Slick iPad app helps detectives become super sleuths

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

The Accurint Mobile for Law Enforcement tool from LexisNexis resides on an Apple iPad and can act as a force multiplier for local detectives or federal investigators.

The GCN Lab's Product of the Month for October is the Accurint Mobile for Law Enforcement app by LexisNexis. This amazing program resides on an Apple iPad and can act as a force multiplier for local detectives or federal investigators.

The Accurint Mobile program ties into a massive database that contains just about every type of record you can imagine and probably several that you can’t. Agencies purchase seat licenses to gain the right to use the database, which was designed to be accessed normally from a secure desktop computer. However, the new iPad application has almost as many features as the desktop program, is easy to use and deploy, and is offered for free to any agency that buys access to the core program. 


Related coverage:

Do surveillance systems reduce crime?

Open-source app lets responders mesh from smart phones, laptops


The cost to tie into the LexisNexis database varies, though a moderately sized or large police force can expect the costs to be about $1,600 per investigator.

We sat down with Thomas Joyce, a former precinct commander for the New York Police Department, who now sells Accurint to other law enforcement agencies. We pretended we were investigating a crime and observed how easy and effective Accurint was for investigators in the field.

Time-saving search

The Law Enforcement app has just five buttons at the top level of the interface, each one representing one of the most popular and useful searches to the database. The possible searches are People, Phones, Vehicles, Property and Businesses. Using these searches properly could help detectives run down leads quickly in the field and deny suspects places to hide. It could also be used to double-check witness statements for truthfulness and accuracy in the field, something Joyce said had to be done in the past by driving back to the station house or calling in information over the phone. That added time to investigations, giving suspects more opportunity to pack their bags and go on the lam.

We first did a search for our suspect, actually someone Joyce knew so that nobody’s privacy would be violated. We were quickly shown 25 records that contained that person, showing us everything from known addresses, property owned and known associates. Known associates was the most interesting find. The database cross-references any matching records between people, so if someone lived with or paid bills using the same address as a suspect for a time, they would be brought up in the search. Relatives also pop up. You can also search for those new people to get an idea of where your suspect might be heading.

The database can also be used to help witnesses give more accurate information to police. For example, say a witness knows that a suspect lives on a certain street but doesn't know exactly where. The available information can be cross-referenced. In our fictional investigation, the witness knew the suspect had a sister named Dolores but not much else. Using the database, we were able to cross-reference partial names of our suspect with known associates named Dolores and narrow down a residence to just two places. If you have a cooperative witness, you can then show them both places on the screen and perhaps figure out the correct one.

Cell phone database

Another helpful tool is a very accurate phone database, including cell phone records. Not only does the database give you a person’s cell phone number, but it also tells you whether a phone has been ported to a new carrier, which is helpful if investigators need to request a tap or need access to phone records. According to Joyce, it can take a week to get a subpoena and have the wireless carrier return the information. A lot of times after waiting a week, police are told that the number was ported to a new carrier, and investigators have to start over again.

The Vehicles search is pretty self-explanatory and easy enough for detectives to do in the field. Say they roll up to a house and see a car that matches a description a witness gave. Just typing in the license plate number will give all the information about that car.

A Property search will show you anything a suspect owns that requires a license. This can be helpful because they might be hiding out on a boat they own, for example. And it can help in cases where assets can be seized because it points those assets out to investigators.

The Business search is a little bit more than a simple phone book, though it can be used for that purpose. Say a crime involves the use of a product that came from a hardware store. Investigators can use the app to find all the stores in an area. But they can also find information about the manager of the store. So an investigator does not have to go into a place and ask to speak to the manager or owner, and then not really know if the person they are directed to is, in fact, someone in charge. They can go in and ask for the owner by name.

The interface for the application is very easy to use. It’s designed well for the iPad and takes advantage of the tablet's easy-to-use interface. And searches were very fast using a 3G connection. They seemed to take between 15 and 30 seconds to return all their results, with none taking more than that. Many only took a few seconds.

This is an incredible tool for investigators, and we can see how it would help to identify a lot more suspects. It puts time on the side of law enforcement and means suspects have much less time before a cop gets to them. The Accurint Mobile for Law Enforcement App by LexisNexis earns our respect and our vote as Product of the Month for October.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.