Evidence and property tracking for law enforcement

• US 20040257231A1
• Filed: 06/28/2004
• Published: 12/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Olson, Peter L., Grunes, Mitchell B., Karel, Gerald L.
• Application Number:
  US10/878,779
• Publication Number:
  US 20040257231A1
• 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 of collecting evidence related to law enforcement, comprising the steps of:

(a) obtaining a piece of evidence related to law enforcement;

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

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

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag is also programmed to include the crime type.

3. The method of claim 1, 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.

4. A method of collecting evidence related to law enforcement, comprising the steps of:

(a) obtaining a piece of evidence related to law enforcement;

(b) placing the evidence related to law enforcement 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.