Public Safety Technology in the News

Study: Enforcement Spurs Rise in Web Sex Arrests
Associated Press, (03/30/2009), Anick Jesdaunun

A rise in arrests for sexually soliciting youths online is due to better law enforcement, rather than an increase in the number of offenders, according to a new study. The study, conducted by the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center, found a fivefold increase in arrests for soliciting undercover investigators who posed as juveniles, rising from 644arrests in 2000 to 3,100 in 2006. Arrests for solicitation of actual children increased 21 percent during the same time period, from 508 arrests in 2000 to 615 in 2006. David Finkelhor, director of the center, said the disparity in the rate of growth indicates that the increase in the number of arrests results from tighter law enforcement rather than an increase in the number of offenders. Otherwise, the rate of growth for the two groups would be more similar. Researchers noted that in recent years solicitations have shifted from chat rooms to online social networking sites, but that youth often ! were actively seeking relationships with people they knew to be adults.
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/03/30/financial/f210311D26.DTL&type=business

Report Gives Scope of Cybercrime
Richmond-Times-Dispatch, (04/05/2009), Iris Taylor

Cybercrime robbed consumers of $265 million in 2008, $25 million more than the previous year, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. California logged the most consumer complaints. The center is a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center. Consumers can use the center to report cybercrime. It also provides law enforcement with a central referral mechanism for complaints involving Internet-related crimes.The increase in complaints means not only that illegal activity has increased, but that consumers are more aware of the center, according to spokesman Craig Butterworth. One-third of the complaints received in 2008 involved nondelivered merchandise or payments. Internet auction fraud accounted for 26 percent of complaints. Other complaints involved computer fraud, check fraud, identify theft and threats.
www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/business/columnists/article/IRIS05_20090404-180502/249062/

Record Number of Meth Labs Resurface
WSMV Nashville, (03/31/2009), Sara Dorsey

Tennessee police say the methamphetamine problem in the state is on the rise. Meth labs are now smaller, mobile and harder to detect. The state saw a decline in meth lab activity after the legislature passed the Meth-Free Tennessee Act in 2005, which required items containing meth's main ingredients, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine tablets, to be sold behind the counter in pharmacies. Anhydrous ammonia, another key ingredient, became harder to find when farmers began locking up their fertilizer tanks. But in 2008, the state saw the re-emergence of the meth problem, with 815 labs found. Authorities say meth producers began using new ingredients, such as a common household ice pack, to make the drug. Authorities want to close a loophole in the law that requires ephedrine/pseudoephdrine tablets to be sold in pharmacies, but allows gelcaps and liquids to be sold and purchased anywhere.
www.wsmv.com/news/19045733/detail.html

Rochester Draws the Line on Graffiti
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, (03/30/2009), Brian Sharp

Rochester, N.Y., is considering using sensors to detect graffiti and alert police. The sensors can detect the "sound signature" of paint being sprayed and signal police. If approved by the city council, the city plans to buy 20 sensors using a $25,000 federal grant. The sensors are produced by the California-based Broadband Discovery Systems Inc. Michael Neely, the company's vice president, says the sensors will detect spray painting that is taking a bit of time, but won't catch a quick "hit and run" spray paint offender. Watsonville, Calif., has cataloged graffiti and matched vandals' signatures, allowing authorities to combine prior instances and level felony charges. Rochester began assembling a similar database in 2008.
www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090330/NEWS01/903300332/1002/NEWS

Ripon Police Testing Budget Defense Simulators
KXTV Fox40News (03/24/09), Lonnie Wong

Police in Ripon, Calif., are taking part in a test of budget firearm training simulators for the Rural Law Enforcement Technology Center. The units being tested cost under $20,000. Small police departments like Ripon, with fewer than 30 officers, could have a hard time justifying buying the more expensive standard simulators. The budget simulators allow officers to look at a six-foot-high screen and practice 400 scenarios that test decision making and shooting skills.
www.fox40.com/pages/landing_local_headlines/?Ripon-Police-Testing-Budget-Defense-Simu=1&blockID=248357&feedID=190

U.S. Warns Truckers on Border
The Wall Street Journal, (03/27/2009), Cam Simpson

U.S. truckers working in Mexico or near the border are being warned to establish special security procedures because of a surge in drug-related violence. The Highway Information Sharing Analysis Center issued an advisory in March. The center is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and run by the Transportation Security Administration. Violence from Mexico's drug activity has spilled over into border states such as Arizona. The advisory said truckers are at risk because they are involved in operations that might interest the drug criminals. The center urged trucking companies to establish special signals and internal reporting procedures, and said drivers should be "extremely conscious of your environment." The Obama administration recently proposed a plan to hinder drug shipments into the U.S. and limit weapons and cash smuggling into Mexico.
online.wsj.com/article/SB123819855556161969.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Text Messaging, Internet, Toll-Free Tip Service Launched by Middletown PD
Mid-Hudson News Network, (04/04/2009)

Middletown, N.Y., has joined the ranks of police departments allowing residents to provide anonymous tips via text message, Internet and a toll-free numbers. The Middletown program also allows police to respond by text message to the originating cell phone without knowing the identity of the tipster, whose information is always given an alias and unique ID number.
www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/April09/04/MtwnPD_text-04Apr09.html

Cold Case Homicide Cards: A Huge Hit Behind Bars
KSEE News, (03/19/2009), Preston Phillips

Valley Crime Stoppers is trying a new, low-tech approach to solving cold homicide cases. Playing cards showing homicide victims in unsolved cases are being sold to inmates at the Fresno County Jail and other correctional facilities in Central Valley area of California. One side of the card shows the victim; the other side has information on who to call if a person has information about the case. Funds for the cold case homicide cards is provided through a grant from the National Institute of Justice, according to crime stoppers.
www.ksee24.com/internal?st=print&id=41477707&path=/news/local

New Eye Scan Technology Installed by Scott County Sheriff's Department
Southeast Missourian, (03/23/2009), Bridget DiCosmo

The Scott County Sheriff's Department is the first law enforcement agency in Missouri to install iris recognition software to identifying missing persons. The technology, which is being used in about 300 agencies in the United States, could eventually replace fingerprinting as a main way of identifying missing or abducted children. The software purchased by Scott County includes two packages, Senior Safety Net and Child Project. Both systems take a photograph of a person's irises and stores the image in a national database. If a senior or child is reported missing, once an individual is found police could made a positive identification in a few seconds.
www.semissourian.com/story/1524246.html