Monday, June 30, 2008

Forensic-Evidence.com...a Resource for all things Forensic.

I was recently looking for information regarding narcotic dog sniffing techniques to arm myself for a hearing and stumbled upon this gem. The website is http://www.forensic-evidence.com/It advertises itself as "AN INFORMATION CENTER IN FORENSIC SCIENCE, LAW AND PUBLIC POLICY FOR LAWYERS, FORENSIC SCIENTISTS, EDUCATORS, AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS". Sample topics include fingerprint identification, bite mark identification, firearm and toolmark evidence and dog scent evidence. Articles include experts and how to challenge under Daubert and Frye. There is a sign up feature for updates and it appears to be updated frequently with a wealth of information for all your forensic evidence needs.

- Kailey Moran


Spokane County Inmate Roster


Friday, June 27, 2008

City of Spokane Public Records Request

Public records requests take about 90 days to process without a subpeona. The completed form can be sent to:

Spokane Police Records Division
Public Safety Building 1100 W. Mallon
Spokane, WA 99260

Phone number: (509) 625-4030
Fax number: (509) 625-4059

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Deaconess Medical Center - Record Requests

Deaconess Medical Center contracts with Secure Health Information to provide copies of medical records.

The cost of copies is as follows:
1-9 pages = No charge
10-30 pages = $28 per page
31tpages = $.67 per page
Postage and tax (8.6%) will be charged when applicable.




Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Global Compusearch - Computer Forensics

"Business Litigation and Computer Forensics- Electronic discovery (E-Discovery), network and server acquisitions and the subsequent hard drive analysis for such issues as theft of proprietary information, patent, copyright or trademark infringement, probate litigation, trade secret violations, antitrust litigation, false advertising, product liability claims, Qui Tam and “whistle blower” claims, unfair business practices, employee issues such as sexual harassment and wrongful discharge claims, forensic accounting and securities fraud and tortuous interference with contractual relations. Global CompuSearch was founded by Marcus Lawson in 2000. His background in Internet and computer investigations as a Special Agent with the federal government became the foundation for the company's criminal defense work. Since opening for business as private consultants, Global CompuSearch has conducted forensics examinations on hundreds of computer hard drives and thousands of pieces of digital media, advising criminal defense attorneys on our findings. "

Josiah Roloff
9 S. Washington Suite 710 Spokane, WA 99201

Phone Numbers:
Office - (509) 443-9293
Fax - (509) 532-8600

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Locating the Homeless

The Salvation Army began the Family Tracing Service 1885 and it has become one of The Salvation Army's most distinctive international services & can be very useful in tracking down the homeless. There are four regions within the Savlation Army in the United States:

Eastern United States
440 Westy Nyack Road
P.O. Box C-635
West Nyack, New York 10994

Central United States
10 West Algonquin Road
Des Plaines, Illinois 60016

Southern United States
1424 Northeast Expressway
Atlanta, Georgia 30329

Western United States
30840 Hawthorne Blvd
Rancho Palos Verdes, California 90274

The Salvation Army will not give information on the whereabouts of a individual, but will act as a conduit for correspondence.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

ProfNet

An online community of nearly 14,000 professional communicators, ProfNet was created in 1992 to connect reporters easily and quickly with expert sources at no charge.
Connect with experts either by sending an opportunity to our network of professional communicators or by searching our nearly 25,000 expert profiles. Whatever your project, you’re likely to make the link with exactly the expertise you need.


https://profnet.prnewswire.com/

Monday, June 16, 2008

Gang Research

This is a website dedicated to providing quality research on gangs to students, academics, public officials, the media, and the general public. GangResearch.net is run by John M. Hagedorn and he is solely resposible for its content. It is the repository for documents of the Chicago Gang History Project.

http://www.gangresearch.net/

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Border Crossing Information

The U.S. Department of Transportation Research and Innovation Technology Administration’s (RITA) statistics page on border crossings coming into the United States. A search can be down to a specific border crossing port.

http://www.transtats.bts.gov/bordercrossing.aspx

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

National Map Viewer

The U.S. Geolgical Survey has a National Map Viewer that is a very useful tool to find information ranging from the distribution of Africanized honey bees in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, by county to the Texas Artificial Reef Act where this map shows the representation of the spatial area where artificial reefs have been implemented in Texas and everything else in between. This is an excellent complement to Google Maps.

http://nmviewogc.cr.usgs.gov/viewer.htm

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Net Providers to Block Sites With Child Sex

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/10/nyregion/10internet.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all

Mistaken Identification

One of the most disturbing courtroom moments is when a witness points at the defendant and with confidence tells the jury that that is the person he or she saw leaving the scene of the crime. The number of mistaken identifications that lead to wrongful convictions is difficult to estimate.

It is important to understand why people misidentify other people. Most people have little or no problem picking out a friend in a crowded room, but this is not the same thing as recognizing the faces of strangers. Some facial features are more valuable than others. There are three dimensions that are most important, regardless of whether subjects looked at male or female faces, or black/white. These dimensions are the age of a face, facial shape and hair.

In some cases the witness is given the description of the suspect before he or she views a lineup. The lineup that is shown to the witness has the suspect with similar descriptions. Minutes later the witness identifies the person that she or he was told the suspect looked liked.

One way to determine if the witness was given information about the suspect before she identified him is to obtain the same lineup photo. Sometimes the lineup is obviously unfair; it may have 5 pictures of suspects that are older photos and 1 recent picture of the suspect they want identified. In some cases the witness may pick the wrong picture and the investigator may ask "are you sure it's not number 3?". These type of questions cause the witness to choose number 3, because of the investigator's suggestive comment. Another way witnesses are manipulated into picking a suspect is the way the investigator shows the lineup. The investigator may put the pictures down one at a time and ask the question "is this the person you saw". As he goes through the photos he pauses on the suspect they are focusing on. This causes the witness to pick a particular photo and the investigator may or may not show the witness the rest of the lineup because he or she has identified the suspect who they believe committed the crime.

Nature Publishing Group has an excellent article, “Line-ups on Trial” that delves further into this issue that can be found here:

http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/gwells/Nature_article_May_2008.pdf

Monday, June 9, 2008

Capture Internet Video

There is a new tool that can be used to capture streaming videos from the internet (YouTube.com, etc) and it is very easy to use. Go to: http://keepvid.com/

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Crucial Conversations

Not exactly Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends & Influence People,” which “Crucial Conversations” references, but Patterson’s, et al, book does have a place in that annals of interpersonal communication. This guide takes the reader through a plethora of examples of communicating, effectively, with others. It also discusses the pitfalls of effective communication, and provides solutions to navigate both personal and professional communication issues.

The book has been used by mangers in Fortune 500 companies to non-profit organizations with success in effective negotiation along with conflict resolution. It is interesting to point out that there are few examples of employees who question the decisions of management, thereby underpinning the potential hazards of employees taking a proactive stance in the workplace. However, for issues that arise within management, this guide can be an effective tool in communication.

Inside a FBI Computer Forensics Lab

http://www.wired.com/politics/security/multimedia/2008/05/gallery_computer_forensics

Saturday, June 7, 2008

What is WHOIS?

You can find out which Internet Service Provider an IP address belongs to by going to a Reverse DNS site, such as http://www.networksolutions.com%20and/ and entering the IP address into a search field.