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Police to use Bluetooth to find witnesses around crime scenes

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Published Date: 29 December 2008
By ALAN McEWEN
DETECTIVES investigating murders, fatal accidents and other serious crimes in the Capital are set to send Bluetooth text messages to find witnesses.
The force purchased a Bluetooth transmitter which will allow officers to beam messages straight to mobile phone users asking for information.

The device was initially bought to promote an anti-drink driving message this Christmas and hundreds of m
essages have already been sent out to revellers in the last two weeks.

But the transmitter, which cost £2000, looks set to play a vital role in seeking information during future investigations.

Officers will be able to send out texts to anyone in the area surrounding a crime scene, urging them to contact police or call Crimestoppers in anonymity.

The messages even have a feature allowing phone users to save the Crimestoppers number in their address book by pressing a single button. The system could prove especially useful in contacting young people who may be reluctant to come forward and prefer to use their phones.

Officers say the transmissions would not invade the privacy of phone users as the device does not record the details of those accepting the messages.

Inspector Colin Shillito said: "We purchased this transmitter to help draw public attention to our drink driving message this Christmas. It's especially useful in trying to reach that 17 to 25 age group.

"This is the first device in use by a Scottish police force and I can see many more uses for it. I'm expecting to hear from CID with requests to use the transmitter during their inquiries. It would be very useful for witness appeals.

"That would also be the case for traffic accidents where people travelling regularly in that area who may have witnessed something could be reached."

Insp Shillito revealed that 420 phone users had received Bluetooth text messages urging them not to drink and drive in the two weekends since December 12.

He said: "That's a brilliant result using only one transmitter on a dozen occasions."

The transmitter has been driven to locations where large numbers of drinkers are gathered, with each broadcast reaching any Bluetooth-enabled phone within a radius of 50 metres.

Insp Shillito said the force moved to buy the transmitter after learning that the RAF were using them to run recruitment adverts.





The full article contains 391 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 29 December 2008 11:33 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

Padraig,

29/12/2008 11:44:14
Droll, isn't it that the money is available for the drink-drive campaign and has a secondary use as a tool in murder investigations?

Are our policing priorities skewed by any chance?

I would have thought that serious crime investigations merited investment in equipment, with a secondary use being applied to other offenses.

But then since this government politicised the police, we are seeing a number of different approaches taken to the definition of "serious" in itself!
2

Fifi la Bonbon,

29/12/2008 12:00:55
Padraig is quite right, it's political correctness gone mad. The so-called PC brigade are at it again. They put all that money into namby pamby so-called campaigns to trap innocent motorists who have been celebrating despite the so-called nuliebour nazi nanny-culture we are forced to endure banning the so-called hokey cokey and beef on the bone. But the so-called jackbooted communists nazis in office are hell bent on protecting the so-called human rights of neds and murderers while persecuting murdereres.

On the other hand, drink drivers are responsible for a lot more deaths than the old fashioned muderer so maybe the police priorities aren't skewed at all, and maybe Padraig's a choob.

It's political correctness gorn mad I tell you!
3

an interested party,

29/12/2008 12:01:03
spam

Spam is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_(electronic)
4

Finbarr Saunders,

29/12/2008 12:08:10
#2 - Fifi la Bonbon - You've started on that bottle of advocaat already, haven't you?
5

Mallory,

Edinburgh 29/12/2008 12:14:24
Most people with bluetooth on the phones leave it switched off by default for reasons of privacy and security. Surely the polis were told that before spending our money?
6

Douglas,

Bathgate 29/12/2008 12:30:13
#5 Mallory: If by "most" you mean "I don't know how many" then I agree.
Youth uses Bluetooth to share music and picture files free of charge and a majority of those with hands free car kits are connected via Bluetooth.
Maybe that's why the money was spent.
7

Alternative (High-Octane) Fuel Head,

Edinburgh 29/12/2008 12:31:10
When are they gong to realise that bluetooth messages can only be received if:-

1. The phone has bluetooth enabled
2. The visibility is set to "visible"

OR

3. The phone is paired with the sending device (unlikely in this instance)
4. The user says "yes" to the "do you want to receive..." prompt.

I for one will be b*ggered if I am going to enable my bluetooth in such a way as to be able to receive ad-hoc messages sent by the police.
8

Finbarr Saunders,

29/12/2008 12:42:13
#8 - Alternative (High-Octane) Fuel Head - "I for one will be b*ggered if I am going to enable my bluetooth in such a way as to be able to receive ad-hoc messages sent by the police."

That's it. I'm switching the Bluetooth on my mobile phone off. No ad-hoc message from the police is worth being b*ggered for!

You can leave yours on if you want, Tony.
9

Schot,

29/12/2008 12:52:08
The police/council have erected two big, expensive, electronic signs near here, and the only message they have ever shown is "Don't drink and drive". Shurely the drink-drivers are the only people who won't be able to read them, and won't care anyway.
In the old days we had police officers with breathalysers which I think would be more of a deterrent.
10

Finbarr Saunders,

29/12/2008 13:28:52
#10 - Schot - I drove past those signs and their simple message convinced me that drinking and driving was wrong.

Money well spent.
11

Mr Crisps,

Musselburgh 29/12/2008 13:33:17
#2 Gold star for you, quality banter and hit the nail on the head!
12

Rv2!,

29/12/2008 13:48:33
8 and 9.
It is possible to receive a message via bluetooth without being paired or otherwise previously knowing the sender. There's a couple of shops on Princes Street that send this sort of spam as you walk by their shops. They mainly broadcast special offers etc so I don't know if they are permanently on or not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluejacking
13

NorT,

Edinburgh 29/12/2008 13:49:26
Is it not an offence to send "spam" messages to phones or sending messages that are not wanted?However breaking the law has never stopped the police before.
14

Unimpressed one,

29/12/2008 13:58:12
More excuses for the plod to grow roots sitting in their patrol cars.
15

Blackpool 1968,

29/12/2008 14:15:56
#13 - Rv2! - Your use of the term "paired" does not really alleviate my concerns regarding these messages.

Giving it a pleasant, harmless-sounding name does not make it any less painful.
16

ddmc,

29/12/2008 15:02:34
hah my personal faraday cage (tinfoil hat) will stop all the spam L&B can spit out.

Somebody agreed to pay for a bluetooth box & now they are scrambling about to find out a decent use of the thing, wasn't that supposed to be in the business case prior to purchase
17

Paranoid John from Midlothian,

29/12/2008 15:03:10
good old positive response readers...i think it's an excellent idea.
18

ddmc,

29/12/2008 15:07:39
although a more beneficial use of technology would be to gather the mobile base station records & correlate them to people who's phone was in the area around the timeframe of the commited crime, no warrant is needed to get the cell records from the relevant mobile operator. L&B can have this advice for free or pay a consultant £50k for the same advice. What do you think they will do ?
19

Finbarr Saunders,

29/12/2008 15:12:34
#20 - ddmc - Who asked you, Professor Braniac?
20

calum,

29/12/2008 19:12:10
#6 - "...and interrogate anyone in the area." Add to that your beatings, thrashings and gassings and you really are a Nazi, aren't you? What an evil man.
21

Andrew,

29/12/2008 20:30:34
The 'boys in blue' making a 'fine' search with a BLUE toothcomb? Quite novel really but is it quite 'PC'?
22

scabbies,

30/12/2008 08:06:22
Did you know that one other good reason to gang up on the EU is because they allow psychiatrists and doctors to perform psycho surgery and administer brain debilitating treatments on children who are victims of pedophiles. The pedophiles are in fact child care workers many like Bernadette Mooney are self confessed drug users and dealers and they follow the occult. Gavin Harvie Duncan of Edinburgh Scotland is also a pedophile and protected because he comes from a middle class family with close connections to the ruling classes. At a tribunal i was in the presence of a sex offender with connections through another pedophile to the judiciary here in Edinburgh. There is a female judge who is a sex offender from operation ore her name was omitted from the list passed on by the FBI who gathered it from operation avalanche. She and others were omitted from the results because of their social standing and to protect the institutions.


 

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