May 2016
In This Issue
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evUpcoming Events
 
Trace Investigations founder and CEO, Don C. Johnson, heads to Toronto on June 8th for the annual general meeting and conference of the International Intelligence Network, Ltd. Johnson serves on the Intellenet board of directors and publishes its quarterly newsletter, Intellenet News, which can be found on the website. Two key seminar topics at this year's conference: drones and forensic entomology, not necessarily related but equally relevant to civil and criminal investigations.
   



We are grateful to have the opportunity to provide you this valuable information. We take special care to ensure the information we provide you in "Tracings" is the latest and most current information available.  In this edition, we have addressed the use of drones in investigative work and how legal interests cannot be protected by illegal means, and we tell you about the Drone Defender™.

The goal of this e-newsletter is to provide you with critical information that will help you prevail in your business affairs wherever fact finding is an essential component. We will share what we have learned in our 30+ years as professional investigators and intelligence analysts.

We want to write about topics that will assist you in succeeding in your business endeavors. Please e-mail us your topics of interest to
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Sincerely,
The Trace Team

art1 UFOs, UAVs and PIs
Have you noticed that there have been virtually no UFO sightings in the U.S. in that last few decades that were associated with alien visitations to earth? What happened? Could it have been the sudden appearance of portable camcorders thirty years ago and then a few years later the ubiquitous cell phone camera? What's your excuse for not getting a video or photograph of that "unidentified flying object" that was hovering over your cow pasture the other night?

While the use of the term "UFO" is not as prevalent anymore, there is a new acronym which has been garnering attention, the UAV, the "unmanned aerial vehicle" but more commonly referred to as a drone. Another term in use for drones is "unmanned aerial systems" or UAS.

Last December the Department of Transportation announced that, as of February 19 this year, drone users will have to register their devices. Airline pilots are reporting an increase in the number of drone sightings during flights, prompting the DOT's response. The responsibility of developing guidelines for the commercial use of drones falls to the FAA. However, the DOT said the new rules do not apply to the recreational use of UAV. Well, maybe, maybe not.

We have in recent years witnessed the widespread deployment of drones by our military forces, with a great degree of success measured with a war craft barometer. Drones are already in wide usage in commercial sectors too. Property managers and... Read More
 
art2 The DroneDefender
Speaking of new technologies, the Battelle DroneDefender™ is an accurate and easy-to-use handheld device for protection against small UAS devices. It has the appearance of a space age rifle and uses radio control frequencies to disrupt drones in the air. Designed for use by authorized federal authorities under a strict permitting process, several units have already been deployed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Defense. The DroneDefender™ is both lightweight and portable.

Battelle's web site, www.battelle.org, in promoting the DroneDefender™, notes that "... traditional defense mechanisms against UAS, such as shooting them down, are not tenable under current regulations and other potential solutions pose safety risks. The DroneDefender™ "... utilizes a non-kinetic solution to defend airspace up to 400m against UAS, such as quadcopters and hexacopters, without compromising safety or risking collateral damage." Click here to see a video demonstration of the device.

Of course, as noted above, the device is not authorized for civilian use. The rest of us will have to rely on our shotgun for defense against invasive drones, as a man in Kentucky did last year. Or perhaps we'd better think twice. The gentleman in Kentucky was charged with two misdemeanors, criminal mischief and wanton endangerment. However, he did start a trend it appears. Others have since shot drones out of the air.