Law Enforcement Training and Resource Group LLC., (www.letrg.com) has come out with a new suite of applications for all smart phones. The suite is built around the needs of the 1st Responders response to services calls.
This suite will be made available for iPhone and Android smart phones and should be used with those phones with at least a 5 megapixel camera (for best results). The suite of more than a dozen different applications comes complete. The applications are divided into; tools, calculators, and evidence.
Tools include a caliper, level (in degrees and percentage of slope), audio officer notes, DOA notes and References files. There are also two calculators included; a Skid Mark Calculator (for minimum speed, Yaw and friction factor co-efficient) and a pictorial blood spatter trajectory calculator. Last but not least are the evidence applications which include; two files for photos (pre-scaled and scaled photo sets), two files for video (again one pre-scaled and one for scaled video) along with a field contact information and audio statement recorder.
After a simple setup, the suite is ready to use. All evidence files are encoded with metafiles that include; agency identifier, officer identifier, case number, GPS location of the scene, date, time and picture/video/audio numbering making them court acceptable. In addition the other files can be downloaded as not only note files but optionally as evidence files on a case by case basis.
Upon completion of the call the responder should download the case evidence folders onto a computer and on to a DVD disk then label the DVD with the case number for evidence, remembering to always follow agency SOPs. The calculator, DOA notes and officer audio notes should be downloaded onto the computer also for reference material for further investigation.
TOOL USE
In alphabetical order, the AUDIO NOTE TAKER is just that, a way for the responder to take notes on the fly without stopping to write things down. The CALIPER app will give readings between the jaws in both metric and fractional. The DOA notes application gives the responder a list of items to fill in using dropdown menus, checks, and fill in the blank to note what was observed “without touching the victim”. In some cases the medical examiner/coroner may assist in the field. . The LEVEL application gives a reading of how level the phone is in both degrees and also has a percentage of slope readout, this is very useful when working a traffic accident to find out whether the vehicles skids were going up or down hill or whether the road was flat. Lastly the REFERENCES app is just that, a list of references that are useful for responders, and includes, Miranda, probable cause statement, three field sobriety tests, and ID silhouettes of handguns, shotguns, rifles and assault rifles.
CALCULATORS
The two calculators include SKID MARKS which calculates not only minimum speed but also yaw, and friction. The BLOOD SPATTER application is innovative. By taking a picture of blood spatter and marking the minor and major axis the application will calculate how many pixels wide by long the spatter is and then give you the angle it hit the object at.
EVIDENCE
The evidence files are broken into three basic applications. The FIELD CONTACT REPORT is expanded to include more than what is necessary but is quite complete, fill in whatever your needs are, there is also the capability of taking pictures or the person or their ID as will as the capability of recording their statement (check with SOPs for audio recording requirements). There are also two PHOTO apps and two VIDEO apps. In each case, you have a folder for documentation prior to setting scales and markers or “as found” pictures, and another set with scales and markers.
Each of the applications has its own instructions included on screen, (just tap the (I) button). All file folders for a specific case are kept by case and date. When you return to station download, using your phones normal download method, into a computer with a DVD drive and copy the evidence files to a disk for evidence storage (check your agencies SOPs for special instructions).