IACP2014: LEEDIR Seeks to Fill a Void

Oct. 31, 2014
The new platform was created to change the way law enforcement agencies collect digital data.

A new platform is seeking change the way law enforcement agencies collect digital data during investigations.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Commander Scott Edson and Nick Namikas, Co-CEO at CitizenGlobal, spoke at IACP 2014 in Orlando, Fla. this week about LEEDIR (short for Large Emergency Event Digital Information Repository), and how it is helping resolve bandwidth and storage issues in large-scale investigations.

View Coverage of IACP 2014

Following the Boston Marathon bombings last year, officials requested the public to submit eyewitness photos and videos to assist in the investigation, but were unprepared for the response. The information received was overwhelming and the server infrastructure couldn't handle the volume of data.

The idea of LEEDIR, whichofficially launched on April 10, was conceptualized by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, which then brought in technology companies CitizenGlobal and Amazon Web Services to help launch the platform.

As part of the partnership, Amazon Web Services is providing the hosting for free and Citizen Global designed the front end. The LEEDIR application is currently available for Apple and Android smartphone operating systems and if an agency meets specific criteria, the storage and investigation software can used at no cost. Currently, events in which 5,000 or more people are in attendance or cover 5-square miles and include multiple jurisdictions qualify.

After the dilemma in Boston became apparent, Edson said his agency began taking steps to make sure other departments didn't encounter similar issues in the future.

"The bandwidth was limited, the storage was limited and there was really no chain of command for evidence," he said, noting that law enforcement agencies don't really have extra bandwidth available.

An estimated 29 terabytes of data was sent during the investigation making space for the data, and the ability to share it, paramount. Storage for the data being sent was so limited, that the FBI has to transport hard drives to Boston from California by plane.

Another big issue during the Boston Marathon Bombings investigation was that files being sent in were already compressed, thus decreasing the quality of the images and videos. LEEDIR uploads original files to the system, not compressed ones, and processes the media securely as potential evidence.

"It won't be a link to the photo, it will be the actual photo in your account. It won't be a link to a YouTube video, it will be the actual video in your account," Namikas said.

Not only can outside users send photos, videos and other information to the system through the phone application, but LEEDIR also sours social media and is able to capture snippets of web pages.

"It puts it all in one repository so that you can issue accounts to members of your department that are part of the investigation," he said. "Training is being offered to departments so that when you access it, there is no learning curve."

That training for LEEDIR consists of a free 50 minute online certification course.

"We've had hundreds of agencies sign up for this across the country," Namikas said. "While a lot of the agencies signing up are larger, many of the agencies actually using the program are smaller."

One instance in which a smaller agency is using the platform is in Keene, N.H., where police are searching for information leading to arrests following riots at the town's annual Pumpkin Festival earlier this month.

Keene's police department is currently leveraging the product to collect information from the public.

"With Keane, it has been a very positive endeavor. They are using the tool well and haven't had any issues yet," he said. "Keane is getting great value from LEEDIR right now."

While the few agencies that have taken advantage of the platform so far have has some success, Edson noted that obstacles still exist in getting LEEDIR to being widely used.

One such issue is the security of the platform, which Edson said he is confident that the information is being store in the appropriate environment. The second issue is the need for departments to have to sift through vast amount of information sent in.

"This is like any law enforcement lead or evidence," Edson said. "There's going to be some challenges and concerns."

Namikas believes that before not too long, LEEDIR is going to be commonplace in investigations.

"We see this at the next iteration of 'See Something, Say Something.' "

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