CO- Law's eye on sex-offender digital trails

A Dumb Method: Offenders are told to bring in their computers to allow them to be searched by a technician. I wonder how many offenders DO NOT bring in the computer that they use to do things prohibited by probation, instead bring in the clean one? Yes, the offenders could easily be smarter than those who monitor them without much thought!
3-14-2008 Colorado:

For three days each month, dozens of sex offenders parade into the Centennial probation office lugging their computers.

Have they traveled online to social sites like MySpace and Facebook trolling for victims? Have they been to XXXTeens or Match.com? Nickelodeon or Toys "R" Us? Have they chatted with other pedophiles or sexual offenders?

Most probation officers, more at home keeping criminals away from bars and other criminals, would have a hard time telling. So in Centennial, a forensic specialist comes in to go over the computers with the high-tech equivalent of a fine-toothed comb.

Between 70 percent and 80 percent of first-time sex offenders get probation, which means officers have their hands full watching for any trips they make to the dark side of the virtual world. And while sex offenders make up the majority of computer-related criminals on probation, there are also hackers, forgers, identity thieves and gang members who need to be watched.
Some counties have officers trained to monitor computers. Others have thrown up their hands over cyber tracking and rely on polygraph exams, given regularly to offenders, to catch online misdeeds.

"We have some offenders with way more computer expertise and knowledge than I have or most of my officers have," explained John Odenheimer, probation supervisor for the 18th Judicial District based in Centennial, which brings in the forensic specialist.

Taking computers away is rarely an option. Judges seldom allow probation officers to deny computer access. They can only place restrictions on computer use.

"It's obviously a big problem with the Internet being so ubiquitous," said Joe Russo, assistant director of the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center in Denver. "It's a concern that was unanticipated."

Russo's center has helped departments with training and research. And Boulder forensic computer consultant Jim Tanner has done much to improve monitoring by working with the center to develop a program that is distributed free to probation offices.

But the numbers are overwhelming. There are 2,604 sex offenders on probation now. Of those, 1,062 are considered "high risk," which means they (and their computers) must be monitored for the rest of their lives.

Even the probation office that is credited with doing the most with computer monitoring — the 20th Judicial District in Boulder County — keeps hitting new technological stumbling blocks.

Offenders can now make end runs around some monitoring programs by using cellphones, Blackberrys, iPods and video games to access the Internet. Programs are also available to wipe hard drives clean.

"We are going through gyrations to stay ahead," said Tanner, a con sultant with the Boulder department and developer of the Field Search program that is most widely used to scan probationers' computers in Colorado.

Digital trails a deterrent

In Boulder County, where offenders sit down with an officer as their computers are scanned, Chief Probation Officer Greg Brown said they are asked on the spot why they have gone to certain sites.

"When they see what we can pull up, most of them will stop doing what they are doing," Brown said. "It's a huge deterrent."

Colorado keeps no data on how many offenders on probation used computers to commit their initial crimes or whose probation is revoked because they continue illicit computer use.

Many violations are minor and warrant only warnings. But a case in Boulder showed monitoring can avert serious crime.

A man on probation for luring a minor through a social site and having sex with her wiped his hard drive clean and claimed it was inadvertent. Later monitoring showed he was on MySpace contacting underage girls and trying to set up meetings. He is now in prison for that violation.

Probation computer specialists say they are constantly working to tweak the monitoring to cover more data and devices. They are attempting to send trainers into rural areas and probation officials are developing a statewide policy on computer monitoring.

Meanwhile, probation officers concede that offenders are also at work on their own upgrades as they attempt to sneak undetected into the virtual netherworld of crime.

"They are always going to be a little bit ahead of us," Brown said. "We're not catching them all, but we're certainly increasing our probability." ..more.. by Nancy Lofholm: