CrimeCon UK - London - 2023
Day One
Crime Solving Using Future Technologies Today: AR, VR, and AI are the new “DNA” of Investigations - Erika Glass, Chris Morris & Charlotte Hooper
There is Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and XR is combining the two and are technology that change way we use screens for example by surgeons who use VR to practice operations and AR or VR will change your life. It can also be used for reconstruction of crime scenes, you can access AR or Augmented Reality with Google Glass, HoloLens, Mobile Phones, Apple Vision Pro which can project eyes on screen on outside.
AR and crime solving which offer sense of presence with evidence and crime scenes as a digital overlay with TuServ by Black Marble, using it as a tool to train police and remove risk of contaminating evidence. Reconstruct a crime scene as they were, preserve information as it was. Also allows for extremely multi-tasking and can look at specific details of a case and pull things together.
AR glasses are here. Google Glass for delivering real-time translation to field of view to shoe subtitles of what has been said. Can be more connected with the people and the things around us. What makes VR special, Experience = Understanding, lack of communication can mean sometimes things go wrong.
Cyber Helpline support victims of cybercrime and minorities are more likely to be a victim so to be able to have a translation service would be valuable. AI is based on human biases and can often return things that contain these. Real-time support from a bot can be useful as it comes from cyber security experts and AI provides for anonymity along with needing fewer volunteers for their services.
VR training allows law enforcement to experience high stress environments without being in danger. Physical interactions can be simulated with vibrations and improves immersive experience and allows people to react in the proper way when in the field. Can use thus to further understand what is needed.
VR courtroom allows judge and jury to revisit the crime scene and to add context to the prosecution or defence and allows people to know where things are in a scene and how things are layered can give a more concise timeline of how things happened, distances can mean difference if it is staged, a murder or a suicide.
CrimeDoor use AR and VR to raise awareness of cases that need it, can go to app, and view AR posters and bring these into the digital world and can share them on social media and save time with missing persons. Can have AR/VR portal doors which allow people to visit a crime scene, AR case evidence to allow people to inspect evidence and don't need AR capable device to view the materials and the information can be updated and everyone with this will get this information and reduces burden on families.
AI and the future. AI is a big word - with chat bots it is machine learning. Five or ten years from now things will be more advanced. Machine learning has downsides as are teaching it to learn all our bad habits. We may have juries wearing VR goggles, may have VR trials and may change how the law is applied. We've become a community and our responsibility is to not get off track, these are real missing people but need to make sure to stay human. It is still the human aspect that is the most important part.
Durham Police were using AI to do predictive policing to see where crime may happen, how are people going to be over policed as there isn't the resource for this. This technology means we have to keep the humanness as it enters everyone's daily life.
The 2005 London bombings... A deep dive - Steven Keogh, Ray Fysh & Dr Richard Shepherd and chaired by Stuart Blues
On July 7 2005 some people travelled from Leeds and met up with others at Luton and Mohammad Sidique Khan, Shehzad Tanweer, Germaine Lindsay and Hasib Hussain headed to Kings Cross Station in London and then went on to carry out three attacks on the tube and one on a bus.
Steven Keogh was team on call to respond to terrorist incidents and they got call and watched news which stated power surges initially due to the confusion, but they were told of bombs going off but were getting told many things, so relocated closer so could get a better idea of what is going on and found it was a bombing at three tube stations and bus. They went to Edgeware Road, all casualties had been taken away and was quiet in the cordon, they needed to treat train and station as a crime scene that had to be checked and took a couple of hours and first thing was to remove the dead bodies. They put in a television system so could look both ends of the platform, they could see a victim but couldn't positively identify them until they were brought back to the surface. This was first suicide bombing in the UK, there was one body more injured than others and that was the suicide bomber. They were trained to deal with Irish bombs, but this was the first incident for Islamic terrorism and were not prepare for this and it was hard work and took a couple of weeks to remove everything they could find.
Ray Fysh became involved and made aware the morning of 7/7, police officer was coming through saying there had been a bombing. He got a message to go back to the lab and had to put together a major crime team, they were someone who gave advice to others at the time, as soon as something was ready results would be returned. Forensic science was more of a regular thing back then but would want to work, when possible, which was changed then, but said if got something in they would get the results back in around 24 hours and did this every day until the back was broken of the case.
Dr Richard Shepherd was on holiday at the time, they were watching and something new in place was being set up which was a brand-new plan and facility and came into use at the right time. Normally it was one scene, one bomb but this was four locations and was a key facility they could use.
Steve's indication of what was going on was like a bubble as the cordons were huge, they would get messages but where they were was absolutely still and quiet. When families of victims came down is when it became real for them, they are professional and just get on with it but that made it harder and much more real.
Dr Shepherd said about dealing with the bodies from an attack of this nature. Aim is to keep as professional as you can, get on with the job. When dealing with deaths normally know who that person is but with mass casualties it is important to find out who the person is. They use Interpol forms so can work across boundaries. They look at jewellery, contents of wallets etc and need to be careful of things that may be dislodged so a wallet on body was not theirs so need to be careful. Need to find out how a person has died because of this - it is more than just killer by an explosion and needs to be sterile and can't have things from one place be transferred to the next.
Steve mentioned at the scene when looking at crater there was a credit card of one of the Bombings and Ray mentioned the bombers would throw down identification and personal items and not hide their identity at all, so they were identified quite quickly.
Steve mentioned impact bombing had on them, it affected them and were asked the same question if they were okay, but they were okay and not affected by it, they had been a process where they had seen death and everything and had built up a resilience. The police at the time were asked if anyone needs counselling, and some really suffered but they were okay, these days they are asked multiple times.
Dr Shepherd mentioned family reception centre due to having northing being provided for families in the past, was place in temporary facility where they could go in a dedicated entrance and kept separate and was designed to help these families and gave them the time they needed. It is important to have the time and the space.
Ray mentioned the bomb factory was in Leeds and that this was identified from intelligence, they knew it was the right place when they found it as the paint was blistered and vegetation outside was wilted and everything was there to examined with over 1000 items with quick wins such as cans and cigarettes. Build up profile of who was there, not only looking for people who did the attack but those who facilitated the attacks. Device was five litre blue plastic container with black pepper a d hydrogen peroxide that had been strengthened. The detonator was TATP from acetone, hydrogen peroxide and citric acid and overnight get crystals and get TATP but put this into a cardboard tube carefully with a light bulb filament and wired to detonator and put into a rucksack.
Steve mentioned train was removed on evening of 20th and had to sit in the train for an hour in the dark, they had no sleep for two weeks and next day they got a message saying there had been more attacks but this time it was a manhunt, but someone was shot by mistake - Jean Charles de Menezes.
Ray said that the same major crime team was kept as work had been done well, he also mentioned the detonators fired but the main device didn't detonate. The forensics department couldn't determine composition, and their defence was it was a practical joke so would need to prove these devices were intended to be viable, produce a replicated device. They contacted Kew Gardens and worked out way to determine it and found out what flour was used and allowed a replica to be created and were able to create a viable device and that it could have detonated if composed correctly.
Steve mentioned this changed the game from Irish terrorism and the intelligence put into things now is more sophisticated and better prepared and join in with drills. When they dealt with it, they were completely unprepared but if it did happen again, they would be better prepared.
Dr Shepherd mentioned reacting depends on people practicing and having the tent available. But need to keep those skills relevant, the Manchester Arena bombing showed that they were learning things they already knew. Need to know how to manage it, need to plan and try and work it out.
Killed Abroad / Unresolved - David Swindle, Victims Abroad & Kirsty Maxwell Charity
Every year millions of brits go abroad, as couples, groups, families but what happens when something goes wrong people assume a British passport will help them but they're wrong.
David Swindle thinks about the issues, if killed abroad you don't get help from British government as they don't investigate or influence what happens in another country.
Kirsty's best friend has watched Kirsty's family struggle to get answers and was shocking to see as British citizens, the way her death has been treated and continued to be treated has been awful. They set up the Kirsty Maxwell charity to support others in a similar situation. Kirsty was the absolute best and is missed so much and as long as they can, and they will push for answers.
Kirsty's father Brian mentioned there is no mandatory process to deal with a death abroad and offers no support or comfort. Kirsty's death was initially treated as a manslaughter investigation, and it became clear there were massive contradictions in the investigation and didn't do this with due diligence or attention. Don't know why her body ended up on floor above hers, she looked for her friends why was she not allowed to leave and there were drugs and alcohol there and why was Kirsty only person who was tested, the SIO mentioned that no one had took any drugs. The main person of suspicion was not tested, and DNA was not taken from the men, the crime scene was not properly cordoned off. CCTV was not handed over. Kirsty's friends were not interviewed, and Police refused to interview them. Her clothes were lost and then the clothing itself was reported as destroyed as it had been burned. No statements were taken and people in apartment opposite were not interviewed - there are more questions than answers.
David mentioned asking why evidence was not accepted by the Spanish Police. Another case is a single punch murder and attitude to police was to be more receptive and follow stuff up.
Debbie from Victims Abroad mentioned what they found locally with Craig Mallon who was killed in Lloret de Mar. His family has had problem of unreliable lawyers including duty lawyers who didn't show right kind of interest. Judges give permission to investigate and if they say no then the police are not allowed to investigate. With Craig have been assigned new lawyers and have an investigative journalist who recently covered the case.
David mentioned what if you don't get the support these cases are. They have had lawyers who weren't right kind of lawyer. The clothes were destroyed at the post-mortem in Kirsty's case. Government doesn't interfere but what if an investigation is flawed then they don't do anything. There have been several documentaries and a podcast which is in Spanish. Don't have same investigative and policing in another country compared to the UK. Investigation is not focusing on the victims and things like the toxicology report was leaked before Kirsty's family. What can people do? Share anything you can, and they will run websites and social media for these cases and is shared in Spanish as well as English. Allegiances change over time and the answers lie in Benidorm and Nottingham. Should have a joined-up process but the system is not there, to get involved this needs to be requested and this is not likely if the investigation was not any good. Disclosure in Spain is good but when you do see it there's nothing there and is a crime to criticise the police and in Spain it is a judge led.
Kirsty's Dad mentioned about response from Police, they don't solve things quickly, the truth needs to be forthcoming.
David mentioned it is victim centred and victim focused, and it is the voice of the victims. They won't accept statements that were taken and will also say it is too long ago because it took so long to get somewhere. Kirsty's case is closed pending any information comes forward.
Government not becoming involved, British consulate has a difficult role, it is difficult to see where it is for particular individuals. 90 people are killed abroad and if you don't know then you don't know - a lot of people come to the Kirsty Maxwell Charity for help.
Day Two
Wrongly Accused - Louise Shorter, Trevor Wilkinson, Barrister James Gregor and chaired by David Howard
CBS Reality's series Wrongly Accused has investigated some of the most flawed cases in Britain that have sent innocent people down for murder, how could it have happened and how can prevent it happening again. If it can happen to them, it could happen to you. There will be errors and something that shouldn't happen does, is important to learn from mistakes.
In 1975 April sent her daughter Lesley Molseed out to the shops for a loaf of bread, however when she got there, she found the shop was closed and then 11-year-old Leslie disappeared and later found murdered.
Trevor Wilkinson mentioned 10 years before this in the 1960s they had the Moors Murders and there was a fear of this happening again.
James Gregor mentioned there was huge pressure to find the culprit. West Yorkshire police decided to move on Stephen Kiszkas their prime suspect. Jim mentioned there were a series of complaints of indecent exposure and some of the girls pointed to his house but later admitted they were made up but once they found him, they seemed to have plenty of reasons, but they turned out to be wrong.
Trevor mentioned Stephen was interviewed over three days, was socially inadequate and a mummy's boy and just wanted to go home and just admitted to whatever the police said. People assumed he was their suspect, but sexual predators are cunning, and this suspect didn't fit the bill but this had been the case with the Moors murderers as they didn't fit the bill.
Louise Shorter talked about why someone would confess, there is nothing they can say other than that so they would be allowed to go home. It has happened where people think they can go home if are particular vulnerable and if say a certain thing they would be allowed to go home. There was a case of group of professional adults confessed due to pressure and relentless nature it was only option available to them.
Key forensic evidence included seven found on victim and Stephen had ill health and required testosterone injections, police assumed he had sexual urges and he had committed indecent exposure within few hours, but it takes weeks for this to happen to produce sperm.
Louise said it was noted had a particular medical condition and asked the Doctor about it and no one had interviewed him, but his discovery could have allowed the police to know that he couldn't be responsible. Doctor was contained and tried to raise awareness, but it didn't come to the fore.
Trevor said about how the Doctor was treated, appeal was failed defence and fresh evidence that was already in the file. The semen sample was only taken twice and was looked at by same Doctor and needed to know what effect of testosterone it was doesn't make you more aggressive unless you already are aggressive. They never looked into whether Stephen could produce sperm, this is set in stone and as there was sperms heads on the body but was a low count but had been exposed over three nights on Moors which had reduced sperms heads and therefore the count and need to take this into account. You have to match the forensic with the medical, no one could say positively.
Jim mentioned that idea of questioning medical evidence didn't happen it was incontrovertible. There was no DNA at the time. Had to do what they could do with what they had, and the case papers raised question about testing of sperm count was not in minds at the time, there had already been a failed appeal so when looking could be fobbed off.
Louise mentioned when Stephen when waiting for trial when family had every faith in the police, this is not unique to this case. They went to national archives on the case including letters to his mother and would write about how the investigation would go and had faith the police would get there.
Louse mentioned that he was a vulnerable man that had an investigation from allegations from schoolgirls that were retracted. The defence was not fit to be in court and left him vulnerable to being found guilty.
Trevor mentioned that Richard Holland the police chief believed that they thought had got the right man with people wanting status and this case gets you noticed and increases chance of promotion, the chief knew had got wrong man but couldn't accept it. Mayor or Rochdale had tea with them and would be hard to say after that had got the wrong man.
Jim mentioned was let down by defence team, the problem they faced was overwhelming available of the defence of manslaughter so testosterone would mean to approach to accept a verdict of this, this never happened as he wouldn't accept this and put aside all the evidence and just say was not guilty. Jury should have been discharged as there was a one-day strike and one of the Jury overheard the prosecution that they were trying to find them guilty and when this was reported to the Jury bailiff the Judge decided that would be advice to plead guilty to manslaughter so northing was said to the juror. Prosecutor Peter Taylor didn't say anything, and this shouldn't be allowed to happen. Appeal was they said they never asked what should have been done and this point was dismissed.
Unwritten code in prison is never inform and if you see child sex offender you must hurt them or try to hurt them. Stephen was seen by prisoners as a child killer and the code was enforced and was tumbled down the stairs, when they read about them being released and that no one believed he hadn't done it and felt bad and were in tears about what they had done to an innocent person and thought about how many people are experiencing this.
Louise talked about Stephen being destroyed by the experience, when being visited in prison and would speak gibberish first before could start to form proper sentences and words.
Trevor mentioned Stephen was clearly broken, he was outgoing and well respected in own community, was a gentle giant and was still one when he met Stefan. He wanted to get his part out and if listens he understands and knew what to do to cooperate, found he was still azoospermic. He said he always knew police would find out he never did it. He only retaliated once against someone in prison.
Jim mentioned the trial barrister Philip Glegg was pioneer to take a leap approach but was surprising to see them led. There was a file with very few clues. If it was clear that sperm needed to be examined, then this would have jumped out. Late disclose of thousands of pages of statement and the relevant sections would be pointed out, which is ironic.
Trevor mentioned got a murder case on their first time and for a few weeks for six months. They opened a file to examine a case thoroughly and couldn't see where it could go with new information and evidence which was in the file. Twelve thousand statements were dropped on first day of trial and didn't have time or money to examine this and it went very quickly to trial. They noticed that the case was non forensic and didn't mention it even though it said about testosterone made him a monster, but nothing went into this. There was an issue where it seemed there were no sperm heads, but the file had a sperm count, but this couldn't be if there were heads. They did centrifugal test to see if there were any sperm heads from the sample and the result was zero.
Stephen not long after being released he died and shortly afterwards she died. She said don't ever let them forget his name and don't ever forget what happened to him. He needs to be remembered as a victim of one of the most appalling miscarriage of justices ever.
The Great Train Robbery - Nick Reynolds, Chris Pickard & Jon Watt
Sixty years ago, 6.2 million pounds were stolen from a Royal Mail train, this a crime that continues to fascinate including two prison breaks and those involved are household names.
Chris Pickard talked about the robbery happening in the swinging sixties and happened on a Thursday and public felt we finally had our own great Robbery, even during the trial there were people on the run and people would escape prison including Ronnie Biggs escaped to Brazil.
Nick Reynolds mentioned that it changed from the Cheddington Mail Van Raid to Great Train Robbery and even used the same font from the film. The case has affected their life as their childhood was, they were on the run and thought their dad was a businessman or a spy and had different documents and identities. Their dad lived a normal life as businessman and when returned to England he got arrested and then spent 25 years in prison and he went to boarding school. No matter how sophisticated a criminal that crime doesn't pay but during the 90s it changed the robbers to have celebrity status.
Nick mentioned about the robbery that his father was not unknown to the law as there had been a raid at an airport and already had two convictions so was known by the old bill at the time. Their dad was a leader of a South London gang and there was another gang wanting to do a raid and tried to do a robbery using the emergency break but weren't able to stop the train where they wanted.
Nick mentioned was a gang of experienced thieves and were approached about train from London to Glasgow that carried a lot of mail but also a lot of money. They were looking ahead to what was next, what was at the end of the road or what was at the end of the track in this case. They worked out train of gold would be too hard as gold was too heavy, advanced technology made banks and safes much more secure, you didn't hold up a bank you got it in transit, like on a train and looked in to how to stop the train.
Chris mentioned they were told about how much was on the train, which was around 1 million, but it turned out to be better around 2 million.
Nick mentioned how to stop a train was to put glove over green light and battery on the red light, there was over 80 people on the train so needed to plan accordingly. It needed to be stopped near London, as it was going along the line was picking up more money and only had it all 30 minutes before it was robbed.
Chris mentioned they had to find places where to stop it and how to uncouple it to leave most of the people behind and to do this as quickly s possible, the crew would expect it to stop but not for too long.
Nick mentioned there was not supposed to be any violence as got a higher tariff and was deeply regretted the injury to Mills. It went largely to plan and didn't leave any evidence at all. They were supposed to put arms around driver, and passed along to a new person and instead of grabbing them he wacked on the head and cut himself on the dash but wasn't able to say as was threatened with losing their pension.
Chris mentioned they were to go to a farm with supplies for a couple of weeks. They wanted to initially drive to London but would dress up as an army convoy and wanted to count the money in front of each other, then separate it into equal amounts. The highest value note was a £10 note of 2.6 million pounds 15 million pounds today. They were playing monopoly with real money, it moved to the flying squad and became more serious.
Nick mentioned they were listening on police radio and heard were in a 30-mile radius, someone was meant to take all the evidence of sacks and paper around notes but had been picked up by police on a separate matter. Someone nearby heard about Robbery and saw vehicles at farm and informed the police but took a couple of days to get there due to number of calls. His dad's fingerprints were found on allegedly sauce bottle but there was also case of paint being found and two people were fitted up by the police. They did a deal with some of them if the money was returned. There was one who said nothing to do with them then their fingerprint was found on a bath rail that had been wiped down.
Nine people had been arrested and Nick's dad wasn't and thought it would die down after six months but after eight and got a flight to Belgium and then to Mexico where he joined his dad. There was a few that had no evidence linking them to the train, only to the farm and his uncle had fingerprints found on monopoly board but those could have been at any time. It was described as a violent Robbery, Nick said and got 30 years which is five years more than murder. It was a big mistake, and it turned the robbers into martyrs as it was too long a sentence for them.
Chris mentioned that someone being shot was six years, but thirty years was fine six months later for Robbery by the same judge.
Nick mentioned there was no parole and when it was mentioned it was thirty years and was assumed to be all together not each by one person.
Chris spoke about a mystery man with postal services. One of the key people was Brian Field who was lawyer who got information about the train coming down. It could be more than one person, whoever it was it made the police follow every one of the workers on the train who had connections to Ireland. This person said how much money was on the train, this person told them to hold back a day and knew what would go on that day, could be post office or a railway worker. They were told to wait for 24 hours and then next day were told to go then.
Nick mentioned was given a name of someone who worked in railway and had a brother who was criminal. There were three who got away and there was a driver who has not been tracked down and was an old train driver.
Chris mentioned about Ronnie Biggs escape, he didn't have connections but was treated well by prisoners and they said he must escape with rope ladders and van. He didn't even have a passport and escaped to Australia and there was a story there and featured photos of him and he had to disappear and decided to go to Rio de Janeiro. He was never discovered and had made a deal with Daily Express, and it was them who told the police. Ronnie knew if he became a burden he would come back, and they would welcome them back.
Nick was flown out with his father by Rupert Murdoch to return Ronnie Biggs to the UK from Brazil, who made money by having people come and listen to stories but had three strokes so couldn't do it anymore.
Mass Shooters - Sarah Feris & Katherine Schweit
Sarah Feris is a true crime podcaster with three podcasts with one with Katherine who headed up FBI active shooter programme.
Katherine Schweit was with the FBI for 20 years and headed up program trying to resolve active shootings. They were "voluntold" to work on team with then Vice President Biden when Sandy Hook Massacre happened and then they retired and now consult on how to reduce violence.
Katherine said they never name the shooter but if subscribe then if there is one, they will put together a podcast. They talk about the shooting and then the signs the shooter gave that were missed, what the signs are and how can we stop someone on pathway to violence. As they worked in area you don't get their option but speak to those who know the most about these issues. One of their episodes is someone who talked a gun out of someone's hand, they also talk about cases they were involved in along with others.
Sarah said they do an episode every week, they will be covering myths and misinformation about mass shootings. Have asked for questions. Addressing a couple of elephants in the rooms, are mass shootings just a US problem?
Katherine says countries of highest proportion of guns have the most shootings. US has federal, state and county laws so can't just pass a law like in the UK to make changes or Canada or New Zealand. They have the most, but others also have them. Mass shootings aren't strictly defined, they did the first research and is when someone is attempting to kill people in a crowded space but exclude gang and drug warfare along with murder / suicides. Every researcher had their own criteria, most countries don't have a definition. It is a gravity situation so if have fifteen people injured and one killed that is still a mass shooting but that can be different elsewhere.
Sarah said that they do global shootings including a couple in New Zealand and there were some changes but that's not always possible including in the United States.
Katherine says that research by FBI and secret service on what to look for, normal people are five times more likely to see this than a law enforcement so are looking for changes in behaviour so if they go shooting on weekends but suddenly someone starts shooting in the back yard - a change of behaviour. Most shooters are male and if they dress differently than before. That's what you're looking for is changes in behaviour, giving away their possessions for example. During investigation they will work backwards and will find out they gave something away as they don't need it before. Change in typical behaviour can be seen by friends or schoolmates. 92 percent of people will say a shooter will become one before it happens. A kid was called to counsellor's office due to some signs and they later killed four people and the parents are going to go on trial for involuntarily manslaughter which can be 20 years as the change in behaviour was so bad.
Sarah mentioned were told not to do Sandy Hook as first episode they did. They had some questions the killer put blackout blinds on their window, if you saw this what would you do? You wouldn't do anything.
Katherine has taken calls at last minute when something is going on or something seems weird, when you tell someone, you're taking it off your shoulders. Someone isn't going to be arrested for having blackout curtains, but they may enquire, trust your instincts and just call and take that burden of your shoulders.
Sarah mentioned it may be the last piece of the puzzle. Katherine said that there could be a phone call, they even tricked someone to sign something to get a handwriting sample to be sure and got search warrant and was able to prove they were writing letters saying it was anthrax and call in bomb threats, he wasn't a nice guy and it had to be tricked. Sarah raised question about difference between automatic and semi-automatic. Automatic fires until you take finger off travel, semi-automatic is where it can be fired each trigger pull.
Katherine spoke about how to talk about guns with anyone, in US gun laws are complicated, people don't know facts and don't want to talk about it, are either for or against guns but it is very hard to have these conversations and then only ask if for or against guns. Katherine would ask for police reports but wouldn't get much if a shooter is dead, they still need to look into it even if the shooter is dead. They have had after actions on how to prevent them, this is purpose of investigation to help prevent future ones.
Katherine mentioned Missouri passed a second amendment preservation act which makes it difficult to do gun laws. Most people in the US live in urban locations on one side of politics, state governments are for the other side of this. This can be back and forth, as there is an effort to do something then may pass something that says that the second amendment rules. Katherine spoke about dealing with cases on an emotional level, they were a single parent when joining FBI, but they could go home and spent time with kids and that helped. They made a choice to not work on things they can't unsee. They do a lot of meditation and hiking as need to get out and get away.
Katherine was asked about the case in Plymouth where behaviour was reported, and nothing happened. There's nothing wrong with getting in good trouble, if nothing is done you keep reporting it, call different people. Katherine mentioned thing about making a call, you want to know what happened, have to be confident that you are adding knowledge about an individual, you want to be one of the calls even if something happens. Criminals are stupid in so many ways, in US have right to say whatever you want with the first amendment.
Sarah mentioned don't just call the police and call once or leave an anonymous tip, there is even an international one for the FBI which is passed on, you won't get the actual answer, they won't call you back they will spend that resource forward.
Katherine spoke about what preparation are being made, tiny fraction of school children are affected by mass shootings. Children are six times safer in schools than at home. It is not bad to harden your target, they are not securing schools with bulletproof glass or magnetometers but get a counsellor. Once thing they tell them is to lock the doors, shooters are looking for something convenient. It isn't a question of being the fastest person being chased by a bear, people think everyone with a gun is looking for somewhere to shoot up. School shootings are most often carried out by current or recent students.
The intersection of cybercrime and violent crime: exploring technology's role in homicide abuse and sexual assault - Charlotte Hooper & Delmelza Luna Reaver
Charlotte Hooper spoke about the Cyber Helpline being created as not enough was being done to help victims of cybercrime. They are the UK infosec community coming together to fill in support for victims.
Delmelza Reaver said as technology advances so does the complexity of cybercrime further blurring lines between online and offline crime. Crimes using tech advancements include domestic abuse, stalking and harassment, grooming and others.
Charlotte mentioned what is cybercrime, most of this is financial crime including economic abuse by partner. Can have multiple vectors for cybercrime and can include cyberstalking and harassment.
Charlotte spoke about Cybercrime and Violent Crime includes Cyber Homicide with first case in 1996 when arranged to meet in person for what is termed consensual homicide. 1987 marked first Internet serial killer and in 2007 have been killers who found victims on Craigslist, also then there was cyberstalking including a website which slandered her and resulted in murder of her and friend. In 2016 there was an honour killing about content that was being posted online. Accessibility of tech makes it easy to find victims and to find people to support this.
Delmeza spoke about domestic homicide abuse, there age months of abusive texts and were generally of a threatening nature but thought they would get bored and give up if they ignored them. They were recorded and felt had to stay in relationship and escalation tends to occur and they sought support from their parents and connected with the police, but when she spoke to officers told them to block him but none of these interventions stopped this, was a key indicator of type of abuse and led to concern of fear by parents and when they went on holiday gave photos to neighbours and told them to call police if the person turned up. Within days of these actions, it escalated by posts on social media and further attempted contact by police with no response. Rosemary and parents contacted police and they failed to consider the abuse as it was technological in nature.
Charlotte spoke about technology role in abuse to escape a controlling husband, stalking is like a slow murder and is a terrible experience and one someone felt they never could escape. They approached Cyber Helpline and mentioned hearing cat noises from car, but had found cameras in apartment, but he had set up sat nav to make a cat noise when passed location and adding things to allow them to track their car. There are means to track children that can be used maliciously.
Delmeza spoke about IoT where have thermostats, locks or other things connected to the Internet and often won't consider them and these can be used and cause significant distress such we putting heating on in summer or running up bills. There are locks can set perimeters so if they leave the home all the doors are locked and can cause significant concerns and behaviour. Is a key concern to have these devices you might not consider.
Charlotte spoke about tech role in abuse, someone feared that a catfish would come and keep one hand on phone and other on a baseball bat about a stalker who would pose as a family member or friend and collect intimate pictures and send them to their place of employment and would contact friends and families pretending to be them and destroyed many relationships, although it never turned physical they feared this. With physical stalking you know where they are but with digital stalking you never know where they are.
Sexual crimes can be against online sex workers which can be to tell others about their Jon and Only Fans can be pressure to create content they wouldn't want to. There is also revenge porn for images of people obtained without their consent and can lead to violent crimes being performed against them. There can be sexual assault against people to create content or are coerced to create content they would not normally.
With rise and accessibility on tech in crime such as AI and creation of deep fakes and can be used to create voice notes of people and be used to create calls from people their daughter about being held hostage but just before she paid daughter walked in door. Availability and cost if AI is lower with tools like ChatGPT which can be used by anyone. Matter of playing catchup with what criminals are using.
Delmelza spoke about policies the police are creating and efforts to stay on top of this. Cybercrime requires curiosity and interest to look further. Getting a place where can innovate services will take some time.
Charlotte talked about who is responsible for change including social media, police, government with safe settings enforced by default, standardised and improved responses updated legislation, identity verification, training, and education. Overall need collaboration and communication. In an ideal world the Cyber Helpline wouldn't need to exist. Shouldn't have to worry about technology.
Charlotte spoke about how you can help, educate those around you, become digital activist, campaign, and volunteer. Every volunteer cost £750 per year you can find or support them at thecyberhelpline.com or text CYBER to 70085 to donate in the UK.