Newsletter - May 2018 - CellHawk Powered by LeadsOnline

CellHawk Updates

Over the past few months, we have updated CellHawk with some new features to save time such as the ability to customize sector display, better compatibility with Verizon files, and much more!

Some of the most recent updates include:

New Dashboard: We have integrated the case manager, agency account information, our popular phone lookup tool, and integrated content from Support@Hawk in our new dashboard concept. Everything you need to know about your account, your cases, and the newest news from Hawk Analytics, Inc, all in one place

Password Reset: Self-service password reset link can now be found on the login page

Improved Preservation Letter & Search Warrant Templates: New easy to use drop-down options enable you to enter/change the carrier, phone number, start & end times. This allows for a 100% complete document to be generated before printing

T-Mobile LTE Cell Site List: Drag and drop support for your LTE cell site lists from T-Mobile.

Enhanced Sprint Support: Added support for new Sprint NEID’s and updated the processing of Sprint CDR’s per the newest Sprint guidance.

Better Verizon: Ability to drag and drop Verizon PCMD, EVDO and VoLTE files without any excel work.

More AT&T: Support of the Mobility usage report .pdf without locations.

Customize Sector Display: Ability to combine edge lines and sector representation in one graphic

Less Excel Prep: Support of .xls files from all carriers.

Did you Know?

By now most of us probably know about AT&Ts NELOS, Verizon’s RTT, and Sprint & US Cellular PCMD reports – but what does T-Mobile have? It’s a fairly new report called TrueCall.

TrueCall reports come from the engineering side of the cellular network and are mostly used to help troubleshoot coverage areas and report back on potential dead spots, all with the intent to oversee and optimize the network. Although not intended for law enforcement, these records still hold some valuable information.

TrueCall reports are very much similar to Verizon’s RTT report, in that they provide a plethora of information about usage events and locations. These reports typically collect data for every usage event, to include technology details (e.g. voice, text, data), resource usage, and call failure information. They can also collect data for incomplete calls (e.g. denied calls and set-up failures), to later be analyzed by a cellular engineer.

T-Mobile is running three networks just like the others: Their 2/2.5G GSM GPRS, 3G UMTS/HSPA, and 4G LTE networks. We have seen TrueCall reports from both their UMTS and LTE networks.
The most useful data in a TrueCall report are the date and time stamp, the cell site used, the sector used, an estimation of the phone’s location (Latitude and longitude), and the distance from the cell site at the time of the usage event. The distance becomes a key piece to visualizing these datasets and with CellHawk it’s easy for you to map.

What about tower dumps? Another shortcoming with tower dump search warrant templates is the stale boilerplate language. Try adding Specialized Location Records to your tower dumps, and specifically TrueCall records for T-Mobile, and watch your tower dump investigations blow wide open. Not only will you get the traditional usage events associated with the cell tower, you will now have Specialized Location Records for that activity, possibly placing a handset near your crime scene or area of interest. Be forewarned, requesting Specialized Location Records with a tower dump may increase the overall cost billed to the agency. Always verify cost before proceeding.

We have heard from some agencies that they had trouble obtaining TrueCall reports from T-Mobile. If you end up in that situation, feel free to give us a call – we can guide you in the right direction. If you have TrueCall reports, we’ll be happy to help you load them into CellHawk and help you understand them. Contact our Support Team at support@hawkanalytics.com.

We now maintain and provide (for free to ALL law enforcement personnel) Preservation Letter and Search Warrant templates on our Support@Hawk website. These templates will ensure that you get all the records available to you. Existing customers can log into Support@Hawk here with your CellHawk credentials. Non-CellHawk users can register here for free access to our support site and take advantage of the many resources we make available, including the templates.

Case of the Quarter

Culver City PD uses CellHawk to Connect Suspects to 64 Commercial Burglaries.

On 06/12/17 at approximately 12:30 am, Culver City Police Officers responded to a radio call of a burglary alarm at Bevmo, located at 5634 Sepulveda Blvd, Culver City.

Upon arrival, Officers learned that the front window had been smashed, and a likely burglary had occurred.

Additional officers arrived at the scene, and a lengthy pursuit occurred involving multiple CCPD Officers and the suspect vehicle (Dodge minivan; rental vehicle) covering approximately seventeen miles throughout West Los Angeles into LAPD jurisdiction. Three suspects ran from the vehicle following the pursuit, and all three suspects were eventually arrested near the area where the pursuit ended.

One cell phone was recovered from one of the suspects, who helped Investigators identify additional suspects phone numbers involved in the Culver City crime and other burglaries.

CCPD Investigators learned that this “crew” of suspects was likely responsible for dozens of burglaries involving Bevmo locations all over the state of California.

Having used CellHawk for the past couple years, CCPD Investigators obtained warrants for more than ten different phone numbers; all of which were believed to be possible conspirators involved in the ongoing burglaries involving Bevmo locations dating back to late 2015.

Once phone records were obtained and input into CellHawk, CCPD Investigators were able to confirm the whereabouts of at least one or more of the involved conspirators as having tower hits at or near sixty-four (64) burglaries within seven different states.

“Without the cell phone record data, and the user-friendly platform CellHawk provides, it goes without saying that virtually all of these burglaries would have remained unsolved without CellHawk and its capabilities.”

– Investigator Ryan Thompson, Culver City PD

New User/ Refresher Training

Are you new to CellHawk or in need of a CellHawk refresher? Do you want to hear about the latest CellHawk features and news?

Join us for our FREE one-hour training webinar! We will cover all the features of CellHawk and show it in action with a real-life case study. Various file formats and new features will also be covered. Join your colleagues from across the country in this one-hour webinar. Sharpen your investigative skills or learn new ones. An opportunity will be provided to ask questions of our staff, and a certificate of completion will be provided.

Click HERE to pick the date and time that works best for you.

Upcoming Training

Cellular Technology, Mapping and Analysis
&
CellHawk Product Training

Greater Dallas, TX Area

May 8th – 10th, 2018

Greater Salt Lake City, UT Area

August 14th – August 16th, 2018

Upcoming Events

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Techno Security and Digital Forensics Conference

Myrtle Beach, SC

June 3rd – 6th

National Technical Investigators Association

Pheonix, AZ

July 14th – 19th

Crimes Against Children Conference

Dallas, TX

August 13th – 16th

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International Association of Special Investigation Units

Baltimore, MD

September 9th – 12th

International Association of Crime Analysts

Newport Beach, CA

September 17th – 21st

International Association of Chiefs of Police

Orlando, FL

October 6th – 9th

Meet a Hawk Member

Our customers are a part of the Hawk family and we feel it’s important for you to know the people you speak with on a regular basis. We pride ourselves on the high caliber and professionalism of our employees.

One of our members is Tim Smith, Director of Customer Success.

After graduating from Mercer University in Macon, GA Tim began his law enforcement career working for the Georgia Department of Parole as a Parole Officer. After a few years, Tim was hired into the Drug Enforcement Administration as a Federal Agent. In his career, Tim worked as a field agent in various locations such as Miami, Nassau, Jacksonville, and San Diego. In 2012 Tim retired as a supervisor in the DEA and transitioned to the private sector where he began working as the southwest account manager for Callyo.

Now, Tim is the Director of Customer Success of Hawk Analytics. His responsibilities include assisting our current customers to ensure that CellHawk is the best it can possibly be for them. Please join us in welcoming Tim to the Hawk team!