This article reviewed the technological assistance provided by the Law Enforcement Analysis Facility (LEAF) to correctional agencies.
Video surveillance and audio monitoring can be a difficult process. Many times, tapes are too fuzzy or inaudible to use and are thrown away. Due to this problem, correctional agencies have been turning to the Law Enforcement Analysis Facility (LEAF) at the National Law Enforcement and Correctional Technology Center-Northeast Region (NLECTC-NE). Established by the National Institute of Justice Office of Science and Technology (OS&T) in 1996, LEAF demonstrates commercially available and emerging technologies to correctional and law enforcement agencies. LEAF shows agencies technological investigation aids and, at the same time, teaches which technologies are available and how to access and use them. Technologies include video enhancement, time line analysis software, and speaker recognition. Correctional agencies have spent many years and dollars developing and improving ways to track objects entering and leaving facilities. However, administrators also need to know about information that is shared between inmates. LEAF engineers demonstrate a number of technologies that can aid in monitoring inmate communications, including the SMART (Speech Manipulation and Analysis Real Time) system and Automatic Gisting. Beyond aiding investigations and improving communications monitoring, LEAF technologies also can help improve facility safety and management through information sharing, language translation, developing surveillance architecture and securing facility access.