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Communications Monitoring for Law Enforcement

NCJ Number
202175
Journal
Intersec: The Journal of International Security Volume: 13 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2003 Pages: 282-284
Author(s)
Kim V. Larsen
Date Published
September 2003
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article discusses investigative and crime detection tools that are currently used by law enforcement and some future developments in these tools.
Abstract
Communications monitoring is both a necessary and useful exercise in order to investigate crimes and to intercept information that can be used as evidence. Communications monitoring presents a challenge that can be met with the right equipment. Interception equipment must be designed to handle all traffic types and to allow for future updates when new communications types are introduced. Criminals have access to the same advanced types of communication as law enforcement agencies and often they are a few steps ahead, due to differences in the use and availability of resources. It is important that all communications monitoring equipment units be integrated or at least be able to work together. Other demands on equipment include modularity, upgradability, and seamless integration of new units to avoid downtime. Monitoring Internet Provider (IP) traffic is one of the latest technological challenges for manufacturers of monitoring equipment. IP traffic is monitored and filtered according to the defined criteria. The IP traffic that matches the defined criteria is transferred from the interception box to the Law Enforcement Monitoring Facility (LEMF) as HI3 (contents of the intercepted communication) information, along with HI2 (intercept-related information). In the LEMF, operators can now view the intercepted IP traffic in its original form and perform data analysis. Continued developments within technology will bring faster and more efficient communication lines, as well as more types of communication, of which many will be carried by the Internet. Tools that can perform data analysis and social network analysis will be in great demand as these tools can help law enforcement agencies identify targets faster.