Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology News Summary – August 3, 2006

More Technology, Less Court Travel"
St. Petersburg Times (FL) (07/28/06) P. 1; Abel, Jonathan

Prisoners held in Florida's Hernando, Citrus, and Sumter counties will make their initial court appearance via video technology. The video link system will enhance safety by eliminating the need to escort inmates to court for their first appearances. In addition, the technology provides the added bonus of eliminating thousands of dollars in costs incurred by sheriffs' offices as the result of transporting prisoners. Capt. Mark Rivenbark of the Hernando County Sheriff's Office judicial services department indicated that the cost of transporting inmates to their initial court appearances totaled $24,590 during the 12-month period that ended in May of this year. Prisoners must be presented to the court within 24 hours of their arrest as mandated by law. Sheriffs' offices are responsible for ensuring that the requirement is carried out. The new video system is expected to start operation on Aug. 5. http://www.sptimes.com/2006/07/28/Citrus
/More_technology__less.shtml

"Dispatch Center Site is Discussed"
Fresno Bee (CA) (07/29/06); Hostetter, George

Municipal and county officials of Fresno, Calif., support the idea of a joint law enforcement dispatch center, but are undecided where it should be located. County Supervisor Susan Anderson has proposed establishing the dispatch center next to the county's existing ambulance dispatch center to achieve greater efficiencies. The ambulance dispatch center handles emergency calls for 15 public and private ambulance service providers in three counties, and it sends ambulances to emergency sites according to the shortest distance rather than jurisdiction. By creating a joint law enforcement dispatch center, the region would experience fewer delays and reduce superfluous services while enhancing communication among law enforcement agencies. Daniel Lynch, head of the county's emergency medical services, notes that the dispatch center works well because there is a clear chain of command, with the county having final authority, and because the center uses advanced computer technologies. When a person calling 911 requires medial help, the call is transferred to a dispatcher who gathers the necessary information into his or her computer. The computer then prioritizes the call and alerts another dispatcher to send an ambulance. Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer estimates that a joint law enforcement dispatch center would need to measure at least 62,000 square fee in order to successfully handle over 1 million calls annually. http://feed.insnews.org
/v-cgi/feeds.cgi?feedid=150&story_id=2024244

"Team Combing Internet to Track Terrorism"
Arizona Republic (07/28/06); Carroll, Susan

Researchers at the University of Arizona have amassed the largest online repository of intelligence on terrorist and extremist organizations in the world. They hope that the Dark Web project will improve intelligence agents' ability to track terror suspects on the Internet, which has long been acknowledged as a shortcoming of the intelligence community. The Web has become the primary tool for communication and recruiting among many extremist and terrorist groups. Using supercomputers, the Arizona researchers developed a virtual library that contains millions of Web pages and intercepts chatter on terrorist Web sites. "Even the people we talk to in the federal agencies are hampered by the amount of information that's being collected. They don't know how to analyze it," said Hsinchun Chen, the director of UA's Artificial Intelligence Lab, which launched the Dark Web project three years ago. "It's a new virtual battleground." Dark Web uses programs to find connections among different groups using social-networking analysis, and also detects similarities in writing styles and performs Web-matrix analyses to gauge the sophistication of the sites. To avoid detection, terrorist groups often only hold on to Internet addresses for a short period of time. Some of the sites contain detailed instructional information, such as a guide on how to carry out a bombing or a beheading. "The Web is the al-Qaida university. They season you, and they recruit you, and they give you all the materials to train you," Chen said. "It's a very significant international phenomenon." http://www.azcentral.com/
arizonarepublic/news/articles/0728darkweb28.html

"Now Deputies Have Eyes Near the Back of Their Treads"
Tampa Tribune (07/28/06) P. 1; Thompson, Stephen

Four police cruisers at the Pinellas County, Fla., Sheriff's Office are equipped with infrared cameras that can automatically scan the license plates of vehicles while deputies are driving. The plate numbers are currently being matched against a state Department of Law Enforcement "hot list" that has between 100,000 and 120,000 stolen cars and plates. In addition, police officers will be able to enter plate numbers of cars connected with an Amber Alert or a murder suspect on the loose, states sheriff's system analyst Scott McCallum. In the future, he explains, the sheriff's office plans to scan plates for drivers with revoked or suspended licenses or who have warrants. On July 27, a pair of five-pound cameras that are part of the Mobile Plate Hunter system were erected on the back of one of the cruisers. They are attached with magnets, so the cameras can be removed and placed almost anywhere. If an officer wants to slowly drive through the parking lot of a mall to look at car tags, the cameras would be set up at around a 90-degree angle from the cruiser, and if he wants to obtain the tags of cars next to him in traffic, they would be pitched at around 35 degrees to the side. The systems cost $20,000 for every vehicle and were purchased with grants. http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBK3Q9Z5QE.html

"Cops Have New Set of 'Eyes' At 7th and Girard"
Philadelphia Daily News (07/29/06); McDonald, Mark

On July 28, two new surveillance cameras came online in the city of Philadelphia at 7th Street and Girard Avenue in the community of Northern Liberties. The cost for the cameras, wiring, and other gear totaled $50,000, estimated Pedro Ramos, the managing director for the City of Philadelphia. The two cameras represent the first part of an initiative that will feature cameras in four areas, including one near a Philadelphia school. The overall number of cameras has not yet been determined. The police surveillance project was endorsed by city residents through a vote in a ballot question in May. Police spokesman Capt. Benjamin Naish said the current location was chosen because of its crime activity and due to technological considerations; this includes a fiber-optic signal linking the two cameras to the nearby police forensic-science building as well as the Police Administration Building, commonly known as the Roundhouse. According to Ramos, the surveillance project will feature two main elements: Surveillance cameras and yet-to-be-purchased mobile units called pods. The pods are portable and can "transmit to a laptop computer," Ramos said. The pan, tilt, and zoom cameras would be monitored by police on screens at the Roundhouse. Ramos also said the cameras might be supported by the "Wireless Philadelphia" technology that is currently being implemented. http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/15151285.htm

"Penobscot County Unveils New ID System"
Bangor Daily News (ME) (07/28/06); Kesseli, Doug

Police in Penobscot County, Maine, will soon have near instantaneous access to a national database of missing children hosted by The Nation's Missing Children Organization and National Center for Missing Adults through portable iris scanning technology aimed at identifying missing children and adults with Alzheimer's. The device was developed by Biometric Intelligence & Identification Technologies of Massachusetts and paid for with a $25,000 grant from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation. It is capable of distinguishing between twins and a person's left and right eye. In the future it could be used to identify inmates and visitors to the county jail and eventually suspects. The program is now in use in 21 states. http://www.bangornews.com
/news/templates/?a=137985&z=176%20class=

"Eye-Scan Database New Tool for IDs"
Columbus Dispatch (OH) (07/27/06) P. 1D; Ludlow, Randy

The sheriff's office in Richland County, Ohio, intends to employ iris-recognition technology to scan the eyes of Mansfield children, store them in a database, and use them to find abducted children and runaways, as well as sex offenders and Alzheimer's patients who wander away. A unique digital camera manufactures images of the iris to produce individual identifying data that is more correct than fingerprints, according to Children's Identification and Location Database (CHILD) President Sean Mullin. Sheriff J. Steve Sheldon explained that the system will be introduced at schools, festivals, and additional events to obtain iris images and present the information to the CHILD computers in Phoenix. Law enforcement agencies that take part in the program can scan the eyes of children and others and use the database to find names and addresses. Every iris has 266 unique elements, and Mullin notes that iris images can be found more rapidly than fingerprint images. The county's system costs $28,932.
http://www.columbusdispatch.com
/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/07/27/20060727-D1-04.html

"Bracelets Designed to Deter Drinking"
Akron Beacon Journal (OH) (07/27/06)

Since January 2006, the municipal court in Cuyahoga Falls, N.Y., has been using SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor) ankle bracelets for offenders sentenced to home incarceration. The SCRAM ankle bracelets detect if offenders ingest alcohol; the bracelet's sensors measure the level of ethanol gas emitted through the skin. The anklets are primarily used in cases of domestic violence or drunk driving, and offenders are required to wear them 24 hours a day. The device checks for the presence of alcohol each hour, and results are stored in the anklet's flash memory. The devices are also linked by radio to a modem that allows the maker of SCRAM, Alcohol Monitoring Devices, to examine the tests and transfer the results to law enforcement officials. Jeff Hawthorne, chief technology officer for Alcohol Monitoring Systems, says offenders have attempted to thwart the anklets, but such actions can trigger alerts being sent to SCRAM analysts. The Cuyahoga Falls Municipal Court has 13 SCRAM devices, and requires offenders sentenced to wear them to pay roughly $10 to $15 per day. A total of 36 states across the country used SCRAM anklets last year for 7,424 offenders, of whom approximately 60 percent had no alcohol infringements for that year. "The more convinced [offenders] are that these devices work, the more likely they are to abstain from alcohol," Cuyahoga Falls Judge Kim Hoover said. http://www.ohio.com
/mld/ohio/news/15133587.htm

"Administration and Critics, in Senate Testimony, Clash Over Eavesdropping Compromise"
New York Times (07/27/06) P. A19; Lichtblau, Eric

The Bush administration is urging Congress to back a proposal that critics of the domestic surveillance program warn would provide a broad, unchecked mandate that could impinge on Americans' civil liberties. The proposal was developed jointly by the White House and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.), but critics argue that it is simply a transparent and uncompromising restatement of administration policy. While it agreed that the NSA's activities would be subject to court review, the administration insisted that the bill explicitly grant the president "constitutional authority" to gather surveillance beyond the provisions of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The proposal "would turn the clock back to an era of unchecked presidential power, warrantless domestic surveillance, and constitutional uncertainty," said James Dempsey of the Center for Democracy and Technology. During the testimony, Specter bristled at the criticism, arguing that the proposal was a major concession by the president. "I would suggest to you that given the president's attitude on the surveillance program and his attitude on executive power generally that it was not a simple concession, but really was quite a breakthrough," Specter told Dempsey. After months as a leading administration critic, Specter is now playing the improbable role of White House ally. Specter has clashed with Vice President Dick Cheney over the administration's attempts to protect telecommunications executives from having to testify about their role in the NSA program and argued against the legitimacy or presidential signing statements. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/27/washington/27fisa.html

"Florida Statewide Radio Voice Communications System Completed and Fully Operational"
PRNewswire (07/27/06)

M/A-COM, Inc., a business unit of Tyco Electronics, has announced the completion of Florida's Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System (SLERS), a single, unified radio network that meets the radio voice communications needs of state law enforcement officers and agencies throughout the state of Florida. The SLERS system is the result of a unique public-private partnership between M/A-COM and the State of Florida to create a coordinated statewide 800 MHz communication system which enables local and regional public safety agencies to communicate on a single common network. "Because of this unique public-private partnership arrangement, the state has saved more than $600 million and due to the great work of M/A-COM and the other SLERS partners, we now have a statewide radio system that is the envy and marvel of the rest of the country," said Florida Governor Jeb Bush at an event in Miami held on July 14, 2006 announcing the completion of the SLERS voice system. "By providing a single system, Florida is able to provide law enforcement officers responding to an emergency with a more efficient means of communications and the ability to talk to one another in real time." While other states use multiple methods and systems for public safety communication, Florida's law enforcement officers can now immediately contact every local and state agency through the SLERS system. "Due to the leadership of the Governor and the cooperative effort of the Florida Highway Patrol and all state law enforcement agencies, Florida's law enforcement officers are able to communicate reliably and focus on the job at hand," said Fred Dickinson, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. This standardized communications system was tested successfully during the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons. State law enforcement officials depended upon the radio system for communication during and after storms and were impressed by the reliability, strength and quality of the SLERS system.
http://www.prnewswire.com
/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-27-2006/0004405213&EDATE=

"Decertified Cops Database Soon Available"
United Press International (07/25/06)

U.S. police departments plan to check the names of new recruits against a national registry developed by the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training. The national registry will contain the names of police officers fired by law enforcement agencies. Police departments hope to begin running names through the database beginning this fall. The amount of fired police officers that have obtained jobs with other departments is unknown. The database will list the names of the officers that are decertified by state accreditation agencies. http://www.upi.com
/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060725-105815-4305r

"Fort Pierce Police Chief Proposes Covert Surveillance Cameras"
Stuart News/Port St. Lucie News (FL) (07/26/06) P. B1; Howk, Alexi

Recently speaking at the annual City Commission workshop, Fort Pierce, Fla., Police Chief Eugene Savage unveiled a plan to test surveillance cameras at a cost of $200,000 to $400,000. The digital cameras would be wireless and moveable and would initially be located in high-crime areas of the city such as in the Lincoln Park section. The cameras would be monitored in real time via a monitoring station or specially outfitted police vehicles. The commission said it wanted to discuss the project more fully during budget meetings scheduled for August to determine the availability of funds, but Savage obtained the support of at least three commissioners. Savage stressed that the digital video cameras would have to be concealed because "when you first put them in you want to create some detection and deterrent and then let the public know." He acknowledged that the move could be controversial because "there's some expectation of privacy, and there are some statutory restrictions on using crime surveillance, such as voice recognition." Another option proposed by Savage was equipping all squad cars with digital video systems for roughly $200,000, but he said that would limit surveillance to within the boundaries of the cars. http://www.tcpalm.com
/tcp/local_news/article/0,2545,TCP_16736_4869895,00.html

"BMV Spits Out Bogus Driver Data, Police Say"
Indianapolis Star (07/26/06) P. 1; Gillaspy, James A.

A $32 million computer system recently launched by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) has a flaw that is causing problems for police officers statewide. The flaw is preventing officers from accessing reliable data on motorists. Police are concerned that they might erroneously arrest innocent people or accidentally set free a lawbreaker. The problem has already forced police agencies in Marion and Hamilton counties to abandon using the BMV's computer system for making arrests involving drivers. Meanwhile, Indianapolis' Metropolitan Emergency Communications Agency has been warning sheriff's deputies and police officers in the city and in Marion County that the BMV records are inaccurate. "We should consider that information unreliable unless we can verify it," said Indianapolis Police Capt. Greg Bieberich. "And if they can't verify, then they shouldn't write the violation." BMV started experiencing problems after the new computer system came online between July 1 and July 4. BMV Commissioner Joel Silverman asserted that the new system has not gone out of order and that most of the problems have been corrected. He said the biggest problems now involve data related to license renewals and reinstatements. http://www.indystar.com
/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060726/NEWS01/607260435/-1/ZONES01

"Joint Command Center to Track Terrorist Activity in Southern California"
Associated Press (07/27/06); Marquez, Jeremiah

A number of law enforcement agencies are assisting the FBI in launching the Joint Regional Intelligence Center. The center is being created to streamline information sharing between law enforcement investigators from different agencies. Supporters of the center hope it can save officers time by eliminating redundant efforts related to investigating leads. A number of similar centers are already in operation, says sheriff's Lt. Robert Galarneau. Sixty-two law enforcement personnel from 15 or more agencies are directly involved in the new center's operation. One of the center's locations is called the "bullpen," which allows officers to access classified information via computer displays. The FBI's threat squad is also stationed at the center, along with forensic analysts, firefighters, and epidemiologists. A range of other types of analysts also work at the center.
http://sfgate.com
/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/07/27/state/n000325D11.DTL

"Cameras Aid Trash-Dumping Arrests"
Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA) (07/25/06) P. A1; Kotsopoulos, Nick

Worcester, Mass., is using surveillance cameras placed in problem areas to prosecute illegal dumpers of garbage. In one case video was used to extract a confession, in another, to trace a vehicle to its owner. The city collects fines imposed for illegal dumping to pay for boosted enforcement of the program. Robert L. Moylan Jr., commissioner of public works and parks, says that the surveillance cameras have proved effective in identifying individuals who were videotaped illegally disposing of waste. Moylan says his department is continuing to monitor illegal dumping and is utilizing surveillance video techniques at locations throughout the city. "As we obtain evidence on illegal dumping, we will work in conjunction with the Worcester Police Department and the city Law Department in bringing these cases to prosecution," he says. http://www.telegram.com
/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060725/NEWS/607250699/1116

"Town Cracks Down on Vandalism, Misbehavior in Park"
Buffalo News (07/25/06) P. B3; O'Brien, Barbara

Cheektowaga Town Park Council Member James J. Jankowiak believes the police need the help of parents to curb vandalism in the area. Some vandalism has been recorded by security cameras at the Recreation Center. Teens were shown damaging a vehicle and vending machines at the center in two separate incidents. However, police personnel and town employees said other incidents have also occurred in the park. Jankowiak added that the park is spending one-fifth of its budget on repairing vandalism-related damage. http://www.buffalonews.com

"Devices Help Nab Violators"
Poughkeepsie Journal (NY) (07/24/06); Bonopartis, Nik

A new computer system mounted on Poughkeepsie, N.Y., police cars allows officers to check instantly whether a car's license plate is valid, making it much easier to identify drivers of stolen cars. The computer scanning equipment, known as automatic number plate recognition, automatically digitizes every plate the car passes, checking each of them against any of numerous databases. The computers can be configured to be compatible with state or local information. The system then emits a tone to let officers know whether the car has been stolen or if the driver has any infractions. The tool, which costs approximately $20,000 per patrol car, has identified more stolen cars and invalid drivers than Poughkeepsie police expected, showing that violations are common even in everyday situations. In addition, police can use the system to check for violations during DWI and seat-belt checkpoints. http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com
/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060724/NEWS05/607240334&SearchID=73251853030352