Iris Biometric Added to NGI

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News

“We are contacting our partners across the country and encouraging them to initiate this program,” said Special Agent Scott Rago, who heads the Biometric Services Section in the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division (CJIS). “Having the ability where they don’t have to have contact with the individual—it just takes a second or two to look into the device and have your eyes captured and you get a response within a minute—it’s a very, very positive system.”

To date, the iris image repository contains 1.38 million enrollments submitted from federal, state, and local databases after they were collected during criminal bookings, incarcerations, or other legal proceedings. The iris images won’t replace fingerprints, which the FBI has collected and analyzed for nearly a century; they are a secondary biometric, or supplement, to the traditional collection of 10-finger prints and palm prints.

The Bureau’s fingerprint database—Next Generation Identification—contains more than 70 million prints of criminal subjects and more than 30 million civil fingerprints from background checks.

Rago said he hopes to see the iris image database grow to where it can make an impact on solving cases.

During the pilot period, which began in September 2013, several correctional systems incorporated iris collection into their processes, which enabled staff to get positive identifications—without physical contact—on inmates as they transferred in and out of facilities. The seven-year pilot enabled the FBI to build the criminal iris repository as well as assess privacy policies, best practices, and other requirements.

In the new system, so-called probe images of a subject’s left and right irises are captured at close range in a controlled setting. The images can then be searched against all the irises in the FBI’s repository. The process takes about a minute. A match will return the subject’s biographic data along with their criminal record, select National Crime Information Center record data, and, in some cases, a mug shot.

The Iris Service is the latest addition to the Bureau’s NGI System, which is the world’s largest and most efficient electronic repository of biometric and criminal information. In addition to repositories for irises and fingerprints, NGI includes 30 million criminal mugshots that law enforcement partners can search against.

Rago said he expects the NGI Iris Service to appeal to police and correctional workers because it’s fast, easy to use, and hands-off.

“In the future, once the repository has grown to a good sample size, you can imagine a police officer on a traffic stop using the mobile iris camera capability,” Rago said. “If someone’s being difficult, they don’t even have to put their hands on them. It’s, ‘Look at me,’ and capture the iris. They can run the information and get a response.”

Five Things to Know About NIBRS

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News

3. Crime statistics experts will use statistical modeling to fill in gaps. In the current SRS system, FBI and Department of Justice statisticians use advanced methodologies to estimate national crime statistics when a particular state or locality doesn’t provide data, or the data does not meet the criteria to be published. The same will occur with NIBRS. When estimates are used, they will be disclosed.

While communities that have not transitioned may be missing data for a year or two, estimates will still allow people to understand crime patterns and national trends. Those communities will have more comprehensive data after they make the switch to NIBRS.

4. Researchers and the public will still have access to long-term trends. Even with the transition to NIBRS, the public will still be able to see long-term crime trends. That’s because the FBI will convert the NIBRS data back into the SRS format, specifically for long-term trend analysis. This will offer researchers and the public an “apples to apples” comparison.

5. The FBI is working to help law enforcement transition to NIBRS. For more than five years, the FBI has worked with law enforcement agencies across the country to provide technical expertise, data integration support, and free training to move to NIBRS. Federal grants are also available to help them with the cost of upgrades.

The transition to NIBRS is a shift for police departments, both culturally and technologically, but the higher quality data will be worth the effort in the long term.

Sextortion

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News

Presley’s mother said her daughter called at her first opportunity to break the phone connection with the predator. Testani wanted to take over one of her social media accounts so he could use it to contact her friends, giving him the ability to deceive and exploit another group of young girls. But as he took over her existing account, he needed her to create a new one for herself so they would still be connected online.

As she was carrying out that demand, Presley had a chance to call for help. “He told her she had two minutes to get it done,” her mother said. “When they broke that connection, she felt she could call me.”

Presley’s mother and stepfather raced home. And although they were confused about what was happening, they couldn’t mistake the terror in Presley’s voice. Her stepfather reached her first and immediately called the police when he saw what was happening on her phone.

Presley’s bravery in reporting helped investigators find the man who terrorized her. Testani pleaded guilty to child sexual exploitation in February and was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison on August 6, 2020.

Special Agent Kevin Kaufman, who investigated the case for the FBI in Tampa with local law enforcement, said that they identified several other victims across the country—some as young as 10 years old.

The investigation showed that Testani obtained the login information for other victims’ social media accounts, which allowed him to message hundreds of other young people.

The length of Testani’s sentence reflects the number of children he hurt, the extreme nature of his crimes, and the devastating effects this type of sexual violence has on its victims. Presley’s mother said her daughter is still dealing with depression and anxiety, has trouble concentrating in school, and experiences panic attacks.

The fact that Presley never met Testani in person and never even saw his face only amplified her fear. This man who hurt her could be anyone, anywhere. “That’s why she went from a social butterfly to absolutely terrified to leave the house,” her mother said.

New Top Ten Fugitive

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News

Jose Rodolfo Villarreal-Hernandez, wanted for allegedly directing his associates to track and murder a man in Southlake, Texas, has been added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. The Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program is offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading directly to his arrest.

Villarreal-Hernandez, also known as “El Gato,” is believed to hold an active leadership position in the Beltran Leyva Drug Trafficking Organization within the region of San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. He is also believed to be responsible for numerous murders in Mexico.

The victim of the Texas murder, 43, was shot while sitting in the passenger seat of his vehicle outside an upscale shopping center in a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb on May 22, 2013. His wife was standing near the driver’s side door when her husband was killed. And the brazen ambush occurred in the early evening hours, while the center was full of shoppers.

According to evidence and testimony gathered in the trials of those accused of tracking and killing the man, Villarreal-Hernandez ordered and financed a multi-year effort to find and watch the victim and then kill him. Investigators believe Villarreal-Hernandez had a long-standing personal grudge against the victim.

Select image to view wanted poster

Train Derailment Mystery

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News

Michael Lum was a student at Arizona State University when he learned that a train had mysteriously derailed in rural Arizona on October 9, 1995.

“I woke up and saw it on the news, and I went to class and we talked about it,” Lum recalled.

Twenty-five years later, Lum, a special agent in the Federal Protective Service, is on an FBI task force working to find anyone responsible for the derailment that killed the train conductor and injured dozens more. No one has been arrested, but the FBI continues to investigate.

Amtrak’s Sunset Limited was traveling from El Paso to Los Angeles when, while crossing a bridge, it ran over an altered track in a rural area 70 miles outside of Phoenix. Around 1:35 a.m., the train slowed down as it crossed the track, but momentum and the train’s weight sent it careening into a ravine, Lum said.

The conductor was thrown from the train and died. Of the 258 passengers on the train, 12 had serious injuries, and about 100 had minor injuries.

“There were young children and elderly people on board. Some of the victims said this really ruined their lives—they had PTSD, serious injuries,” Lum said. “These victims were deeply affected.”

The crash site was so rural that investigators and rescuers had a challenging time even reaching the passengers. Makeshift roads were built to get rescuers in and out of the area. And in an era before cell phones and GPS were common, rescue teams formed convoys so they wouldn’t get lost trying to find the victims.

Investigators at the scene at the time found a note claiming responsibility and expressing anti-government sentiment. But investigators have not yet found those responsible.

“This was just six months after the Oklahoma City bombing, it was fresh on everyone’s minds. People were on edge,” Lum said.

The passage of 25 years has not dampened the investigators’ resolve to find the truth. The public regularly calls with tips.

“We’re reexamining evidence with new technology, and the public continues to provide leads that we’re tracking down,” he said.

Lum emphasized that the investigative team is committed to getting justice for the victims, especially the family of the conductor who lost his life.

“The crew and passengers were just innocent people going about their lives. They were minding their own business, sleeping in the middle of the night,” Lum said. “We want to make sure anyone responsible has to answer for this crime.”