.” “From day one, this case has been about the rule of law and defending the right of people to worship in peace. This was never about ‘haircuts.’ These were violent, religiously motivated home invasions that left the victims bloody, bruised and beaten,” said U.S. Attorney Dettlebach. “Our nation was founded on the bedrock principle that everyone is free to worship how they see fit. Violent attempts to attack this most basic freedom have no place in our country.” “This case is an excellent example of cooperation between the many law enforcement agencies that investigated these crimes, along with the prosecution team from the United States Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Anthony. “The FBI is committed to investigating hate crimes, including those perpetrated against people motivated by bias toward religion as in this case, or other areas protected by our civil rights statutes.” This case was investigated by the Cleveland Division of the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Getz and Bridget M. Brennan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio and Deputy Chief Kristy Parker of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section. The prosecutor’s and sheriff’s offices from Holmes, Carroll, Jefferson and Trumbull counties also provided significant assistance in the investigation and prosecution of this case.
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