Evidence and property tracking for law enforcement

• US 20020113707A1
• Filed: 02/21/2001
• Published: 08/22/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Grunes, Mitchell B., Karel, Gerald L., Olson, Peter L.
• Granted Patent: US 6,816,075 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9554 by using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/18 by transferring data from one type of record carrier on to another type of record carrier, e.g. from magnetic tape to punched card

Abstract

Methods and systems for collecting, tagging, searching for, retrieving, inventorying, and transferring evidence by law enforcement officials are described, in which RFID tags associated with pieces of evidence can be interrogated to assist in locating information relating to that evidence.

Claims

1. A method for converting a collection of non-RFID tagged pieces of evidence to RFID-tagged evidence, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a piece of evidence that includes a non-RFID tag;

(b) obtaining information from the non-RFID tag;

(c) inputting the information into a processor;

(d) writing the information onto an RFID tag; and

(e) associating a database record with that RFID tag.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein steps (b) and (c) comprise scanning a bar code on the non-RFID tag.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) comprises reading information from the non-RFID tag visually.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) comprises typing information using a keyboard.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) comprises using a touch-panel display.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further includes the step of associating the RFID tag with a container for the piece of evidence prior to step (d).

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further includes the step of printing information on a surface selected from major surfaces of the RFID tag, a label, and a container for the evidence.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the method further includes the step of entering information that relates to the piece of evidence into the database record.

9. A method for converting a collection of non-RFID tagged pieces of evidence to RFID-tagged evidence, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a piece of evidence that includes a non-RFID tag, followed by the step of

(b) obtaining information from the non-RFID tag, followed by the step of

(c) inputting the information into a processor;

followed by the following steps in any order;

(i) writing the information onto an RFID tag; and

(ii) associating a database record with that RFID tag.

10. A method for converting a collection of non-RFID tagged pieces of evidence to RFID-tagged evidence, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a piece of evidence that includes a non-RFID tag, followed by the step of

(b) obtaining information from the non-RFID tag, followed by the step of

(c) inputting the information into a processor;

followed by the following steps in any order;

(i) writing the information onto an RFID tag;

(ii) associating a database record with that RFID tag; and

(iii) entering information that relates to the piece of evidence into the database record.

11. A conversion station for converting a collection of non-RFID tagged pieces of evidence to RFID-tagged pieces of evidence, comprising:

(a) an information receiving system into which information related to a piece of evidence may be input;

(b) an RFID tag feeding mechanism to receive and advance RFID tags to a tag programming zone; and

(c) an RFID writer including an antenna adjacent the tag programming zone, for writing the information to the RFID tag positioned in the tag programming zone.

12. The conversion station of claim 11, wherein the conversion station further includes a supply of RFID tags positioned within the RFID tag feeding mechanism.

13. The conversion station of claim 12, wherein the conversion station further includes a processor and a database, and the processor associates the RFID tag with a database record.

14. The conversion station of claim 11, wherein the database record includes information about the piece of evidence.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the RFID tag is also programmed to include the crime type.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the RFID tag is also programmed to include at least one type of information selected from the group of a victim'"'"'s name, a suspect'"'"'s name, the location where the evidence was obtained, the name of the person who collected the evidence, the name of the agency handling the investigation, a description of the information, the date of the offense, and the date that the evidence was collected.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises the step of entering information into the database record relating to the piece of evidence.

15. A method of collecting evidence, comprising the steps of:

(a) obtaining a piece of evidence;

(b) placing the evidence into a container, the container having an RFID tag associated therewith; and

(c) programming the RFID tag to include a case identifier.

18. A method of collecting evidence, comprising the steps of:

(a) obtaining a piece of evidence;

(b) placing the evidence into a container, the container having an RFID tag associated therewith;

(c) programming the RFID tag to include a type of information selected from the group consisting of the case identification number, the crime type, a victim'"'"'s name, a suspect'"'"'s name, the location where the evidence was obtained, the name of the person who collected the evidence, the name of the agency handling the investigation, a description of the information, the date of the offense, and the date that the evidence was collected; and

(d) entering information into a database record associated with the RFID tag, the information selected from the group consisting of the case identification number, the crime type, a victim'"'"'s name, a suspect'"'"'s name, the location where the evidence was obtained, the name of the person who collected the evidence, the name of the agency handling the investigation, a description of the information, the date of the offense, and the date that the evidence was collected.

19. A method for tagging a piece of evidence using an RFID tag, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a supply of RFID tags, each tag having a unique tag identifier stored in the tag memory;

(b) selecting an RFID tag from the supply; and

(c) associating a database record with the selected RFID tag using the tag identifier.

21. A method of tagging a piece of evidence using an RFID tag, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a supply of RFID tags, each tag having a unique tag identifier stored in the tag memory;

(b) interrogating a selected RFID tag using an RFID reader to obtain the unique tag identifier; and

(c) associating a database record with the selected RFID tag using the tag identifier.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the method further comprises the step of entering information into the database record relating to the piece of evidence.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the method further comprises the step of (d) associating a database record with the RFID tag programmed in step (c).

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the method further comprises the step of (e) entering information related to the piece of evidence into the database record of (d).

28. The RFID system of claim 27, wherein the climate monitoring system monitors the temperature in the environment.

29. The RFID system of claim 27, wherein the climate monitoring system monitors the humidity in the environment.

30. The RFID system of claim 27, wherein the system further includes a database, and the indication of the predetermined climatic condition is also stored in the database.

31. The RFID system of claim 27, wherein the RFID writer is also adapted to program an indication of environmental conditions to multiple RFID tags substantially simultaneously on demand by a user.

32. The RFID system of claim 27, wherein the RFID writer is also adapted to program an indication of environmental conditions to multiple RFID tags substantially simultaneously at predetermined times or intervals of time.

23. A method of tagging a piece of evidence using an RFID tag, comprising the steps of:

(a) locating in a database a record related to a piece of evidence;

(b) selecting certain information from that record; and

(c) programming an RFID tag with the selected information.

26. A method for tagging a piece of evidence using an RFID tag, comprising the following steps in the specified order:

(a) obtaining a piece of evidence, and then

(b) writing information related to the piece of evidence to an RFID tag to be associated with the evidence; and

then

(c) associating a database record with the RFID tag.

27. An RFID system for a climate-controlled environment in which evidence is stored, comprising:

(a) pieces of evidence, each of which is associated with an RFID tag;

(b) an RFID writer that is adapted to write to more than one RFID tag substantially simultaneously; and

(c) a climate monitoring system for monitoring the environment;

wherein when the climate monitoring system detects a predetermined climatic condition in the environment, the RFID writer programs more than one RFID tag in that environment with an indication of that condition.

33. A method of monitoring a climate-controlled environment, comprising the steps of:

(a) associating an RFID tag with at least one item;

(b) providing an RFID writer in the environment, the RFID writer positioned to write to more than one RFID tag substantially simultaneously;

(c) monitoring the climate in the environment to determine whether a predetermined climatic condition is present in the environment; and

(d) writing information to more than one RFID tag when the predetermined climatic condition is present.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the item is a piece of evidence.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein step (c) comprises monitoring the temperature in the environment.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein step (c) comprises monitoring the humidity in the environment.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the method further comprises the step of (c) providing an indication to a user when RFID tag(s) associated with the certain piece(s) of evidence are interrogated.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein the information input in step (a) is contained within the memory of and available from the RFID tags of step (b).

37. A method of using a portable RFID device, comprising the steps of:

(a) inputting information to the device by other than RFID interrogation, the information describing a piece of evidence or class of evidence each having an RFID tag; and

(b) scanning RFID tags associated with a plurality of pieces of evidence to determine whether the certain piece or pieces of evidence are present.

40. A method of using a portable RFID device, comprising the steps of:

(a) inputting an algorithm to the device that describes an ordered set of evidence;

(b) interrogating a plurality of pieces of evidence having RFID tags to obtain information from those tags; and

(c) comparing a description of the items obtained using the information obtained from the RFID tags to the algorithm to determine whether the scanned items are in the algorithm order.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the method further comprises the step of:

(d) providing an indication to a user of any piece of evidence that is not in the algorithm order.

42. The method of claim 40, wherein the algorithm order is an ordered series of case identifiers.

43. The method of claim 40, wherein the algorithm order is chronological.

44. A method of using a portable RFID device to associate a piece of evidence bearing an RFID tag with a location, comprising the steps of:

(a) interrogating the RFID tag associated with the piece of evidence;

(b) inputting information to the device to describe the location; and

(c) associating the piece of evidence with the location in a database.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the method further includes the step of (d) providing an indication to a user confirming the association of the piece of evidence with the location.

46. The method of claim 44, wherein the location has a separate RFID tag, and step (b) comprises scanning the RFID tag associated with that location.

47. The method of claim 44, wherein the location is a crime scene.

48. The method of claim 44, wherein the location is a part of an evidence storage room.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the method further comprises the step of:

(d) providing an indication of the determination made in step (c) to the user.

49. A method of using a portable RFID device to associate a certain piece of evidence bearing an RFID tag with a group of pieces of evidence each also bearing an RFID tag, comprising the steps of:

(a) interrogating the RFID tag associated with the certain piece of evidence;

(b) interrogating the RFID tags of at least one additional piece of evidence within the group; and

(c) determining whether the certain piece of evidence is associated with the group of pieces of evidence.

51. A method of identifying a specific piece of evidence having an RFID tag associated therewith from among a group of pieces of evidence also having RFID tags associated therewith, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing an RFID reader with information identifying the specific piece of evidence;

(b) interrogating the group of pieces of evidence; and

(c) providing a signal when the RFID reader interrogates the RFID tag associated with the specific piece of evidence.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the information provided in step (a) is information identifying a case to which the evidence relates, and step (c) comprises providing a signal when the RFID reader interrogates an RFID tag associated with a specific piece of evidence from that case.

53. The method of claim 51, wherein the information provided in step (a) is information indicative of a date.

54. The method of claim 51, wherein the information provided in step (a) is indicative of a specific person.

55. A method for locating a group of pieces of evidence each having an RFID tag associated therewith, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing an RFID reader with information identifying each of the pieces of evidence in the group;

(b) interrogating items in an area believed to contain the pieces of evidence in the group;

(c) providing an indication when the RFID reader interrogates the RFID tag associated with a piece of evidence in the group; and

(d) providing an indication of the number of RFID-tagged pieces of evidence in the group that have been interrogated by the RFID reader.

56. The method of claim 55, wherein the pieces of evidence in the group all relate to a single case.

57. The method of claim 55, wherein the RFID reader provides an indication of how many pieces of evidence within the group have not been interrogated.

60. The method of claim 59, wherein the method further comprises the step of (d) notifying a user of any piece(s) of evidence that are expected to be at the location, but are not at that location.

61. The method of claim 59, wherein the method further comprises the step of (d) notifying the user of any piece(s) of evidence that are not expected to be at the location, but are at that location.

62. The method of claim 59, wherein the method is performed repeatedly at successive locations.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein the method comprises the step of multiplexing plural antennae, each of which is positioned at a location and is adapted to interrogate the pieces of evidence at that location.

58. A method of using a portable RFID reader for determining where among a group of pieces of evidence a specific piece of evidence should be located, comprising the steps of:

(a) inputting information to the RFID reader that identifies the specific piece of evidence;

(b) passing the reader over the group of pieces of evidence;

(c) detecting where among the group of pieces of evidence the specific piece of evidence should be located; and

(d) providing an indication to the user of that location.

59. A method of searching for evidence bearing an RFID tag, comprising the steps

(a) providing in a database a list of locations and the pieces of RFID-tagged evidence that are expected to be at those locations;

(b) interrogating the RFID-tagged pieces of evidence at least one location listed in the database to determine which pieces of evidence are at that location; and

(c) comparing the evidence determined to be at that location with the pieces of evidence expected to be at that location.

64. A method of tracking an RFID-tagged piece of evidence, comprising the step s of:

(a) associating an RFID writer with a piece of testing equipment;

(b) testing the piece of evidence using the testing equipment; and

(c) writing information to the RFID-tagged piece of evidence to indicate that the evidence was tested by the testing equipment.

65. The method of claim 64, wherein step (c) comprises writing the date and time of the test to the RFID tag.

66. The method of claim 64, wherein step (c) comprises writing information describing the person conducting the test to the RFID tag.

67. The method of claim 64, wherein step (c) comprises writing information describing a result of the test to the RFID tag.

68. The method of claim 64, wherein the method further includes the steps of (d) identifying a person associated with the test equipment;

and (e) writing information describing that person to the RFID tag.

69. The method of claim 68, wherein step (d) comprises interrogating an RFID badge associated with a person to obtain information identifying the person.

70. The method of claim 64, wherein the testing equipment for testing ballistics.

71. The method of claim 64, wherein the testing equipment is for testing biological samples.

72. The method of claim 64, wherein information is provided to a database to indicate that the evidence was tested by the testing equipment.

73. In combination:

(a) a piece of testing equipment for testing at least one determinable characteristic of a piece of evidence; and

(b) an RFID writer, for programming information to an RFID tag associated with the piece of evidence.

74. The combination of claim 73, wherein the combination further includes a processor and database for updating a database record to include information relating to the piece of evidence tested.

75. The combination of claim 73, wherein the piece of equipment is ballistics testing equipment, and the RFID writer is adapted to program information to an RFID tag associated with a firearm.

76. The combination of claim 73, wherein the piece of equipment is DNA testing equipment.

77. The combination of claim 73, wherein the piece of equipment is drug testing equipment.

79. The RFID system of claim 78, wherein the system further comprises at least one RFID reader associated with a portal through which the evidence can pass, whereby that RFID reader is adapted to interrogate the RFID tag to identify the piece of evidence, and the RFID writer is adapted to write information identifying the location of the portal to the RFID tag.

80. The RFID system of claim 79, wherein the RFID reader associated with a portal is adapted to interrogate an RFID tag associated with a person, and the RFID writer is adapted to write information identifying the person to the RFID tag.

81. The RFID system of claim 78, wherein the system further comprises a database, and the database contains information indicative of which pieces of evidence may be possessed by which individuals, and is adapted to permit only authorized individuals to obtain the pieces of evidence that those individuals are authorized to obtain.

86. The method of claim 80, wherein the method further includes transferring the database from one computer to a second computer.

87. The method of claim 86, wherein the transfer is over the Internet.

78. An RFID system for recording the chain of custody of a piece of evidence, comprising:

a) a piece of evidence associated with an RFID tag; and

b) an RFID writer that receives information describing a person who possesses the evidence and writes that information to the RFID tag.

82. A method for transferring evidence between a first location and a second location, comprising the steps of:

(a) collecting RFID-tagged pieces of evidence;

(b) reading the RFID tags to create a list of the pieces of evidence collected; and

(c) storing that list in a database.

83. The method of claim 82, wherein the database is stored on a portable data storage medium.

84. The method of claim 83, wherein the method further includes the step of transferring the collected evidence and the portable data storage medium from the first location to the second location.

85. The method of claim 84, wherein the method further includes using an RFID reader to read the RFID tags associated with the transferred evidence, and comparing the transferred evidence to the list in the database.

88. The method of claim 82, wherein the method further comprises the step of (d) duplicating the database, to permit the first location to retain information regarding the evidence transferred to the second location.