Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology

NLECTC Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology News Summary
Thursday, March 29, 2007

"Boston's Police Patrols Gaining Bird's-Eye View"
Boston Globe (03/23/07); McGrory, Brian

Boston police will start using a helicopter regularly to support police on patrol. The program, which will begin in April, will have a helicopter with state troopers fly several evenings a week, working side by side with police officers on the ground. Boston police are already working on a campaign to notify citizens about the helicopter patrols so they do not become concerned about the presence of the helicopter and will hopefully be understanding about the noise. Police officials cited studies in other cities that indicated there was a 30 percent drop in street crime in areas regularly monitored from aircraft. The helicopters will be tuned to the Boston police radio frequency to allow them to respond to crime, including the city's new acoustic gunshot detection technology. The State Police helicopters that will be used for the patrols are equipped with night vision technology and video downlink capabilities, and will be used for surveillance, pursuits, and scene illumination. The duration of the program was not specified, but Detective Lieutenant William Powers with the State Police said he expects it to continue through the summer.
http://www.boston.com/news
/local/massachusetts/articles/20
07/03/23/bostons_police_patrols_
gaining_birds_eye_view/

"Cost Hinders Jail Security Plan"
Oregonian (03/23/07) P. C3; Sulzberger, Arthur Gregg

Multnomah County, Ore., Sheriff Bernie Giusto is proposing equipping prisoners and guards at the downtown prison with special sensors that will monitor their movements and possibly lower the number of assaults. The county board, though, is reluctant to sign off on the $350,000 price tag. The Radio Frequency Identification System, which has been implemented in prisons in California, Florida, and Virginia, would upgrade surveillance. Security at county jails received criticism following a prisoner murder, a male prisoner infiltrating a female cell for sex, and the arrest of a pair of prison guards for inappropriate relationships with female prisoners. The technology would permit guards at the Multnomah County Detention Center to follow and record the movement of prisoners sporting the tamper-resistant electronic bracelets, allowing head counts and automatically initiating alarms when male and female prisoners or members of rival gangs encounter each other. The proposal also calls for having hundreds of guards wear sensors, following them during their shifts. The board of commissioners, however, says the system's $350,000 price is a lot for the county to bear, and points out that the county is already encountering significant budget reductions. The board voted on March 22 to wait to decide on whether to approve the grant application.
http://www.oregonlive.com/portlan
d/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/portlan
d_news/117461671135730.xml&coll=7

"New Public Safety Building Dedicated in Roanoke County"
Roanoke Times (VA) (03/23/07); Lowe, Cody

The new 83,000-square-foot public safety center in Roanoke County, Va., was officially dedicated on March 22, and praised for being "on time and on budget." The $27 million public safety building will be the headquarters for police, fire, and rescue services for the county, as well as hold a technology hub for the new state-of-the-art emergency 911 dispatch center, the county's information technology team, and the county's planned police academy. The new high-tech equipment center is well out of any flood plain and is part of a regional communication system that allows police, fire, and rescue personnel to communicate with one another at all times. The public safety center is the first non-education building in the state built under the Public-Private Educational Facilities and Infrastructure Act, which allows private developers to present proposals to government officials to fill needs in the community without having to wait to bid on a project initiated by the government.
http://www.roanoke.com/new
s/roanoke/wb/109916

"Police Record Calls Using Audio, Video"
State (SC) (03/25/07)

The Bluffton Police Department and Beaufort County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina have been using digital audio and video recording to capture on-the-scene evidence. Recording eyewitnesses and victim statements at the scene is one way to ensure stories do not change when a trial comes to court. Furthermore South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster notes that police do not have to inform suspects that they are being recorded. In some cases South Carolina police are using small microphones attached to their lapels or collars to record audio from on-the-scene interviews. Audio information can also be stored on a laptop's hard drive affixed in the patrol car, which means that audio recording devices will have copious room for recording. The Bluffton Police Department plans to spend about $18,000 on a central server to archive and track their audio recordings, according to Chief David McAllister. http://www.thestate.com
/mld/thestate/news/local/crime_courts/16968649.htm

"City Surveillance Cameras Will Also Transmit High-Speed Internet Access"
Buffalo News (03/22/07) P. B1; Meyer, Brian

The city of Buffalo plans to start a $4.4 million pilot project this spring involving five surveillance cameras placed in high-crime areas. The cameras will also be able to transmit broadband Internet connectivity at no cost citywide. Later in 2007, the initiative will broaden to 32 cameras installed near schools, in business districts, and near border crossings. Dorothy A. Johnson, executive director of the state control board, which endorsed the city's plan on March 22, is confident the surveillance effort will help the city dispatch its police officers more effectively. "This is a way that they can make the smartest use of their personnel," she said. The initiative is just one part of a $10 million bundle of projects advocated by Mayor Byron W. Brown and approved by the control board. Other approved projects include a 311 calling system for non-emergency problems and pay-and-display parking meters. Brown now hopes to secure $1 million in federal funds to enlarge the surveillance program to include up to 45 cameras.
http://www.buffalonews
.com/103/story/37802.html

"Running New Tests on Old Evidence Could Help Solve Woman's Murder"
Arizona Republic (03/23/07) P. 8; Ferraresi, Michael

Scottsdale, Ariz., police are opening some unsolved homicide cases from two decades ago in order to obtain DNA evidence and find suspected murderers. Scottsdale lead investigator of cold cases Lt. Craig Chrzanowski says the department is using new technology to harvest fingerprint and DNA evidence from a 1978 murder case. The case involves the stabbing death of Patty Kerger, then 30 years old. Police suspected it was a crime of passion, but never could solve it. http://www.azcentral.com
/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0323coldcase0323.html

"High-Tech Help in Tracking Predators"
San Gabriel Valley Tribune (CA) (03/22/07); Ortega, Fred

Municipal leaders in West Covina, Calif., may start monitoring convicted sexual predators living in the city by implementing global positioning system (GPS) technology. On March 20, the city council unanimously agreed to Mayor Mike Touhey's request to let staff members study the issue. "We don't want to be waiting on the state for funding while our people are at risk," said Touhey. "We don't want to be at the whim of the governor or the Legislature." Brian Brown of the state Legislative Analyst's Office notes that to fully deploy Jessica's Law--which was approved by voters last November--the state would need to obtain funds to finance the lifetime monitoring of tens of thousands of sex offenders after they are paroled. Brown said there are still unresolved questions about the law's retroactivity and whether state or local agencies should be responsible for adhering to the law. Pro Tech Monitoring CEO Steve Chapin says it costs roughly $4 to $8 per day to track a person, about $1,500 to $2,900 annually, based on the degree of oversight. Law enforcement agencies would be able to track offenders in real time using online maps, with danger zones such as children's facilities highlighted on the map. Alerts are delivered automatically to pagers, mobile phones, and email by the provider's computer system.
http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_5492607

"Chatham Jail Is Outdated and All But Outgrown"
Raleigh News & Observer (NC) (03/22/07) P. B1; Friedman, Leah

Chatham County, N.C.'s prison is outdated and overcrowded. The region's population is expected to increase from the about 60,000 now to 150,000 in 2035. The facility only has 51 beds, meaning that adult prisoners cannot be separated from juvenile prisoners, and those waiting for trial from those already convicted. As such, Sheriff Richard Webster informed the Chatham County Board of Commissioners recently that widening the facility needs to be considered. A study by Solutions 4 Local Government on the possibility of a regional prison with Chatham, Lee, and Moore counties determined it would be more cost-effective for Chatham to build a new one. Jail operations manager Capt. Michael Roberson pointed out that even when the prison is 85 percent full, overseeing the prisoners is challenging, as there are a larger number of fights, more food to get ready, and more prisoner medical problems. In addition, he said the facility's outdated technology means that cameras just monitor the hallway connected to the four cell blocks. If an officer goes into a cell block, the control room officer cannot view him in the monitor.
http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/556177.html

"Computers Sought for Patrol Cars"
Fort Collins Coloradoan (03/21/07); Duggan, Kevin

Although Colorado's Larimer County is the one of the largest in the state, their police department is also the only county without computers in sheriff patrol cars. Representatives from the Sheriff's Office are seeking to change this, but with a potential $239,000 to $500,000 bill, funding is uncertain. Sgt. Joe Shellhammer reports that 15 percent to 20 percent of deputy shifts are spent filling out paperwork, so installing computers in patrol cars would make this process more efficient by enabling reports to be completed in the field instead of expending time traveling back to the office. Also, previous suspect reports and photos would be readily accessible via portable computers. Last year's budget carried over $2 million, but additional requests from other departments total $4 million plus. Commissioner Karen Wagner said that although the department's proposition is understandable, covering costs of Larimer's law enforcement system is a mounting dilemma.
http://www.coloradoannews.co
m/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/
20070321/NEWS01/703210325/1002/NEWS17

"Touting Cameras' Effectiveness"
Newsday (03/21/07) P. A14; Endo, Emi

A police video surveillance camera network that was recently installed in New York City has enabled police to locate suspects in a homicide and additional shooting incidents, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly stated on March 20. The police department has implemented 122 of the 505 cameras to be erected in public areas throughout New York City. Kelly said that on March 4 a private building security camera captured a photo of an individual mugging an elderly woman in Queens. Civil activists, though, have raised concerns about the cameras harming the right to privacy. The New York Civil Liberties Union has asked the city to offer public notice to inhabitants in neighborhoods where cameras will be put up and establish regulations on how the images will be stored and dispensed. Kelly explained that police want to look at video feeds from private corporate buildings in lower Manhattan. He stated the police would set up "license plate recognition readers" or scanners at bridge and tunnel entrances in that region, and in police cars and helicopters.
http://www.newsday.com/
news/local/newyork/ny-nyra
y215138779mar21,0,1974240.stor
y?coll=ny-nynews-print

"Police Going High-Tech"
Lowell Sun (MA) (03/21/07); Myers, Jennifer Amy

The Billerica, Mass., police department recently transferred to a live-scan fingerprinting system, produced by Identix, which enables officers to fingerprint a suspect just by putting his finger on a glass screen. In addition to doing away with the possibility of capturing fingerprints incorrectly, the system allows the instant electronic transfer of fingerprints to state and federal databases. Criminal records and identification can be sent back from the FBI in around 10 minutes, a procedure that "sometimes took months" with the former ink cards that had to be mailed to external law enforcement groups, noted Billerica Police Chief Dan Rosa. The new system cost $2,200 to buy and implement, and was paid for by grant money. Billerica's police department has made numerous other technological improvements. It is now able to digitally retain and gather photo evidence that can be given to the court on an evidence-grade CD. In addition, mobile technology implemented in the computer systems of police cruisers now permits safe access to in-house computer resources, email, and Intranet, and enables officers to directly access the Registry of Motor Vehicles from their cars.
http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_5486965

"Taser Use Under Scrutiny"
Baltimore Sun (03/20/07) P. 1B; Shields, Nick; Mitchell, Josh

The safety of Taser stun guns has come into question in Baltimore County, Md., where a 40-year-old mentally ill man wielding a baseball bat died recently after police subdued him with a Taser. The incident has prompted Baltimore County Councilman Vincent Gardina (D) to ask that a review of the procedures governing the use of Tasers be held. Gardina, a former police officer, explains that he has several concerns, including that officers "may not be restraining themselves as necessary," that the number of Tasers are proliferating, and that the weapons are being used inappropriately. The ACLU has also weighed in, claiming that Tasers can be dangerous. The death of Ryan Lee Meyers is apparently the first in the Baltimore region in which a Taser and police are involved. Meyers' death came after police arrived at his family's home to investigate a domestic violence call; Meyers allegedly struck his father in the face with the bat, then refused police officers' order to drop the weapon, prompting the use of the Taser. Meyers' family members claim that police shocked Meyers more than once. http://www.baltimoresun.com/
news/local/bal-taser0319,0,1286400.story?track=rss

"Downtown Companies Join Security Plan"
El Paso Times (03/21/07); Kolenc, Vic

Private security firms and law enforcement and public safety agencies are collaborating on a new technology project that will allow businesses, school districts, and colleges in El Paso, Texas, to receive instant emergency alerts from the local police and fire departments. In addition, businesses will be able to use the new Internet-based system to share information about security issues. "It will give us the ability at a moment's notice to send out an emergency notice from the Police Department or Fire Department," explained Michael Breitinger, executive director of the Central Business Association and Downtown Management District. More than 70 businesses have signed up to participate thus far. Once fully implemented, the system will be used across the city, and participants will be able to receive alerts or share information via email, cell phones, fax, Blackberries, or any other text-enabled gadget. The applications for the system include alerting businesses and other recipients to nearby robberies, impending disasters, criminals on the loose, or finding lost children. The El Paso-based Law Enforcement and Private Security (LEAPS) group is helping to implement the system, and police officials say that police officers will be able to use the system to disseminate video, photos, and other data. http://www.elpasotimes.com/business/ci_5483183

"'Eye in Sky' Cameras See All, But Record Nothing"
Chattanooga Times Free Press (03/18/07) P. A1; Davis, Michael

The Tennessee Department of Transportation's (TDOT) new highway cameras are only intended to handle traffic congestion and do not record real-time images. The department erected 61 traffic cameras to watch local highways, and dispatchers get numerous calls each day from residents and attorneys who desire footage recordings. The cameras are set up over Interstates 24 and 75, state Highway 153, and U.S. Highway 27. TDOT Web sites show still images snapped from highways, which enable online users to look at traffic flow. In addition, streaming footage is broadcast inside TDOT facilities, permitting authorities to track traffic and take care of accidents. The public, however, is not allowed to access such images. "A lot of folks think Big Brother or local law enforcement agencies might be using [the cameras] to issues speeding tickets," noted TDOT's Lacy Word. "Our cameras are not for that." http://www.timesfreepress.com

"Justice Pursues Flexible Identity Management"
Government Computer News (03/19/07) Vol. 26, No. 6,; Jackson, Joab

The Justice Department is running a pilot program of the Law Enforcement Information Sharing Program, which is designed to allow federal agency employees, as well as state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, access to multiple applications being run across various federal agencies. Many of the programs require multiple forms of user identification, so credentialing each employee for every application is not a practical approach; instead, a central repository for identification will be established. When a user requests access to an application outside of their primary agency, the application will access the repository to verify credentials. Credentialing is a multi-step process that involves positive identification of the individual, a list of the systems that person is allowed access to, and the distribution of passwords, smart cards, or other identification keys. Boris Shur, the Justice Department's manager for the pilot program, said the DOJ is working with the FBI on new systems that could potentially be used by hundreds of thousands of state law enforcement workers, and federal identity management seems like the only solution.
http://www.gcn.com/print/26_06/43306-1.html

"Tracking Terrorists With Click of a Mouse"
Baltimore Sun (03/26/07) P. 1A; Gorman, Siobhan

The Defense Department's Cyber Crime Center in Linthicum, Md., has helped recover hidden digital evidence from criminals' computers for use in law enforcement investigations, including terrorism cases. The process of extracting this evidence is known as "digital forensics," an evolving science that will eventually have the same type of revolutionary impact on law enforcement investigations as DNA did, says Steven Shirley, executive director of the center. Terrorists are increasingly using technology devices like cell phones, laptops, and Palm Pilots, and the digital evidence that is left on these devices can provide investigators with a trove of useful information, including evidence of plots, intentions, and activities, says Shirley. Digital forensics featured prominently during Al Qaeda leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's recent hearing in Guantanamo Bay, as much of the evidence that was produced during the hearing came from a computer hard drive in Mohammed's possession. This evidence included letters from Osama bin Laden, communications with a Sept. 11 hijacker, and records of the pilot license fees incurred by the lead operative of the Sept.11 attacks, Mohamed Atta. Similar evidence was obtained from the laptop of slain Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leading to the capture of his top lieutenants. Digital forensics experts note that terrorists are more likely to use encryption than regular criminals, and there are also crack-resistant technologies available that can effectively lock a hard drive.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/new
s/nationworld/bal-te.forensic26m
ar26,0,620050.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines

"Can They Count on IP?"
American City & County (02/07) Vol. 122, No. 2, P. 22; May, Paul

Increasingly, public safety communications are involving Internet Protocol (IP) packet-switched networks, which frees up space on conventional radio channels, broadens coverage and roaming capabilities, and provides encryption for messages; data transfer through IP-based systems is about equivalent to that of voice messages. Although IP networks can be complicated and require special know-how, upkeep for the technology can be comparatively inexpensive because the gear needed is similar to that used in LAN applications. In October 2006, the U.S. Army-National Capital Region launched a trunked voice and data communications network featuring an entirely IP-based backbone. The network encrypts communications for military installations across the region using nonproprietary open architecture that can be modified to accept newer technologies. Meanwhile, New York state recently signed a 20-year, multi-billion-dollar contract for an IP-based network intended to be used by all public safety and public service agencies statewide, in addition to up to 65,000 state and local government users. The state eventually plans to create a shared communications platform for public safety and public services agencies. The New York Office for Technology concluded that a digital radio network able to serve agencies statewide would be more cost effective than trying to maintain the older, weakening system. The updated network will cover 95 percent of New York, including 97 percent of the state's thoroughfares.
http://americancityandcounty.com
/technology/government_ip_voice_communication/

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