technology
has changed everything crime and
investigating crime
no exception new tonight tgv 11's
michael aaron takes an
in-depth look at the role each one of
our smart devices plays in the fight
against crime
think back 15 maybe 20 years let's say
someone commits a crime
right here back then detectives would
have relied heavily on eyewitnesses and
physical evidence like fingerprints
they'll tell you those things
are still important but if someone
commits the same crime here today think
about the possible evidence
detectives might be able to track the
suspect's cell phone and speaking of
cell phones
someone across the street may be
capturing the whole thing on theirs
meanwhile surveillance cameras are all
around us and with just those few
examples in mind
it's easy to see why law enforcement
says technology has changed the game
digital evidence touches all of our
investigations
during his 13 years as an fbi special
agent william kennedy with the little
rock field office
has observed the growing emphasis on
such evidence
i think about my own neighborhood and
the prevalence of
rain cameras and how many times
something as simple as
you know a doorbell camera has helped
local law enforcement solve
crimes as well so you know technology
touches almost every aspect of our lives
now
that also includes our computers tablets
and smart
phones cell phones are almost always
with us so
you know if we can get a hold of
somebody's cell phone that's usually the
treasure trove of evidence that we need
and he says the capital insurrection is
a recent example
the fact that people are using their
cell phones to take selfies and then
they're
you know sending those out to their
family members has helped us solve
and identify who some of these
individuals were
it's been three and a half years since
25 people were shot during a rap concert
at the power ultra lounge in downtown
little rock
the largest mass shooting in the city's
history that was
one where our detectives really had to
go through and comb through phone
evidence you know
surveillance evidence and really the
technology end up linking
other people to that crime we were able
to identify that was either there or
involved with it
and sergeant eric barnes says videos
posted publicly on social media were
also critical
while there are plenty of examples
showing how digital evidence helps
solve crimes could it actually be
preventing them in the first place
maybe technology is creating a deterrent
effect dr edward powers is chair of the
sociology criminology and anthropology
department at the university of central
arkansas
he says the routine activities approach
suggests there's a recipe for crime
with three ingredients motivated
offenders
suitable targets and perceived absence
of a capable guardian or
the idea you can go undetected
technology
to some extent has become
a capable guardian it might not be able
to stop a crime
from taking place but it does increase
the probability
that offenders are going to be caught
and punished which he says could be
helping reduce street crime
let's use robbery as an example this
graph shows robberies in arkansas
between the year 2000 and 2019.
the iphone was released in 2007 and a
downward trend followed
there are a lot of factors but dr powers
believes the prevalence of smart devices
security cameras and the shift from
cash to card have played at least some
role in the decline
but as the world evolves so do criminals
targeting their victims online
you're probably not as likely to get uh
to be walking down
a street in little rock and get robbed
but you might be more likely now to be
robbed by somebody
in another country and regardless of the
crime kennedy says he and his colleagues
are ready whether you're using a phone
or a computer or whether you throw those
things away right we still have a job to
do and we're very good at collecting
evidence of all sorts
michael erin thv 11 news
under the fourth amendment police must
have probable cause
and a search warrant to search and seize
evidence including
your devices even with a warrant kennedy
says there's often a big obstacle
data encryption michael takes a closer
look at that tomorrow morning
on wake up central