Training, technology aid crime-fighting techniques
Oneida police officers recently completed training that, together with new technology, will assist the department’s ability to fight crime, Oneida Chief of Police Mike Cross said Monday.
Inv. Alan Reed recently returned from an intense four-week training session on combatting cyber crime at the University of Tennessee. The National Cybercrimes Investigators Academy was hosted by UT’s Law Enforcment Innovation Center, and covered a wide range of Internet-based crimes, with an emphasis on combatting Internet child pornography.
The course, which Reed described as the most intensive training of his career, included an introduction to a variety of new computer software that can be employed by investigators to assist with the investigations of abductions of children who have been targeted by perpetrators online, the production and trafficking of child pornography, and so-called “white collar crimes,” such as financial-related computer crimes, which Cross said are on the increase in Scott County.
“There are a lot of computer crimes going unvestigated,” Cross said. “We’ve investigated drugs and arrested countless numbers of drug dealers. We’ve investigated burglaries. Now this is something we’re going to have to do more of.”
The training at UT is highly sought-after training, with spots available for only 22 trainees. Law enforcement investigators from across the eastern U.S. attended the training.
Officer Gerry Garrett also recently completed training in Chicago, IL, to become certified as a basic thermographer. Garrett was trained to use a new $20,000 thermal imager that was recently purchased by the department through a Homeland Security grant, which was administered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The highly-sophisticated equipment allows investigators to locate suspects who might be hiding in the dark by detecting the heat put off by the suspect’s body. The equipment can also detect heat from where a suspect has recently sat or stood, or even placed his hand on a solid surface.
“This equipment and training represents a giant step forward in our ability to investigate crimes,” Cross said. “You can’t hide in the dark anymore; we’re going to find you. You can’t hide on a computer anymore; we’re going to find you.”