Raising crime to felony enables use of search warrants

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/04/12/cops-seek-law-to-nab-cellphone-thieves.html

By Allison Manning, April 12, 2013

But the 21-year-old Columbus man knew exactly where it was. Using a GPS-based program called Lookout, he could see a green dot on his computer screen locating his Samsung Galaxy smartphone in an apartment complex on Marion Road on the South Side.

“I was pretty dumbfounded by the exactness of it,” Stanley, of the Far West Side, said.

He went to a Columbus police substation on April 1, told officers where his phone was and asked them to go get it. He said officers told him they couldn’t, in part because it was an apartment complex with multiple units.

So the phone with all his emails, his contacts and the photos of his 8-month-old son has stayed missing, though he can track its movements online.

“A cellphone is no longer a cellphone anymore,” he said. “It’s personal. It’s your life.”

Though portable electronic devices and their contents might be priceless to their owners, most are valued at less than $1,000, making stealing them a misdemeanor, not a felony. The threshold for a felony was changed from $500 when House Bill 86 went into effect 18 months ago.

Columbus police want to change that. Division officers have been working with Sen. Jim Hughes, a Republican from Columbus, on Senate Bill 63, which would make theft of a computer or other telecommunications device either a fourth- or fifth-degree felony.

“We’re not expecting these perpetrators to go to prison, but it gives us a little more credibility to do a search warrant, and it might give us fruits of another crime,” said Lt. Robert Strausbaugh, who supervises the Columbus police burglary squad.

The division doesn’t track the number of stolen smartphones or tablets, but an informal tally officers kept last year showed there were 20 reported thefts of such devices last April, 12 in September, 13 in October and six in December.

Besides Lookout, online locating services include Find My iPhone for Apple and Where’s My Droid for Android. Some just show where the phone is at that moment. Others allow the user to take screenshots of what’s being done on the phone or pictures from the phone’s camera, so the thief’s face can be captured.

But those apps don’t do much good if authorities won’t go get the device.

Strausbaugh said all that officers can really do now is knock on the door of where the phone or tablet might be and ask nicely to take a look around. Upgrading the theft to a felony would make it easier to get a search warrant to recover the device.

“It’s not in a good policeman’s nature to say, ‘I can’t do anything,’  ” he said.

Strausbaugh acknowledged that phone theft really isn’t a high-priority crime but is a big deal for the person who loses the phone.

“You’re losing a significant part of your life, and it’s only a misdemeanor,” he said.

The bill has had a hearing in the Senate criminal-justice committee, and Hughes said he hopes to have the full Senate vote on it in May.

Hughes said smartphone theft wasn’t on legislators’ radar when the felony-theft threshold was raised. He noted that phones are becoming more like computers or wallets, with apps that allow the user to pay for items such as Starbucks coffee without getting out cash or a card.

Stanley said he supports any change in the law that might get his phone back and punish the person who’s carrying it around town.

“I’d love to see someone go to jail for stealing my stuff,” he said.

Below is an editorial that appeared in yesterday’s Canton Repository about the importance of broadband development in Ohio.  TOT couldn’t agree more about the necessity of high-speed internet access.  And while this article points out that the state is directly investing in networks, Ohio can also help achieve the goal of greater connectivity by creating policies that ensure a robust, competitive marketplace exists for broadband development. That way Ohio can have the necessary infrastructure it will need for the 21^st century.

http://www.cantonrep.com/opinion/editorials/x935159317/Broadband-initiatives-critical-for-Ohio

The Canton Repository

Broadband initiatives critical for Ohio

The issue: High-speed Internet access
Our view: Much future economic growth hinges on high-speed Internet access.

It seems like decades since we’ve heard the term “information superhighway.” These days, it’s about as novel a notion as indoor plumbing.

But the analogy to roads still comes to mind when we’re reminded of how many Ohioans still lack high-speed access to the Internet.

That number is said to be as high as 700,000. Many of these people are in rural areas whose economies are poised for enormous growth because of the oil and gas drilling boom.

Being stuck in an electronic time warp is doubly unfortunate in these areas because lack of high-speed, or broadband, access creates inconvenience and hardships not only for households but also for businesses. So state government and energy companies are among those that are accelerating their efforts to bring high-speed Internet service to areas still unserved by cable and phone companies.

A state initiative called the Ohio Academic Resources Network has spent $13 million on 1,850 miles of fiber optic cables. And as Rep readers learned Sunday, a Canton company called Agile Network Builders is leading the way in developing wireless access. It now serves Carroll and Harrison counties, as well as Canton and other cities around the state, and by the end of 2014, it anticipates serving 100,000 homes that don’t currently have broadband access.

Mark Dowd, a co-founder of Agile, calls this rapid expansion “a big deal,” and it certainly is. We Ohioans who use high-speed Internet access daily are so used to its versatility, we take it for granted. Not so households that can’t download music and movies, students who have no access to long-distance learning resources, and businesses that can’t take part in teleconferences and use other resources dependent on high-speed Internet connections.

Ohio would not be an economic powerhouse today if it had primitive roads. It won’t be an economic powerhouse tomorrow with primitive communication — and 13 years into the 21st century, there’s no better word for lack of broadband access than primitive.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer

Marcia Pledger,March 23

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/03/consumer_demand_for_data_at_fi.html

As technology continues to improve, customers expect information at their fingertips — and that’s forcing companies to react faster to the needs of customers.

“The customers’ perception whether it’s right or wrong is, I can get weather updates on my phone. I can do banking and I even have a GPS on my phone, so why is it so hard for a repairman to get to my home in a timely fashion,” said Kaitlin McCready, a spokeswoman forTOA Technologies, a Beachwood-based software development company that helps track field employees and notify customers with updates.

“It’s putting pressure on businesses to re-evaluate the technology that manages the people that come to your house or that make the appointments for you,” she said.

Northeast Ohio software companies, like TOA, that offer products aimed at improving customer service are growing right along with the trend of satisfying customers who demand the convenience of instant communication.

In 10 years, TOA Technologies went from being a start-up software company that specializes in tracking mobile workers — like delivery and maintenance employees — to becoming a $41 million software company with 400 employees, including about 55 in Northeast Ohio.

In February, TOA was the only Ohio company that made the Forbes top 100 “America’s Most Promising Companies” list.

Yuval Brisker, chief executive officer and co-founder of TOA, said he’s not surprised at his company’s rapid growth, considering the firm experienced double-digit growth during the recession, primarily because it offers a cloud-based product attractive to companies with mobile work forces. The company’s strategy: offer lower upfront technical costs with a product aimed at improving customer service.

“What could be better than to advance service levels and do more with less,” Brisker said. “That’s like the Holy Grail. Giving companies the ability to create efficiencies while increasing customer service.”

Their software helps companies like Dish Network and Virgin Media reach out directly to their customers. Now instead of scheduling a four-hour window for a delivery or service call, a company can notify the customers by email, a phone call, text or even Twitter that the delivery man is on his way, freeing them from a long wait at home.

On hold no longer

TOA isn’t the only local software company that’s benefiting from a change in culture.

Virtual Hold Technology, another growing software development company, in Bath Township, started out in 1995 offering callback technology software — instead of making consumers wait on hold. Customers include the state of Ohio, which says the software has saved about 200 years of holding time for Ohioans in the last two years.

In 2011, VHT started working on a new package of products that allows customers to communicate with customers through multiple devices. The result: The company expects to grow revenues by 25 percent this year.

“Companies have really come to understand that in order to retain loyal customers, they need a positive experience, so they turn to companies like us to help them,” said Eric Camulli, a spokesman for the company, which employs 110. In the last year, the company has doubled its space at a new, 24,000-square-foot facility.

VHT is also trying to help companies that sell online to answer questions from customers, whether through an Internet chat or a personal phone call. If the customer gets an immediate answer, she is more likely to buy the item, Camulli said.

“What we attempt to do with our technology is bridge the gap between customers and customer service representatives who have the answers and information that they need. The trick is crossing channels,” he said.

“It’s more than a technology shift, it’s really a cultural shift. What that means is customers expect instant service,” he said. “Customers are like Goldilocks. They’re tasting, testing and trying. If you can’t deliver, it’s the only excuse they need to switch.”

Solutions in palm of their hand

Andrew Kraynak, marketing director at Fleetmatics Ltd. in Solon, said his software company started out in 2004 as a company that helps businesses track and direct vehicles with GPS tracking software.

But as technology evolved, the company’s growth came from its ability to tailor information-gathering software to help small-business owners make better decisions and improve customer service and operations.

A year and a half ago, the company launched a mobile app that’s free to their customers, because they realized that most small-business owners don’t spend much time in their offices. A mobile app helps them redirect their workers where they are needed based on information in the palm of their hand. Now, if a repairman is running late, they can send someone else immediately.

“Now they have information to act on what they know,” said Andrew Kraynak, senior director of marketing at Fleetmatics.

Make it easy for customers

Columbus-based Safelite Autoglass, a national provider of vehicle glass repair and replacement service, continually invests in technology that enhances customer service.

About five years ago, the company started sending customers emails with insurance details and appointment information with a photo of the technician they could expect at their home. Most recently, Safelite launched a mobile app for smartphones that allows customers to quickly schedule appointments.

“I think it’s important to invest in the multiple channels that customers want to interact with you. It might be a phone call, social media or through their smartphones,” said Melina Metzger, a company spokeswoman. “We don’t ever want a customer to have an excuse not to choose us. We want to make it easy on them.”

McCready at TOA said her company held a few round-table discussions with some of its corporate customers several months ago, and the talks reconfirmed their position that field employees appreciate technology that helps them do their jobs better.

“It sounds a little like big brother is watching, but what we’re finding is that the average field employee wants to feel more empowered with information at their fingertips that can actually help their customers,” she said.

From the Columbus Dispatch:

By Josh Jarman
April 2, 2013

The Franklin County Common Pleas Court is starting a pilot program for electronically filing criminal cases, with the goal of eventually handling all documents online.

The project will begin with the electronic filing of indictments, starting on Wednesday, and then move to complete electronic filing of cases handled by four of the county’s 17 common pleas judges in mid-April. If things go smoothly, more judges’ offices will be brought online and electronic filing will become mandatory for all criminal cases by the end of May.

Clerk of Courts Maryellen O’Shaughnessy said online filing will result in faster and more-accurate sharing of information among judges, lawyers and defendants.

“A year from now, everyone is going to be saying this is wonderful, but change is never easy,” O’Shaughnessy said.

Her office began allowing electronic filing of civil cases in October 2011. With a few exceptions, all civil-case documents must now be filed electronically. Franklin County’s is one of the largest clerk’s offices in the state, with more than 45,000 cases filed across all divisions of the court in 2012.

It used to take days for a document filed with the clerk’s office to be added to a case file, O’Shaughnessy said. With electronic filing, it’s now a matter of hours.

Guy Reece, one of the four judges who will test electronic filing for criminal cases, said it’s important for the court to keep up with changing technology.

Reece serves as chairman of the county’s e-Governance Board, which has overseen the transition to electronic filing and online access to court documents.

The court’s criminal division was the last to be brought online because its cases have the most serious consequences, he said. It was essential to prove e-filing could work in the civil and domestic divisions, for example, before moving to the appeal, juvenile and finally criminal divisions.

“I think it’s important to do it this way to build confidence in the system,” Reece said. “When looking at criminal cases, you’re affecting people’s rights.”

Questions remain about computer access in the courtrooms and how electronic documents such as plea arrangements will be shared and negotiations conducted among prosecutors, defense attorneys and defendants. Prosecutor Ron O’Brien said those details will be worked out before electronic filing becomes mandatory.

“I expect any of the issues raised by various parties will get resolved as the pilot project moves forward,” O’Brien wrote in an email.

From AT&T Press Release:

Columbus, OH, March 26, 2013 — AT&T* has announced that Adam Grzybicki has been named President of AT&T Ohio.

In this role, Grzybicki will lead AT&T’s legislative and community affairs activities in Ohio. Representing AT&T’s interests across the state, he will work closely with community leaders, legislators and other policy makers, as well as local and regional business leaders and customers, to help meet AT&T’s objective of connecting people with technology everywhere they live and work.

“I’m delighted to join the Ohio community and work with its leaders to help bring the state the benefits of high-speed wireless and wireline broadband,” said Grzybicki.  “This is an exciting time for AT&T and the state of Ohio as we are investing heavily in transforming the state’s infrastructure to deliver faster, more reliable Internet connections to Ohioans at home, work and everywhere in between.”

AT&T recently announced that it has invested more than $1.5 billion in its Ohio wireless and wireline networks from 2010 through 2012, with a focus on expanding 4G LTE mobile Internet coverage and enhancing the overall performance of its network.  And, as part of Project Velocity IP or VIP, we are investing an additional $14 billion nationally in the next three years to expand our advanced wireless and wireline broadband networks and to support future IP data growth and new services.

“As Northeast Ohio’s Chamber of Commerce, we are thrilled to hear of Adam’s appointment as President of AT&T Ohio,” said Joe Roman, President and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Partnership. “We look forward to working closely with Adam and AT&T to position Ohio as open for business and a leader in investments from the technology industry.”

“I’m excited to be part of this dynamic industry and this great state at a time when mobile Internet technology is changing the way we live and work,” said Grzybicki.  “This is a great opportunity to be part of an extraordinary team of employees, and I’m excited about getting started on these initiatives and being associated with our Ohio investment and network transformation.”

Grzybicki comes to Ohio from AT&T Oregon, where he served as President of AT&T Oregon leading AT&T’s state legislative, regulatory and community initiatives in Portland as well as in Alaska, Montana, and Idaho.  During his AT&T career, Grzybicki has worked in a variety of roles for the company and has enjoyed volunteering his time with numerous charitable and civic organizations.

Grzybicki graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Master of Arts degree in Public Policy from Oklahoma State University.  He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Affairs and Administration from California State University.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.