|
Videos
April 13, 2011 By Sarah Rich
Kentucky isn’t the first place you’d expect to see suspicious behavior, but instances of domestic terrorism such as the Oklahoma City bombing are a reminder that criminal activities aren’t confined to high-profile cities.
With vigilance in mind, the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security (KOHS) recently released an iPhone app that mirrors the “Eyes and Ears on Kentucky” website for reporting “suspicious activity.”
The free app is designed to allow citizens to send tips to the KOHS — anonymously if they wish — on any activity that may be linked to a terrorist act.
“Instead of having to wait until they got home to the desktop computer or laptop computer in accessing our website and then linking to the reporting portal, they could bring up that app on their iPhone and basically enter the same information while they’re standing there watching the activity or looking at whatever it is they might see,” said Shelby Lawson, the KOHS’ deputy executive director of operations and prevention.
Examples of activity that could be reported to either the portal or the app include seeing someone showing an unusual interest in a building’s security system — asking several questions about how security’s accomplished and how many people are involved in the facility’s security. Suspicious activity may also include someone sketching the location, using GPS to get a facility’s coordinates, or having “just more than the casual curiosity that tourists or sightseers would take in,” Lawson said.
Citizens can also report the presence of suspicious items or objects.
When a report is submitted through the app or portal, a KOHS analyst reviews the submitted information and other relevant data to determine if there’s a pattern, repeated reports in the same location, or similar reports in similar locations. If the activity is thought to be related to terrorism, the information is then forwarded to the Joint Terrorism Task Force at the FBI. Reports have already been submitted to the KOHS since the app’s launch, but Lawson said because the app is free, the KOHS has received some innocuous information from users who are attempting to pull pranks.
The KOHS worked with a team from Kentucky.gov — Kentucky’s official website — to launch the Eyes and Ears on Kentucky Web portal and app. Funding for the portal was supplied by a $10,000 state homeland security grant; the app was built for free.
Kentucky isn’t the first government to launch an app for reporting suspicious activity. In 2010, Dallas launched a smartphone app called “iWatch Dallas” for citizens to report crimes as well as suspicious behavior that could possibly be linked to terrorism.
Not everyone feels suspicious activity reporting is effective. A 2010 report from the American Civil Liberties Union claims that suspicious activity reporting (SAR) programs can lead to submissions of many common activities, such as a person who looks through binoculars, takes pictures or draws diagrams. “SAR programs increase the probability that innocent people will be stopped by police and have their personal information collected for inclusion in law enforcement and intelligence databases,” the ACLU report said.
You may use or reference this story with attribution and a link to
http://www.govtech.com/public-safety/Suspicious-Activity-Reporting-Mobile-in-Kentucky.html
Collaborative Justice: Transforming Criminal Justice Services Through Unified Collaboration
Cloud-Based Services Accelerate Public Sector Adoption of Video Collaboration
I think I speak for 99% of readers when I ask "What are the terrorists going to blow up in Kentucky?"
They should probably add "un-American" to "suspicious" for reasons you should turn your neighbors in to the authorities. Do users of the app have the authority to ask people for their papers?
Well, it was suspicious that a number of middle-eastern fellows were learning how to fly, but not land airplanes. Paid in cash too. I guess the ACLU feels the flight school operators did the right thing by safeguarding that information. Wouldn't want to be politically incorrect now, would we? How about the DC snipers - police stopped these guys, but (because of their race?) didn't check the trunk of their vehicle. How do you think the families of victims feel about that bit of correctness? It doesn't hurt anyone to check out suspicious activity. We just need safeguards to ensure that once checked out, it goes no further.
As a planner you need to remember that terrorism is not to just about destroying things or killing people. You get more bang (no pun intended) for the buck by causing fear and uncertainty in the general public. The folks in Kentucky are possibly saying the same thing about where you live.
A few seconds of reflection should be sufficient: Airports Fort Knox & Fort Knox Gold Depository Louisville, Lexington Electrical Grid Nexi power generations facilities .... One could go on but most important, all the Kentucky Bourbon makers.
How about Fort Knox or Fort Cambell where there is a large number of our troups? So you do not speak for 99% of the readers.
Let's not forget the Kentucky Derby. Any major event that draws tens of thousands of spectators is clearly a terrorist target. Care to take back your statement? You don't speak for me.
As a security and wireless professional, I regularly look for the installation of cameras, security systems and wireless access points. Given the very general instructions of what is considered suspicious - "Examples of activity that could be reported to either the portal or the app include seeing someone showing an unusual interest in a building’s security system..." I feel trepidation about every visiting KY. I wonder who will win out, paranoia or tourism dollars??
I do not agree with Lenny's statement at all. Others have stated the obvious of Fort Knox and Fort Campbell, but there are many other areas of interest in Kentucky. Did you know there are 5 major dams that have been built on the Mississippi River for hydroelectric plants? Louisville, KY sits on the river and is a key point along the river and KY is home to several of these plants. Not to mention that KY supplies the ENTIRE world with 17% of all power. Kentucky leads the US in coal production and this material is shipped all over the world for energy consumption. Disrupt this and you can disrupt entire economies. So Lenny, please have your facts first before making a comment like you did. National Security is everyone's responsibility. Go to www.infragard.net and you'll see what I'm talking about.
Let's focus on "crime" and not on "terrorism". It really doesn't matter who is robbing the bank, what matters is stopping the bank robbers. Saying "terror" is just a way to polarize people.
Terrorists? Oh, yeah...right. Like Al Qaeda? Is that the same Al Qaeda we are fighting alongside in Libya? Or as in Anwar Al-Awlaki, the #2 AQ commander who was hanging out at the pentagon just a couple months after 9/11 (fox news 10/20/10) news flash: you are more likely to die by getting struck by lightning than die by way of terror attack. 1 in 25 million; Struck by Lightning: 1 in 500,000; terror attack
Kentuckians need to report litterers/dumpers as much as possible, using ANY kind of mobile application/software. KY is #1 WORST state for least clean public spaces--poorest environmental performances, in the 2011 Am. State Litter Scorecard. Nearby Indiana, Illinois were cited in the Scorecard as WORST.