Public Safety Technology in the News

Study Finds Serious Injuries From Taser Use Rare
NonPareil Online, (02/15/2009), Chad Nation

This article outlines one department's experiences with the use of electro-muscular disruption weapons, more commonly referred to by the brand name "Taser," and explains why they have become an effective tool for law enforcement officers. In addition to profiling the training required by the Council Bluffs (Iowa) Police Department, it also addresses some of the concerns about the use of conducted electrical weapons and presents details on a study on their use published out of Wake Forest University in January 2009.
www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20262561&BRD=2703&PAG=461&dept_id=555106&rfi=6

Authorities Unveil Statewide SC Gang Database
CharlotteObserver.com, (2/24/2009), Associated Press

On Feb. 24, 2009, officials from South Carolina's State Law Enforcement Division released SCGangNET, a Web-based statewide gang database aimed at tracking gangs, their associates and the crimes they commit across South Carolina. The database also gives law enforcement a tool to more easily share information on gangs. SLED statistics indicate there are more than 100 gangs in South Carolina. At least 12 other states already use similar programs.
www.charlotteobserver.com/233/story/556222.html

Cell Phones to Be Added to Reverse-911 System in Woodbridge
MyCentralJersey.com, (2/1/2009), Erica Harbatkin

Woodbridge Township has added cellular phone capability to its reverse-911 system, an innovation prompted by a resident's returning home to see a reverse-911 message left on his answering machine. In adding this capability, Woodbridge acknowledged that cell phones often are the fastest way to be certain of reaching individuals. The township makes about 10 reverse-911 calls per year, which run the gamut from information about new garbage pickup procedures to news of a small train derailment to an explanation that emergency vehicles filling the streets were there for an Office of Emergency Management drill. Some calls go the entire area while others target specific neighborhoods.
www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20090201/NEWS/90201008

Honolulu May Use Car Clamps to Crack Down on Parking Scofflaws
HonoluluAdverstiser.com (03/02/2009), Michael Tsai

Drivers who rack up outstanding parking violations could find their vehicles clamped down at the curb if a proposal to use "smart boots" on O'ahu passes. Drivers who have three or more parking tickets overdue by 90 days or more would be subject to having their car immobilized by a metal "boot" locked to a wheel until they clear their obligations. The smart boot program, developed by New Jersey-based PayLock Inc., is in use in a dozen cities and municipalities elsewhere in the nation. The state of Hawaii collects the parking fines and the drivers also owe a fee to PayLock. After paying up, the driver would be given a pass code that would unlock the boot and then would also be responsible for returning the boot to avoid an additional charge. Vans equipped with advanced license plate recognition technology would identify vehicles with outstanding fines.
www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090205/NEWS09/902050372/1001

New Online Crime Mapping System: Police Department
EPA.net (February 2009)

The East Palo Alto (Calif.) Police Department has launched an free online crime mapping system that allows community members to receive automatic daily, weekly or monthly e-mail alerts related to crimes that have occurred near their homes, offices or schools. Community members can also view reported crime activity on an easy-to-use map for any location within neighborhood boundaries. Crime incident data is updated nightly.
www.epa.net/launch/news/localnws/item?item_id=650388

U.Va. Engineering Students Designing New Body Armor
Richmond Times-Dispatch (02/17/2009), Carlos Santos

A team of four University of Virginia second-year engineering students is working on a new type of body armor that is lighter, more flexible and better able to withstand armor-piercing bullets than the 30-pound vest now used by the U.S. Army. For proprietary reasons, the team did not immediately plan to release specifics of how the armor works, but did state the invention is in part is a new configuration of ceramic plates. The U.Va.-designed vest may be able to withstand as many as 32 rounds of armor-piercing bullets per plate. The new armor also will deflect less when struck by steel-core bullets.
www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/state_regional/article/ARMO17_20090216-221809/208249/

Urbandale Residents Can Map Crime Stats
DesMoines Register (02/17/2009), Tom Barton

Urbandale, Iowa, a Des Moines suburb, has begun providing a crime-mapping tool to community residents, using software from CrimeReports.com. Crime reports filed with the Urbandale Police Department are mapped through a Google Maps interface, and residents can search reports by incident date, incident type and block (not specific) address. The software enables residents to see whether there are clusters of crimes reported in a particular area or neighborhood and the distance of the crime from a plotted location. The data on the site is updated within 24 hours of an incident report. The general public can also see whether an arrest has been made but not the name of the person arrested.
www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090217/NEWS/902170340/1001/NEWS&community=Urbandale

Chicago Links Street Cameras to Its 911 Network
New York Times ((02/20/2009), Karen Ann Cullotta

Thanks to a $6-million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the city of Chicago has a new computer-aided dispatch system that ties 911 calls into the city's security cameras and allows dispatchers to immediately see the scene if a call comes in within 150 feet of one of the city's cameras. It has been in use in a trial run since December 2008. The system can also link to private security cameras and 20 companies have agreed to participate in the program.
www.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/us/21cameras.html?_r=1