From Cellular to Cellblock: Leveraging Cell Tower Dumps and Geofencing for Criminal Apprehension
This one day course is designed to provide law enforcement officers with the skills and knowledge needed to conduct effective geofence investigations. A geofence is a virtual boundary created around a geographical location using ‘Geofence’ and Cellular ‘Tower Dump’ technology. Geofencing has become an essential tool for law enforcement agencies in investigating and solving crimes.
In this course, law enforcement officers will learn how to utilize geofencing technology to investigate crimes that have occurred in a specific geographic area. They will be introduced to the fundamental principles of geofencing technology, including how to create geofences, how to analyze geofence data, and how to interpret and visualize geofence information. They will also learn how to use geofencing technology in combination with other investigative tools and techniques to solve complex criminal cases.
The course will cover the following topics:
Introduction to geofencing technology
Types of geofencing technology
Creating geofences and analyzing geofence data
Principles of the ‘Geofence’ and Cellular ‘Tower Dump’ warrants
Electronic data from a Geofence warrant,
Advanced cellular “Tower Dumps”
AT&T NELOs based geofence
T-Mobile Timing Advance or Time Distance of Arrival (Geofence) Search
Legal considerations for geofencing
Integrating geofencing technology with other investigative tools and techniques
Case studies and practical applications of geofencing technology in law enforcement
By the end of this course, law enforcement officers will have a comprehensive understanding of geofencing technology and how to use it effectively in their investigations. They will be able to apply the knowledge and skills gained in this course to their daily work, enabling them to solve cases more efficiently and effectively.
DECEMBER 13, 2023 UPDATE:
On December 13th, 2023, Google announced they would be changing the storage features of an end-user’s location based geolocational history. According to news articles, most of this soon-to-be altered information revolves around the use of geolocation information stored or created using Google Maps. It should be noted that Google possesses multiple avenues of geolocational collection outside the use of Google Maps. Subject Matter Experts agree that Google would still retain and store this information as part of their main source of revenue generation for advertising and marketing purposes. The issue becomes how much will Google encrypt their data to prevent law enforcement’s use of it.
All students of our Geofence Investigations course will be taught the most current Geofence Investigative techniques using platforms beyond just Google. This investigative technique requires them to have a foundational understanding of how this information is sourced, stored, queried, and analyzed for future police investigations. All the courses we have developed and offered to law enforcement since 2018, provide law enforcement with the most up to date investigative techniques, which often change frequently. This course is no different, as these Geofence investigative techniques change we will continue to modify the course to include traditional tower dumps from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. It will also begin to include the most up to date information and best practices on the brand-new AT&T NELOs based geofence and the T-Mobile Timing Advance or Time Distance of Arrival (Geofence) Search.
The lessons of U.S. v. Chatrie and U.S. v. Meza are fresh on the minds of defense attorneys who are eager to suppress improperly conducted investigations based on geofencing from electronic sources. However, these court cases (and others) have provided a step-by-step process that law enforcement should follow when conducting other similar geofence-based investigations. Objectives and training components of the Geofence class taught by Covert Media Consulting LLC teach best practices for successful Geofencing Investigations which mirror that of investigations in which “tower dumps” (whether engineering record-based or call detail records-based) are required. It is our belief if a student master’s proper Geofence procedures and best practices then they can use this same foundational understanding and production protocol to properly request and analyze all cellular-based records within a respective area of a crime scene or area related to a criminal offense.
In closing, no one truly knows how long it will take Google to hide or encrypt their data to prevent law enforcement from querying it. In fact, due to Google’s reliance on this data as a mainstay of revenue generation, it is unlikely this will be a fast-moving operation. It is highly recommended for all prospective students to attend this training opportunity which easily parlays into cellular investigations involving tower dumping.
INSTRUCTOR:
We only use active law enforcement personnel as our instructors who are currently involved in the subject matter they are teaching, keeping the material provided up to date and relatable through use of real and current case examples. See instructor page for more information on all of our instructors.
REQUIRED:
Laptop or tablet with internet capabilities
COST:
$250 per student
$225 for groups of three or more
Host a course to receive five free spots, email us at info@covertmediaconsulting.com for more information or to schedule a course.