the buzz log

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime, and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders.

Wait—add a third: the viewers, who track down criminals on their own. Here is one story: Justine Faeth saves a dirty cup and used tissue, and catches a thief.

These days, most people would be hauling out the Purell and Lysol to clear away the biohazards, but Faether's not most people. Not only is she a New Yorker savvy to the ways of the criminal element, but the assistant at the Manhattan production company faithfully watches "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." After a co-worker found her iPod, phone, and wallet stolen from her bag, Faeth suspected the stranger who came by to pitch a story idea and then kept hanging around, claiming to feel poorly and fetching himself a glass of water before he'd leave.

The Law part, though, almost got foiled when the police didn't seem too interested in taking the cup and tissue, brewing with DNA evidence and germs, for only a robbery. But, the cops had a change of heart after watching video surveillance tape: The next day, they retrieved the cup and tissue from the trash, and arrested ex-con Kevin Moore, allegedly responsible for a rash of robberies. The Order part kicked in when Moore was charged with burglary and larceny.

Of course, any good "L&O" story has a twist: Faeth's tale of forensic preservation and fandom got her on the Today Show, where she received a shout-out from "L&O" role model Mariska Hargitay, and a walk-on. So far, no such offer for Moore, who made this all possible. Maybe there's an opportunity at "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."

Filed under: TV, Law Enforcement, Crime

This week's thwarted terrorist plot set off a frenzy of activity at the Search box. One-third of our top 100 Buzz movers on Thursday were queries on airports around the world. Not surprisingly, Heathrow Airport had the largest increase, up 1,520%. Other notable airport spikes included: "logan airport" (+480%), "gatwick airport" (+667%), and "laguardia airport" (+296%).

Official agencies were also hot in Search, as evidenced by increases on "homeland security" (+2,883%) and "transportation security administration" (+2,033%).

Folks curious about their travel plans or possible delays in picking up precious cargo were busy checking out "flight status" (+193%), "flight arrivals," (+192%), and "flight tracker" (+158%).

News-hungry searchers looking for the latest information caused "headline news," "breaking news," and "latest news" to surge. And of course, many turned to CNN globetrotter Anderson Cooper (+247%) to make sense of it all.

Any time terrorism makes headlines, searches on Osama bin Laden (+755%) and Al-Qaida (+300%) always soar. And due to the diabolical nature of the latest plot, queries on "liquid explosives" went from zero into the thousands as puzzled people tried to figure out the mechanics of the latest threat.

Filed under: Law Enforcement, Air Travel, Terrorism

Within its walls fester some of the country's most infamous criminals: Ramzi Yousef, World Trade Center bomber; Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber; and Eric Rudolph, the Olympic Garden Bomber, among others. Convicted September 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui is the latest to join this host of heinous bad guys in residence at the Administrative Maximum facility at the Florence Correctional Complex in Colorado, aka Supermax.

News of Moussaoui's conviction and sentencing to the Colorado Supermax jumped over the headlines into the Buzz this week. "Supermax" was a breakout term, rising from virtually no searches to the top 4,000. Searches for "prison," "supermax prisons," and "colorado supermax" also spiked this week.

Known by many names, including the Alcatraz of the Rockies, the federal prison facility in the small town of Florence, Colorado, is regarded as one of the nation's most secure lockdown locations. Only the deadliest criminals are kept at the Supermax. Maybe that's why it's the subject of maximum searches—we who will (hopefully) never experience life in the bowels of the Supermax may be morbidly curious about the daily grind for Moussaoui and others of his ilk.

Searchers seek details with queries such as "inside supermax" and "life inside a supermax prison." The answers include 23 hours a day in solitary confinement, housed in concrete, and surrounded by some of the most advanced security technology in the world. The short-term sentence: Supermax is super bad.

Filed under: Law Enforcement, Crime, Prison