Crime and Society Newsletter
America's Criminologist with Dr. Currie Myers
Crime, Criminology, and Criminal Justice Podcast for Friday, July 7, 2023
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Crime, Criminology, and Criminal Justice Podcast for Friday, July 7, 2023

Happy Friday, this is Dr. Currie Myers, America’s Criminologist, with this important crime, criminology, and criminal justice update for the week.

The White House Cocaine Caper is once again showing that the government at the highest levels can address wrongdoing. Cocaine discovered in the White House on Sunday was found in a cubby hole in a West Wing entry area where visitors place electronics and other belongings before going on tours, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The original recording from the hazmat team said the cocaine had been found in the White House “library,” which, according to the Daily Mail, is “part of the public tour experienced by hundreds daily, meaning there could be multiple suspects,” adding that the library is located “two floors below the first family’s living quarters.” “While the dispatch recording clearly says ‘library,’ a source familiar with the incident told DailyMail.com that the substance was not found inside the executive mansion but was discovered in a ‘work area’ in the west wing of the White House,” the Daily Mail noted. Neither the White House nor the Secret Service has explained how a person with cocaine in their possession managed to bypass security. This is a major embarrassment for the White House and any further delays in the investigation to identify suspects only further reinforces that fact that we are living in a two-tier system of justice. One for the haves, and one for the have nots! And that’s my criminal justice memo for the week.

Television actor Allison Mack has been released from a California prison for her role in a sex-trafficking case tied to the cult-like group NXIVM. Mack, best known for her role as a young Superman’s close friend on Smallville, was sentenced to three years behind bars in 2021 after pleading guilty two years earlier to charges that she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for NXIVM leader Keith Raniere. Mack, 40, avoided a longer prison term by cooperating with federal authorities in their case against Raniere, who was ultimately sentenced to 120 years in prison after being convicted on sex-trafficking charges. Mack helped prosecutors mount evidence showing how Raniere created a secret society that included brainwashed women who were branded with his initials and forced to have sex with him.

China‘s People’s Liberation Army is developing high-technology weapons designed to disrupt brain functions and influence government leaders or entire populations, according to a report by three open-source intelligence analysts. The weapons can be used to directly attack or control brains using microwave or other-directed energy weapons in handheld guns or larger weapons firing electromagnetic beams, adding that the danger of China‘s brain warfare weapons prior to or during a conflict is no longer theoretical. Neurostrike is a military term defined as the engineered targeting of the brains of military personnel or civilians using non-kinetic technology. The goal is to impair thinking, reduce situational awareness, inflict long-term neurological damage and cloud normal cognitive functions. The threat is not limited to the use of microwave weapons: “[China‘s] new landscape of neurostrike development includes using massively distributed human-computer interfaces to control entire populations as well as a range of weapons designed to cause cognitive damage,” the report said.

Research is focused on using brain warfare weapons in the near term, and possibly during a Chinese military assault on Taiwan — a target for future Chinese military operations that U.S. military leaders have said could be carried out in the next four years.

A woman whose body was found floating in a Canadian river nearly 50 years ago has finally been identified by authorities, and a man has been charged with her murder. In a Wednesday press release, Ontario Provincial Police said that DNA testing proves that 48-year-old American Jewell "Lalla" Langford is the woman dubbed the "Nation River Lady" in 1975, when her strangled body was found floating in eastern Ontario’s Nation River. Authorities explained that a DNA profile was obtained in 2019 and through a lab in the United States using whole genome sequencing, the sample matches samples from two family members listed in a family DNA tree. "This is believed to be the first case in Canada of this nature to identify human remains through Forensic Genealogy," the press release stated. In addition to identifying Langford, police said they have charged 81-year-old Randy Nichols with her murder and believe the two knew each other.

New York City police officer was indicted on 119 counts of possessing child pornography on Thursday, in Suffolk County Court. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced in a press release that Steven Marksberry, 50, of Lake Grove, New York, allegedly took screenshots and saved child sexual abuse material to his cellphone. An investigation got underway when the Suffolk County Police Department received a tip from Internet Crimes Against Children, alerting the agency that Marksberry allegedly uploaded child sexual abuse pictures to his iCloud storage account. Police executed a search warrant on Marksberry’s account and cellphone, which allegedly revealed numerous pictures depicting the sexual abuse of female children between 4 and 12 years old. Marksberry was arraigned on the 119-count indictment in front of Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro, which included 50 counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child and 69 counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child — all 119 charges are felonies. If convicted, Marksberry faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

A 4-year-old Kansas girl has been hospitalized after she was shot in the arm while watching fireworks, and police suspect the bullet may have been fired into the air in celebration of the Fourth of July. Wichita police said the shooting happened Tuesday night. The child was in serious condition, but her injuries are not life-threatening, police said Wednesday. The girl was watching fireworks and playing with neighbors when she was struck. Police said the injury "appears to be from a stray bullet strike," and urged people not to shoot into the air. "This reckless behavior exhibits a lack of regard for human life," police said in a news release. No arrests have been made, but an investigation continues.

Drones, like any other technological tool, can be misused for criminal purposes. While drones have numerous beneficial applications such as aerial photography, delivery services, agriculture, search and rescue operations, and infrastructure inspections, they can also be exploited by individuals with criminal intent.  A new report about a Mexican Drug Cartel’s use of Drones provides information that the cartel known as the CJNG, a Jalisco Cartel has now institutionalized drone usage with a specialized drone operator unit. Since late 2017, the (CJNG) has emerged as a prominent user of drones within Mexican cartels. They have consistently expanded their utilization of these systems for various purposes, including intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance, dissemination of propaganda, and conducting attacks involving improvised explosive devices (IEDs). According to imagery from April 2023, there are indications that CJNG has established a dedicated unit called “Drone Operators”, which is evident from the unit patch prominently worn on their cartel uniforms, such as body armor battle kits. It is possible that this unit patch first appeared in CJNG-related videos as early as November 2021, although it went unnoticed due to the limited resolution of the imagery at that time. Here are a few examples of how drones can be used for criminal purposes:

1.      Surveillance and reconnaissance: Drones equipped with cameras can be used for spying on individuals, organizations, or private property. Criminals might use drones to gather intelligence, monitor potential targets, or facilitate illegal activities such as burglary or stalking.

2.      Drug trafficking: Drones can be employed to transport drugs across borders or within a local area discreetly. Criminal organizations can use drones to bypass traditional smuggling routes and surveillance, making it more challenging for law enforcement to detect their activities.

3.      Smuggling contraband: Drones can be used to transport contraband items, such as weapons, mobile phones, drugs, or even illicit goods into prisons or restricted areas. The small size and maneuverability of drones make them ideal for circumventing security measures.

4.      Cyber-attacks: Drones can be utilized to conduct aerial cyber-attacks. For instance, drones equipped with hacking tools can attempt to breach wireless networks, intercept sensitive data, or launch Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.

5.      Harassment or terrorism: Drones can be employed to intimidate or harass individuals or groups. In extreme cases, drones can be weaponized and used for acts of terrorism or to conduct targeted attacks.

6.      Invasion of privacy: Drones equipped with cameras can be flown over private property or public spaces to invade people's privacy. They can capture sensitive information, record personal activities, or distribute unauthorized footage without consent.

Children make up 27% of all human trafficking victims worldwide, and two out of every three identified child victims are girls. Sound of Freedom is a thriller based on the incredible true story of a former government agent turned freedom fighter who embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue dozens of children from modern-day slavery. This emotionally riveting narrative is a powerful story of heroism and stands as a testament to the tenacious spirit of those who refuse to let evil triumph. Sound of Freedom highlights one of his first missions to free dozens of children from sex trafficking and exploitation. It is a story of the fight for freedom and hope, even in the darkest of places. This movie, a new Angel Original, shines a light on one of the most horrific crime industries in the world: child trafficking.

The Oregon Department of Human Services is using preferred pronouns, rather than sex, of three missing children.  Brantley Hinson, 7, Logan Hinson, 4, and River Hinson, two, all brothers were reported missing on June 17. Fortunately, the children were found with their mother Stephanie Lloyd on June 28. But the missing children’s alert has raised some eyebrows for its unusual addition of preferred pronouns that was placed in the alert. In the identifying descriptions the division included 'he/him' pronouns alongside other descriptions such as age and hair color. There are no safety enhancements or investigatory opportunities yielded using pronouns in missing children media advisories. The data suggests that information contained in these public service advisories should be limited to specific information that helps identify the child, such as their name, age, height, weight, hair, and eye color, as well as a recent picture. Too much unimportant information draws the reader away from what is important. Preferred pronouns in these types of public alerts are merely a signal that the government is friendly towards transgender or non-binary people, whose gender may not align with their appearance or be obvious in the first place. The politicization of missing children alerts by adding such information as preferred pronouns have no place in missing child alerts to the public. In fact, the usage only reinforces the current contagion associated with gender dysphoria and gender confusion.

This is Dr. Currie Myers, America’s Criminologist.  Please check out my work on Substack at drcurriemyers.substack.com – Stay safe and have a great weekend!

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Crime and Society Newsletter
America's Criminologist with Dr. Currie Myers
Talking crime and criminal justice issues with renown Criminologist Sheriff (Ret) Currie Myers, PhD, MBA. MS.
Dr Myers is an applied criminologist and public policy ethicist that is billed as "America's Criminologist" a media favorite on podcasts, radio, and television.