Public Safety Technology in the News

Computerized Crimefighter Looks for Faces of Bad Guys
Seattle Times, (12/21/2008), Stacey Mulick

The Pierce County Sheriff's Department in Washington state is solving crimes using new facial-recognition software. As part of a pilot project, the department recently used Sagem Morpho's facial recognition software to compare surveillance ATM images with 16 years' worth of prison mug shots taken at the Pierce County Jail. In 15 minutes, the search identified a suspect in a number of ATM thefts. Detectives are now revisiting unsolved bank robberies, ATM scams and other crimes that have good surveillance images in hopes the software can help solve those cases. The sheriff's department paid Sagem Morpho, a French company, $18,000 to test the software in the last six months of 2008.
seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008544751_morphoface21m.html

MU Crime House Training Officers
The Herald-Dispatch, (12/21/2008), Bill Rosenberger

An old house is being used as a tool to train law enforcement officers in crime scene investigation. Law enforcement officers can hone their skills at the crime scene house on the grounds of Marshall University's Forensic Science Center in West Virginia. Training is provided by the FBI to practitioners from state and local law enforcement agencies around the nation. The house is also used for training Marshall graduate students in the forensic science program. The house has been used to train more than 200 people since 2006. The house has a large basement, a main story with multiple sections, bedrooms on the second floor and an attic on the third floor. Trainers set up different crime scenes. One room contains lab equipment that allows investigators to analyze fingerprints and foot impressions. The first floor is wired with audio and video equipment to provide instructors with a means to critique a student's performance.
www.herald-dispatch.com/news/x1746811381/MU-crime-house-used-to-train-officers

Track Star AVLS Enhances Safety of Students on School Buses in Gloucester Township NJ
GISuser.co, (12/23/08)

Gloucester Township has begun using GPS technology to improve safety aboard school buses. The Track Star AVLS GPS vehicle tracking system displays movement and activity on the buses, including their speed, on computer maps monitored by police and school officials. The system will alert officials to a crash, and the driver has a "panic button" which when pushed alerts officials to accidents or trouble on the bus requiring police assistance.
www.gisuser.com/content/view/16392/2/

La. License Plate Cameras Boost Arrests
Times-Picayune, (12/18/2008), Michelle Hunter

The use of automated license-plate recognition cameras is paying off for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana. In just 25 days of using the technology, officers made 20 arrests and recovered 23 stolen vehicles. Seventy-six fixed and mobile cameras are programmed to scan the plates of passing vehicles, which often results in immediate identification of ones that have been stolen. Stolen car alerts from mobile cameras, which are mounted on patrol cars, pop-up on laptop computers in police cars. Alerts from stationary cameras go to the 911 center. Prior to using the cameras, the sheriff's office recovered three or four stolen cars a month. The system can also be used to look for suspects in other crimes. Each stationary camera costs $14,000. The mobile units cost about $25,000 per patrol car.
www.policeone.com/legal/articles/1767004-La-license-plate-cameras-boost-arrests/

Website to Aid in Identifying Bodies Found in Broward
Miami Herald, (12/16/2008), Adam H. Beasley

The Broward County Sheriff's Office is using a new feature on its Web site to help authorities identify people who have been found dead. Operation Found and Forgotten on the department Web site (http://www.sheriff.org) details the profiles of 40 unidentified people who died under suspicious circumstances - what they looked like, their clothes at the time they were found. A link to the Broward Crime Stoppers tip system accompanies every profile.
www.miamiherald.com/466/story/815184.html

Federal Funds Help Upgrade Dispatch Center's Computer Software
Franklin Park Herald-Journal, (12/25/20008), Cathryn Gran

The Franklin Park Police Department in Illinois is using a federal grant to upgrade its dispatch center. The $935,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice will allow enhancements to provide the capability to generate computerized accident reports and tickets. The dispatch center will also have mapping capabilities and access to databases to provide officers with the most up-to-date information. The new equipment will be installed in 2009.
www.pioneerlocal.com/franklinpark/news/1344269,fp-copsgrant-122408-s1.article

New Radio Network to Enhance Emergency Operations
Current Argus, (12/26/2008), Stella Davis

A new regional interoperable radio network will enhance emergency operations in New Mexico. Eddy County is the latest jurisdiction to switch to the new system. Funding in part came from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to provide police and fire agencies with system compatible interoperable radios. Prior to the installation of five communication towers around the county, emergency personnel could not communicate well with other agencies due to dead spots. Officers would have to call their dispatch office in Carlsbad and dispatch in turn would contact the agency the officers wanted to speak to. The new system provides wide area network coverage. The completed network will include more than 300 portable radios and 300 mobile in-vehicle radios.
www.currentargus.com/ci_11317446

U.S. Police Could Get 'Pain Beam' Weapons
NewScientist.com, (12/24/2008,) David Hambling

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is working on portable nonlethal weapons that can inflict pain from a distance using beams of laser light. The technology for the devices, which could be used by police to subdue suspects, is devised from the Pentagon's Active Denial System. The technology uses a beam of short microwaves to heat up the outer layer of a person's skin. NIJ is currently testing its Personnel Halting and Stimulation Response device, which resembles a bulky rifle. Its second device, a portable microwave-based weapon, is less developed. It currently is a tabletop prototype with a range of less than a meter.
www.newscientist.com/article/dn16339-us-police-could-get-pain-beam-weapons.html