Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology

NLECTC Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology News Summary
Thursday, December 28, 2006

"More Surveillance Cameras Planned for City Next Year"
Los Banos Enterprise (CA) (12/22/06); Pride, Corey

The Los Banos, Calif., police department hopes to purchase and install 20 wireless surveillance cameras before next year comes to an end. If won, a $275,000 grant will pay for the cameras, which will be placed outside 10 schools above speed radar signs to monitor traffic conditions. Two other cameras may be used at key intersections. The police department already monitors around 45 cameras at various sites. The surveillance system "definitely helps with traffic accident investigations," says Police Chief Chris Gallagher, noting its deterrent effect as well. Each camera will cost about $2,500. "It cuts cost for safety," says Mayor Tommy Jones of the system. "It's cheaper than hiring another police officer."
http://www.losbanosenterprise.com/

"Tasers Under the Gun"
New Haven Register (12/24/06); Helsel, Phil

The Milford, Conn. Police Department's decision to allow its patrol officers as well as its supervisors to use Taser stun guns has resulted in an 850 percent increase in the number of times the devices have been used so far this year compared with 2003. The dramatic increase in the number of incidents involving the use of Tasers, as well as the circumstances surrounding some of those incidents, is causing a controversy in Milford. Of the 34 incidents in which Milford police used Tasers this year, four involved an armed subject, according to a review of the city's police records. In two incidents, people were shocked with Taser stun guns after they had already been handcuffed. And in one incident, 24-year-old Nicholas Brown, a Bridgeport, Conn. man who had been shocked three times by a Taser stun gun, died while in custody of Milford police of what a medical examiner has ruled "cocaine toxicity." For its part, Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Taser International, the company that manufactures most of the stun guns used by police departments around the country, says its products are safe--though it does warn law enforcement to be particularly careful when using the stun guns on people who appear to be high on drugs, are exhibiting delirium, extreme agitation, or other conditions of what it calls "sudden in-custody death syndrome." Although more police departments in Connecticut are planning to purchase Taser stun guns, the Hartford Police Department says the deaths of Brown and others have convinced it to hold off on buying the devices.
http://www.nhregister.com
/site/news.cfm?newsid=1762888
9&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517514&rfi=6

"Helicopter Takes to Sky for Training"
St. Petersburg Times (FL) (12/22/06) P. CT1; Frank, John

Citrus County has purchased a new $2.4 million American Eurocopter equipped with a rescue hoist, becoming the only county in the state to have a hoist on its police chopper. The county has always been on the cutting edge of law enforcement technology. In 1990, it and Jacksonville were the only ones to employ thermal imaging technology with their helicopters. The hoist will be especially useful in this flood-prone region.
http://www.sptimes.com
/2006/12/22/Citrus/Helicopter_takes_to_s.shtml

"Jail Docket Coming Back Online"
Biloxi Sun Herald (MS) (12/21/06); Fitzgerald, Robin

The Harrison County Sheriff's Department in Mississippi will soon have access to its online jail docket as it migrates to a new records-management system. The technology will let the department access the dockets of Jackson and Hancock counties as well, and other counties in the state will soon be added in the future. The online docket has been offline since Nov. 7 because of the changeover. The situation "has made it difficult because we had to call the front desk to get the information," says D&D Bail Bond owner Wayne Dowdle. Once the new system is viewable, mug shots of prisoners will be posted; this is likely to be finalized after January 2007. Officials with the Sheriff's Department say the new technology will enhance information as well as assist them in knowing who and where prisoners are. A 1983 state law mandated that jail dockets and certain other types of information about incarcerations be made public.
http://www.sunherald.com
/mld/thesunherald/news/special_packages/
renewal/long_beach/16287354.htm

"County Steps Up Monitoring After Predator Cluster Found"
Modesto Bee (CA) (12/22/06) P. B3; Jason, Scott

Law enforcement in Merced County, Calif., will track parolees' release and housing more closely after the recent eviction of six convicted sex offenders from a home, according to county sheriff's officials. They were evicted because they were residing illegally on agricultural property in a secondary home, also known as a granny house, meant for farm workers or family members. The state of California had moved the group to the house in November amid several changes--a school bus route was alerted, and surveillance gear was added to the home. Windows were also blacked out. A town meeting at a citizen's home was held on Dec. 15, attended by sheriff deputies, Supervisor Deidre Kelsey, and other officials. More than 50 residents attended to oppose the felons' occupancy of the house.
http://www.modbee.com
/local/story/13135954p-13782450c.html

"Asking the Right Questions"
Baltimore Sun (12/22/06) P. 1D; Hobby, Susan Thornton

Columbia, Md., firm SIMmersion has devised numerous interactive computer simulation games employing real actors to instruct new police officers, physicians, and social workers on how to handle witnesses, patients, or clients without causing explosive incidents or initiating malpractice lawsuits. When they are finished, interviewers receive a numeric score for how well they conducted their interview, and an in-depth analysis of their performance, as well as chance to repeatedly play the game. SIMmersion's Dale Olsen, who has a statistics doctorate and a polygraph background, worked for over three decades at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physicians Laboratory, where he helped create simulations software that instructed sailors on how to drive nuclear submarines. Simulator designers explain that while interviewers select their lines from all the potential scenarios shown on the screen and read them to a computer, the responses are written in a conversational manner, so that communication is natural. One of Olsen's simulations has trial witnesses receive interrogation on the witness stand by a pair of hostile attorneys. SIMmersion is now moving in multiple directions, while its foundation is in law enforcement. Former FBI office of information and learning resources unit chief Garland Phillips, who urged his agency to finance SIMmersion's initial simulation for the FBI Training Academy, explained that instructors discovered that enrollees would frequently spend their personal time operating the simulations. After the FBI was convinced, the academy introduced the simulations to its 56 field offices, and then the 16,000 state and local police groups it helps instruct, as well as additional federal agencies and foreign institutions.
http://www.baltimoresun.com
/news/health/
bal-hs.simulation22dec22,0
,740663.story?coll=bal-health-headlines

"Dallas Courthouse to Increase Security"
Des Moines Register (IA) (12/20/06) P. 1B; Walker, Melissa

The Dallas County Courthouse in Iowa will soon have metal detectors and a $28,075 X-ray machine, the cost of which was covered by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security, to screen visitors. A security council comprising courthouse employees, law enforcement officials, and judges also proposed a security staff of 10 full- and part-time deputies at a cost of as much as $520,000, security cameras, employee access cards, and a building alarm system, among other things. County officials are expected to review the requests early in the new year. The sheriff's department will likely provide two full-time employees and part-time, off-duty police officers to monitor security systems and patrol the courthouse, according to Sheriff's Deputy Doug Lande. Lande notes, "We're going to make this as least intrusive as possible but protect the building and the people who work there." Metal detectors and a gated parking lot are among the security measures already put in place at the federal courthouse in Polk County.
http://desmoinesregister.com
/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061220/NEWS01/612200365/-1/BUSINESS04

"Fresno Cracks Down on DUI"
Associated Press (12/21/06); Burke, Garance

Fresno, Calif., police are erecting roadblocks, performing stakeouts, and utilizing night-vision goggles, satellite tracking devices, and video cameras in a crackdown intended to stop drunken drivers. These strategies have made the city one of the nation's toughest regarding drunk driving. Although police claim the four-year-old initiative has resulted in a significant decrease in fatal car accidents, restaurants and bars contend it is harming business and placing a damper on city's nightlife, while defense attorneys and civil liberties activists caution that Fresno has gone too far. Fresno police are placing undercover police close to bars to look out for drunken individuals heading to their vehicles. They are also erecting numerous drunk-driving checkpoints, and are discreetly placing Global Positioning System (GPS) devices on the vehicles of convicted drunken drivers to track whether they are going to liquor stores or bars, which would violate their parole or probation. The International Association of Chiefs of Police has listed Fresno's initiative as the best in the country. Four years ago, more individuals in Fresno were killed in car accidents than by murder, a figure that caused Police Chief Jerry Dyer to expand the traffic division from 22 officers to 76, to have the department make greater use of checkpoints, and to start utilizing GPS devices. The level of alcohol-related accidents that have caused injuries has dropped from 125 four years ago to 105 in 2006, while the level of DUI arrests has increased from 2,169 in 2002 to a predicted 3,000 for 2006, police stated. http://www.chron.com
/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4419203.html

"State Lawmaker Calls for Limits on Taser Use"
Associated Press (12/22/06)

In Texas, Rep. Lon Burnam (D-Fort Worth) has introduced legislation that would allow police officers to use Tasers only when the use of deadly force is justified under the state penal code. Burnam's bill is in response to incidents in which suspects have been subdued by Tasers and later died. Burnam has also raised concerns that Tasers are used more often on minorities. Houston police used Tasers in 892 instances since 2004, but city Police Chief Harold Hurtt says only 39 justified deadly force.
http://www.ap.org

"Most Back Cameras to Battle Crime"
Stamford Advocate (CT) (12/20/06); Lee, Natasha

At a recent hearing in Stamford, Conn., local citizens said they endorse the use of cameras to increase safety, but want safeguards in place that would prevent officials from abusing the technology. The hearing was arranged by the Public Safety and Health Committee of Stamford's Board of Representatives Office. At present, the city is allowed to use its 16 closed-circuit cameras only for monitoring traffic in accordance with a 1999 ordinance. However, members of the Public Safety and Health Committee as well as if the Legislative and Rules Committee have voted to alter the ordinance to lessen the restrictions; the changes need to be approved by the Board of Representatives in January, said Richard Lyons, chairman of the Public Safety and Health Committee. The majority of residents said the cameras would help reduce crimes such as vandalism and improper dumping, but some residents advocated boosting the number of police officers rather than initiating camera surveillance. Others asserted that surveillance cameras fail to successfully deter crime.
http://www.stamfordadvocate.c
om/news/local/scn-sa-surveilla
nce.hearing4dec20,0,7184026.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines

"UMass Checks Data to Identify Rioters"
Boston Globe (12/20/06) P. B7; Simpson, April

University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass) police are employing photos, Web sites, videos, and students to locate students who set items on fire and heaved bike tires, beer bottles, and other dangerous materials at police following the football team's loss on Dec. 15 in the Division 1-AA championship game. Campus police authorities informed students on Dec. 18 that they will post photos of rioters on the school's Web site each day. Of the 11 individuals recently arrested, 10 were students. At their Dec. 18 and Dec. 19 arraignments, the students pleaded not guilty. On Dec. 17, however, university vice chancellor for student affairs and campus life Michael Gargano stated in an a email letter to students' parents that around 200 students actively partook in "the violence and destruction on December 15," and noted they could be expelled, face criminal charges, or lose academic credit for the fall semester. Around 1,800 students rushed a residential section of the school at 11 p.m. on Dec. 15, after the UMass football team lost to Appalachian State. A pair of police officers were hurt by thrown rocks, and several have reported bruises. Police stated they are seeking the worst offenders, especially those who threw things at them.
http://www.boston.com
/news/local/articles/
2006/12/20/umass_ch
ecks_data_to_identify_rioters/

"Invention: Taser Gets Tougher"
New Scientist Tech (12/18/06); Fox, Barry

In a project funded by the U.S. government, Arizona's Taser International is developing a stun gun capable of shocking recipients insulated by clothing as well as animals with thick fur. The projectiles fired by current stun guns can lose their effectiveness if they become stuck in clothing or fur because the recipient is protected from the shock delivered by the projectile's barbed electrodes. However, the new stun guns will have an additional electrode that faces away from the target on the rear of the projectile capable of providing a shock that instinctively compels the target to grab or bite the projectile. Once the target's bare skin makes good electrical contact with the electrode, a disabling shock is delivered.
http://www.newscientisttech.com
/channel/tech/dn10817-invention-taser-gets-tougher.html

"City to Hold Annual Vehicle Safety 'Roadeo' on Dec. 1"
US States News (11/28/06)

On Dec. 1, the City of Corpus Christi's Risk Management Office and Safety Advisory Board held the annual Vehicle Safety "Roadeo" Contest. There were nine different testing categories involving full-size sedans, police sedans, VIP sedans, pickup trucks, dump trucks, and many other vehicle types. The best city employee driver in each category was given an award or prize for their efforts. City employees with good driving records navigated six different obstacle-course layouts and demonstrated their safe-driving skills.
http://www.nexis.com/research

"Justice Dept. Database Stirs Privacy Fears"
Washington Post (12/26/06) P. A7; Eggen, Dan

A huge database being constructed by the Justice Department intended to allow local investigators around the country to access information held by federal law enforcement agencies is receiving widespread disapproval from privacy groups. There are currently one million records, from both open and closed cases, in the database known as "OneDOJ," which can only be accessed by 150 police departments at this time, but in three years the number of case records is expected to triple, and the number of regional authorities with access is expected to jump to 750. Privacy and civil rights advocates see the database as a dangerous source of unfounded details, particularly concerning people who have not been arrested or charged with a crime. The ACLU's Technology and Liberty Project director Barry Steinhardt says that, " Raw police files or FBI reports can never be verified and can never be corrected. That is a problem with even more formal and controlled systems. The idea that they're creating another whole system that is going to be full of inaccurate information is just chilling." He cites the 2003 statement by the FBI that it would no longer recognize the Privacy Act's requirements for accuracy in the National Crime Information Center, the main criminal-background-check database that is utilized by 80,000 law enforcement agencies in the country. Others express fear that the information disseminated by this system could make its way into realms outside of law enforcement. Despite calls for a halt to the project, the DOJ remains confident that OneDOJ will provide invaluable assistance to local authorities by "essentially hooking them up to a pipe that will take them into [the DOJ's] records."
http://www.washingtonpost.com
/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/25/AR2
006122500483.html

"1 Police Force, 1 Lesson Plan"
Indianapolis Star (11/13/06) P. 1; O'Neal, Kevin

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IPD) and the Marion County Sheriff's Department continue to merge their departments into one, and as part of the merger plans, the departments will rely on a single training center--the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Training Academy. Police department officials claim that the single training center will foster consistency among officers and improve the efficiency levels of the entire police force. Moreover, the merged departments are expected to reduce duplication in procedures, policies, and training, though deadly-force policies will remain in effect. The academy is equipped with a shoot-or-don't-shoot simulator in the firearms range and a program to teach officers basic Spanish language skills to better serve the growing Hispanic population. However, one difference under the new training academy will be the elimination of the precision immobilization technique (PIT), in which officers learn how to hit fleeing cars in order to spin them and shorten pursuits. Other skills updates for veteran officers will also be offered.
http://www.indystar.com
/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID
=/20061113/LOCAL/611130426/1006/LOCAL

Article sponsored by Criminal Justice Leadership; and, police and military personnel who have become writers.