Public Safety Technology in the News

Fusion Centers: New York State Intelligence Strategy Unifies Law Enforcement
The Police Chief, (02/2008), Colonel Bart R. Johnson (retired) and Shelagh Dorn

Law enforcement investigations have in the past have been affected by political and jurisdictional issues among all levels of agencies. Multiple agencies could be conducting an investigation on the same crime, but no tools were in place to promote information sharing. The end result could be important information or evidence being found by one agency and not being shared with other agencies on the case. Intelligence is the key to impeding organized crime, as well as terrorism. That is why information sharing between agencies across levels should not be pigeon holed to just terrorism, but must be viewed across the entire spectrum of criminal activity. With those challenges in mind, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) worked to develop solutions to govern information sharing. The exchange of this information relies on "fusion centers," which pool together agencies and resources in one location to develop comprehensive information regarding crime. To fur! ther support the establishment of information sharing and fusion centers, IACP developed three publications: The National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan (NCISP), The National Strategy for Information Sharing, and Fusion Center Guidelines: Developing and Sharing Information and Intelligence in a New Era. The New York Intelligence Fusion Center is New York State's solution. The center incorporates Federal, State, and local law enforcement to help with the accurate exchange of information at all levels.
www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display&article_id=1419&issue_id=22008

Tracking Sex Offenders Made Easy With New State Computer Program
Enterprise News, (03/01/2008), Maureen Boyle

The ability of Massachusetts police officer to investigate a possible child abduction or sex crime has been enhanced by new software known as Sex Offender Registry Information System (SORIS) created by xFact. Using specific search fields such as vehicle color, location of incident, and approximate height and weight of the suspect, within minutes an officer can have access to records for registered offenders matching any of the searched fields. Instead of processing 350 names a day, like the previous system did, the xFact system can cruise through 10,000 names in 30 minutes. Plus, it has the additional fields capable of helping narrow the field of possible suspects and assisting law enforcement develop quick leads. Eighty departments throughout Massachusetts have been trained on the system, and new departments are being trained weekly.
www.enterprisenews.com/news/x2052203702

Zemerick Software Provides Free Software to Law Enforcement
PR.com, (03/02/2008)

SPEAR Forensic, a suite of investigative software from Zemerick Software, Inc., is now available to members of the law enforcement community free of charge. Law enforcement agency staff simply register online at http://www.spearforensics.com to receive the software. Products available include Chat Watch SPEAR Edition for investigations involving instant messaging. Another product is Forensic P2P for peer-to-peer file sharing investigations. A third product is Forensic Web Screenshot, which is a utility that captures a snapshot of the entire length of a webpage. The SPEAR Forensics suite also offers resources to departments that conduct Internet safety seminars where parents can obtain Chat Watch software to monitor their children's instant messaging, and SaferSpace software to block social-networking sites on the family computer.
www.pr.com/press-release/72572

San Jacinto Police Use Electronic Tickets To Track and Save Time
The Press Enterprise, (03/02/2008), Steve Fetbrandt

Using many pieces of technology, including electronic citations pads, laptops with specialized software, wireless aircards, and the Internet, the San Jacinto Police Department has created a unique public-safety system capable of almost real-time reporting. The public benefit of this system is the ability to receive accident reports via e-mail at a small fee, rather than having to go to the police station to pick up the report. The citation pads have small keyboards, but are capable of swiping driver's licenses to capture data, then wirelessly generating a citation on a remote printer located in the officer's cruiser or motorcycle. The system reduces time spent on the street for officers, which allows them to be more active with enforcement, and the reduced time helps with officer safety. From a management standpoint, the system is a useful tool for analyzing data to identify emerging trends in accident locations, or areas indicating speed enforcement issues that need to b! e addressed.
www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_H_htickets02.42623e3.html

Regional Crime Lab in Works
Longmont Times-Call, (03/03/2008), Pierrette J. Shields

To assist the backlogged Colorado Bureau of Investigations with the processing of DNA evidence, Weld County Sheriff John Cooke and other regional law enforcement managers want to combine resources to create the Northern Colorado Crime Lab. The lab's purpose would be to process DNA evidence from various types of crime quickly. Because the present turnaround time for DNA evidence is lengthy, even for a homicide, the use of DNA as evidence is time prohibitive. With implementation of the new lab, managers hope that law enforcement will be able to make more arrests for property crime and prevent more serious crimes. Staff for the lab would come from the various cooperating agencies. Sheriff Cooke is working to secure funding for a facility to house the lab.
www.timescall.com/News_Story.asp?id=6948

City Police Receive Grant To Purchase Cameras for Vehicles
El Defensor (03/05/08), Audry Olmsted

The Socorro Police Department has received a $7,475 grant from the New Mexico Department of Transportation to purchase removable in-car video cameras, which will allow officers to videotape all traffic stops. Video documentation of a traffic stop can then be used as evidence in a courtroom, providing additional weight to officer testimony. The department anticipates video evidence will be particularly useful in documenting field sobriety tests.
www.dchieftain.com/news/78297-03-05-08.html

National Dragnet Is a Click Away
Washington Post, (03/06/2008), Robert O'Harrow and Ellen Nakashima

Regional networks created by State and local law enforcement are the groundwork for a domestic intelligence system that would help law enforcement share and analyze information to combat crime and terrorism. While localities and regions wait for an information-sharing solution from Federal agencies, they have proceeded with uploading case and criminal records to storage areas, or "data warehouses," giving investigators and analysts a tool for finding nuances that may otherwise go unnoticed. Some of the several thousand local and regional networks already established will be incorporated later this month into the National Data Exchange (N-Dex), a U.S. Department of Justice system. This system will provide Federal authorities with access to vast amounts of information from local and State records housed in the smaller networks.
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/05/AR2008030503656.html?hpid=topnews

Liberty Hill Fire First Big Test of Digital Emergency Radios
Austin American-Statesman, (03/07/2008), Michael R. Jeffers

In January, the first big test for a new digital radio system for Williamson County came as a result of a 1,500-acre wildfire that threatened 100 Liberty Hill homes. Since implementation in November, the system has had some glitches in the software and poor reception in some areas of the county. However, the fire was the real test and the departments involved were able to communicate without any problem. Digital radio communications allows various departments from different jurisdictions to communicate without the use of a central dispatch, making operations quicker and more responsive. For the areas that are experiencing poor reception, research will be conducted to determine if the purchase of an additional tower will help. Until then, police and fire departments are capable of communicating via other devices.
www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/03/07/0307scanners.html

Police Test Out Cameras Mounted on Handguns
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, (03/07/2008), Domingo Ramirez, Jr.

In an effort to better understand and see the circumstances faced by law enforcement officers when they have to draw their weapons, three New York police department will be using PistolCam. A miniature camera, about the size of a pager, will be mounted on officers' service pistols. The units are sold with a specially designed holster that use magnetic strip technology to activate the camera as the officer pulls the weapon. The unit will then begin taping, and as it nears memory capacity, it will switch and take still photos until full. Police hope that the video captured by PistolCam units can be a useful tool and provide evidence when an officer-involved shooting occurs. Video and images captured by the cameras are encrypted to prevent alteration or erasing of footage.
www.officer.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=40520

The Camera Doesn't Lie, But It Can Get Confused
The New York Times, (03/08/2008), Jim Dwyer

In a controlled experiment at a Manhattan laboratory, an initial camera captures a face, then after preliminary analysis identifies the face as male. Below the image on the screen appears a meter displaying various human emotions that the system can recognize. Final analysis is done by a second camera that conducts a spatial analysis of the face by measuring distance between features, such as eyes, ears, cheekbones, and mouth. From the information captured by both cameras, the system builds a composite and runs it against other facial images in the database. The analysis shows the subject has a 51 percent probability of matching another person in the database, but a positive match cannot be made. This exercise was conducted in the controlled environment of a lab operated by International Biometrics Group, which tests biometric technologies and manages the National Sensors, Surveillance, and Biometric Technologies Center of! Excellence on behalf of the National Institute of Justice. Facial recognition that is capable of long-distance image capture and analysis is an elusive and highly sought after technology. This type of recognition, if functional, could scan large crowds or individual faces one at a time in a technique known as "mass covert data capture." Casinos can use this technology thanks to clear facial captures of guests as they check in, but outside controlled environments, everyday life does not present an opportunity for good facial capturing. Other types of technology that can be used to provide identification are iris scans or vein recognition of a subject's hand.
www.nytimes.com/2008/03/08/nyregion/08about.html?_r=2&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin&oref=slogin