Public Safety Technology in the News

Texas Senator Seeks Limits on 'Untraceable' Prepaid Cellphones
The Dallas Morning News, (01/31/08), Steve Thompson

A proposal by Texas Sen. John Carona that will require customers purchasing disposable cellphones to provide ID and limit their purchase to only three cellphones is likely to make the phones less appealing to criminal and possibly terrorists. Carona's plan also includes a provision that would require prepaid cellphone service providers to maintain phone records and make them available to police.
www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/state/
stories/020108dnmetcellphones.3156e7f.html

Federal Grant to Help Launch Police Data-Sharing System
The Joplin Globe, (01/31/08), Susan Redden

Federal funding in the amount of $850,000 in addition to $700,000 in funds received in 2001 will be used to finalize a wireless information sharing system for three Missouri counties. The system will allow local law enforcement to collaborate and share information, and when the system is completed it will connect to a statewide system. Officials hope to have the system up and running later this summer. www.joplinglobe.com/local/local_story_031231944.html

Licence Scans Tilt Odds in Our Favour
The Ottawa Citizen, (02/04/08), Dave Brown

In Canada, license plate scanning is being used not only to identify stolen cars, but also cars that are uninsured or linked to a suspended or unlicensed driver. Officials hope this effort will reflect in lower costs to insured drivers. The Insurance Bureau of Canada fully funded tests of the license plate scanning systems in Southern Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia. Cameras mounted on police cars scan as many as 3,000 plates an hour. Images of the plates are run through the on-board computer, which is updated constantly with information from the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) and the insurance industry. If there is a match, the system alerts the officer. In British Columbia, the tests were so positive they have added a police helicopter to the program.
www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/columnists/story.html?id=c6bce478-8aae-4694-83d6-4f967892bce4

New Device Could Help Rescuers Locate Missing Hikers, Skiers, Snowmobilers
7News, (01/30/08), Russell Haythorn

A new device serves to keep outdoor enthusiasts in touch, and in the event of an emergency will also help emergency services and rescuers locate the person in trouble. Spot Satellite Messenger has a simple four-button function-an on/off switch and an additional three buttons that provide status updates on the customer. The "okay" button transmits an okay e-mail/text message to family and friends; the "help" button alerts family and friends and transmits the user's coordinates, closest city information, and provides a Google map that pinpoints exact location; and finally a "911" button to be used for those instances of serious distress. Customers use their home computer to set up the messages for each of the status buttons ahead of time, as well as designate who they want to receive the messages.
www.thedenverchannel.com/news/15181175/detail.html

Traffic Scofflaws in for Rude Awakening: Technology to Leave Ticket Collectors No Place to Hide
Chicago Tribune, (02/05/08), Eric Zorn

Chicago's Department of Revenue will use automatic license plate recognition as part of a new program that includes 26 vans roaming city streets identifying vehicles with multiple unpaid parking or red-light violations. The AutoVu system allows these crews to perform their task nine times faster than the previous manual method. The slowest part is post system identification, when the crew double checks the information and applies the boot to the vehicles. This more streamlined process has provided the city a chance to redeploy 17 employees to write tickets and it is hoped to generate an increase in ticket revenue, which was estimated at $165 million last year.
www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-zorn_05feb05,1,7581666.column?ctrack=1&cset=true

Police Go Live Monitoring D.C. Crime Cameras
Washington Post, (02/11/08), Allison Klein

In an effort to fight crime, District of Columbia police will begin to monitor 10 to 15 of the city's 73 cameras for about 40 hours a week. Prior to the implementation of Chief C. Lanier's plan, the cameras were used as part of the investigation of a crime after the fact. The 10 to 15 cameras will be chosen based on statistics and trends for the various areas of the city. The city adopted camera surveillance almost 10 years ago to help with inaugurations and demonstrations.
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/10/AR2008021002726.html

Speed Camera Catches Vehicles Going 100 MPH
NBC 4, (01/31/08)

The Montgomery County Police Department has implemented the use of fixed speed-enforcement cameras in an effort to slow drivers in residential and school zones. The police were aware that they would catch some drivers going fast, but they didn't anticipate capturing images of someone going over 100 mph through a school zone. During the early morning hours of November 14, 2007, a fixed speed-enforcement camera took images of a car doing 110 mph in front of Wheaton High School, where the posted speed is 35 mph. On December 20, 2007, another camera captured a driver going 76 mph in a 35 mph zone. The use of these cameras has freed up officers to handle other issues and has earned the department $2.8 million in ticket revenue since the program began.
www.nbc4.com/news/15181421/detail.html

New ID Checks Begin
Cleburne Times-Review, (01/31/08), Lisa Magers

New procedures will be implemented by the Cleburne ISD schools in Texas in an effort to provide a safe learning environment for students and staff. The check-in procedures will have visitors present a valid driver's license or State-issued ID that office personnel will scan and check against multiple nationwide sex offender databases. If there is an issue the system will alert the office staff. Otherwise, the system uses the scanned information from the ID to produce a nametag for the visitor that includs an image of the individual's ID, a time stamp, and a reason for the visit. Another alert option available on the system relates to private alerts that are specific to individuals and to restraining orders, custody, or visitors that have been banned.
www.cleburnetimesreview.com/local/local_story_031190012.html

Essex Hopes $438K Grant Will Heat Up Cold Cases
The Star-Ledger, (02/03/08), William Kleinknecht

Funding in the amount of $438,000 from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), will help Essex County (New Jersey) establish a cold-case team to re-examine evidence from unsolved crimes and, where possible, apply any new, cutting-edge DNA tools that may help solve the crime. Under the President's DNA Initiative, NIJ has awarded funding for cold-case investigations in 29 States. Forgotten clues-rope, gum, cigarette butts, or a hat-may still contain some usable biological material that may be analyzed and matched to evidence found at other crime scenes or DNA obtained from a convicted criminal. It is hoped that this funding can be used to close some of Essex County's unsolved crimes.
www.nj.com/starledger/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1202017039159760.xml&coll=1

High-Tech Goggles Mean Police Won't Be in the Dark
Citizen.com, (01/31/08), Cutter Mitchell

A program used to put phased-out military equipment in the hands of law enforcement has helped the Alton (NH) Police Department acquire PVS-7B night vision goggles. Understanding the need for such goggles in assisting in situations like burglaries or missing hikers, Police Chief Philip Smith Jr. worked with the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office of the U.S. Central Command Air Forces to attain the equipment. The value of a pair of the night vision goggles is between $3,500 to $4,000; however, through the program the goggles were donated at no cost. With that in mind the department is exploring the possibility of obtaining an infrared device that is larger than the one the department presently uses, which could be used with the night vision goggles during a missing person search.
www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080131/GJNEWS02/263570658/-1/CITNEWS

Binoculars Will Aid City Police at Night
StatesmanJournal, (02/01/08), Dennis Camire

The Salem Police Department will be receiving $13,000 in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant funding toward the purchase of night-vision binoculars for the investigations department. The grant is part of 22 awards made to 22 Oregon counties at a total amount of $350,000. The DHS funding is hoped to help first responders with the management of operations and prevent or respond to terrorist events.
www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006802010305

Courts Look to Improve Availability and Reduce Paper
St. Cloud Times, (02/01/08), David Unze

At the end of February, a test will be conducted in a small courtroom in Stearns County (MN) concerning how information is shared within the courthouse. The transition will be from a system that is mostly dependant on paper to a system that will use electronic files and records to help reach a point where those involved in a case would leave with judge's orders in hand and not have to wait several weeks for those orders to be distributed. Stearns County presently has one wired courtroom that would provide lawyers the chance to leave hardcopy files at their office and rely on electronic documents during juvenile court proceedings. The county attorney transferred civil case files to electronic, and is in the process of doing the same with criminal and juvenile records. Though a conversion to a system that is completely paperless may not be possible, the conversion could save money in staff time spent entering data, and in storage costs at the county and State levels.
www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080201/NEWS01/102010027/1009

Grant to Help County Offices Go 'Paperless'
News-Leader, (02/06/08), Dirk VanderHart

The amount of $940,000 was awarded to Green County (MO) to help the county sheriff and prosecuting attorney offices become paperless. The money is hoped to help the prosecuting attorney handle new cases digitally by early summer and the sheriff anticipates scanning warrants and records into a central database. Because all records will be electronic, deputies and local police officers will be able to have quick access to information. To further this immediate access the funding will also be used to purchase terminals for police and sheriff vehicles and to establish a Mobile Data Terminal Network.www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080206/NEWS01/802060406/1007/NEWS01