musings on bridging the gap and the blue wall

For a few years I've been trying to figure out how to pierce the blue wall to bridge the gap between law enforcement (government, state and local) such that people like myself can actually do some good with their skills. Why? Well when in school, after completing a project(details for those of you who are bored at the bottom), my CRJU prof said that LE could probably use a person like me. I found it inspiring at the time.

Some things I've learned along the way.

1) PD's don't respond to people

2) Pro-bono offerings don't get you anywhere

3) You must be "inned"

4) It takes a cop to work with them, or a professor

5) They don't want civilians seeing ugly all day long

There's a story here...I visited a state police cybercrime lab and spoke with the folks there. 60% of their cases were CP. I looked at the current pending cases board on the wall inside the exam room, and fully 90% of the cases at that time were CP. When asked what it's like, one examiner said "I see ugly all day long, I see it at work, I see it at home, I never stop seeing ugly, but I do what I can". Dealing with CP is tough work and this above all the other reasons is the one I can sympathize with.

For the most part, I'd be lying if I said I understood many of the reasons behind excluding the other half of the industry however I'm no fool, and no longer kid myself. The truth is, I'll never understand until I'm in the shoes of a LEO. Sure, I know several of them and I've heard stories, but that doesn't mean much, and it's not likely that I'd become an LEO.

As I've not yet been able to pierce the blue wall I offer an open invitation to anyone reading this blog that's a member of law enforcement of any kind. If there's anything that can be done(application analysis, testing, validation etc.) by a person such as myself, just shoot me a message. I have no hopes of contact, but like you all, I do what I can. If only LEO's would express their needs, the industry(commercial and individuals) I think could help. I've been all over the web, and I can't recall seeing an LEO sharing what it is that would help them the most. To that end I say keep on fighting the good fight, I'll continue to support the PBA, and just remember, there are people like me all over.

Thoughts, comments?


What was that project? Well, it was a mock search for a victim in an open area. We were given a scenario in one of my criminal investigation courses and asked to analyze the scene and determine a search pattern. I got a little crazy and went up in an airplane in January to take some aerials. Damn that was cold but so much fun. Some photos for your enjoyment(Thanks picasa!)..


One of many photos taken:


and my zone overlay.