Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch Announces the Justice Department’s National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking

As a result of the fundamental shift in communications services and technologies, law enforcement investigators are increasingly unable to obtain needed evidence and intelligence, despite having the legal authority to do so.  In order to better define and quantify the “Going Dark” problem, the following law enforcement associations have agreed to work together on an effort to collect quantitative and qualitative data.

• Major Cities Chiefs Association
• Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies
• Major County Sheriffs’ Association
• International Association of Chiefs of Police
• Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council
• National Sheriffs’ Association
• National District Attorneys Association
• National Narcotics Officers’ Associations Coalition
• Association of Prosecuting Attorneys

Statistics and case examples are an important part of the ongoing public policy process, and critical to inform public officials, citizens, and members of the media.  It is essential to account for barriers to access investigative data: devices that cannot be accessed, obstacles to obtaining stored communications information with legal process, and challenges relating to data encryption.

An agreed upon central repository for data and case examples has been established at the National Domestic Communications Assistance Center (NDCAC).  Data and case examples can be submitted through the NDCAC online portal or emailed to the address provided.  Interested law enforcement agencies should contact the NDCAC to obtain access to the portal or obtain data entry spreadsheets to submit information via e-mail. 

NDCAC Technical Resource Group
Phone:  (855) 306-3222
E-mail:  askndcac@ic.fbi.gov

Report Released:  Future-Proofing Justice:  Building a Research Agenda to Address the Effects of Technological Change on the Protection of Constitutional Rights

New technologies have changed the types of data that are routinely collected about citizens on a daily basis.  As technology changes, new portable and connected devices have the potential to gather even more information.  Such data have great potential utility in criminal justice proceedings, and they are already being used in case preparations, plea negotiations, and trials. But the broad expansion of technological capability also has the potential to stress approaches for ensuring that individuals' constitutional rights are protected through legal processes.  In an effort to consider those implications, a panel of legal scholars and individuals from the civil liberties community were convened to identify research and other needs to prepare the U.S. legal system both for technologies we are seeing today and for technologies we are likely to see in the future.  Read More

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State-Owned Cyberwarfare Training Facility Planned for Georgia

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal announced plans for a new state-owned training center that is designed to teach students and educators how to combat hacking and other forms of cyberwarfare.  The Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center is to be built near the U.S. Army’s Cyber Command headquarters in Augusta and will include a “cyber range,” where cyberwarfare training and technology development unfolds.  The center is being developed with the Department of Defense and the National Security Agency and once completed.  The center will be able to collaborate with about seven different universities and private industries to provide training on the latest computer skills and techniques, and offer courses in cloud security training, cyber analysis certification, and disaster recovery workshops.  Read More

Emerging Issues for Improving the Law Enforcement Response to Domestic and Sexual Violence:  Three New Reports Now Available

The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) recently released three reports addressing emerging issues related to improving the law enforcement response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.  The documents reflect input from diverse stakeholders and were developed in conjunction with OVW’s national technical assistance providers. 

• Body-Worn Cameras—A roundtable report on the deliberations from the IACP National Forum on Body-Worn Cameras and Violence Against Women.
• Open Police Data Initiatives—The National Network to End Domestic Violence, in collaboration with the Police Foundation, published How Law Enforcement Agencies Releasing Open Data Can Protect Victim Safety and Privacy.
• Identifying and Preventing Gender Bias in Policing—DOJ recently issued Identifying and Preventing Gender Bias in Law Enforcement Response to Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence to highlight the need for clear policies, robust training and responsive accountability systems.  The Web site includes numerous technical assistance resources related to gender bias.

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Republican Bill Aims to Bolster U.S. Attack Attribution Capabilities

New cybersecurity legislation aims to bolster the U.S. government’s attribution capabilities as well as a foster an increasingly close relationship between government, industry and academia.  The Rapid Innovation Act of 2017, co-sponsored by Texas Republican Reps. John Ratcliffe and Michael McCaul, would make innovation in cybersecurity a responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security’s undersecretary for science and technology.  The bill, which emerged from the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, recently passed the House and is now headed to the Senate.  Read More

Additional cyber-related resources are available on the Law Enforcement Cyber Center Web site.