Thursday, April 30, 2009

Juvenile Arrests 2007

Summarizes 2007 juvenile crime and arrest data reported by local law enforcement agencies across the country and cited in the FBI report, Crime in the United States 2007. The Bulletin describes the extent and nature of juvenile crime that comes to the attention of the justice system.

DOWNLOAD THE DOCUMENT
http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/225344.pdf

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Public Safety Technology in the News

Albany Ponders GPS System for Vehicles
WALB News, (04/14/2009), Karen Cohilas

The Albany (N.Y.) City Commission is planning to install an automated GPS vehicle location system on all public safety vehicles, including police cars, to let department heads know exactly where their vehicles are at all times. The goal of the half-million dollar purchase is to improve response time. Dispatchers typically have a general idea of officer location, but lack specifics. The system will put tracking devices on more than 200 public safety vehicles and thus allow the dispatch of the closest available unit to a scene.
www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=10182917

Software Helps Predict Crimes
The Daily Review.com, (04/13/2009), Jessica Durkin

Police in Lowell, Mass., used crime mapping to apprehend suspects in a tire-theft spree on April 5. Officers fed details of the thefts into a database following each instance, then analyzed the data using a popular crime-fighting system called CompStat. CompStat was developed and implemented by the New York Police Department in 1994, and according to a survey conducted in 2000, one-third of police departments around the country with 100 or more sworn officers had implemented use of the software. In the near future, Scranton (Penna.) Police will implement their own copy of the system, which will serve as a pilot program for law enforcement in that area.
www.thedailyreview.com/articles/2009/04/13/news/tw_review.20090413.a.pg8.tw13crimesoftware_s1.2442592_loc.txt

DMV Upgrades Unexpectedly Foil Fraud
13ActionNews, (4/13/2009)

The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles has implemented use of facial recognition software, resulting in hundreds of fraud cases being opened and a doubled arrest rate in the past year. The software checks applicant photographs against all other photographs in the DMV database and measures the size of a person's nose, the height of a forehead and the roundness of cheeks, then compares these metrics to others in the system. When it finds a potential match, it notifies law enforcement. The software is tagging some 200 potential cases of fraud daily.
www.ktnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10184687

Bomber Sniffs Out Jail Cell Phones
Philadelphia Daily News, (04/17/2009), Dana DiFilippo

Philadelphia is using Bomber, a Belgian Malinois dog, to sniff out cell phones in the city's six prisons. Since January, he has found 10 cell phones, more than guards in all of the state's 26 prisons (using metal detectors and other search tools) found in all of 2008. Bomber is the only dog trained to sniff out forbidden phones in Pennsylvania prisons. Inmates use smuggled cell phones to plot escapes, continue criminal activities, coordinate riots and threaten others.
www.philly.com/dailynews/top_story/20090417_Bomber_sniffs_out_jail_cell_phones.html

Third Largest Border Crossing County in the U.S., Webb County, Texas, Contracts to Provide Its Deputies With COPsync Software
CNNMoney.Com, (04/22/2009)

The Webb County (Texas) Sheriff's Department is making plans to implement COPsync, Inc.'s, information-sharing solution. Under the plan, all deputies in Webb County will have mobile access to real-time information concerning subjects that they are currently investigating. COPsync™ facilitates law enforcement information sharing in a mobile environment via a laptop computer or other mobile device. It allows officers to instantaneously identify criminals, communicate with other officers and access mission critical information. Webb County includes the largest land port along the United States-Mexico Border and is the fifth largest county in Texas.
money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/globenewswire/163611.htm

New SWAT Truck Makes Grand Debut
Seguin Gazette-Enterprise, (04/24/2009), Ron Maloney

The Guadalupe County Sheriff's Office brought its armored tactical transport SWAT vehicle online recently with a demonstration for the county's police chiefs. A 19,000-pound truck built on a Ford F-550 chassis, the vehicle includes run-flat tires, a battering ram bumper, communication and public address gear, and specialized equipment for responding to hazardous materials spills or other emergencies. Other features include a roof hatch, a barn door, benches and Level 3 ballistic protection. Total cost came to $169,000, some $118,000 of that amount stemming from federal grants. The remainder of the cost came forfeiture money collected from drug dealers and other criminals. The county's SWAT team is expanding its capabilities in anticipation of ongoing population growth.
seguingazette.com/story.lasso?ewcd=a4e97073f6304c6e

Web Site Tracks Local Crimes in Real Time
BattleCreekEnquirer.com, (04/23/2009), Trace Christenson

CrimeSearch, a new Web site, shows police activity in Battle Creek and Bedford Township, providing information about incidents involving service, tickets and criminal activity, providing and showing their location on a map. The site is connected to computer records and updated in real time. Information is available for different parts of the community and can be searched type of call, date or shift. It does not display specific addresses or criminal sexual conduct and domestic violence cases. An internal version with more specific information is available to officers only. The internal site will serve as a resource for officers to see crime trends and locations. The database presently reaches back to years, but could be expanded as far back as 1985 if demand warrants.
www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20090423/NEWS01/904230331

Illinois Prisons Seek Medical Cost Savings
Quad-City Times, (04/23/2009), Kurt Erickson

Illinois prison officials are investigating the possibility of using telemedicine as a new way to treat inmates, who would receive medical advice from a doctor linked to the correctional facility via video conferencing equipment . The concept is already in use in other states, including Texas and California. The state's largest public employee union, which represents correctional officers, nurses and other state prison system workers, has expressed concerns. Prison officials say the idea could result in taxpayer savings through avoiding the expense of transporting prisoners to outside medical facilities. The cost of health care in the state's prisons has risen 60 percent in the past eight years.
www.qctimes.com/news/local/article_0f758d3c-305b-11de-9377-001cc4c002e0.html

Car 28, Where Are You?
The DailyNews.com, (04/25/2009), Paul Mrozek

Genesee County, N.Y., dispatchers automatically know the location of officers because of the 911 Center's Automated Locator Identification software, which displays car graphics on a road map of the county. The Automated Locator Identification program provides the communications center with the location of city, county and state police cars and the location of 911 callers, and assists dispatchers in sending the nearest available assistance. Law enforcement vehicles are equipped with antennas and modems tracked by GPS technology, and software located in the center refreshes vehicle locations approximately every 30 seconds or whenever a patrol car moves 500 feet. The software program also electronically pages and sends text messages to responding vehicles in addition to over-the-air radio dispatch.
www.thedailynewsonline.com/articles/2009/04/25/lifestyles/5428306.txt

Recon Robotics Launches Car-Inspecting Robot
Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal, (04/17/2009), Katharine Grayson

Recon Robotics has launched a miniature robot that will inspect the undersides of vehicles for contraband. The new product will make it easier for law enforcement officials to inspect underneath vehicles. The robot uses tiny cameras rather than mirrors to identify hazards.
twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2009/04/13/daily47.html?surround=lfn

Dealer guilty of trying to kill cops

After a firefight in Opa-locka left him with bullet wounds to the neck, arms and buttocks, Miami-Dade police Detective Ray Robertson staggered to safety inside a nearby convenience store.

READ ON
http://www.miamiherald.com/1374/story/1022745.html

Editor’s Note: The prosecutor is former NYPD Sergeant
David Waksman the author of the Search and Seizure Handbook listed on www.police-writers.com

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Bombs, Bullets and Fast Talk

On May 1, 2009, Conversations with Heroes at the Watering Hole will feature a discussion Special James Botting, FBI (ret.) the author of Bullets, Bombs, and Fast Talk: Twenty-Five Years of FBI War Stories.

Program Date: May 1, 2009
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: Bullets, Bombs, and Fast Talk: Twenty-Five Years of
FBI War Stories.
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/05/02/Bombs-Bullets-and-Fast-Talk

About the Guest
Special Agent
James Botting (ret.) served in the FBI for twenty-five years, sixteen as a crisis/hostage negotiator. He served as the team leader of the FBI’s Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) from 1981 to 1995 and a supervisory member of its international Critical Incident Negotiation Team since its inception in 1985 until his retirement. He has personally negotiated numerous hostage/barricade incidents and responded to several high-profile events. He lives in California. James Botting is the author of Bullets, Bombs, and Fast Talk: Twenty-Five Years of FBI War Stories.

According to the book description of Bullets, Bombs, and Fast Talk: Twenty-Five Years of
FBI War Stories, “A desperate gunman holds a planeload of innocent passengers hostage. A heavily armed cult leader refuses to leave his compound, threatening mass suicide by a hundred of his brainwashed followers. A neo-Nazi militant in a cabin hideout keeps federal agents at bay with gunfire. A baby disappears; his only trace is an ominous ransom call to his parents. Prisoners riot, threatening the lives of prison officers and hundreds of other inmates. How do you react? What do you do? What do you say? Your words, your actions can save lives--or lose them.”

About the Watering Hole
The Watering Hole is
police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.

About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the
Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in Law Enforcement, public policy, Law Enforcement Technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in Law Enforcement.

Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/05/02/Bombs-Bullets-and-Fast-Talk

Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Lake Erie Law Enforcement Expo

Over 150 exhibits of the latest technology, protection and Law Enforcement materials. Train with nationally known MERIT Training, and see Lieutenant Colonel Dave Grossman, author of "On Killing". Three Days of demonstrations, networking and training. Visit www.leleexpo.com for more details and to register.

Date: August 11th, 2009 @ 8am to August 13th, 2009 @ 8pm
Location: Bayfront Convention Center
Address: 1 Sassafrass Pier Erie , PA 16507

Monday, April 20, 2009

Policy Issues Regarding Automated License Plate Recognition Technology

As the prevalence of Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) systems continue to increase among law enforcement agencies within the United States and around the world, so do policy issues regarding data collection, use, and retention. Complicated by the fact that the United States lacks a national policy regarding these issues, individual law enforcement agencies are left to examine and implement ALPR policies individually. This issue paper will examine ALPR technology and related policy concerns in the hope of increasing dialog and debate for issues surrounding this important technology.


http://www.police-writers.com/articles/policy_automated_license_plate_recognition_technology.html

Share a Photo, Catch a Criminal

Approaching the driver of a car stopped for running a red light, the officer asks for identification. After checking all of his pockets, the driver says he must have left his wallet at home and proceeds to rattle off a name and an address in another State. In the past, the officer might have let the driver go with a warning or a citation for not carrying his license. Thanks to a new program facilitated by Nlets (the International Justice and Public Safety Network), the officer requests not only the driver’s information, but also his photo, from the neighboring State, and receives it directly in his patrol car. Confronted with a photo that obviously is someone else, the driver breaks down and admits he gave a friend’s name and address to avoid the officer’s finding out about his past criminal record.

www.nypd2lapd.com/files/sharephoto.pdf

The Virginia COMLINC System: Achieving Communications Interoperability

When an incident occurs it is vital that public safety agencies respond quickly with the proper personnel and equipment. It is essential that the interoperability system be extremely "user friendly" and intuitive. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) provided by the RIGS requires only three "clicks" of the mouse: (1) select the function,(2)select the radios to be patched and (3) confirm. When an emergency occurs, citizens expect their emergency calls to be answered and that emergency be handled in the most expeditious and professional manner possible. The general public does not worry if their emergency occurs in overlapping jurisdictions; they only know that when they call, they want their situation handled properly.

READ ON
http://www.police-technology.net/myfiles/virginiacomlink.pdf

Clean Your Weapon!

Ask any good, seasoned patrol officer the importance of maintaining your everyday equipment and you might get a response like “Do cars need gas to run? Or, does a marathon runner need shoes to run in?” Having clean, up-to-date equipment such as a charged Taser or a full can of OC spray is important, but not nearly as important as maintaining your duty weapon. You don’t have to be an expert firearms instructor, a Tactical Commander or even be a gun crazy cop to know how to maintain a clean duty weapon. Ask any field training officer if he stresses the importance of a clean, functional weapon to his or her rookies, and I bet you will be hard pressed to find one that does not.

READ ON

http://www.police-writers.com/articles/clean_your_weapon.html

Sunday, April 19, 2009

The Oasis Project

On April 24, 2009, Conversations with Heroes at the Watering Hole will feature a discussion Lieutenant Art Adkins, Gainesville Police Department (Florida) the author of The Oasis Project.

Program Date: April 24, 2009
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: The Oasis Project
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/04/25/The-Oasis-Project

About the Guest
Lieutenant
Art Adkins is a 29 year veteran of law enforcement. He began his law enforcement career on the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and then joined the Los Angeles Police Department. During his 12 years with the Los Angeles Police Department he attained the rank of sergeant. Lieutenant Art Adkins returned to Florida to finish his law enforcement career with the Gainesville Police Department. He has worked a variety of assignments including patrol, detectives, administration, vice, bunco-forgery. Moreover, as a sergeant he has supervised both investigative and administrative police units. Lieutenant Art Adkins is the author of The Oasis Project.

According to Lieutenant
Art Adkins, “The Oasis Project is my first publicized novel, but I have been writing for the last 18 years. I have received many accolades for The Oasis Project. Midwest book review labeled it a "must read" and a "grade-A pick". I received Detective-Suspense book of the year for 2008 from Books-and-Authors.net. I have recently completed the sequel, Power Grid, with the same cast of characters and I am currently working on the third novel, Mind Games. The detective-murder mystery genre has always intrigued me and I have woven a considerable amount of police procedural into the books. Each topic is relevant to issues confronting society today and the reader can readily identify with the controversies which arise.”

About the Watering Hole
The Watering Hole is
police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.

About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the
Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in law enforcement, public policy, law enforcement technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in law enforcement.

Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/04/25/The-Oasis-Project
Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530

Friday, April 17, 2009

Scholarships to attend the 2009 NIJ Conference

For the first time, NIJ is offering needs-based scholarships for the 2009 NIJ Conference.

Criteria: Applicant must be a law enforcement officer, prosecutor or victim services provider in the public or non-profit sector. (Current NIJ grantees are ineligible)

Application process:
Write up to 200 words telling NIJ how you expect the conference to benefit your organization's mission.
Ask your supervisor to write a letter approving your attendance.
The letter must be submitted on your organization's letterhead.
The letter must affirm that your organization's travel funds are limited.
Amount of scholarship: The awarded applicant will receive the following: Hotel room covered for 3 nights, as well as modified per diem of $150. Scholarship winners must provide their own travel to and from the conference.

Deadline: April 30, 2009

E-mail the required documents to nijscholarships@ncjrs.gov or fax it to 301-519-5212 no later than 5 p.m. EDT on April 30, 2009.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Interviewing Sexually Motivated Offenders

On April 17, 2009, Conversations with Heroes at the Watering Hole will explore interviewing sexually motivated offenders with author, expert and retired police detective Don Howell.

Program Date: April 17, 2009
Program Time: 2100 hours, Pacific
Topic: Interviewing Sexually Motivated Offenders
Listen Live:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/04/18/Interviewing-Sexually-Motivated-Offenders

About the Guests
Detective
Don Howell, Huntington Beach Police Department (ret.) “graduated with honors with a degree in Police Science and Administration. He spent 25 years as a police officer for two different agencies in Southern California cities. As a detective for more than 15 years, he specialized in the investigation of sexual assaults and child abuse. Don Howell is a court certified expert in these areas and is a highly sought after consultant to agencies on complex cases. As a consultant to the California Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and training (P.O.S.T.), Don was considered to be one of the best in his field and was selected to assist in making a teleconference course on rape investigations.” Detective Don Howell is the author of Interviewing Sexually Motivated Offenders and Interviewing Sex Crime Victims.

According to the book description of Interviewing Sexually Motivated Offenders, “
Sex offenders are the most fascinating criminals law enforcement deals with. Taking the mystery out of interviewing them isn't difficult. Replacing the complex psychological definitions with a working understanding of how sex offenders think and act is the key to improving your interviewing skills. Combine this with the five trademarks of the actual interview and you have a new interviewing strategy that will increase your confession rate. This is not magic. Instead it approaches interviewing the sex offender from a different direction or perspective, to allow you to identify the offender's behavior and use it to your advantage.”

About the Watering Hole
The Watering Hole is
police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life. Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.

About the Host
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years. He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant. He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in
Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University. He has experience teaching upper division courses in Law Enforcement, public policy, Law Enforcement Technology and leadership. Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One. He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in Law Enforcement.

Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LawEnforcement/2009/04/18/Interviewing-Sexually-Motivated-Offenders

Program Contact Information
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530

Friday, April 03, 2009

Recovery Act: Research and Evaluation of Recovery Act State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance

This grant program is authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) (the “Recovery Act”).The stated purposes of the Recovery Act are: to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery; to assist those most impacted by the recession; to provide investments needed to increase economic efficiency by spurring technological advances in science and health; to invest in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits; and to stabilize State and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive State and local tax increases.

The Recovery Act places great emphasis on accountability and transparency in the use of taxpayer dollars. Among other things, it creates a new Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board and a new Web site—Recovery.gov—to provide information to the public, including access to detailed information on grants and contracts made with Recovery Act funds.

The Recovery Act provides funding for various competitive grant programs that will be administered by OJP. Subject to the availability of funds, NIJ seeks applications that promote the goals of the Recovery Act through research and evaluation that supports the purposes of several OJP Recovery Act competitive grant programs. Targeted areas include: increasing the capacity of State and local criminal justice systems; developing data-driven strategies that provide information to law enforcement to help prevent and combat rural crime; and improving efficiency and effectiveness of law enforcement in combating criminal narcotics activity along or stemming from the Southern border.

MORE INFORMATION

http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/sl000876.pdf

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Public Safety Technology in the News

Computer Technology Fingers Illegal Aliens
Allentown Morning Call, (03/10/2009), Robert H. Orenstein

For several months, Bucks and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania have been using a new system developed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that can determine an individual's criminal record within a matter of minutes. Suspects place their hands on an imaging screen that scans their fingerprints into a computer linked to a federal database, and it produces information on outstanding warrants and whether the person is in the country illegally. ICE plans to extend the system to more than 6,000 local police booking centers and jails nationwide by the end of 2012. Criminals eligible for deportation will be turned over to ICE after they complete their sentences in county jails. The two counties were selected for the program because they already had compatible computer systems that required only minor upgrades.
www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_2aliens.6811165mar10,0,7600992.story

Police Departments Keeping Public Informed on Twitter
CNN.com (03/13/2009)

Police departments across the country are increasingly using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to keep the public informed. For example, the Lakeland (Fla.) Police Department recently posted a notice regarding investigation of a suspicious package found on a rooftop. These sites have proven a speedy and convenient way to distribute press releases, Amber Alerts, and other information important to the public.
www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/03/13/police.social.networking/index.html

Fingerprint Match Maker Is One Super Sleuth
Baltimore Sun, (03/17/2009), Tyeesha Dixon

A $12 million upgrade to Maryland's Automated Fingerprint Identification System is providing fingerprint examiners and law enforcement officials with more accurate fingerprint hits, more quickly. The Web-based, digitized system produces high-definition fingerprint images, and the state expects to be able to find matches for tens of thousands of previously unmatchable fingerprints. The new system has already made more than 150 matches in Howard County alone. The Howard County Police Department began using the system in November and was the first agency to report to the state that it was able to solve cold cases because of the new system.
www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-to.prints17mar17,0,6222694.story

State of Maryland Stays Ahead of Criminals with New Law Enforcement Dashboard
Business Wire, (03/17/2009)

The Law Enforcement Dashboard is a new tool being used by Maryland state law enforcement personnel and agencies to look up the criminal history of defendants and offenders. Previously, the state used separate databases for its divisions of corrections and parole, State Police Gun Registry and Sex Offender Registry, which made cross-referencing between systems and confirming identification and criminal history information nearly impossible. Law Enforcement Dashboard, which works with real-time data, simplifies data mining and querying through high performance, call-level interfaces to data on the various databases. Query response times have dropped 90 percent.
www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090317005103&newsLang=en

North Carolina Police Receive Sky Arrow LSA
Aero-News.Net (0312/2009)

A long-awaited Sky Arrow light sport aircraft, purchased through a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) study on the effectiveness of light planes, arrived at North Carolina's Piedmont Triad International Airport in early March. The plane will be used in a cooperative program involving sheriff's departments in Guilford, Alamance, Davidson and Randolph counties. The aircraft will be used in surveillance, missing persons searches and routine patrol duties. Maintenance and fuel costs will be paid through funds recovered in drug raids. The DOJ study has a goal of showing that light sport aircraft can perform traditional aerial law enforcement support more efficiently than fixed-wing planes. The Sky Arrow is noted for having a fast response time.
www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=a9b6fabb-ba08-454e-9ba0-803df4fb5d88

Police Employ "I Spy" Method
Delaware Online, (03/11/2009), Rachel Kipp

Delaware State University police officers are participating in a pilot project to test software that provides real-time updates of information related to vehicles connected to outstanding criminal or traffic cases. Cameras mounted on either side of cruiser trunks are connected to real-time "hot lists" and the officer's laptop puts out an alert if a vehicle has been reported stolen, is registered to someone with an outstanding warrant or matches a license number from an Amber Alert. Other partners in the project include the state departments of transportation and safety, and homeland security. The project is funded by a $328,297 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
www.delawareonline.com/article/20090311/NEWS01/903110342

County Purchases Safe ID System
Jackson County Chronicle, (03/13/2009), Megan VerHelst

The Jackson County Sheriff's Department and the Brockway Police Department have jointly implemented a SafeAssured ID system to help with searches for missing persons. The program helps find missing children and adults by quickly delivering pertinent information to law enforcement and the media. It is operated in cooperation with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Families will receive a full-color photo identification card and a mini-CD that can hold up to 10 digital fingerprints, digital photos, a video containing movement and mannerisms, voice recognition, physical description, personal information and a family code word. The family retains the CD-ROM and brings it to law enforcement in the event it is needed. The first copy of any individual's information is free; there is a small charge for additional copies.
www.jacksoncountychronicle.com/articles/2009/03/13/news/04id.txt

New York State Invests $1 Million in Federal Funds to Make Roadways Safer
EmpireStateNews.Net, (03/20/2009)

New York State has used more than $1 million in federal funds to invest in license plate reader (LPR) technology for 52 law enforcement agencies across the state. LPR technology uses digital cameras to capture approximately one image of a license plate per second from cars moving at up 100 miles per hour. The photos are quickly compared to a large database and provide information to officers on matches with missing or stolen vehicles. Funds were awarded to law enforcement agencies in 25 different New York counties: Broome, Chautauqua, Chenango, Erie, Fulton, Herkimer, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Niagara, Onondaga, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Suffolk, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster, Washington, Wayne, Westchester and Wyoming.
www.empirestatenews.net/News/20090320-3.html

New Eye Scan Technology Installed by Scott County Sheriff's Department
Southeast Missourian, (03/23/2009), Bridget DiCosmo

The Scott County (Mo.) Sheriff's Department recently became the first law enforcement agency in the state install iris recognition software for use in identifying missing persons. (Iris recognition may eventually replace fingerprinting as the main resource for identifying missing or abducted children.) A Scott County spokesperson said that approximately 300 law enforcement agencies across the country currently use iris recognition software. The equipment cost just under $5,000 and the funding came from the inmate security fund. Deputies have begun training on the system, which includes two packages, Senior Safety Net and the Child Project. Both systems photograph an individual's irises and store the image for use in a national database. If an individual whose irises have been scanned is ever reported missing, a participating law enforcement agency could use the image to make a positive identification.
www.semissourian.com/article/20090323/NEWS01/703239942

Cops Help Dream Up High-Tech Police Car
CNN, (03/23/2009)

Carbon Motors Corp. has designed a new high-tech "cop car" prototype based on input and suggestions received from more than 3,000 law enforcement officers. The resulting vehicle has a 300-horsepower clean diesel engine, flashing lights visible from all angles, an ergonomic cockpit, an onboard computer with voice command and instant license plate recognition and integrated shotgun mounts. Rear-hinged "suicide doors" in the back seat make it easier for handcuffed passengers to get in and out, and the seat is designed so prisoners can ride comfortably with their hands restrained behind their backs. Front seats have recesses to accommodate bulky equipment belts. Company officials says the price will be competitive with retrofitting an ordinary vehicle for law enforcement work. Production is scheduled to begin in 2012.
www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/03/23/high.tech.cop.car/index.html