Open the Gate

The value of social media for law enforcement

2017-03-21T11:30:00.000-05:00

The bottom line for encouraging community engagement is communication, specifically opening the lines of communication to allow for a two-way dialog. Social media offers an avenue to engage community members to a degree that has not been possible before.

Many cities and towns are successfully using social media within their police departments for both investigative purposes and community engagement.

There are numerous free or inexpensive social media tools available, and new ones appear almost regularly. What social media platforms should you have. Should you have a profile on Facebook, NextDoor or Twitter.

The actual tool used in not that important. In fact, it should be last item on the list of decisions that need to be made. It is more important to determine why you want to use the tools, who you want to reach, what resources are available to sustain the initiative and how will you know if you have succeeded in meeting your goals. Once these questions have been answered, it is time to pick the right tool for the job.

Microblogs (Twitter, Nixle, Citizen Observer)

Police departments are using microblog services like Twitter to issue breaking news, dispel rumors, host tweet-alongs and answer questions directly from the public. Encourage the media to follow your account for alerts. Tip: Have Twitter designate your account as an authentic government Twitter account. Verified accounts are designated by a blue verified badge on the account's profile. Twitter does not accept requests for verification from the general public.

Video sharing (Facebook Live, Twitter Live, Periscope)

Using an Ipad or even a smart phone, officials can share audio and video from events, press conferences or media interviews..

Networking

Facebook is the name that first comes to mind when thinking about social networks, but there are a host of others, depending on what you are trying to do and who you are trying to reach. LinkedIn, a professional network, is better suited for recruitment purposes than information about a Crime Watch meeting.

The number of adults using social networks is up to 72 percent, and police departments are using these networks to share relevant information and encourage two-way communication.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police maintains a website that serves as a clearinghouse of social media information to help officers integrate social media tools into their daily operations.

The site shares best practices, offers model policies and procedures and provides concise explanations of the tools and their potential uses.

Either way agencies should be also receiving training in the use of social media for their agencies, but also for the individual personnel so that they don’t end up in a policy violation or potentially embarrassing situation for their agency.

FDA warns of dangers from anti-diarrhea drug overdoses

2016-06-15T15:00:00.000-05:00

WASHINGTON – Federal health officials are investigating sometimes-deadly overdoses with common anti-diarrhea drugs, a bizarre manifestation of the nation's drug abuse problem.

The primary ingredient in prescription Imodium and similar over-the-counter drugs is intended to control diarrhea. But abusers sometimes try to achieve heroin-like highs by taking massive doses, up to 300 milligrams at once, according to cases in the medical literature. Recommended doses range between 8 milligrams and 16 milligrams per day.

The Food and Drug Administration warned doctors and patients Tuesday that the drugs can cause potentially deadly heart problems when taken at higher-than-recommended levels. The agency has received 31 reports of people hospitalized due to the heart problems, including 10 deaths over the last 39 years. The agency's database is not comprehensive and many drug overdoses are not reported to the government.

But national poison centers reported a 71 percent increase in calls involving loperamide-containing drugs between 2011 and 2014, according to a journal article published last month in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

The paper's authors recommended restricting over-the-counter sales of the anti-diarrhea drugs, similar to other easily abused medications like pseudoephedrine, the decongestant that can be processed into methamphetamine.

FDA regulators said in an online posting that they are monitoring the issue and considering next steps.

Reports of abuse are rising amid an epidemic of addiction and abuse involving opioids, a family of drugs that includes narcotics like heroin and legal prescriptions like morphine and oxycodone. In some cases, opioid abusers will attempt to wean themselves off those drugs by substituting the anti-diarrhea drugs.

In 2014, more than 47,000 drug overdoses were recorded in the U.S., with opioids accounting for 61 percent of that total, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal and state authorities have been trying to reduce opioid abuse for years, though overdose deaths have continued to rise.

Source: Fox News

Apps for Parents to track their teens mobile behavior

2016-05-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

Apps are all the rage now, mostly for teens, parents on the other hand utilize shopping apps, gaming apps and those apps that make their life more convenient. But here are a few apps that will help parents deal with teens, address safety concerns as well as identify risky behavior.

mSpy. mSpy is a comprehensive monitoring app that will track activity on computers, smartphone

and tablets. mSpy`s main selling point is that you can monitor multiple things. Who your kids call, what they text, which apps they use, the number of contacts, GPS location, etc. Available for Apple,
Windows, iOS and Android.

TeenSafe is an app that boast that it was 'designed for parents by parents. It's another jack of all trades spying app, keeping track of your kids online activities and social media accounts. The bonus of TeenSafe is the resources they provide online designed to keep your kids safe online. Available for iOS and Android devices.

Flexispy. This spying app that was designed to spy on employees and suspected cheating spouses. It has taken on a new life as an app designed to keep track of your kids online activities. It can keep track of phone calls, web sites visited and text messages, but it does not have the ability to keep track of individual social media accounts.

TeenShield. Allows you log in anywhere to checkup on your child. You can look at call information, text messages and photos. You can even look at phone photos.

MamaBear. This app is designed for high school teens. It offers smartphone and tablet spying and keep track of your teens activity on many social media sites. The bonus of MamaBear is parents can track your teens location and the speed of the vehicle your teen is traveling in. Available for Android and iOS devices.

A note about these types of apps, remember that a teens smart phone is the equivalent to a teen diary of old. They may say and do things that you may feel are inappropriate, but it may not be an issue that you should address. Secondly, utilize the app as a tool, to have guided conversations with your teen, don't necessarily reveal that the software is present, but use some of the knowledge gained to identify times to have those "conversations."

Whats to come in 2016 for Social Media & Law Enforcement

2015-12-23T10:00:00.000-06:00

2015 has been a phenomenal year for for Social Media and Law Enforcement involvement. #LESM has grown by leaps and bounds. The number of law enforcement agencies that have joined social media as a means to communicate, engage and entertain their communities is at an all time high. It doesn't matter if your agency uses Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, SnapChat, Nextdoor, Instagram, Pinterest or any number of other social

media platforms out there. What does matter, what is important to remember is having a plan.

Not just pushing content that isn't important to your fans or followers. It is imperative on #LESM to put out content that covers all the basics. Not just the police blotter, but to engage the community into interaction, to humanize officers and the agency to the public and to put out timely notice during critical incidents to get the information that the public desperately needs.

As the need for information becomes more imperative in particular when there are incidents of active shooters or natural disasters, the public turns to those organizations/agencies that are talking, i.e., pushing out content that is relative. The terrorist attack in San Bernadino showed that putting out timely information, notifications to the public and guidance made a difference to the public. Law Enforcement can no longer rely on the news media to put out crisis alerts quickly. Social media access people far quicker than the news media, as a matter of fact, if law enforcement pushes something out via social media then they will re-tweet, share or re-post it. Expanding your reach, then simply relying up the media to post it, hoping the public will see, follow or hear the news media's notification. If your agency is engaging via social media the public will follow you during "normal" times, and get your alerts during a crisis.

Chiefs of Police, Sheriffs, and Elected Officials must see the value of your social media team, your Public Information Officer and provide them with the needed access and information so they can provide it quickly to the public.

Crisis communication, Social Media Emergency Management #SMEM will continue to be a growing area of expansion for both law enforcement, emergency management agencies and emergency medical services.

Train your staff, educate them and get the buy in to the use of social media beyond just a fade, make it part of the operational function of your agency.

Apps that teens utilize

2015-11-13T09:00:00.000-06:00

Many law enforcement professionals as well as parents are general unaware of what types of apps that their tweens and teens are utilizing from their smartphones, tablets and computers. Partly to blame is at the speed that the apps come out, mostly its because we just aren't looking for them or possibly because we don't want to know about them.

Pheed is a relatively new thing that's been attracting more young people to its platform on the web and mobile. Built to offer the best components of all social networks while remaining heavy on the multimedia side of photo and video, more kids have been turning to this one to connect to their friends and express themselves. It's also attracted quite a few hot musicians and artists to use for promoting their own original content, which could be another reason why teens like it so much.

Blendr is billed as a “flirting” app allowing users to send photos/videos to anyone on their “friends” list and rate their “hotness.” Why it’s bad: This app uses GPS and is not authenticated, so predators can find minors or anyone they are looking for. It’s also popular for sexting, and the “hotness” rating allows for bullying.

Whisper is an anonymous social networking app. Users post confessions, either fact or fiction, by super imposing text on a picture. Whisper’s unique selling point is that it is completely anonymous, with users issued a random nickname upon joining. The fact that Whisper has its own gallery of photos and fonts to choose from again helps protect the anonymity of users.

Smart Hide Calculator - "Smart Hide Calculator" is a fully functional calculator app but with a little twist. Once you enter the password(u get to set it on first start of app and can also be changed in future) and press the '=' button then boom you are presented to an interface where you can hide, unhide pictures, videos, documents or files with any file extension placed in a folder on sdcard, and if your device have root you can also hide (freeze) and unhide (un-freeze) apps.

There are so many more apps that are out there as we continue through the remainder of the year. We will highlight, identify and research apps that teens use. Check back often for the updates.

Instagram is tops for Teens, Police should take note!

2015-10-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

A recent semi-annual study of 9,400 teenagers conducted by investment bank Piper Jaffray found that teens either don’t use Facebook or see other social networks as far more relevant to their digital lifestyles. The study found that 33% of respondents to the Taking Stock of Teens survey said that Instagram was the most important followed by Twitter and Snapchat with 20% and 19% respectively. The average age of the the teens surveyed was

16.

Because of this trend and since Law Enforcement has struggled to reach via social media to teens, this survey should provide Social Media Managers in field with some valuable information. Since streaming content consumption with teens is extremely high, as the study found in the study Netflix is used by 38% of teens, as opposed to 29% who prefer traditional cable television. YouTube and Hulu and other streaming services are accessed by 21%, and 4% and 8% of teens respectively and outstrip those who consume content from cable providers.

This would identify areas in which Law Enforcement Social Media #LESM could potentially utilize to reach out to. As many local communities use their local cable access channel to reach their senior citizen population, #LESM could utilize streaming content through such sites as Vine, Snapchat, Instagram, Periscope, Twitter and Facebook. This would be a departure from standard practices of posting photos or info graphics that are currently being utilized.

Teens are the perfect demographic for understanding and assessing the impact of the changing media landscape. Digital analysts will often point to Millennials as a good base for appreciating the advances that have been made but as more children become comfortable with technology available then it becomes important to look for the next generation of social media users. The problem with Facebook is that it has become part of the establishment.

Although for teenagers Facebook is seen to be the social media site that their parents and other generations use. Facebook still has a high penetration rate among teens. 71% of teens who were recently interviewed by Pew Research said that Facebook was just one of a number of social media tools that they accessed.

Instagram—which was bought by Facebook in 2012—and Snapchat have taken Facebook’s uncool factor and turned it to their advantage. Snapchat is cool because it sends pictures and updates that appear and vanish. Instagram has thousands of celebrities and “role models” posting constant updates on their must-have lifestyles, many of which are widely publicized in teen-friendly media.

Social Media Managers should consider working with their local High School Media organizations to craft messages, media and content that may be utilized across all of their agencies platforms. Putting the "cool" factor into #LESM is part of the bridging tool that those agencies that are experienced on their own Social Media platforms, will help to increase their likes and followers. In particular, to the Millennials that rely so heavily on Social Media to get news, interact with friends and navigate through life.

When are we accountable for our actions? by Robert Tornabene

2015-10-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

"We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions..." Ronald Reagan

I have read this quote oh so many times, regardless of your political affiliation, your like or dislike for the person who spoke it, you can not argue with the words and the meaning that stands behind them. In the past few weeks we have seen much of the two toned lack in understanding of the precept of personal accountability and law.

What would have happened in these three very high profile incidents in which people lost their lives and these incidents were the catalyst for the #Blacklivesmatter movement.

Lets start with:

Michael Brown, yes anyone's death is tragic. Life is a very precious gift and for someone young, to have their life ended so abruptly is sad. That being said had personal accountability been taken in by Michael Brown then this incident would most not likely have occurred and on

that day, Michael Brown would not have encountered Ofc Darren Wilson....Had Michael brown not made the personal decision to steal " several packages of cigarillos from a nearby convenience store and shoved the store clerk. Brown was accompanied by his friend Dorian Johnson. Officer Wilson had been notified by police dispatch of the robbery and descriptions of the two suspects. " Then they two would not have met that day. The circumstances that unfolded after the theft occurred would not have brought these to men in contact on that day in August of 2014.

Quick points to remember, yes a law was broken, Law Enforcement Officers are supposed to enforce laws, they are not supposed to pick and chose which ones they enforce. The actions of the individual, i.e., the person who committed the crime are part of the circumstances that placed the two men to cross paths. Third, we do know that systemic issues were present in Ferguson that may have contributed to the distrust and fear in the community when encountering a Law Enforcement Officer. Ferguson PD, was working not from a public safety perspective but from a revenue based side of policing as detailed in the DOJ report from March of 2015.

A final report by the Department of Justice about the way Ferguson PD handled themselves is scathing and clearly shows systemic failures from the City down to the Chief of Police, to line officers which what contributed to the unrest, protest and the birth of a movement.

Eric Garner, although race was clearly brought into the issue, the death of Eric Garner is more a lack of good quality training and recognition of 'positional asphyxia', than race. This will be addressed shortly.

We do know that on March 27, a caller to the city’s 311 hotline complained about the issue, of the sale of "loosely" cigarettes, saying a group of men had been selling untaxed cigarettes, and sometimes marijuana, on Bay St. every day for the past three years, a second source said. The caller identified one of the sellers as “a man named Eric.” The next day, Garner was arrested
for selling untaxed cigarettes, one of three pending cases before his death. Sometime in early July, a memo was sent to the Staten Island borough command, a source said. The memo stressing the need to address quality-of-life issues was then forwarded to bosses in the 120th Precinct for “immediate attention,” according to the source.

Prior to Eric Garners death, roughly two weeks, Eric Garner had a run in with NYPD, in this incident it played out similarly as the arrest on the day of his death. He flailed his arms and refused to be arrested. But in this incident the Officers, one of which was present on the day of his death, let him go with a warning, without incident.
We do know that Eric Garner had stated he was "tired of being harassed.", "this stops now", are all which was heard on the video taken by his friend. The pictures above clearly show know Eric Garner was clearly taller and much bigger than the Officers present. Garner is also seen on video flailing his arms. Clearly NOT in an attempt to strike or hurt the Officers, but possibly to prevent himself from being arrested as in the previous incident. Eric Garner was not a small person standing at 6'2", weighing 395 lbs he had size and weight as a factor that may have been contributory. Not only to his attempted arrest, but also his untimely death. His death was more an issue of lack of property training and positional asphyxia than of police brutality or unlawful arrest.

Absolutely Officers involved in the incident were culpable in Eric Garner's death. Did the officers act with will full disregard for Mr. Garner's safety? No. As was stated earlier Mr. Garner previously acted in a manner in which he in the previous incident was non-complaint and resistant to the Officers. The Officer involved in that incident was also present at the time Mr. Garner died. So prior knowledge of behavior, Eric Garner's unwillingness to comply with lawful orders, the increased request for law enforcement action being instituted from the District Commander all created a perfect storm for this incident to reach it's tragic end.

Walter Scott, many of my Law Enforcement brothers and sisters will most likely cringe at what I am going to say, but this was a cold blooded murder. So what occurred? Officer Slager stopped Mr Scott for a third taillight out, while driving a 1991 Mercedes, in the parking lot of an auto parts store. Slager approaches the car, has a conversation with Mr. Scott and then Slager goes back to his patrol vehicle. It is at that time that Mr. Scott exits his car and starts to run. Slager gives chandelier on foot and deploys a taser, which does not appear to work.it is that time that Slager shoots at Mr. Scott a total of eight times, hitting him five times. Slager put out over his radio,"Shots fired, suspect down, he tried to take my taser..." Slager approaches Mr. Scott giving orders to put his hands behind his back, Slager eventually handcuffs Mr. Scott. This is all caught on video. Slager then goes back to where he starting shooting and picks up something, possibly his Taser. He is later seen on tape a short time later dropping something on the grown, which is suspected to be his taser. There are other things wrong including that officers on scene allegedly reported they performed CPR, but that is not seen on tape.

Okay my opinion...Officer Slager, killed Walter Scott? There was no reason to shoot a man running on foot, unarmed away from a confrontation. As a matter of fact case law going back to 1985, which is taught in every law enforcement academy in the country clearing addresses it, the case is Tennessee vs Garner.

Justice White delivered this ruling for the Supreme Court - This case requires us to determine the constitutionality of the use of deadly force to prevent the escape of an apparently unarmed suspected felon. We conclude that such force may not be used unless it is necessary to prevent the escape and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others. - See more of the Case Law

The death of this man is definitely not acceptable, but the question is does he bear some burden on the circumstances that unfolded? Walter Scott had a bench warrant for $18,000 for failure to pay child support. http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/walter-scott-shooting/walter-scott-shooting-warrant-over-child-support-court-records-show-n339151. It was also reported that Mr. Scott had cocaine and alcohol in his system at the time of his death. Could alcohol and drugs contributed to poor decision making on Mr. Scott's part? Perhaps. Could the warrant, and fear of going to jail contributed to his fleeing as well. In reality it does matter, Officer Slager was not under the influence of any illegal substances, he was not physically injured, a fleeing unarmed person does not pose a threat to his safety. The incident did not reach the burden of the "Fleeing Felon" doctrine.

Most of all the action of the Officer does not meet the standard of human decency and to the Officers own Oath of Office. It's such a shame, that his actions have triggered such hatred towards Police Officers, but at the same time, it shines a light on an issue facing policing in this Century, that Some people just should not be Police Officers.

I raised specific issues with all three cases, all of which had a significant impact on the anti-police, #blacklivesmatter movement. All of which for very specific reasons either fueled by failure to properly address community concerns, a lack of connectivity to the community as a whole, or failure to be properly train or be trained in situations that can be fatal or in at the least potentially fatal.

As I was conducting research on this posting, I came across this story about Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman.

Seattle Seahawks star cornerback Richard Sherman addressed an imposter Wednesday who made a social media post in his name that garnered attention. The social media post claiming to be Sherman responded to an image posted on black supremacist King Noble’s site of Sherman with his arm around teammate Marshawn Lynch with the caption, “When we gon Kill These KKKrakas Bro." He addressed this issue quickly with the following statement...
"But I also think that there’s a way to go about things, and there’s a way to do things. And I think the issue at hand needs to be addressed internally, and before we move on, because from personal experience, you know, you have living in the hood, living in the inner city, you deal with things, you deal with people dying. Dealt with a best friend getting killed … it was two 35-year-old black men. Wasn’t no police officer involved, wasn’t anybody else involved, and I didn’t hear anybody shouting “black lives matter” then … and I think that’s the point we need to get to is that we need to deal with our own internal issues before we move forward and start pointing fingers and start attacking other people. We need to solidify ourselves as people and deal with our issues, because I think as long as we have black-on-black crime and, you know, one black man killing another … if black lives matter, then it should matter all the time. You should never let somebody get killed — that’s somebody’s son, that’s somebody’s brother, that’s somebody’s friend. So you should always keep that in mind." (Source)

I applaud his openness, because as he is shining the light on the internal issues facing his own community, race and culture we too in Law Enforcement must do the same thing. The "Blue Wall" is something we too in Law Enforcement must open up too.

There are people that have come into the Law Enforcement field who came into this field not because it is a "calling" but because it's a job and that it pays the bills. Many can not compartmentalize their own personal bias, issues or failings, while doing the job, and over time that begins to bubble to the surface. When that happens, coupled with poor training, poor tactics and poor planning it can lead to tragic results. As Officers who came into this job for the right reasons, who have a commitment to the agency, the community and our code of conduct we can not allow the "Blue Wall" to continue.

We need to be willing to shine the light just a strongly as our own agency and it's members when they fail, do wrong or are corrupt, just like when we shine our flashlight in that dark alley when we are chasing a Perp. Be honest with yourself, are you the type of police officer who says, "Its Us against Them", we took the oath of office to uphold the law, not look the opposite way when it involves one of our own. When we can do that as an entire group, nationwide, then we will rebuild the distrust that has been building for decades against us.

When are we accountable for our actions?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/21/massachusetts.harvard.professor.arrested/

Marijuana Use Down in American High-Schoolers

2015-10-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

American high school students are using marijuana at a significantly lower rate than they were 15 years ago, according to a new study. This reduction is in spite of marijuana being more widely available as several states have legalized its use for medical purposes or decriminalized it.

However, marijuana use among teens is significantly greater than the use of other illegal drugs, with 40% of teens in 2013 saying they had ever smoked marijuana. In 2009, that number was 37%, but it is still better than the 47% recorded in 1999. By contrast, only 3% of teens said they had ever tried methamphetamines in 2013, down from 9% in 1999.

The study also found that the gender gap in marijuana use, where boys outnumbered girls as users of the drug, is shrinking. Males and females are now using marijuana at similar rates. White and black teens once used marijuana at similar rates, but now blacks report using it more often.

These findings were published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. The study was conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health led by Renee M. Johnson, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor in the Department of Mental Health.

Johnson and her colleagues examined data from the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a school-based survey of students in grades 9 through 12. The survey gathered information from more than 115,000 teens throughout the United States and has been conducted every 2 years since 1990by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since 1996, 34 states have passed laws lifting criminal sanctions of medical use of marijuana. Eleven states have passed laws decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, adding to nine that passed such laws in the late 1970s. Four states have passed laws allowing for recreational use of marijuana by people over 21.

"People have been very quick to say that marijuana use is going up and up and up in this country, particularly now that marijuana has become more normalized," says Dr. Johnson in a statement. "What we are seeing is that since 1999 - 3 years after medical marijuana was first approved - the rates of marijuana use have actually fallen. But we will be watching those states where recreational marijuana use has been legalized to see if that leads to increased use among teens."

Frequent Exercise Reduces Risks in Bullied Teens

2015-09-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

A new study finds that exercise for four or more days per week may result in a 23 percent reduction in suicide ideation and attempts in bullied adolescents.

Across the U.S., nearly 20 percent of students report being bullied on school property. The effects of being bullied include challenges with academics, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and self-harm.

Exercise has been widely reported to have robust positive effects on mental health including reduction in depression, anxiety, and substance abuse.

Researchers used data from a nationally representative sample of youth participants in the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (CDC), to examine the relationship between exercise frequency, sadness, and suicidal ideation and attempt in 13,583 U.S. adolescents in grades nine to 12.

The authors hypothesized that exercise frequency would be inversely related to sadness and suicidality and that these benefits would extend to bullying victims.

Researchers discovered that overall, 30 percent of the students studied reported sadness for two or more weeks in the previous year, and that 22.2 percent and 8.2 percent reported suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt in the same time period.

Bullied students were twice as likely to report sadness, and three times as likely to report suicidal ideation or attempt when compared to peers who were not bullied. Exercise on four or more days per week was associated with significant reductions in sadness, suicidal ideation, and suicidal attempt in all students.

Saliently, the data showed a startling 23 percent reduction in both suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt in bullied students who exercised four or more days per week.

Based on these findings, the authors concluded that exercise may represent a safe, economical, and potentially highly effective option in the response to bullying in schools.

Bullying is a severe and growing public health burden with consequences reported across the life span.

Experts recommend additional research to further define the mechanisms behind these findings as well as the role that exercise can play in reducing the often severe mental health consequences for victims. Further, the paper raises the possibility of exercise programs as a public health approach to reduce suicidal behavior in all adolescents.

This position is a particularly important consideration due to the fact that many high schools in our country have reduced or eliminated required exercise programs for non-varsity athletes.

The study will be published in a forthcoming edition of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP).

What Are the Social Media Basics for High School Kids?

2015-09-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

While reading through Social Media tracking alerts I came across this very interesting article posted by Yahoo News. The article comes from Common Sense Media and offers some great tips for parents, these are things as a parent you should have a discussion with your teens about Social Media Safety....

Common Sense Media parenting expert Caroline Knorr answers questions about parenting, media,

and everything in between.

High school teens are living their lives online. They’re checking their friends’ status updates (and posting their own), watching their favorite shows, uploading photos and videos, playing games,chatting on IM, video-chatting, exploring their interests, and accessing information and files that fuel their passions.

By high school, parents hope, kids understand the basics of thinking before they post, being kind, and using privacy settings. High school kids also need to think about a few extra issues:

Think about your online reputation. Remind teens that anyone can see what they post online – even if they think no one will. Potential employers and college admissions staff often browse social-networking sites. Ask your teens to think about who might see their pages and how others might interpret their posts or photos.
Anything they create or communicate can be cut, altered, pasted, and sent around. Once they put something online, it’s out of their control and can be taken out of context and used to hurt them or someone else. This includes writing as well as photos of sex, drugs, and alcohol. Tell them that online stuff can last forever. If they wouldn’t put something on the wall of the school hallway, they shouldn’t post it online.
Avoid drama. Don’t forward harmful messages or embarrassing photos, and don’t impersonate other people by using their accounts or devices or create fake pages.
Don’t post your location. Social networks allow kids to post their locations, and, although it might be tempting to use these features to connect with friends or brag about where they’ve been, it’s just not safe for teens.
Watch the clock. Social-networking sites can be real time sucks. Hours and hours can go by, which isn’t great for getting homework done, practicing sports or music, or reading

Common Sense Media is an independent nonprofit organization offering unbiased ratings and trusted advice to help families make smart media and technology choices. Check out our ratings and recommendations at www.commonsense.org

Social Media Pitfalls for Police - When Posting Suspect Information Backfires

2015-09-10T10:03:00.000-05:00

By Robert Tornabene,

Social Media for Law Enforcement has always been about reaching out to the community. First to engage your community and involve them in the process of law enforcement as well as humanizing the police experience. Secondly, it has been used very successfully in quickly identifying suspects in criminal offenses. Getting a photo out quickly to the public can generate information that helps identify the offender(s) far quicker then just have an individual department staff do it.

However, what happens when that identification goes wrong? What happens when it is the wrong

person completely. Here are just a few examples:

Riverside California, a sexual assault of a pre-teen during a home invasion. The assault occurred on 9/6/2015. The police department releases a sketch of a suspect and request the public's help in catching the suspect. But what happened, "But a Facebook commenter publicly identified the wrong man, police say, by re-posting the police sketch -- along with a photo that the commenter erroneously identified as the person depicted in that sketch."

"The man's photograph was not released by Riverside police detectives, and his identity was unknown," police emphasized in a written statement release Wednesday, Sept. 9. "A detective was contacted by the man (in the photo) Tuesday, and it was determine he is not a suspect in the crime. (1)

According to the news story the photo is shared hours after the sexual assault occurred and then the post was re-posted on another site including the photo of the alleged offender. The story says the photo quickly went viral. But Riverside PD said this...."RPD is hoping those who have posted the man's photo will delete the comments and pictures. Not only is it possibly damaging to the man misidentified, (but) it is feared that a legitimate tip may not be relayed to detectives if someone mistakenly believes the suspect already has been identified." There are definitely some concerns when posting a photo of a suspect, but a sketch, which is simply a "likeness" of the actual person poses a series debate on how, when and what you say in the dissemination of that image.

Bangkok, Thailand, on 8/17/2015 the hunt for a bombing suspect. A poor quality image of the alleged offender who planted the bomb was posted via social media by the Bangkok Police.

Social media sleuths turned to the internet and identified Australian Actor Sunny Burns as the suspect. He posted this on his Facebook page. “[M]any social media outlets released my photo in Thailand saying that I was a suspected terrorist as I looked like the suspect in question. All my private information from immigration was leaked online and people were looking for me – They even knew my home address.” (2)

This information moved so rapidly that Bangkok, Police interviewed Mr. Burns and searched his apartment looking for bomb making material

Lets flashback to the Boston Bombing, April 15, 2013, the social media site Reddit - identified Sunil Tripathi as one of the suspects because he hadn't been seen since March 15th. Tripathi's name actually made it into social media conversations and onto blogs, ultimately making it to his family despite the fact that Boston PD had never even considered him a suspect.

Reddit actual posted this statement, "the Reddit group FindBostonBombers said, "We cannot begin to know what you're going through and for that we are truly sorry. Several users, twitter users, and other sources had heard him identified as the suspect and believed it to be confirmed. We were mistaken." Tripathi is still missing. (3) Yet his information was posted, unlike traditional media sources, who try and verify information, although they to rely sometimes on social media as well. Remember traditional media, TV and Print all now run web versions as well, so they are constantly at the risk of being "beat" on a story. Sometimes journalism principles are thrown out the window, when it comes to getting the story out.

Now several other people have been identified as potential suspects in the Bombing by social media people in their hopes and goals to share information and be the person who breaks the case. Their motivations are not as relevant but do play a factor into the release of information that is unverified and not seen many times by law enforcement.

Several possibilities include, it is that 15 Minutes of Fame mentality, the need to impart themselves into the investigation, to prove their relevant etc. Regardless of what the motivation may be Law Enforcement must have in place protocols should be in place to address the issues so tips or information on a case can be safely managed.

Law Enforcement must pre-plan how they disseminate information, how to collect it and then provide that method during the original dissemination of the message.

Here are some suggestions:

The Post - The post that is disseminated should include the basics, the five "W"'s, Who, When, Where, What and Why. It should include a request for information, but it should also include a method of how that information should be submitted. Specifically indicating on your post to not post suspect information, name, etc to, directly to social media or the internet.
Have a method to gather the tips, without making them public - This may require working with your IT department, or a TIP type system, such as TIP411, or Text-A-Tip. Providing them the outlet to submit the tip, will reduce the likelihood of personal identifies being shared. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has a tip center you can work with to gather information without asking people to directly respond to your agency social media sites.
Policy - Have a policy in place on when posts are to be removed. Include getting out the word via social media that you are no longer looking for the wanted subject. In addition, a policy on when arrest photos should be removed from your Social Media sites should be considered.
Miss-Information/Intelligence Gathering - If you generate a hashtag or one is generated for you by the public, two things are needed for your agency to address this: (a) Social Media Monitoring Software, there are a host of them out their including Geofeedia, SnapTrends,, Signal, for location based intelligence trends generate via social media. There are others including simply searches like, Google Alerts, Sprout Social, Hootsuite, to name a few. Key word searches can be implemented to gather information to help identify when it may impact your community as well. (b) A Policy, the policy should include who monitors that information and a plan on how to dis-spell, correct or pass on the appropriate information to the public.

(1)1RIVERSIDE: Social media commenter IDs wrong crime suspect, police say, http://www.pe.com/articles/police-779752-suspect-sketch.html

(2) A man was falsely accused of Bangkok bombing, and that’s the problem with internet activism, http://thenextweb.com/opinion/2015/08/19/your-kitschy-fb-photos-dont-mean-shit/

(3) All the Mistakenly Identified ‘Suspects’ in the Boston Bombing Investigation, http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/04/wrongly-accused-boston-bombing-suspects-sunil-tripathi.html#

Teens Embrace Anonymous Social Networks To Discuss Awkward Topics, Build Confidence: Study, by Kerry Flynn

2015-09-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

Most teenagers say they’re confident about what they post on social media. About 79 percent of those polled in an online study released Thursday by Ask.fm and YouGov reported that they “rarely say things online they regret." But teens are also embracing anonymity.

That’s an option on Ask.fm — a question-and-answer site owned by Interactive Active Corporation/IAC, and operated by Ask.com. The study has an inherent bias in that it was conducted online, but it highlights teens and their parents’ perspectives on vanity, anonymity and bullying on social networks.

“Teens know what to use and know what their choices are,” Catherine Teitelbaum, chief trust and safety officer at Ask.fm, told International Business Times. “They understand the digital footprint, that what they write will stay there, and they see ways they can express themselves that play out in different ways.”

The survey, which polled 2,905 respondents (kids aged 13 to 18 and their parents) in the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland, found that 40 percent of teens found anonymity allowed them to talk about difficult topics. Only 4 percent said they would have talked about the same topics if their identity were tied to it.

Ask.fm allows for anonymity and boasts 150 million unique visitors as of March. But there have been other sites that have not fared so well. Anonymous social network Secret, for example, shut down in April. Secret’s founder, David Byttow, wrote in a Medium post, “I believe in honest, open communication and creative expression, and anonymity is a great device to achieve it. But it’s also the ultimate double-edge sword, which must be wielded with great respect and care.”

The reasons for wanting anonymity vary. Fifteen percent of teens reported certain topics are not ones they feel comfortable discussing publicly and 15 percent reported not wanting to “look dumb,” the survey said. About 12 percent of those surveyed revealed that they use anonymity to learn what someone thinks of them.

But for sites to pass muster with consumers and the media, anonymity comes hand-and-hand with moderation tools. Yik Yak, an anonymous chatroom app popular on high school and college campuses, has been banned at some schools and has faced scrutiny for hosting racist and demeaning comments. Yet the app has moderation tools where users can report and block others. Handling anonymity with care must be a top concern for websites, Ask.fm’s Teitelbaum said.

“We believe that baking safety into our anonymous process is necessary," she said. "We have a robust moderation system. For businesses, that functionality has to be backed in there upfront."
Moderation tools are what can empower teens to take control of a social network and their own use of it. About 52 percent of teens surveyed reported that they had blocked another person on a social network. And only 5 percent of teens said social networks should do nothing to address cyberbullying if it occurs. More teens reported experiencing bullying in person (38 percent) versus online (10 percent), the survey notes.

“There's a positive and usable role to anonymous features,” Teitelbaum said. “We call it anonymity with responsibility.”

Source: International Business Times

Teen use of Mobile Phones

2015-09-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

A recent PEW Research study stated that 88% of teens now have access to a mobile phone. Technology has become the "digital generation's" lifeline to the world – to reaching their peers, family and even friend-enemies. Nearly all teens (92%) go online daily and 87% never allow their smart phone to leave their side, leaving parents struggling to keep up with the online monitoring of their child. In fact, 1 in 3 parents (33%) stated that they have had concerns or questions about their child's technology use in the past 12 months.

Digital technology and mobile usage is becoming ubiquitous among the digital generation.

Additional findings of the research state:

Teens send an average of 30 texts per day
Many teens reported sending as many as 34 texts each day AFTER bedtime
Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyber bullying.
71% of teens use more than one social network site
76% of teens use their smart phone camera to post on social media
"There's a new digital layer of parenting, particularly as it relates to children's online usage and social media activities. State laws are now enforcing fines and/or punishment to parents based on how their children behave on social media," said Susanne Horton, CEO of MamaBear. "It's not about 'Big Brother' watching, rather we see MamaBear as a digital companion that is helping parents keep a 'digital' eye on their children in an ever-changing digital world."

To help parents engage in a dialogue about digital activities with their child, An app called MamaBear has compiled the following tips to help parents start the school year off on a positive note when it comes to navigating their child's online, digital world:

New Laws Put Parents on the Line – States are passing laws that make parents accountable for their child's social media activity. It's important that you are aware of your state laws and that the tough conversations between teens and parents are held. The 'I had no idea' response will not fly and could land hefty fines and even jail time in some states.
Privacy Security Protects Everyone – Keep your personal information hidden! Parents should sit down with their kids and review what should be seen and by whom. Ensure your teen is clear that under no circumstance should they provide their passwords to any friend, teacher or babysitter.
Sharing Is Not Always Caring – When it comes to social media, less can be more! Teach your teen that if someone is asking for your information repeatedly, it should be a warning sign! Also, when sharing information or photos, encourage your teen to pause and ask – would you be OK wit your grandma seeing this photo or post? If not, then chances are they should refrain from posting.
Lights Out, Phones Down – When your child was young, you looked to remove any distractions that would hinder them from falling soundly asleep. Instituting an updated family sleep policy of no phones in the bedroom once the child has "gone to bed" will help to mitigate any negative online activities and ensure a much sounder sleep, clearing any issues and bringing a different perspectives in the morning.
Open Dialogue Brings Success for Everyone – Open communication is key to any relationship – and by open that means to put down the smart phone and have an actual conversation. With the rise in cyber bullying, it's imperative that parents are aware of what's on their child's mind. If they feel weird or uncomfortable about something they saw or read online, they should feel comfortable coming to talk about it.
Don't Be Afraid to Get Help – Parenting is hard and with the hours put at the office, monitoring the variety of teens social media profiles is a job in itself. Luckily, MamaBear, the mobile monitoring application can offer parents peace of mind when it comes to monitoring. MamaBear monitors social media, provides location-based alerts, text messaging and more!

For more information, visit MamaBear.com. - See more at: http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2015/08/26/763587/10147231/en/Do-Parents-Make-the-Grade-When-It-Comes-To-Their-Child-s-Social-Media-Usage-and-Activities.html#sthash.sLnBuQN6.dpuf

Smartphone Apps that cause problems for your kids at school

2015-08-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

If your child is among the 73 percent of teens who have access to a smartphone, you're well aware of the app obsession that can take over a brain and body in seconds. Multiply that by the average student population at your middle or high school, and you see the problem many schools are facing this back-to-school season. For teens, smartphones plus apps equal social networking. And where there's social networking, there's sure to be drama.

While a lot of social networking is harmless - and even beneficial - some apps are specifically designed to appeal to users' darker impulses. Confessionals, anonymous comments, incriminating photos, rumor-mongering - that sort of thing. Worse, some apps apply location services to this already combustible mix, connecting everyone in a school and magnifying problems like cyberbullying, gossip, and physical threats.

Keep these apps on your radar, and talk to your kids about responsible social networking:

Yik Yak. This "location aware" social networking app lets users post "anything and everything" anonymously. The brief, Twitter-like comments and photos are distributed to any 500 people using Yik Yak closest to you geographically. Anonymous threats against schools and individual students have prompted many schools to ban the app, using the company's "geo

fencing" guidelines to restrict communications in a certain area.

Ask.FM. This question-and-answer app lets kids pose queries and answer questions from other users. With questions like "am I pretty or ugly?," the confessional nature makes kids vulnerable to negative feedback. Bullying is a major concern, and Ask.FM has been cited as a factor in stories of teen suicide. In response to these problems, the company changed management and launched a robust safety center. Still, you have to wonder about an app that has a whole section just for law enforcement investigating criminal activity.

Snapchat. For seemingly consequence-free communication, you can't do better than the self-destructing messaging app Snapchat. The app has gained a reputation as a "sexting" app because outgoing (and incoming) pictures, videos, and texts aren't permanently stored on devices. Still, many third-party developers have created apps that let recipients save snaps from unsuspecting senders. One of the biggest problems with Snapchat is its popularity: One teacher complained of massive class disruption when the app released an upgrade during the school day.

Slingshot. Slingshot lets you send photos and 15 second videos to one friend, many, or all the contacts you’ve recently slinged with. Content is ephemeral and disappears after it’s viewed, though you can auto-save what you create. You can find friends through Facebook or your phone’s contacts, though the app uses a somewhat weak privacy-by-obscurity model where anyone with your username can sling to you.

Whatsapp. WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS. WhatsApp Messenger is available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone and Nokia and yes, those phones can all message each other! Because WhatsApp Messenger uses the same internet data plan that you use for email and web browsing, there is no cost to message and stay in touch with your friends.

Whisper. Anyone can post an anonymous message to the service in the form of an image macro: text overlaid on a picture. When you open the app, you see six such images. Each one has a "secret" on it. You can respond to a message publicly or privately, choosing a public anonymous post or a private pseudonymous chat. Users don't have a public identity in the app. While they do have persistent handles, there's no way to contact them except *through* the messages they post

Burn Note. Is an iOS and Android apps that limits the viewing area of messages to further protect them from getting screenshot by the recipient. While this might sound overly paranoid, The messages in Burn Note self-destruct using a timer that starts once the message is opened by the recipient. The service will take a guess at how long the reader will need to read it, or you can set the time yourself. Once the timer expires, your message is destroyed forever. You can send messages to other Burn Note users, email addresses or send a link to anyone on any platform.

Parents should learn about the these apps and familiarize themselves with them. You should have a conversation with your child about the risks of utilizing these apps. They should understand that they should not be used inappropriately, to bully, embarrass or to harm another.

Dark Web Poses Challenges for Law Enforcement

2015-08-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

(TNS) — The Dark Web has been at the heart of an ongoing probe into an international drug trafficking operation, an investigation that started in Grand Forks, N.D.

The probe sprung from the death of an 18-year-old Grand Forks resident who overdosed on fentanyl citrate, a highly potent synthetic opioid, in January and has since stretched not only across U.S. borders, but also across the borders of the traditional Internet, into the Dark Web.

But what is the Dark Web and who uses it

Since February, at least 10 people have been indicted on federal drug-related charges, some of whom are accused of using the Dark Web to buy and sell drugs under a cloak of anonymity. Most recently, officials unsealed the indictment of Daniel Vivas Ceron last month, a Colombian man whom federal prosecutors allege was the leader of the international drug trafficking operation, which did much of its business on the Dark Web.

Acting U.S. Attorney for North Dakota Chris Myers underscored the difficulties technology — like the Dark Web — poses when trying to catch criminals.

"The folks that are distributing these substances are using increasingly more sophisticated technology to remain anonymous, making our job that much more difficult," Myers said.

Last month, Myers warned a room of reporters of the dangers posed on the Dark Web.

"You can buy anything if you find the right website on the Dark Net," he said referring to the Dark Web. "From tigers to hand grenades to controlled substances, it's there."

While the Dark Web does prove to be a haven for drug dealers, arms traffickers, child pornography collectors and other criminals, it is also a bastion of free speech for political dissidents living under oppressive regimes and a sanctuary from government surveillance, experts say.

The Herald, in an effort to explain the complexity of the Dark Web, how it functions and how Web users utilize it, reviewed literature and talked with Danny Bradbury, a technology writer who has written on the topic in the journal Network Security.

Q. WHAT IS THE DARK WEB?

A. The Dark Web is a layer of the Internet accessible only by using special software like Tor, which stands for The Onion Router, or I2P, which stands for Invisible Internet Project. Websites and information on the Dark Web are intentionally hidden and cannot be accessed using traditional search engines like Google.

Other layers of the Internet are the Surface Web and the Deep Web, according to a Congressional Research Service report. The Surface Web is what most Internet users are familiar with and refers to websites and information found by using traditional search engines. The Deep Web cannot be accessed by traditional search engines because its content is not indexed by Google, Bing, etc. Information on the Deep Web includes content on commercial databases like LexisNexis and Westlaw or websites that produce content via search queries or forms, according to the Congressional Research Service report.

Q. WHAT IS TOR AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

A. Tor is the network most widely used to access the Dark Web. It was initially developed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory as a tool for keeping government communications private. Tor transmits a user's Web traffic through a series of computers located around the globe, called nodes, making a user's online movements difficult to track.

Bradbury compared it to putting a message inside multiple envelopes and sending it through multiple people. The message goes in an envelope, he said.

"But then you put that envelope inside another envelope and inside another envelope and inside another envelope ... and then you send that off. ... And every time it reaches someone, it gets forwarded on to someone else," he said.

Q. WHO USES THE DARK WEB?

A. The Dark Web is often used by individuals who want to preserve anonymity. That includes criminals, terrorists and state-sponsored spies. The Dark Web does contain websites selling illicit goods, including drugs, weapons, exotic animals, stolen goods and more. Child pornography is also traded via the Dark Web.

"Perhaps the most publicized exploitation of the Dark Web was Silk Road, a black market website for vendors and customers of illicit goods and services," Bradbury wrote. The FBI shuttered the Silk Road in 2013, which at the time was the "cyber underworld's largest black market," according to the Congressional Research Service report.

The same report says the Islamic State may be using the Dark Web to share information, recruit members, disseminate propaganda and raise virtual money for their operations.

Dark Web users also include political dissidents, activists, journalists, law enforcement and the military.

"Tor is about making freedom of speech possible," Bradbury said. "Especially in countries where governments really put the thumb screws on people being online, ... Tor has been used as a way to enable those people to communicate and get those messages out and even organize within their own countries in ways that stop them from being detected," as political dissidents reportedly did during the Arab Spring, the 2011 civil uprisings against central governments in Middle Eastern countries, including Libya and Egypt.

Former CIA contractor Edward Snowden reportedly used an operating system that automatically runs Tor to communicate with journalists and leak classified information on the United States' mass surveillance programs, according to the congressional report. Snowden fled to Moscow in the wake of the leaks and has been charged with espionage by the U.S. government.

Tor also advertises itself as a way to protect one's children, saying children may be sharing their location by not hiding their IP addresses.

Q. HOW DO LAW ENFORCEMENT IDENTIFY CRIMINALS OPERATING ON THE DARK WEB?

A. Oftentimes, law enforcement rely on the human error of the criminals they pursue.

For example, it was a misstep that led Homeland Security Investigations to a Portland, Ore., man, who has pending drug conspiracy charges against him in U.S. District Court in Grand Forks. Agents believe Brandon Corde Hubbard, 40, was the one who sold the fentanyl citrate that claimed the 18-year-old Grand Forks resident's life. Hubbard's mistake was he allegedly used the same username — pdxblack — on a legitimate messaging service called KIK as he did on the illegitimate Dark Web site, Evolution, where he allegedly sold drugs, according to federal court records. From there, federal agents were able to subpoena KIK and ask for subscriber information, which had Hubbard's IP address. Agents then used the IP address to find his identity from his Internet provider.

source: govtech.com

What are the Top 5 Apps Teens Check Behind the Wheel?

2015-08-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

BOSTON (LMI/SADD) – Many have heard the phrase coined among today’s teens, “Fear of Missing Out” (FoMO). While most perceive it as a harmless mantra for today’s hyper-connected youth, a new study released by Liberty Mutual Insurance and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) reveals that the pressures of this “always-on” lifestyle have manifested in potentially deadly consequences behind the wheel. From maintaining full school and extracurricular schedules, to constant technology updates – it appears that teens are more hyper-connected and exhausted than ever. The new study finds that nearly half (48 percent) of teens report texting more when alone in the car – most often to update their parents. Just as concerning, 56 percent of teens have fallen asleep or nearly fallen asleep at the wheel – revealing the potential risky implications “FoMO” may have on today’s young drivers and signaling an important wake-up call needed for both parents and teens.

Teens Under Pressure to Stay Hyper-Connected

Nearly 3,000 fatal crashes in 2013 were caused by distracted drivers, and 10 percent of those deaths were teens (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA). From texting to apps and social media, today’s teens are faced with innumerable disruptions behind the wheel.

According to the survey, teens feel parents – more than anyone else – expect immediate replies to their text messages, even while driving. Fifty-five percent of teens report texting while driving in order to update their parents, and nearly one in five (19 percent) believe that their parents expect a text response within one minute, and 25 percent within five minutes – even while driving. However, the survey reveals a disconnect, as 58 percent of parents say they do not have set expectations on teens' response time - showing a need for more open conversations about driving among parents and teens.

Connecting with parents isn’t the only distraction for young drivers. The survey also uncovers one-third (37 percent) of teens report texting to confirm or coordinate event details – another sign of their strong desire to stay connected. Additionally, one in three (34 percent) of teens take their eyes off the road when app notifications come in while driving, and an alarming number (88 percent) of teens who consider themselves “safe” drivers report using phone apps on the road.

Most popular apps teens report using behind the wheel include:

Snapchat: 38 percent;
Instagram: 20 percent;
Twitter: 17 percent;
Facebook: 12 percent; and
YouTube: 12 percent.

“Today’s hyper-connected teens’ ‘fear of missing out’ can put young drivers at risk on the road as they may be more plugged into their devices than the actual driving task,” said Dr. William Horrey, Ph.D., principal research scientist at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety. “Teens may be at higher risk because they don’t always have the attentional capacity to deal with all the complexities on the road. These distractions in addition to fatigue may be even more significant with teens due to their relative driving inexperience as well. It’s so important for parents and teens to recognize and talk about these dangerous distractions to ensure better safety behind the wheel.”

Dangers Beyond Digital: “Always On” Lifestyle can Lead to Drowsy Driving

Technology behind the wheel isn’t the only peril stemming from teens’ “FoMO.” Teens’ reluctance to “miss out” and an “always-on” lifestyle are creating drowsy young drivers – and the new data shows parents are largely unaware of this danger: While 61 percent of parents believe their teens get enough sleep, 52 percent of teens get less than six hours of sleep each night during the week. Even more, nearly three quarters (70 percent) of teens admit to driving while tired – making them less attentive and delaying reaction times. Among the parents who think their teens don’t rest enough, 51 percent attribute it to them staying up to read text messages and notifications – revealing signs of “FoMO” infringing on sleep. With an estimated 100,000 crashes and 1,550 fatalities annually directly resulting from driver fatigue (NHTSA) – it’s critical that parents and teens alike receive a wake-up call on this dangerous threat.

“Today’s parents are juggling their own busy schedules, and too often young drivers’ risky habits go unrecognized,” said Stephen Gray Wallace, senior advisor for policy, research and education at SADD. “It’s critical that parents focus on pinpointing these dangerous driving habits early on – from drowsy driving to technology use behind the wheel – and have frequent conversations with their children about what safe driving really means.”

Many don’t realize the effects of drowsy driving are similar to driving under the influence. After simply 18 hours awake, cognitive impairment equates to blood alcohol content (BAC) of .05 percent, and after 24 hours awake up to a BAC of .10 percent – higher than the legal limit in all states (according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

The study revealed that more than half of teens reported falling asleep or nearly falling asleep at the wheel – with the leading culprits being:

Busy schedule (extracurricular, school, etc.): 43 percent;
Staying up late completing homework: 32 percent;
Staying up late for social activities: 24 percent;
Working late hours during the week: 20 percent; and
Being tired or hung over from drinking/partying the night before: 10 percent.

Help to Keep Teens Safe
Parents and teens must recognize the dangerous implications of today’s hyper-connected and overscheduled teens and implement ways to reduce these risks on the road. It’s essential for parents and teens alike to have open and honest conversations and set expectations around responsible driving, and Liberty Mutual Insurance and SADD encourage parents and teens to consider signing a Parent-Teen Driving Contract. The Contract is both a conversation-starter about safety issues and a customized agreement that provides both parents and teens an easy roadmap to uphold family driving rules empowering open communication helping to lead to safer behavior behind the wheel. Whether teens are planning to get a permit or already on the road, this guide demonstrates a commitment to safe and responsible driving, and the signed agreement can help earn mutual trust to give better peace of mind. To download a contract, visitwww.LibertyMutual.com/TeenDriving.

About the Study
Liberty Mutual Insurance and SADD commissioned ORC International to conduct a qualitative and quantitative methodology to measure teen driving attitudes and behaviors. The study was initiated with a series of focus groups held in Chicago, IL and Washington, D.C. from October 28 – October 29, 2014, followed by a survey among 1,622 eleventh and twelfth graders from across the country. Overall the findings from the study can be interpreted at a 95 percent confidence interval with an error margin of +/- 2.23 percent. Error margins for subsets such as licensed drivers will be wider. Additionally, the study surveyed 1,000 parents of high school aged teenage drivers, providing an overall error margin of +/- 2.94 percent.

About SADD
SADD, the nation’s leading peer-to-peer youth education, prevention, and activism organization, is committed to empowering young people to lead initiatives in their schools and communities. Founded in 1981, SADD today has thousands of chapters in middle schools, high schools and colleges. SADD highlights prevention of many destructive behaviors and attitudes that are harmful to young people, including underage drinking, other drug use, risky and impaired driving, and teen violence and suicide. To become a Friend of SADD or for more information, visit sadd.org,parentteenmatters.org or follow SADD on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

About Liberty Mutual Insurance
Liberty Mutual Insurance helps people preserve and protect what they earn, build, own and cherish. Keeping this promise means we are there when our policyholders throughout the world need us most.

In business since 1912, and headquartered in Boston, Mass., today Liberty Mutual is a diversified insurer with operations in 30 countries and economies around the world. The company is the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2013 direct premium written as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Liberty Mutual also is ranked 78th on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2014 revenue. The company employs over 50,000 people in more than 900 offices throughout the world.

The fifth-largest auto and home insurer in the U.S., Liberty Mutual (libertymutual.com) sells full lines of coverage for automobile, homeowners, valuable possessions, personal liability, and individual life insurance. The company is an industry leader in affinity partnerships, offering car and home insurance to employees and members of more than 14,000 companies, credit unions, professional associations and alumni groups.

Powdered Alcohol Banned in Illinois

2015-08-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill into law that bans the sale of the substance in Illinois. The bill was approved in both the House and Senate with no opposing votes.

A version of powdered alcohol called Palcohol has been approved by the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, but individual states are able to ban the product.

Four varieties of the product were approved, including rum, vodka, cosmopolitan and margarita. According to the company's website, adding water to the product creates a six-ounce drink with the alcohol content of an average cocktail.

Critics of the product argue it can be used to spike drinks. They also worry some users, especially teenagers, might be tempted to snort the product or inject it into their veins.

Sate Sen. Ira Silverstein, the Chicago Democrat who sponsored the legislation, told the Associated Press he was worried it could be used to drug someone or be sprinkled surreptitiously on someone's food.

Palcohol President Mark Phillips has said it would take 60 minutes to snort the amount of powdered alcohol (29 grams) that would be equivalent to one shot of vodka. He also noted it takes about a minute of stirring to fully dissolve the powder in a liquid.

Physical activity eases the impact of bullying

2015-08-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

Physical activity may be a robust antidote to ward off sadness and suicidal thoughts in bullied adolescents.

In a survey of more than 13,000 youth in the United States, teens who said they exercised 4 to 5 days a week had less sadness, suicidal ideation, or suicide attempts than those who exercised 1 or fewer days a week.

This protective effect of physical exercise extended to teens who reported that they had been bullied as well, according to Vermont researchers.

The study was published online July 17 in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Mood Enhancing Effects

"It is well established that exercise and physical activity have robust antidepressive, anxiolytic, and mood-enhancing effects in both animal and human models, regardless of age, gender, and fitness," lead author Jeremy Sibold, EdD, told Medscape Medical News.

"Physical activity has been implicated as a salient preventative and treatment modality for a range of psychological issues that include, but are not limited to, depression, anxiety, substance abuse and addiction, and posttraumatic stress syndrome, in both healthy and clinical populations," Dr Sibold said.

"In fact, the efficacy of physical activity interventions has even approached, and surpassed, that of standard pharmacological and behavioral interventions in some trials," he said.

"It became increasingly clear to us that physical activity may represent a safe, cost-effective intervention for the negative psychosocial consequences of bully victimization in school-age children," Dr Sibold said. "Given the substantial current focus on antibullying campaigns, it seemed to us that safe, cheap, and efficacious options are sorely needed to mitigate this growing problem. If we can prevent even one child from depression or self harm, this is worth it, hands down."

In the current study, Dr Sibold and his group analyzed data on 13,583 high school students from the 2013 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a representative sample survey of public and private high school students in the United States.

Overall, 30.0% of students reported sadness for 2 or more weeks, 22.2% reported suicidal ideation, and 8.2% reported a suicide attempt in the previous 12 months.

After adjusting for age, sex, and race, bullied students were twice as likely to report feeling sad and three times as likely to report suicidal ideation or attempt as those who did not report having been bullied.

Physical exercise mediated these symptoms of depression.

Students who reported exercising 4 to 5 days per week had lower adjusted odds of sadness, suicidal ideation, or suicide attempts than students who exercised 0 to 1 days per week (P < .0001).

The good effects of physical exercise were somewhat attenuated in bullied students but were still apparent. Engaging in physical activity for 4 or more days per week was associated with an approximately 23% reduction in suicidal ideation and attempt in bullied students.

"While observational in nature, if this is true, and replicated in prospective, randomized trials moving forward, physical activity in the form of exercise may represent a highly efficacious intervention that is readily available and accessible in the school-age population," Dr Sibold said.

"I do feel that, given the overall safety of physical activity and exercise for a majority of the population, that the medical arena can and should continue to support and recommend increased physical activity levels for children and adolescents for both physical and psychosocial benefits.

"Phys ed [physical education] is being reduced in many schools, our kids are progressively less active across time, and yet we literally may have a modality ― exercise ― that simultaneously addresses both the physical and psychological sequelae of many of these lifestyle and environmental threats," he said.

Innovative Study

"Regular exercise is an important, economical, and natural way to maintain physical and mental well being and may be particularly useful for individuals under stress, such as those being bullied," said Arshya Vahabzadeh, MD, from the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, when asked by Medscape Medical News to comment on this study.

"This innovative study shows a correlation between higher amounts of physical activity and decreased levels of sadness and suicidality in both bullied and nonbullied adolescents. However, the study methodology doesn't allow for the demonstration of causation, whether physical activity resulted in these changes, or whether these symptoms led to less physical activity," Dr Vahabzadeh said.

"While exercise may be important for improving adolescent mental health, adolescents who are experiencing suicidal thoughts should not attempt to control symptoms with exercise alone but should seek urgent psychiatric assessment and treatment," he added.

Dr Sibold and Dr Vahabzadeh report no relevant financial relationships.

J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. Published July 17,2015. Abstract

Teens with Insomnia at Greater Risk for Self-Harm

2015-08-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

A new study has found that teens who suffer from sleep difficulties, such as insomnia and short sleep duration, are significantly more likely to engage in self-harm compared to teens with healthy sleep patterns.

The findings suggest that sleep interventions be included in treatments for teens with self-harming behaviors.

“Both health care professionals and other people should be aware of the fact that good sleep routines can prevent both stress and negative emotions. Sleep regulation is one of the factors one should consider to use in preventing and treating self-harm among young people,” said lead researcher and psychology specialist Mari Hysing, Ph.D., from Uni Research in Bergen, Norway.

The researchers conducted a large population-based study using data from the youth@hordaland survey. The data included self-reports from 10,220 teenagers who were 16-19 years of age in Western Norway. They answered questions on mental health and completed a comprehensive assessment of sleep and self-harm.

A total of 702 (7.2 percent) teen respondents met the criteria for self-harm, and more than half (55 percent) of those reported harming themselves on two or more occasions.

The risk of self-harming was four times higher among the 16-19 years old adolescents who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for insomnia. The researchers also found that self-harming was more common in girls than boys, and that cutting was the most prevalent type of self-harm behavior, Hysing said.

Several types of sleeping problems were found to be linked consistently to self-harming behavior.

“Insomnia, short sleep duration, long sleep onset latency, wake after2015, sleep onset as well as large differences between weekdays versus weekends, yielded higher odds of self-harm consistent with a dose-response relationship,” said the researchers.

Teens who had engaged in self-harm behaviors also showed higher levels of depression, perfectionism, and symptoms of ADHD. The researchers add that depressive symptoms accounted for some, but not all, of the connection to self-harming.

However, having symptoms of ADHD remained significant even in the fully adjusted analyses, the researchers emphasize.

To help prevent teens from engaging in self-harming behaviors, the researchers suggest interventions that incorporate healthy sleeping habits as a part of the treatment.

The research findings are published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

Source Psychcentral

Source: Uni Research

Clemson study: poor sleep habits lead to dangerous behavior

2015-07-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

CLEMSON UNIVERSITY — Poor sleep habits can have a negative effect on self-control, which presents risks to individuals’ personal and professional lives, according to Clemson University researchers.

In a study titled “Interactions between Sleep Habits and Self-Control,” Clemson psychologists concluded a sleep-deprived individual is at increased risk for succumbing to impulsive desires, inattentiveness and questionable decision-making.

“Self-control is part of daily decision-making. When presented with conflicting desires and opportunities, self-control allows one to maintain control,” said June Pilcher, Clemson Alumni Distinguished Professor of psychology, one of four authors of the study. “Our study explored how sleep habits and self-control are interwoven and how sleep habits and self-control may work together to affect a person’s daily functioning.”

Other Clemson researchers included Drew Morris, a human factors psychology Ph.D. candidate; Janet Donnelly, a Ph.D. candidate in industrial/organizational psychology; and Hayley B. Feigl, who has a Bachelor of Science in psychology.

Previous research has shown individuals working in today’s 24-hour-a-day global economy often times sleep less or at irregular times, resulting in poor sleep and chronic sleep loss, which affects decision-making.

“Exercising self-control allows one to make better choices when presented with conflicting desires and opportunities. That has far-reaching implications to a person’s career and personal life,” Pilcher said.

Poor sleep habits, which include inconsistent sleep times and not enough hours of sleep, can also lead to health problems, including weight gain, hypertension and illness, according to prior research. Studies have also found that sleep deprivation decreases self-control but increases hostility in people, which can create problems in the workplace and at home,” Pilcher said.

Better sleep habits can contribute to a more stable level of daily energy reserves, research has indicated. Availability of energy can refuel a person’s ability to make more difficult choices rather than opting for the easier choice or the easier task.

“Many aspects of our daily lives can be affected by better-managed sleep and self-control capacity,” Pilcher said. “Improved health and worker performance are two potential benefits, but societal issues such as addictions, excessive gambling and over spending could also be more controllable when sleep deficiencies aren’t interfering with one’s decision making.”

Up Periscope! A New App with Potential Law Enforcement Uses

2015-07-14T11:50:00.000-05:00

Periscope, a mobile app that allows users to live-broadcast video from anywhere in the world at any time, has been hailed by the technology and entertainment industries, citizen broadcasters and even politicians, now Law Enforcement is getting into the act.

What is Periscope?
The app, developed by two friends Kayvon Beykpour and Joseph Bernstein, and was purchased by Twitter in March of 2015 for $100 million . The duo had the idea in 2013 when trying to decide whether they should visit Taksim Square in Istanbul after reports of riots. They wanted to be able to see what was going on in places in real time, through the eyes of people who were there. According to sources within the first ten days of the release of the iPhone launch the gained over a millions users. After the May release of the Android version, it gained millions more.

So what does it do?
Periscope allows uses to live-stream video from their mobile phones, and can be used in conjunction
with Twitter, enabling other users to see links tweeted in order to view live-streams.

Although it is not the only live-streaming app. Many early attempts have fallen by the wayside, and another similar service called Meerkat, was also launched earlier this year. However Twitter cut off Meerkat's access to its social media site, when it acquired Periscope.

Periscope offers users the option to let anyone play back the video stream. Which has some tremendous opportunities for Law Enforcement, Emergency Management Agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations, for example:

Australia, @WA_Police

In Australia, NSW Police used Periscope last week to broadcast a live press conference on then missing Coogee woman Jessica Bialek.

The case was a "perfect opportunity" to try out the new technology, NSW police director of public affairs Strath Gordon said.

"What we've found is that people often engage with our social media pages when they feel they can contribute," Mr Gordon said, adding that police Facebook and Twitter pages tend to see a spike in followers when prominent people go missing.

"Periscope is just another way of widening that audience and giving people a chance to assist and keep up with the facts."

Bengaluru, India. @blrctypolice

That scenario might soon be reality thanks to an idea that’s currently being proposed for the Indian city of Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore). Inspired by the use of Periscope at a recent conference, the city’s police commissioner MN Reddi—who has emerged as a social media star with over 290,000 followers on Twitter—proposed that citizens should report and record crimes using the live-streaming app as part of a new strategy for “community policing.”

Boca Raton, Florida @bocapolice

In the area of Crisis Communication, the public can get real-time updates and information instead of reading about it in a Facebook Post or Tweet.

The app is currently available both from the ITunes Store and the Playstore.

Social Media Platform Policy: Do you have one?

2015-07-14T09:45:00.000-05:00

Social Media Platform Policy: Do you have one?

by Robert Tornabene

So you are your Organizations Social Media Manager? So have you thought through how you will address content posted to one of your Social Media Platforms? Do you have criteria? Is there a procedure or practice in place to address issues such as sales, promotions, solicitations or inappropriate content? How do you make that policy available to your follows, fans, and posters to you platforms? These are all questions that all need to be addressed in order to have a well rounded and safe approach to your organizations Social Media Platforms.

Any Organization utilizing Social Media should have clear guidelines laid out and available to the public. These guidelines would address issues that followers, likers, or users to your Social Media Platforms would need to abide by. They provide standards of conduct, which in the event an issues were to arise for specific types of behavior you can address them.

You first should define what your Organizations Social Media Policy defines, what is acceptable, what is not. A Social Media Manager should plan to routinely post a link to their Social Media Policy. These posts should be across all your Social Media Platforms.

What your Social Media policy should have.

It should identify your Organization, as well as your current and active Social Media Platforms.
It should define who to contact regarding your Social Media Platforms. Examples would include your Public Relations/Public Information Officer, Social Media Manager or Freedom of Information Officer.
The Social Media Policy should include key policy issues, Terms of Use, Prohibited Content and Disclaimer.
A small section should also be about links and validity of links. However, it is inherint on the Social Media Manager to check the link to determine if the connected content is not a link

Terms of Use (TOU)

Terms of Use are those areas which define purpose, platform, contact and type of information to be disseminated.

This should include identifying the the purpose of the of your Social Media Platforms. For Law Enforcement, Emergency Services, Local Governments, and Non Governmental Organizations the primary function will be as a communication too.
The TOU may include terms such as raising awareness and information for the general public in and around the community you serve.
TOU should indicate what types of information you plan on putting out on your Social Media Platforms. These might include public safety messages, news releases, photos, videos, Amber Alerts, road closures, power outages and other emergency announcements.
TOU should also indicate that all of the organizations Social Media Platforms shall comply with all applicable organization policies and procedures.

Prohibited Content:

Prohibited Content defines that all posts are monitored and subject to removal from the site when they violate the defined prohibited content. Prohibited content can include but is not limited to:

Profane language or content
Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender, marital status, familial status, national origin, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, source of income, or other protected status under applicable law
Inappropriate sexual content or links to inappropriate sexual content
Solicitations of commerce
Conduct or encouragement of illegal activity
Private and confidential information
Information that may tend to compromise the safety and security of the public or public systems
Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party
Comments in support of or opposition to political campaigns or ballot measures
disclaims any and all responsibility and liability for any materials or content that the is deemed inappropriate for posting. The organization shall make efforts to remove said materials in an expeditious or otherwise timely manner, but disclaims liability if circumstances exist that prevent or hinder efforts to remove said materials.

Disclaimer:

A disclaimer is a defensive measure, used generally with the purpose of protection from unwanted

claims or liability.

The Organization does not endorse nor otherwise support or sponsor any advertising that may be posted by the Social Media host (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube) on the organization site. Facebook Page, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube account are privately operated sites and the privacy terms of each respective site apply.

Link Re-liability & Accuracy:

Link Re-liability simply means that the link connects to it's designated location. Link accuracy means that the link actually connects to the identified location, and it not a spoofed link. An example would be a link that would re-direct a user to an inappropriate internet location.

The organization does not guarantee the reliability or accuracy of any third-party links.

Content Removal Notice:

This is a simple statement that the organization reserves final say on any comment or interaction that violates the Social Media Policy.

Considerations

Regardless of what layout your provide or what type of format you decide to present to your users, it should be consistent, publicly available and simple understand.

In the event there is a policy violation, present to link to the person, or handle that has violated your policy. Be sure to screen capture to violation and save it before deleting it from your feed or
timeline.

Freedom of Information Act requirements in your specific state may require your organization to retain information that is posted across your Social Media Platforms. You should consult with your organizations legal counsel along with your home states Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or Records Retention Act for clarification.

Conclusion

By following these simple guidelines organizations can reduce the impact of inappropriate content, links or posts and improve the quality of content to your fan base across all of your Social Media Platforms.

Failure to have a defined policy can result in issues such as allegations of "transparency" failures, concealment and mistrust. In addition, without defined parameters as a primer for both the individual user and the agency it opens the agency up to liability issues.

Happy posting!

Dabbing adds new risks to Marijuana Abuse

2015-07-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

Marijuana “dabbing,” a potentially dangerous way of using the drug, is increasingly popular, a new study finds.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), dabbing is a method used to convert marijuana into a concentrate. It uses butane, which is highly flammable, to extract THC from the cannabis plant. THC is the psychoactive chemical in marijuana. This process has resulted in violent explosions, the DEA noted.

“In this process, shredded or ground up plant material is stuffed into a glass, metal, or plastic pipe, with a filter on one end and then the butane is forced in the open end of the pipe,” the DEA explains in a brochure. “As the butane goes through the pipe, the THC within the plant material is extracted and forced through the filter, usually into a receptacle. The receptacle is then heated to burn off the remaining butane, creating a butane gas.”

A number of fires, explosions and severe burns have been caused by the butane gas used in creating the dabs, according to study author John Stogner of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He noted there is a great danger of fire even if a person doesn’t use some sort of heating device, because butane gas can build up in an enclosed space during the process. Even a small spark can cause an explosion.

Dabbing creates crystallized resins with a THC concentration of almost 80 percent, according to Stogner.

“We know that it is more potent than smoking marijuana,” Heather Senior, Parent Support Network Manager for the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, told HealthDay. “You don’t know what concentrate you’re going to be getting. It’s going to be a much higher dose, and kids might not be used to that.”

Source: http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/marijuana-dabbing-causing-explosions-severe-burns/

CDC study on Adolescene Risk Behavior

2015-06-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

The latest statistics on teenagers paint a rosy portrait of American teens. They’re drinking, smoking and bullying less than they used to, and fewer are getting pregnant.

“Adolescence is an inherently risky time,” says Dr. Stephanie Zaza, the director of the U.S. Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) division of adolescent and school health. “They are stretching their wings. We can’t eliminate all risk, but we are seeing overall good trends in all areas.”

Here’s a snapshot on teen behavior, based on recent reports:

Bullying - Recent data from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics showed bullying at school was on the decline. Bullying among kids ages 12 to 18 dropped to 22% in 2013. The rate is lower than the 28-32% that was reported in all other survey years since 2005. Even cyberbullying—the use of electronic services to harass someone—has dropped. Only 6.9% of students reported being cyberbullied in 2013 compared to 9% in 2011.

The study also shows that LGBT youth which have been often targeted have found increasing acceptance and major policy changes regarding same-sex marriage in the news, social norms regarding sexuality may be changing too, and that may contribute to less fighting.

Smoking - Teens are smoking less, too. In the last CDC National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which analyzes health risk behaviors among high school students, revealed that the high school smoking rate had dropped to 15.7%, the lowest recorded level since the survey started in 1991. It meant that the CDC had met its goal of lowering the adolescent smoking rate to under 16% by 2020, several years early.'

Changes that might have had a significant impact on smoking include widespread health initiatives and big changes in social norms around smoking. Although the that data from the CDC also stated that while fewer high schools are smoking fewer cigarettes, e-cigarette use tripled among middle and high schoolers in just one year.

Drinking - The study also revealed that alcohol use has dropped, it's still at a high of 35%.

Texting While Driving - Teens who text and drive is at an all time high of 41%

Prescription Drugs - 18% of teens who report using prescription drugs without a prescriptions

Although the study is based upon multiple studies which are weaved together they begin to ain't a picture on as to which types of risk taking behaviors place youth at greater risk. Parents should take this into consideration when evaluating issues surrounding behavior.

Download the entire Bullying CDC Report
Read the E-cigarette Press Release

Dangerous 'Spice' Drugs Fuel Deaths, Spike In Emergency Calls, CDC Says

2015-06-15T10:00:00.000-05:00

By Elizabeth Whitman
It often goes by the relatively innocuous street name “spice,” a nickname that belies the potency of a recreational drug that contributed to the deaths of 15 people in the first five months of 2015. That death toll was three times the number of spice-related deaths during the same period in 2014, while phone calls made to U.S. poison control centers about spice tripled over the same period as well, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

During the first five months of 2015, poison control centers in the U.S. received 3,572 phone calls related to spice, compared to 1,085 made during the same period in 2014. April 2015 was a particularly severe month, with 1,501 phone calls received regarding spice.

Agitation, a rapid heartbeat, lethargy, vomiting and confusion were the most common side effects from using the drug, the CDC said. Data from the phone calls suggested that people over the age of 30 were significantly more likely to have a more severe reaction to spice than teenagers.

Spice belongs to a class of drugs known as synthetic cannabinoids or synthetic marijuana,

which are a combination of herbal materials that, when smoked or ingested, are supposed to mimic the high of genuine marijuana. As a result, the synthetic version is often described as “fake weed,” which drug experts consider a misnomer. It comprises a chemical compound that is sprayed onto herbs or other plant material, and it can be purchased easily and cheaply at gas station and convenience stores, packaged under a variety of nicknames, including K2 and black mamba.

The spike in spice-related emergency phone calls and deaths were a sign that the U.S. needs “enhanced efforts to remove these products from the marketplace,” the CDC said, because synthetic cannabinoids pose a growing threat to public health.

Although some of the chemical formulas for the compounds used in manufacturing spice are classified as illegal, producers of these chemicals, who are often in China, are typically one step ahead of law enforcement. Every time one chemical structure is classified as illegal, producers merely have to tweak it slightly to skirt the law. As spice comes under increasing scrutiny in the United States, lawmakers have begun considering new ways to curb the drug by focusing on sales and distribution rather than production.

Source: International Business Times