The Bexar County Sheriff’s Workplace is shifting ahead with an growth of a jail-based intelligence operation that analyzes inmate communications for investigative leads made potential by a $2.6 million earmark within the federal price range.
The hassle, tentatively referred to as the Regulation Enforcement and Detention Intelligence Community, or LEAD-IN, would enable the sheriff’s workplace to buy software program to transcribe, search and analyze inmate telephone calls and different jail-linked data at a bigger scale — constructing on intelligence work that’s already underway contained in the Bexar County Jail.
Sheriff Javier Salazar mentioned the objective is to make use of know-how to amplify their potential to course of extra info without delay.
“We don’t make any secret of it, 5,000 inmates is a treasure trove of data on the crimes that received them within the jail, but in addition different crimes which can be ongoing out locally,” he mentioned. ”They could be discussing drug trafficking rings that they’re nonetheless concerned in, speaking about murders that they find out about, or the placement of a physique that we haven’t discovered but.”
Present unit, expanded instruments
The proposed growth wouldn’t create a brand new unit or embrace any new hires. It will be constructed round an present detention intelligence workforce already doing gang intelligence and investigations work contained in the jail. That workforce already displays inmate telephone calls, critiques recordings and develops intelligence associated to gang exercise, contraband, threats contained in the jail and investigations exterior of the ability.
Sgt. James Ma, who works within the jail intelligence unit, informed commissioners throughout a Feb. 3 presentation that investigators are sometimes confronted with a big quantity of data tied to every felony case — which may embrace hundreds of telephone calls, messages and digital data tied to a single investigation.
The LEAD-IN program, he mentioned, is meant to cut back the time it takes to type by that materials, permitting analysts to determine potential leads extra shortly and go them on to investigators within the subject.
The unit has already seen success utilizing intelligence to disrupt critical felony exercise, mentioned Deputy Chief Angela Freveletti, who oversees the unit, pointing to a latest murder-for-hire plot that was uncovered by inmate communications and led to 5 arrests inside and out of doors of the jail.
“On this latest case, one inmate was soliciting different inmates to search out folks from the skin that would presumably damage or hurt a witness of their case,” she mentioned. “ We had been in a position to get on prime of that, put a case collectively and make arrests.”
She added that LEAD-IN has been designed to construct on that form of work whereas helping to shut the loop on any info that might be missed because of the grand scale of data that’s being reviewed.
“We don’t understand how a lot of this info we’re truly lacking as a result of we will solely accomplish that a lot with the issues that we’ve got at our disposal,” Freveletti mentioned. “We’re catching lots of actually great things, however how a lot of it are we catching? Is it a tip of the iceberg sort of factor? With the cash, we’re in a position to put money into the most recent and best software program on the market and we’re hoping that we’re gonna have the ability to catch much more of the following pointers.”
Whereas LEAD-IN is centered contained in the jail, it’s supposed to generate investigative leads past it. Salazar mentioned info developed by inmate telephone calls or jail-linked data is routinely shared with exterior legislation enforcement businesses, together with the San Antonio Police Division, the Bexar County District Legal professional’s Workplace and federal companions, when related to ongoing circumstances.
“It’s not unusual for the DA’s workplace, SAPD, Drug Enforcement Company or anyone to return to us and say, ‘Hey, you’ve received a sure individual in jail, what are they saying? Who’re they speaking to on the telephone? Are they speaking about an escape? Are they speaking about this homicide that occurred?” Salazar mentioned. “You’d be stunned what a few of these of us will say.”
Freveletti mentioned the know-how may additionally help investigations involving lacking or endangered individuals, significantly when time-sensitive digital knowledge should be processed shortly. 1000’s of factors of knowledge will be retrieved from cellphones and different electronics in lacking individuals circumstances, however it may be a time intensive course of should you don’t have the best software program, she mentioned.
“Our hope is, particularly with the lacking individuals, that we’re in a position to mine that knowledge rather a lot faster, in order that we will find folks faster,” Freveletti mentioned. “Particularly in the event that they’re in any sort of hazard or coping with some sort of psychological well being disaster, the software program goes to assist us rather a lot.”
Commissioners raised questions in the course of the dialogue about civil liberties, knowledge possession and oversight.
Salazar mentioned inmate communications — excluding attorney-client calls — are already recorded and monitored, and that inmates are warned of that truth every time they place a name from the jail.
“Inmates actually don’t have any expectation of privateness on these calls,” Salazar mentioned. “In the event you’re speaking on the telephone, whilst you’re an inmate within the jail, that’s actually on you at that time, as a result of it’s fairly well-known that we do that, and even then, we’re nonetheless catching stuff.”
Salazar and different officers harassed that LEAD-IN would depend on data lawfully obtained by the sheriff’s workplace and isn’t supposed to observe civilians or accumulate info unrelated to felony investigations. Some instruments would require warrants signed by a choose, relying on the kind of knowledge concerned, whereas different detention intelligence doesn’t.
“The very last thing we need to do is violate civil rights,” he mentioned. “At that time, we’re no higher than the crooks we’re making an attempt to place in jail.”
The $2.6 million earmark was permitted as a part of federal appropriations laws handed final month and doesn’t require county approval. Salazar mentioned it may take 12 to 36 months earlier than the sheriff’s workplace receives the funding.
After the grant funding is exhausted, the sheriff’s workplace would want to justify whether or not to proceed this system inside its division price range that exceeded $200 million in fiscal yr 2026.
“Actually something and every thing that this intelligence touches goes to be tracked as a stat,” he mentioned.” All of the weapons or contraband discovered inside the jail. What number of medication had been recovered from inside the jail? What number of circumstances did it have an effect on on the skin? Did we resolve any murders? Did we break up any human trafficking rings?”
