Duke University: Wilson Center Creates Database to Track Police Use of Force Legislation. “In the first year following [George] Floyd’s death, 1,489 bills relating to police violence were proposed. However, only 169 became law. That is just one of the findings in a database created by the Wilson Center for Science and Justice to better understand lawmaking in response to calls for reform.”
Hong Kong Free Press: Hong Kong doxxing site targeting journalists, activists still online almost 2 years after authorities alerted. “A doxxing website targeting thousands of journalists and pro-democracy activists remains online almost two years after HKFP alerted the authorities to its existence with media enquires, and over 18 months since Hong Kong enacted an anti-doxxing law.”
Krebs on Security: Re-Victimization from Police-Auctioned Cell Phones. “Countless smartphones seized in arrests and searches by police forces across the United States are being auctioned online without first having the data on them erased, a practice that can lead to crime victims being re-victimized, a new study found.”
Reuters: Mexico to launch database of over 100,000 ‘disappeared’ people . “Mexico will launch a new tool later this month to help record information on the tens of thousands of people who have gone missing, the country’s federal prosecutors office (FGR) said on Thursday. The registry is set to gather information from a number of databases covering mass and clandestine graves, arrests, torture crimes, criminal records, fingerprints and genetics, the FGR said in Mexico’s official gazette.”
StarTribune: A Golden Valley bank robbery blew up on social media. It never actually happened.. “One morning in March, a man passed a note demanding money to a teller at a Golden Valley bank branch, then wandered out. The teller hit a panic button to summon police. Hennepin County deputies took a report, categorizing the incident as an ‘attempted robbery.’ Online, the passing of a note took on far larger dimensions.”
Ars Technica: Feds seize 13 more DDoS-for-hire platforms in ongoing international crackdown. “The US Justice Department has sized the domains of 13 DDoS-for-hire services as part of an ongoing initiative for combatting the Internet menace. The providers of these illicit services platforms describe them as ‘booter’ or ‘stressor’ services that allow site admins to test the robustness and stability of their infrastructure. Almost, if not all, are patronized by people out to exact revenge on sites they don’t like or to further extortion, bribes, or other forms of graft.”
Washington Post: Computer system used to hunt fugitives is still down 10 weeks after hack. “A key law enforcement computer network has been down for 10 weeks, the victim of a ransomware attack that has frustrated efforts by senior officials to get the system back up and running — raising concerns about how to secure critical crime-fighting operations.”
Europol: International art trafficking sting leads to 60 arrests and over 11 000 objects recovered. “Law enforcement has arrested 60 people, and recovered 11 049 stolen artefacts as part of a major international art trafficking crackdown across 14 European countries.”
USA Today: How one man pushed harassment ‘raids,’ sold racist paraphernalia online, while in federal custody. “[Paul Nicholas] Miller isn’t that different from thousands who create racist gimmicks to sell merchandise and cultivate attention. Except for one thing: He was in federal custody at the time.”
Wisconsin Department of Justice: Wisconsin DOJ Launches New Dashboard on State Arrests. “Attorney General Josh Kaul today announced a new dashboarding tool on the Wisconsin Department of Justice website that allows users to explore arrests submitted to the state’s criminal history repository (CCH) by law enforcement agencies across the state.”
NBC News: A 13-year-old boy was groomed publicly on Twitter and kidnapped, despite numerous chances to stop it. “Heather and Ken McConney, the boy’s parents, told NBC News that they believe the kidnapping was preventable. It came after a series of missed opportunities over the span of nearly a month, where, they said, Twitter and law enforcement failed to effectively intervene despite an abundance of information posted online. They’re demanding answers.”
Inquirer (Philippines): For weeks, PNP staff database was exposed – cyber expert. “An unprotected database containing more than a million identity documents and private records of Philippine National Police personnel and applicants was exposed online for at least six weeks before access to the data was restricted in March, according to a report by a cybersecurity tracker.”
ChinaFile: Updates to Our Database of Arrests Related to the Hong Kong National Security Law. “We updated our suite of graphics tracking the impact of Hong Kong’s National Security Law. It now includes information on the 248 individuals arrested between July 2020, when the law went into effect, and March 31, 2023. Information on these individuals’ cases, compiled by our partners at the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, includes grounds for arrest, and, where applicable, resulting charges and convictions.”
CNN: FBI launches app to help identify stolen art. “On Monday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released an app-based version of the US National Stolen Art File (NSAF), its database of stolen artworks and culturally significant objects. The NSAF app was initially designed for law enforcement and art industry workers, but anyone in the world can use it to verify cultural property’s legal status with a few taps and swipes.”
New York Times: Justice Dept. Recently Looked Into Twitter, Lawsuit Says. “A lawsuit filed on Monday by several former Twitter executives said they had personally spent more than $1 million on legal expenses related to shareholder lawsuits and several government investigations, including an inquiry by the Justice Department. The nature of the Justice Department inquiry and whether it was ongoing, was unclear. The lawsuit, filed in Delaware Chancery Court, did not offer other details.”
