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Meet URL, the USB Porn-Sniffing Dog (cnn.com)

HughPickens.com writes: CNN reports that URL, the porn-sniffing dog, is the newest crime-fighting tool at the Weber County Sheriff's office with a nose that could help put away some of the country's most predatory and dangerous criminals. URL (pronounced Earl) sniffs out electronic storage media. Still just a pup, the 18-month-old K-9 is one of fewer than two dozen such dogs in the United States that hunt the unique chemical compounds emitted from flash drives, memory cards, cell phones, iPads and other similar devices. While dogs like URL can't tell detectives if a device has electronic evidence on it, they are able to find devices that humans might otherwise miss. Detective Cameron Hartman points to the high-profile case of former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle, who was convicted on child pornography and other charges last year. A K-9 named Bear, who was trained by the same man who trained URL, led investigators to hidden thumb drives inside Fogle's home. The U.S. Attorney's office for Southern Indiana confirmed those devices contained evidence against Fogle. URL has found evidence relating to pornography during the execution of search warrants for the task force in several investigations of child sex crimes and child trafficking. "He actually found a USB that was in this jar that was closed, and the jar was in a box, and the box had stuff in it. The jar itself had stuff in it."

5 of 299 comments (clear)

  1. URL is also known by queazocotal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    as parallel construction.

  2. Re:Possible solution... by Dunbal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You mean the "pigs" that protect your chubby suburban white ass from getting killed?

    The criminal always has the initiative. The "pigs" don't protect or prevent ANYTHING. They show up after the fact to clean up the mess, and SOMETIMES get up off their asses to actually try to catch a perpetrator - you know, someone who has already DONE the crime. You have this wild notion that police somehow are the only barrier between the citizen and crime. No, the police are the CONSEQUENCES of crime for the criminal. That is, when they get the right guy. But anyone guilty enough will do, at the end of the day. The only barrier the police are really for is between you and those who rule you.

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  3. Re:AFAIK Porn is not illegal. by andreas.hummelbrunne · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yeah. Because 100% of porn is illegal child pornography.
    Let's be real here:
    Having a storage device doesn't mean that the state needs to know what's stored on it.
    Having a storage device doesn't mean that the content is pornographic and/or illegal.
    Having a storage device doesn't mean that you're a criminal.

    And yet you get treated as such.

  4. Re:You mean parallel construction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't think you can get stability and prosperity from a police state under any circumstances. You get told that whatever you have is stability and prosperity, provided by the suppression of enemies internal and external.

    The saying "Mussolini made the trains run on time" should be retired and replaced with "Mussolini made it dangerous to notice when the trains were late."

  5. Re: AFAIK Porn is not illegal. by GLMDesigns · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Keep voting for an all-powerful government - and reap what you sow.

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    If you're scared of your govt then you need to further restrict its powers
    Vote 3rd Party in 2016 and beyond