Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology

NLECTC Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology News Summary
Thursday, December 14, 2006

"Police Get Assist From Eyes in the Sky"
Quad-City Times (12/11/06); Brecht, Tory

The Davenport Police Department plans to install portable and mobile cameras that will provide police with live streaming video. Police Chief Mike Bladel indicated that the cameras will enable the identification of people from "a long distance," but did not provide more details. A few aldermen expressed concerns about the technology encroaching on privacy rights. Bladel indicated that the cameras will only require about $10,000 of the department's $100,000 budget for purchasing camera equipment for the monitoring of local communities.
http://www.qctimes.com
/articles/2006/12/05/ne
ws/local/doc4575161ff3a91237138467.txt

"Device that Helps Dogs Sniff Out Suspects May Not be Up to Snuff"
Los Angeles Times (12/07/06) P. B1; Reza, H.G.

A $900 scent-collecting device that law enforcement uses as a tool to help detect the scent of humans at crime scenes is at the center of a controversy that has resulted in the dismissal of at least five cases. Proponents of the STU-100 device claim that it can collect human scents from objects as small as bullet fragments. Once collected, the scents are supposedly transferred to a small gauze pad that a bloodhound sniffs, with the idea that the dog then uses the scent to track the suspect, all without jeopardizing the integrity of physical evidence. But critics such as Auburn University's Larry Myers, a professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine, say the device is unreliable and amounts to "quackery." The device has been used to help convict at least five men who have since had their cases overturned and been released from jail. There is no hard data on how many convictions or arrests the device is responsible for, but one dog handler says he has used the technology in most of the 2,000 cases he has handled.
http://www.latimes.com
/news/local/la-me-scent7dec07,1,29851.story

"Sheriff, Jail Seek Immigration Law Powers"
Beaufort Gazette (12/10/06); Hsieh, Jeremy

The Beaufort County, S.C., Sheriff's Office Deputies and Detention Center officers could begin fulfilling some of the prerequisites for obtaining some of the authority normally limited to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, according to Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner. Under current law, local law enforcement officers are not authorized to identify someone as an illegal immigrant and must refer immigration status inquiries to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. However, if local law enforcement officers pass a five-week training and certification process, they can then identify illegal immigrants with federal databases, enter information in those databases, and charge immigrants with violations of immigration law. Ten deputies and two supervising sergeants in the Mecklenburg County, S.C., Sheriff's office have passed this certification program since February. These officers ask every arrestee in the county jail what country they were born in and of what country they are a citizen. If the arrestee's answer to either question is not the United States, the officers use special technology and federal databases to help them ascertain the arrestee's immigration status. This technology, which will also be used in Beaufort County, is called the Department of Homeland Security's Automated Biometric Identification System, or IDENT. The technology, which costs $25,000, checks non-U.S. native arrestees' fingerprint scans and photos against the same federal database the U.S. Border patrol uses.
http://www.beaufortgazette.com
/local_news/story/6275178p-5474844c.html

"Technology Brings Police Up to Speed"
Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise (MA) (12/06/06); Graham, Jonathan

In Massachusetts' north-central region, police departments will soon be able to instantly swap data about suspects as a result of technology secured via grants totaling $875,000, according to police and state leaders on Dec. 5. Analyst Carol Fitzgerald with the Fitchburg Police Department said the new systems will let law enforcement officers view suspects' complete data within seconds. The new technology now connects the computer systems of Fitchburg and Gardner, and Leominster's system is anticipated to be operational in about two months, said Leominster's police chief Peter Roddy. A grant of $375,000 obtained in 2005 by U.S. Rep. John Olver (D-Amherst) will be used to connect the cities of Fitchburg, Leominster, and Gardner, while the $500,000 grant obtained in 2006 will be used to broaden the program to include the cities of Ashburnham, Lunenburg, Shirley, Westminster, and Winchendon. Officials noted that suspects can cross multiple borders, so it will be crucial for officers to see the regional collection of information. This includes such things as vehicle stops, traffic tickets, parking tickets, arrests, victim information, and photos, said Fitzgerald and other law enforcement officials.
http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/ci_4788555

"Law Enforcement Agencies Ganging Up on Gangs"
Asbury Park Press (NJ) (12/10/06); Bonafide, Margaret F.

The New Jersey State Police have implemented a strategy of Intelligence-Led Policing, which has allowed the state to better deal with criminals--particularly gang members--who are highly proficient in technology. Traditionally, information that law enforcement took in every day was kept in "silos" or databanks in each of the federal, state, and local agencies combating gang violence. But with Intelligence-Led Policing, those agencies are linked. This allows them to share information and add it to a central database currently under construction at the State Police Regional Operations Center. In addition, evidence from unrelated cases can be compared, allowing police to increase their rate of crime solving. This capability was particularly helpful in the State Police's efforts to dismantle a gang called "9 Trey," a subset of the Bloods gang that was terrorizing people near the Irvington, N.J.-Newark boundary. By looking at the intelligence collected during traffic stops, State Police were able to make connections between unsolved old crimes and new crimes, said Lt. Col. Frank E. Rodgers, deputy superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.
http://www.app.com
/apps/pbcs.dll/article
?AID=/20061210/NE
WS/612100430/1001/OPINION

"Officers On Camera"
Register-Guard (12/09/06); Nolan, Rebecca

The Eugene Police Department in Oregon is installing in-car digital video systems in all patrol vehicles by the end of the year in order to reduce court time and citizen complaints, expedite internal affairs investigations, and provide training material. Although $620,000 in telecommunications tax revenue was earmarked by the city for such a recording system in March 2005, it took the department until last June to sign a contract with the Texas-based Coban Research and Technologies. So far, the approximately $6,500 units have been installed in 90 percent of the force's vehicles, and training has occurred for both supervisors and officers over the past several weeks. The user-friendly units consist of a mounted digital video camera, a hard drive capable of holding up to 40 hours of footage, a touch-screen monitor, and a mobile hard-drive unit and microphone that the officer carries. The system, which may be started from outside the car, can capture still images and records on a one-minute buffer until activated when the overhead lights come on, though the officer can also control the process using the touch-screen monitor. The footage is uploaded to a server at the end of each officer's shift and can be accessed by the officer who recorded it, supervisors, and the defendants.
http://www.registerguard.com
/news/2006/12/09/a1.camer
as.1209.p1.php?section=cityregion

"All County Schools Are Getting Radios"
Baltimore Sun (12/10/06); Williams IV, John-John

Howard County schools are receiving radios in January that can connect with police in emergency situations. The radios, which share some of the same functions as those employed by police agencies, will give school officials immediate access to a 911 dispatcher. Capt. Glenn Hansen of the Howard County Police Department said Howard County schools many be the only school system to have the high-tech radio system. Hansen, who is the department's information technology expert, emphasized that the distribution of the radio systems to the schools is not the result of any incident, but is intended to improve communication between the department and the schools. The federal Education and Homeland Security departments helped cover the $180,000 cost of the purchase.
http://www.baltimoresun.com
/news/local/howard/bal-ho.rad
io10dec10,0,480772.story?coll=bal-local-Howard

"Cops Warn of DWI Crisis Ahead"
Bergen Record (NJ) (12/06/06) P. A1; Salazar, Carolyn

Police departments in New Jersey warn that a lack of technology could hinder their ability to catch drunk drivers this holiday season. Specifically, the replacement components for Breathalyzer devices are not being manufactured anymore. In addition, the New Jersey Supreme Court has ordered counties to wait before buying new devices such as Alcotest, which prints out blood alcohol results on paper. The state high court wants to make sure the new machines are scientifically reliable, in response to lawyers' challenges. The high court's ruling has affected the counties of Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, and Essex. Officers in these counties will still be required to perform DWI checkpoints. But once the aging devices malfunction, new parts for them cannot be obtained, and the ampules necessary to conduct readings are also dwindling. Draeger Safety Diagnostic says only police departments in New Jersey are still using Breathalyzers. Some are suggesting the counties merge their ampule holdings or conduct regional breath tests.
http://www.northjersey.com
/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnF
lZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDMyNDg0

"Communication Key In Tracking Offenders"
Vallejo Times Herald (CA) (12/06/06); Pursell, Erin

Various measures need to be taken to protect the residents of California's Solano County from registered sex offenders, according to statements made by Sheriff Gary Stanton on Dec. 5 to the Board of Supervisors. Provisions for a global positioning system to monitor the location of sex offenders were included in the recently-passed Proposition 83, which is also referred to as Jessica's Law, but the board rebuffed Stanton's proposal for the county to join a potential statewide pilot program because of feasibility and jurisdiction issues. Stanton also said that communication between state parole and local law enforcement is continuing to improve, as are parole list reviews and parole check compliance. Additionally, Stanton said that due to recent modifications to Megan's Law and state legislation that prohibits sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a public park or school, the offenders have begun migrating to Solano County and other more rural areas. Many residents are angry that the law does not require the state to personally notify them if a sex offender moves into their neighborhood, and though Stanton urged the public to check the national registry for such information, only 655 of the county's 948 registered sex offenders are listed in the database. There will be a statewide summit on the issue early next year.
http://www.timesheraldonline.com
/todaysnews/ci_4788422

"USM, Law Enforcement Develop Crime Scene Investigation Unit"
Associated Press (12/11/06); Leifer, Rachel

Law enforcement agencies in the Hattiesburg, Miss., area have partnered with the University of Southern Mississippi to establish the Metro Area Crime Scene and Identification Unit, which will build on the work of Hattiesburg's two crime scene investigators in order to improve evidence collection from crime scenes and identify and prosecute suspects more quickly. As part of the coordinated effort, which will likely get started in February or March pending approval from the state College Board, new crime scene technicians would be hired and at least one fully-furnished crime scene van and other equipment would be purchased. In addition, the project would give USM students hands-on training investigating crime scenes, taking and storing physical evidence, and using relevant technologies. One of those technologies is a machine called an Affix Tracker, which will be used to collect and store the fingerprints of each person arrested in Mississippi's Lamar and Forrest Counties. According to Jon Mark Weathers, the district attorney for Forrest and Perry Counties, the technology could dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes to match prints from a crime scene to a suspect.
http://www.ap.org

"Sheriff's Got a Top 10 List"
Chicago Sun-Times (12/07/06) P. 10; Hussain, Rummana

Tom Dart, the new sheriff of Cook County, has composed a list of what he wants to accomplish during his term. One of the goals is to decrease both drug and gang activity in the community. Other goals include establishing an internal hotline for employees to report any violations of the code of conduct.. Dart also wants to equip the Cook County Jail with a video surveillance system and set up a "video visitation" system at the facility. He also wants to equip court rooms with closed-circuit television for use during preliminary court hearings.
http://www.suntimes.com
/news/politics/163494,CST-NWS-dart07.article

"State Police Alter Tactics, Targets"
Philadelphia Inquirer (12/07/06) P. A1; Moroz, Jennifer

Last year, New Jersey State Police were the first in the country to launch a comprehensive intelligence-led policing initiative using information gathering, analysis, and sharing to identify the most important threats to public safety. The strategy, which has been used primarily for counterterrorism in the past, addresses all types of crimes and represents a shift from previous policy wherein officers went after whatever criminals they could, regardless of the severity of the crime. The program's focal point is the Regional Operations and Intelligence Center that opened last month in West Trenton, which houses such databases as New Jersey's Statewide Intelligence Management System and will soon be home to representatives from various state and federal agencies that include the FBI, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the New York and Philadelphia police departments. Since the center was already being constructed as an emergency operations facility, costs to the police were minimal, and the initiative has thus far helped to improve investigation quality and prevent crime through the use of risk-management techniques. "It's about surveying the organization to get as much information as you can to weigh the risks and decide where to put your resources," said Jerry Ratcliffe, an associate criminal justice professor at Temple. "In the end, you're still going to run informants and do surveillance, but hopefully on your most direct threats."
http://www.philly.com
/mld/inquirer/16182747.htm

"Public Safety Experts Call 2007 "Most Important Year""
News Blaze (12/06/06)

Several top public safety experts recently participated in a panel discussion about communications interoperability for first responders at the National Press Club. "The Post Election Landscape for Public Safety Communications: 2007 Predictions and Recommendations" panel, which was sponsored by the First Response Coalition (FRC), concluded that 2007 would be a key year for communications interoperability for first responders. The panelists included representatives from the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Communications Commission, the Department of Transportation, and influential Senate committees. The panelists agreed that reaching a consensus definition for interoperability is key and that efforts to win funding and spectrum for first responders must be better organized. Another key to interoperability is the 24 MHz that was allocated to first responders from the digital television transition. The panelists also noted that public safety has bipartisan support, meaning there is a good chance that Congress will pass "comprehensive national interoperability legislation" in 2007. Steven Jones, executive director of the FRC, summarized the panel's conclusions thusly: "Public safety experts agree that adequate funding, sufficient spectrum, and a coordinated effort are needed to achieve interoperable emergency communications."
http://newsblaze.com
/story/20061206172607ts
op.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.html

"Video Cameras Urged to Monitor the Police"
Los Angeles Times (12/09/06) P. B1; McGreevy, Patrick; Winton, Richard

Civil rights groups are requesting that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) place surveillance cameras in all police stations in order to protect suspects in custody from potential police abuse and to protect police from false allegations of abuse. Groups supporting the idea include the ACLU of Southern California, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and local community groups. The groups also urged police to speed up the process of installing surveillance cameras in police cruisers. The LAPD already has a four-year, phased plan for implementing surveillance cameras in all of the department's 1,200 patrol cars, at a cost of $25 million. The Police Protective League, which represents police officers, has not said what its position is on placing cameras inside stations, but the group does favor cameras in patrol cars to protect officers from false allegations.
http://www.latimes.com

"Mission Possible: Forensics for Small to Mid-Size Departments"
Law Enforcement Technology (11/06) Vol. 33, No. 11, P. 96; Moore, Carole

Small- to mid-sized police departments can improve their rate of case resolution by spending the resources to create forensic units and train crime scene processors. One of the simplest and cheapest ways of accomplishing this is by training officers to perform very basic forensics tasks, such as fingerprint and simple evidence collection. Constructing a crime scene collection kit can also be accomplished simply and inexpensively by purchasing basic equipment such as rulers, bags, tape, and digital cameras at local or discount stores. The number of officers to be trained in this manner depends upon the jurisdiction, the number of officers, and the crime rate. Candidates for training should be chosen according to their career interests and ability to meet the challenges of the job. Local departments can collaborate with larger nearby departments and agencies to create regional response teams that reduce the amount of expense and manpower required.
http://www.officer.com/magazines/let/

"Body Armor"
Police (11/06) Vol. 30, No. 11, P. 34; Griffith, David

Body armor is calibrated to meet specific threats, a feature that has been true since medieval days. Concealable ballistic vests are used to protect police from handgun fire and can be worn underneath clothing. Tactical body armor can protect someone from more sustained fire such as rifle fire, and can include inserted ceramic plates. Yet if "tac" armor is worn every day, it will impede an officer's ability to move, be energetic, and do his job. Some new tactical armor designs are attempting to make donning and wearing this heavier armor easier, such as Wolverine DM from Armor Express. Gator Hawk's Tac 30 can be customized for specific purchaser needs. Other new tactical body armor models include Predator OTV by Diamondback Tactical, S Street Vest by Bodyguard, and Grizzly by Armorshield.
http://www.policemag.com