NLECTC Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology News Summary August 10, 2006

"County Will Track Low-Risk Inmates With GPS Satellites"
Clovis News Journal (08/04/06); Johnson, Sharna

The Curry County Adult Detention Center plans to launch an inmate tracking program using the Global Positioning System on Monday. The program, which requires participants to wear ankle bracelets, is intended to ease overcrowding at the detention center. The center has 200 beds, but recently reported housing 315 adult inmates. County employees are overseeing implementation of the program, which requires inmates to submit to random drug tests and follow court orders. Judges will determine which inmates are eligible for the program, which is estimated to provide $534,240 in projected savings. The Jail Electronic Home Detention program will permit inmates to work, take educational courses, and spend time with their families as they also meet their obligations to the court. Participants are required to pay a fee of $10 per day, plus $10 for drug tests. In addition, the program will restrict some inmates to particular locations.
http://www.cnjonline.com
/engine.pl?station=clovis&template=storyfull.html&id=22412

"Police Tap Into 'Black Boxes' to Help Solve Traffic Crimes"
Virginian-Pilot (08/06/06); Hopkins, John

Police in South Hampton Roads, Va., and across the nation use technology to tap into the "black boxes" car makers install in transmission tunnels and under driver's seats to monitor the deployment of air bags. These event data recorders remain inactive until the vehicle senses an impending collision, at which time the air bag is deployed. A driver's speed, direction of travel, breaking percentage, and seat belt usage, among other data, can be gleaned from data stored on the units. Consumer data privacy issues led state Sen. John Watkins (R-Powhatan) to introduce Virginia's first law concerning the boxes. The measure gives owners of cars control over use of their data and allows them to share it with insurers, who are prevented from basing policy or coverage decisions on an owner's willingness to share the data. The need to gain owner approval is excepted in cases of police investigations and mechanical repairs.
http://home.hamptonroads.com
/stories/story.cfm?story=108755&ran=48188

"State Police Gain New Technology"
Courant.com (08/04/06); Fox, Tracy Gordon

The Meriden, Conn., statewide forensic lab has installed high-level video enhancement technology to help make grainy and blurry photographs often produced by bank and facility surveillance cameras much clearer. The new imaging technology was an approximately $20,000 purchase and part of an expanded computer crime center designed to track and catch online sexual predators who target teenagers and children. "They will be tools for prosecutors to pursue evidence in a better fashion," said Public Safety Commissioner Leonard Boyle. The computer crime center mostly collects equipment that already has been purchased in one central area, and has expanded law enforcement staff from three to 12. The center is the beginning of an $8 million high-tech facility due to be unveiled in 2008, and the center will move into it once the new crime lab opens. The new imaging technology can improve video images, cell phone photos, hand-held camera evidence, and most video data.
http://www.courant.com
/news/local/hc-ctcrimesolve
0804.artaug04,0,6000839.story

"Deleted Criminal Records Remain"
Dallas Morning News (08/03/06); Krause, Kevin

Information earmarked for deletion in Dallas County's Adult Information System (AIS) by court order has been allowed to remain, putting the county at risk of legal action. Hundreds of criminal cases that should have been permanently removed from AIS are still inside the county's new computer system that went live on Jan. 1, 2005. Meanwhile, offices such as the county public defender have been unable to access the system while the problem is being fixed. The situation could also delay job applications, passports, and credit-related requests. Failure to eliminate or knowingly reveal expunged data is considered a Class B misdemeanor. Atos Origin, the company that won a five-year, $53 million contract from the county to oversee the mainframe, has been faulted for being unaware of the content of files, according to Robert Clines, the county's technology director. In addition to retaining expunged records, the AIS has been blamed for keeping certain prisoners in jail beyond their stipulated sentence, failing to monitor bond forfeitures, and mishandling other court and jail functions. Officials are now identifying and removing the stricken cases from AIS manually. "The last thing we want to do is wipe out a record that needs to be there," said District Clerk Jim Hamlin.
http://www.dallasnews.com
/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews
/stories/080306dnmetexpunge.220f68c.html

"Satellite Keeps an Eye on Sex Offenders"
Tampa Tribune (08/03/06) P. 1; Ziff, Deborah

The utilization of sex offender satellites is on the increase. Pro Tech Monitoring, one of the biggest satellite tracking companies in the world, makes a flexible bracelet that is placed on the ankle of an offender, and the offender must keep a GPS device the size of a pager within 150 feet of his person at all times. The bracelet communicates with the unit to make certain the offender does not go too far from the GPS device. The box transmits a signal periodically to a call center, where a probation officer can follow offenders' behavior by watching a trail of colored dots on a satellite map. When an offender breaches any regulations, a signal is transmitted to the operations center, where the green dots symbolizing a "good" site on offenders' maps change to red, meaning "bad." Pro Tech Monitoring contracts with law enforcement groups in 25 states. How efficient the units are, however, in stopping sexual offenders from repeating crimes is not certain, and the majority of experts caution that the satellites are not the solution, but a tool. Pro Tech Monitoring charges $8.90 a day for each offender. http://www.tbo.com
/news/metro/MGBMSNJLEQE.html

"Frankfort May Add More Eyes on Streets"
Utica Observer-Dispatch (NY) (08/01/06) P. 1A; Kline, Allissa

If approved by the village board, eight sites in Frankfort, N.Y., will be monitored by surveillance cameras as a response to budget reductions. "The reason behind it is we've had to make major cuts in our budget," says Mayor Frank Moracco. "So we thought this was one way we could use it as a high-tech neighborhood watch type of thing." Residents will have access to images online but will not be able to manipulate the cameras, which will utilize a pre-existing wireless network operated by hometown wireless company WavHost that provides wireless Internet access to residents. The network should cover the costs for the deployment, between $500 to $1,500 per camera.
http://www.uticaod.com
/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=
/20060801/NEWS/608010305/1001

"Police Add Cyber Van to Force"
Norwich Bulletin (08/01/06) P. 1B; Smith, Greg

Police in Norwich, Conn., recently unveiled the Mobile Cyber Crime Unit, a 34-foot van equipped with high-tech tools to fight Internet crime, especially predation. Funded by an approximately $300,000 federal grant, the mobile crime lab will be used to conduct sting operations and to educate the young about online predation as well as fraud and other cyber threats. The lab also provides investigators with badly needed space to conduct their work. http://www.norwichbulletin.com
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/20060801/NEWS01/608010329/1002

"City's Web Policy Hinders Some Police Investigations"
Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL) (08/02/06) P. BV1; LaRoe, Ginny

The city of Venice, Fla., has imposed strict Internet controls for all city employee computers, blocking access to Web sites that have potentially offensive content, although one consequence of the policy has been to block certain detective work. Venice Detective Eric Hill was investigating local Internet ads for prostitution when he discovered he could not access Craigslist, a popular classified Web site, because of the city's Internet blocking policy. Venice police officers have to call the city's technology hub to get Web sites unblocked for investigative purposes, and Detective Sgt. Mike Treanor calls that "better than nothing." Nearby, Sarasota County Sheriff Chuck Lesaltato says such a policy would "tie our hands" in his department. Venice's Internet restrictions have been in place since 2004. City manager Marty Black notes that the policy protects employees from Web surfing mistakes that could be construed as policy violations, and adds that before the employee ban, some officers were discovered to have looked at sports Web sites for fun while on the job.
http://www.heraldtribune.com
/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=
/20060802/NEWS/608020363/1417/RSS02

"Law Center in Waverly Complete and Ready for Review"
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (IA) (08/01/06); Heinselman, Karen

The new Bremer-Waverly Law Enforcement Center is a $5.2 million project for the area to improve administrative and detention facilities, expanding inmate capacity to 79 total prisoners. The center serves both Bremer County and the city of Waverly in Iowa, and has eased administrative tasks and record-keeping for officers compared to the rumble-tumble jumble of stacked boxes and packed closets in the old jail. The new center has three outdoor surveillance cameras, while the old jail had none, and separate sets of entrances and exits for inmates, staff, and the public. The center is also equipped with spacious interviewing rooms that possess recording and video technology. The project, begun in October 2003, will be completed this year and was funded by a 1 percent local sales tax approved by voters.
http://www.wcfcourier.com
/articles/2006/08/01/news
/regional/28de9059e9be3109862571bd0043c915.txt

"Law Enforcement, Emergency Services Get Wireless Grants"
Great Falls Tribune (MT) (07/30/06) P. 1A; Florio, Gwen

Montana is one of five states receiving $50,000 grants to obtain dependable wireless technology for its law enforcement and emergency services. The funds come from the Department of Homeland Security and the National Governors Association. The plan is that one day local, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement and associated agencies will be able to employ the technology for quick, easy communications during an emergency. Montana Department of Administration IT supervisor Chris Christensen says a coordinated system could solve the dual problems of bad communications and poor-quality data. The grant will permit the National Governors Association's team of experts to conduct workshops in Montana, and to put together meetings among different states working on related projects. The four other states that also got grant money are Alabama, Indiana, Minnesota, and Washington.
http://www.greatfallstribune.com
/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=
/20060730/NEWS01/607300310/1002

"Wyoming County Gets Grant for Stun Belts"
Times Leader (Penn.) (08/02/06) P. A2; Prekel, Jenna

The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development has provided a $7,325 grant for Wyoming County police to purchase six stun belts. The grant also covers the cost of training. The stun belts will be worn by disruptive prisoners during transport. Advanced Technology Solutions and Brady Stroh of Penn State's geo-spatial services has also provided a check worth more than $15,000 for updating maps in the county. Wyoming County is expected to obtain a high resolution elevation map during 2008, which can aid the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal agencies in developing flood control measures.
http://www.timesleader.com/

"Homeland Security Awards $3 Million to Rutgers-Led Research Consortium"
Rutgers University (07/26/06)

Rutgers University will receive a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to coordinate research projects into advanced information analysis and technology that could help indicate a potential terror threat to the nation. The university's Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS) will head a consortium that will focus on finding patterns and relationships in news stories, open-source Web logs, and other accessible information, and rate the consistency and reliability of the sources. "The challenge involved in this endeavor is not only the massive amount of information out there, but also how quickly it flows and how fast the sources of information change," says DIMACS director Fred Roberts. "We will develop real-time streaming algorithms to find patterns and relationships in communications, such as among writers who may be hiding their identities, and to rate information sources for their reliability and trustworthiness." Researchers from AT&T Laboratories, Lucent Technologies Bell Labs, Princeton University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Texas Southern University will participate in the research projects. DHS also awarded grants to the University of Southern California, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Pittsburgh for similar research, and Rutgers will coordinate the overall initiative.
http://ur.rutgers.edu
/medrel/viewArticle.html?ArticleID=5266

"Body Armor Fit For A Superhero"
Business Week (08/07/06) Vol. 3996, P. 76; Arndt, Michael

A company called Armor Holdings has developed a new type of bullet-resistant vest described as "liquid armor" by Robert R. Schiller, the firm's president and chief operating officer. He hopes to sell the garments to prison guards and, by the end of 2007, to police officers and possibly soldiers as well. The company is currently focusing on prison guards because the product is not only resistant to bullets but to knives and other sharp objects as well. Schiller believes the body armor "has the potential to be a breakthrough product." The vests feature multiple layers of strong fibers and fluid polymers that were developed by Norman Wagner, a professor of chemical engineering at the University of Delaware's Center for Composite Materials. The materials used to make the garment include polyethylene glycol and silica, which form a liquefied material that hardens when struck by a swiftly moving object. When the impact dissipates, the material becomes liquid again. Eric Wetzel at the Army Research Laboratory says the substance enhances the functioning of materials such as Kevlar when applied in thin layers. The liquid is also lighter than Kevlar and other fabrics, which would likely make Armor Holdings' new vests lighter than existing types of body armor that can weigh four pounds or more. Schiller says Armor Holdings' versions should be cheaper to produce as well; the Jacksonville, Fla.-based firm hopes keep its basic products priced at about $500 to $600 each.
http://www.businessweek.com
/magazine/content/06_32/b3996068.htm?chan=tc&chan=technology_
technology+index+page_best+of+the+magazine

"Para-Ordnance Tac-Five LDA Pistol"
Police (07/06) Vol. 30, No. 7, P. 96; Scarlata, Paul

Canadian gun manufacturer Para-Ordnance recently launched its Tac-Five LDA chambered in 9mm and made to appeal to SWAT officers. A full-sized pistol, the Tac-Five has the rounded-off frame tang and bobbed safety grip of Para-Ordnance's compact, hidden carry models. Besides its large capacity and competition shooting design, the Tac-Five LDA provides shooters with the ergonomics of the 1911 and the security of a solely double-action pistol. It has a Para Power Extractor, made up of a vast claw, which is under continual spring pressure, and offers 50 percent greater contact with the cartridge rim than typical 1911 extractors. This means that the Tac-Five and additional Para pistols with the Para Power Extractor provide upgraded, controlled feeding of cartridges from the magazine and positive extraction and unloading of spent cases. The Tac-Five is a highly accurate pistol, due to an easy-to-fire trigger. The sole drawback of the Tac-Five is that it could use a Picatinny rail for mounting lights or laser sights. http://www.policemag.com/