Public Safety Technology in the News

MDI, Inc.'s LearnSafe™ Initiative Launches LearnSafe Direct™ -Nation's First and Only School Safety and Security Products and Services Catalog
BusinessWire, (06/09/2008)

MDI, Inc, creators of the LearnSafe Initiative, has published the LearnSafe Direct catalog, which is geared entirely toward marketing school safety and technology products, services, and training to educational institutions. LearnSafe staff will be attending and conducting presentations at various events over the summer to the target audience for their catalog and using these events to educate attendees on the value of school safety initiatives that involve the entire district. The company also announced a product called Sentinel, which will allow authorized personnel to remotely log into school surveillance cameras and control the units' functions for review before, during, and after an incident occurs.
www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080609005712&newsLang=en

The Many Roles of Thermal Imaging in Law Enforcement
Advanced Imaging Magazine, (06/2008), David Lee

Thermal imaging technology, once reserved for the 5 percent of the 5,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States that have aerial patrol units, is now being made available to the 95 percent of agencies that do not have aerial patrol capabilities. Developments in this field have yielded units that are capable of being mounted to poles or patrol vehicles, and officers can now use handheld units while on patrol. These capabilities were once believed to be unattainable, but now are available for patrol officers in the air, on land, and in water. They can be portable or stationary depending on the need of the department.
www.advancedimagingpro.com/print/Advanced-Imaging-Magazine/The-Many-Roles-of-Thermal-Imaging-in-Law-Enforcement/1$5203

Leverage Leads Wireless Video Surveillance Solution for Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's ASAP Program
FoxBusiness, (06/06/2008)

In an attempt to increase officer safety and decrease the amount of crime in Lynwood, California, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Century Station, has implemented the Advanced Surveillance and Protection (ASAP) program. Developers of the program based it on the adoption of multiple crime prevention technologies such as gunshot detection and automated license plate recognition. In addition to those technologies is wireless video surveillance in the Lynwood area. The sheriff's department received a recommendation from another vendor on the ASAP project to collaborate with Leverage Information Systems to implement the wireless video solution. The system is laid out to stream video to the dispatch center, and dispatchers can then monitor and inform patrols regarding incidents or crimes as they happen. The added plus of such a system is that dispatchers can provide deputies critical information prior to arrival on scene that can increase the deputies' safety.
www.foxbusiness.com/story/leverage-leads-wireless-video-surveillance-solution-los-angeles-county-sheriffs/

Police Agencies Worldwide Lock Down Computing Costs With NComputing Solution
iStockAnalyst, (06/09/2008)

Law Enforcement agencies are using a new virtual desktop tool to help reduce the expense of purchasing desktop computers that are rarely used by officers. Because officers spend the bulk of their shifts out on patrol, the purchase of a desktop computer that will ultimately be left unattended and unused has become an information technology expense that some agencies can no longer afford. NComputing has created a product that allows multiple officers to share one desktop computer. The tool was developed based on the idea that today's computers are very powerful, but not used to full capacity. With this tool, users with separate peripheral equipment (mouse and keyboard), can log onto one desktop computer and maximize the computer's capacity without severely affecting an agency's budget.
www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewarticle+articleid_2270785~title_Police-Agencies.html

Cool Technology Beats the Heat This Summer
PR Web, (06/09/2008)

A new product has been developed for use by public safety and K-9 units to help them deal with and beat the summer heat. The company's original product line was designed to keep wine cool, but sensing a need, Cooltech Marketing, Inc. developed a product line for body cooling. The products designed specifically for law enforcement include a safety-reflective vest and body armor inserts designed to maintain a 59-degree temperature, and a canine body cooling vest and cool mats that maintain 65 degrees. The units are designed to be re-cooled in a freezer for 30 minutes, but the user can use ice water if a freezer isn't available.
www.prweb.com/releases/staying_cool/body_cooling_products/prweb991324.htm

Local Police Share Secure Wireless Network in Wisconsin
Government Technology, (06/09/2008), Jessica Hughes

In Wisconsin three cities in particular-Fitchburg, Middleton, and Sun Prairies-have some obvious similarities with regard to population size, distance between each city, and location in relation to the State capital of Madison. The cities, however, have other similarities that aren't as obvious. They share an encrypted wireless network responsible for connecting the police departments of all three cities, a multitude of high-tech software, and the joint Multi-Jurisdictional Public Safety Information System (MPSIS) task force in charge of it all. The initial purpose for this task force was to overhaul the records management system. Since then MPSIS has expanded its role to help obtain other updated technology, and in so doing, has achieved a cost savings.
www.govtech.com/gt/articles/366276

Traffic Ticket System Takes High-Tech Turn
MontgomeryAdvertiser.com, (06/11/2008), Jill Nolin

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office and the Montgomery Police Department are preparing for the implementation of 33 e-citation systems that will eliminate the traditional handwritten citations. The county is hoping to have the units installed in 27 cruisers, using State funding of $25,000 to pay for most of the cost. At present, the city has six cruisers equipped with e-citation units. Officers will be able to swipe a motorist's license, input into their laptop data relating to location and type of offense, and then that information will go directly to the Alabama Office of the Courts. Officers hope the system will reduce motorist complaints regarding handwriting and streamline the process of issuing a citation.
www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080611/NEWS/806110344&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

Local Congressman Focuses on Improving Uses of DNA
Pasadenanow.com, (06/12/2008), Staff Writer

Representative Adam Schiff, who represents the area of Pasadena, California, introduced four amendments in Congress that will improve law enforcement's use of DNA tools for helping apprehend violent criminals and reduce the DNA backlog of samples waiting processing. Schiff's first amendment seeks to create an incentive program that would make States that collect DNA samples from suspects arrested for murder or sex crimes eligible for additional funding from the Federal Government. The second amendment establishes new standards for use of the Federal DNA indexes, so that uploading to the system by State and local forensic labs is a speedier and smoother process. Amendment three came about as a result of a report that indicated that investigators and prosecutors were not following up on crime scene DNA when matches were made. Schiff's third amendment calls for the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, to look into how DNA database matches are checked ! and followed by prosecutors and report the findings. The report will be used to examine why matches are not followed up on and determine if additional crimes could have been prevented. The final amendment allows States that establish permanent funding for DNA analysis to receive matching funds from the U.S. Attorney General.
www.pasadenanow.com/_News/publish/article_2465.html

Nassau to Test Sensor That Detects Gunshots, Location
Newsday, (06/12/2008), William Murphy

A three-square mile of Uniondale and Roosevelt (New York) will become the test bed for Nassau police to try a gunshot detection system. The rationale for choosing this location is that the police have retrieved 128 guns identified as being used to commit crime. City officials plan to use forfeiture fund to pay for the ShotSpotter, Inc., system, which has be implemented in other cities throughout the United States. If the system is considered a successful test use of the product will be expanded with in the county.
www.newsday.com/news/local/crime/ny-poshot125723746jun12,0,7119348.story

Segway Officers Roll with the Beat
Juneauempire.com, (06/13/2008), Greg Skinner

Using Juneau's cruise ship head tax, Juneau police have been able to create the Paid Reserve Officer program. After being retired for 3 years, Juneau Police Officer Rayme Vinson returned to take the position of Reserve Officer. He is one of five officers participating in the Reserve Officer Program who handle issues related to crowds of tourists coming in on ships. The years of previous experience that these officers bring to the program benefits the community and helps the department reallocate regular patrol officers to handle normal police work. The unit has two Segways that are on loan from the Federal Government, which allow the reserve officers to patrol from an elevated standpoint. The used of Segways makes the officers more visible to tourists who may need assistance, and gives them better visibility of the surrounding area.
www.juneauempire.com/stories/061308/loc_290344483.shtml