NLECTC Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology News Summary
Thursday, August 30, 2007
"Fingerprint Bank Gives Names to the Nameless"
Sacramento Bee (CA) (08/26/07) P. B1; Enkoji, M.S.
The FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division is the site of the nationwide fingerprint database, with 53 million sets in its criminal files. It also has civilian prints on file. The Clarksburg, W.Va., division will conduct 24 million checks annually, which will take around 10 minutes each. While the inclusion of old prints provides hope for people who continue to wait for information on a missing individual, new technology will make identifying someone faster and more complete, claims the bureau's Stephen Fischer. The expansion of the system also means that long-deceased individuals who were found guilty of misdemeanor crimes now stand a better chance of being identified. Due to more efficient identification and filing, certain police agencies are transmitting every set of fingerprints they obtain to the FBI database, including those guilty of misdemeanor charges. Eventually, the FBI will employ biometric identification that will enable investigators to match voices, palm prints, and people's irises. http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/345178.html
"Dallas Inmates Expected to Be Arraigned Via Video"
Dallas Morning News (08/21/07); Krause, Kevin
The jails in Dallas County will soon be equipped with video cameras so prisoners do not have to be transported to courtrooms to be arraigned before a judge. Judges will instead talk with defendants and their attorneys via video monitors, and documents will be faxed. In late August, county consumers are set to sanction spending $47,583 in reserve funds on the video arraignment system, which AT&T will provide. A pilot initiative that started in July in the George Allen jail has operated well with no reported problems. The county's other prisons and Parkland Memorial Hospital will also eventually be equipped with video communications systems. Employing video communication will enable inmates to be arraigned right away, without having to wait until the following day. This will lessen crowding in holding areas, county authorities point out. Dallas County Sheriff's Department Assistant Chief Deputy Mona Birdwell reports that her department currently transfers around 50 prisoners per day to the main courtroom at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center for arraignment on new or revamped charges. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/
082207dnmetjail.58431853.html
"Sheriff's Patrol Cars to Get New Camera System"
Jackson Citizen Patriot (MI) (08/23/07) P. A5; Quisenberry, Danielle
The Jackson County, Mich., Sheriff's Office and the Blackman Township public safety departments are replacing their current analog in-car video camera systems with digital systems. The digital system's cameras--which will be mounted near the rear-view mirror in patrol cars--will send video from the car to a server via a wireless connection so that the video cannot be altered or manipulated, according to Blackman Township Public Safety Director Mike Jester. He noted that this will help prevent defense attorneys from arguing in court that the tapes have been tapered with. In addition, officers will no longer have to worry about switching tapes, Jester said. The digital system will also allow law enforcement officials to more easily access incidents, and will deliver a picture that is far clearer than the video from the old analog system, said Jackson County Sheriff Dan Heyns. http://www.mlive.com/jackson/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-22/118787827240300.xml&coll=3
"GPS Tracking Like a Stakeout"
Telegram & Gazette (08/24/07) P. A1; Nugent, Karen
GPS technology has assisted in the arrest of arson suspects Michael P. Dreslinksi and John D. Rousseau. Rousseau was formerly charged with alleged involvement in five Clinton County fires last year, but the charges were dropped. In July, suspicions that the men were involved with criminal activity, along with their 15-year history with police, led law enforcement to obtain a "Blood warrant" for placing a GPS tracking device on Dreslinski's truck; the truck was then tracked to an abandoned paper mill shortly before a fire at the mill was reported. In Sterling and Holden, the men were also the prime suspects. Former president Ronald Reagan first authorized the use of GPS for civilians following military investigations of the technology in 1983. A Superior Court judge must issue a mandate to law enforcement for placing GPS devices on vehicles due to the expanse of area involved in the monitoring; the device can be used as legal evidence until it enters a private home. In the 1980s, courts ruled that law enforcement must have reasonable suspicion or probable cause in order to employ GPS technology in a case. Attorney Edward P. Ryan Jr. says obtaining a warrant circumvents the potential for the case being overturned by citing Article 14 of the Massachusetts Constitution, noting that citizens are immune to unreasonable searches and seizures. Dreslinksi and Rousseau have been arrested for burglary, impersonation, and breaking into police and railroad radio frequencies. http://www.telegram.com/article/20070824/NEWS/708240729/1116
"McLean Co. Uses Map Program to Test Sex Offenders' Compliance"
Pantagraph (08/25/07); Cima, Greg
In McLean County, Ill., geographic information system (GIS) technology has supplanted tape measures as law enforcement's method of tracking sex offenders' residency compliance. County attorney Bill Yoder says that while technology has assisted predators, "Technology has also given law enforcement a tool to fight back." A demonstration of the GIS exhibited a map of McLean with green dots designating the homes of sex offenders; the 500-foot distance offenders must keep between their homes and schools, parks, and other locations marked on the map is highlighted by semitransparent orange circles. Sheriff Mike Emery says the system's accuracy is "within an inch;" the map is available only to the sheriff's office and the McLean County Information Services. Violation of the residency compliance law for sex offenders is a felony with a five year sentence, and repeat offenders can receive up to seven years of jail time. http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/08/25/news/
doc46cf898d654dd371224839.txt
"Authorities Use GPS to Fight Graffiti"
Whittier Daily News (CA) (08/26/07); Scruby, Airan
Pico Rivera, Calif., police are employing the Graffiti Tracker to document and compare graffiti incidents that typically would be caught up in a sea of paperwork. The device uses cameras outfitted with GPS technology. Graffiti pictures are taken by cleanup crews and can be downloaded to a Web site, where they are studied and organized for reference. Pico Rivera public safety manager Steve Gutierrez stated that Graffiti Tracker has been beneficial since it was installed in September 2006. At that time, the city witnessed 828 vandalism incidents, while this past June, Pico Rivera had 324 "tags." Gutierrez pointed out that the city has had more than 60 arrests that have been directly linked to Graffiti Tracker. The system--which usually costs cities between $24,000 and $30,000 annually--categorizes graffiti by moniker, or the name a tagger utilizes, which enables individual taggers to be monitored via every vandalism act they perform. This permits police to concentrate efforts on the most active vandals, employing resources to catch the most harmful taggers first and rapidly lowering the amount of incidents in Pico Rivera. http://www.whittierdailynews.com/ci_6722437?source=most_viewed
"Eagle Firm Says Tracking Devices Will Hold Their Signals, Regardless of Location"
Idaho Statesman (08/25/07); Dey, Ken
Sky Detective's tracking technology will prevent suspected stalkers from approaching victims without notifying Garden City law enforcement. The Offender Ankle Device, an ankle bracelet, and the SD20 Cargo/Package Tracker, monitoring movement by being placed in a car or other vehicle, use GPS and cellular signals to monitor suspects. The ankle bracelet enables the court to instate zones around the victim so that the suspect is detected upon entering those zones and Garden City police are notified either by pager or cell phone. Through Sky Detective software, which works with Google Earth to produce satellite pictures, police can track the exact location of the suspect. Additionally, the victim could wear a device that monitors stalkers that are nearby in the case of a stalker venturing out of their zone. "It has a great potential to protect victims of crime while saving a lot of manpower and a lot of money for the department," says Capt. Cory Stambaugh. He adds that without the technology, victims' only defense is a court appointed no-contact order that can only be enforced if someone observes the suspect in violation of the order. Sky Detective also notifies law enforcement when the suspect is a certain distance from an exclusion zone, so they receive enough warning to remove the victim and wait for the suspect's arrival. Sky Detective founder and president Jerry Thompson says the technology is a solution to mitigate overcrowding prisons and to reduce costs for incurring inmates; the device costs less than $15 daily to run and can be paid for by the offender. http://www.idahostatesman.com/business/story/142052.html
"Proposal: Track Sex Offenders With GPS"
Daily Journal (N.J.) (08/24/07) P. 1A; Jackson, Miles
New Jersey lawmakers are pushing for a bill that would require convicted sex offenders to wear GPS devices upon their release from prison. For predators that lure children via the Internet, Assemblymen Nelson Albano (D-1) and Jeff Van Drew (D-1) said the technology would help law enforcement monitor such offenders and that the offenders should pay for the technology. The Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office has successfully caught predators that attempt to meet with underage children by using law enforcement agents posing as minors online. Van Drew says although many of those arrested have never sexually assaulted the minor, their intentions are clear. Albano and Van Drew also sponsored legislation that would increase sentences for repeat sex offenders and people who protect them, in addition to a bill restricting convicted offenders from using the Internet. http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070824/NEWS01/708240311/1002
"Missouri May List Online IDs of Sex Offenders"
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (08/22/07) P. D9; Bock, Jessica
Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt announced Aug. 21 that he would support legislation that would add the email addresses and other electronic names used by sex offenders on the Internet to the state's registry of convicted sex offenders. The email addresses and screen names would also be made available to Internet service providers, instant messaging companies, and social networking sites. In addition, the legislation would restrict sex offenders' use of online identifiers to one screen name provided to law enforcement. Meanwhile, other states are also working to link email addresses to sex offender registries. In Illinois, for example, lawmakers passed legislation that forbids paroled sex offenders from communicating with children online. Another bill prohibits adults from engaging in sexual conversations online with minors with the intent of committing sexual abuse. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stcharles/story/
40C02A59B100C4F48625733F0011B7E4?OpenDocument
"Hempfield Township's Dispatch Center Lacking Action"
Greensburg Tribune-Review (PA) (08/26/07); Peirce, Paul
A brand-new, 15,000-square-foot state police dispatch facility in Hempfield Township, Pa., has still not hired its staff, making it a $2.1 million burden for the Pennsylvania law-enforcement institution. Harrisburg state police spokeswoman Linette Quinn stresses that the facility has not opened due to a "lack of funding." While area legislators stated they were not aware of the situation, they vowed to look into why the center is still empty. The center was among five regional consolidated dispatch facilities that state police initially intended to open by last year. The Hempfield Township facility, known as the Greensburg Consolidated Dispatch Center, was to facilitate calls for troops A and B, which includes 10 state police stations and eight southwestern counties. It was scheduled to employ around 60 individuals, primarily dispatchers who were already serving at different barracks across southwestern Pennsylvania. The facility was to have multiple state-of-the-art console stations with improved computer technology that would allow dispatchers to track the position of state police vehicles while they drove across the area. Pennsylvania Sen. Robert Regola (R) thinks the financing problem is the result of a continual power dispute between the state Legislature and state police administration. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_524164.html
"Eye in the Sky: Police Use Drone to Spy on V Festival"
Guardian Weekly (UK) (08/21/07) P. 6; Randerson, James
Several emergency services agencies in Great Britain--including the Staffordshire Police Department, the Merseyside Police Department, and the West Midlands fire service--have begun using or are planning to use remote-controlled unmanned spy drones in their operations. The Staffordshire Police Department used its drone to keep tabs on people at the recent V Festival. The department's drone is 70 cm wide and is equipped with high-resolution still and color video cameras, as well as infrared night vision capability. The drone cannot be heard from the ground once the device is 50 meters in the air, thanks to its four ultra-quiet carbon-fiber rotors, and it cannot be seen with the naked eye once it is 100 meters in the air. The vehicle takes off vertically and can be flown when it is out of sight, since it transmits images back to video goggles worn by the operator. The Merseyside Police Department has also been using drones to monitor disorderly situations and prevent antisocial behavior. Meanwhile, the West Midlands fire service has drawn up plans to use drones to get a close-up view of burning buildings. The increased use of drones worries some in Great Britain, including Noel Sharkey, an expert in robotics at Sheffield University, who says the use of the devices represents an unwarranted intrusion of privacy. http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2153077,00.html
"Scientists Drug-Test Whole Cities"
Associated Press (08/21/07); Borenstein, Seth
Researchers at Oregon State University unveiled the results of drug testing on untreated wastewater samples from 10 unnamed American cities at the American Chemical Society in Boston in August. The tests, while unable to pinpoint individual users, can give a glimpse of drug trends in a particular location. In the study, traces of 15 different drugs were tested for in a source as little as one teaspoon of untreated sewage water. The science behind the study is that nearly every drug, legal and illegal, ends up passing from the human body to toilets to wastewater treatment plants. Among the findings of the study was that methamphetamine use in one urban area with a gambling industry was five times as rampant than in other cities and was nearly nonexistent in some smaller Midwestern locations. The drug found to be most excreted was caffeine. U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy chief scientist David Murray says the idea of drug testing wastewater samples interests his agency. The EPA is now testing federal wastewater samples to check to see if its a good way to monitor drug use. Another application would be to determine the potential harm caused to rivers and lakes from legal pharmaceuticals. http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=3507402
"Are Tasers Really Non-Lethal?"
Police (07/07) Vol. 31, No. 7, P. 32; Ho, Jeffrey D.
Ever since TASERs and other conducted electrical weapon (CEW) devices were introduced 30 years ago, there have been questions about whether the non-lethal weapons are safe to be used to control unruly suspects. However, several studies have found that CEWs are one of the safest weapons in a police officer's arsenal. For instance, a 2005 study entitled "Cardiac Safety of Neuromuscular Incapacitating Defensive Devices" found that the electrical output of a TASER would have to be increased to at least 42 times the standard level in order to induce cardiac arrest in a 258-pound animal. CEWs made by TASER International are not capable of producing this level of output. The study's findings mean that a TASER's safety threshold is higher than that of acetaminophen, which has a safety margin for lethality of approximately 10-to-one. Testing on humans also showed that CEWs are safe. In a study entitled "Cardiovascular and Physiologic Effects of Conducted Electrical Weapon Discharge in Resting Adults," 67 volunteers were subjected to a five-second, deployed probe application of a TASER X26. The study found that there were no changes in the subjects' electrocardiogram readings and markers for blood acid, kidney impairment, or cardiac muscle damage. Skeletal muscle break-down levels were elevated, though these markers were only elevated to the levels commonly seen after a workout. http://www.policemag.com/Articles/2007/07/Are-TASERs-Really-Non-Lethal.aspx
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Police Books from Alaska to California
Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added one police officer from Alaska and two from California.
According to the Southern Oregon University Retirees Association Newsletter (Spring 2007 edition) Dr. Victor H. Sims “died on April 27, 2007. Victor Sims joined the University’s Department of Criminology in 1994 and retired in 2006. He had extensive experience in service and leadership positions, serving as a Company Commander in the U. S. Army Military Police Corps, a police officer in Berkeley, Phoenix, and Anchorage. In Nome, Alaska he served as chief of police of the Nome Police Department.
He received his PhD from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1982 and taught
at Stephen F. Austin State University, at the University of Southern Mississippi, and Lamar State University before going to SOU as Associate Professor of Criminology. Vic’s scholarship included research on rural and small town policing. He helped the department connect with regional law enforcement agencies and brought a chapter of Alpha Phi Sigma (the Criminal Justice Honor Society) to SOU. He received an Elmo award for his leadership in motivating students to come to the University. During his life he was also a commercial pilot, a marathon runner and triathlete.” Victor Sims was also the author of Small Town and Rural Police.
Prior to his law enforcement career, James T. Born was a member of the United States Navy. In 1967, James Born was deployed to Vietnam as a Boatswain’s Mate Third Class. He received a Bronze Star “while serving as Assistant Boat Captain with Mobile Support Team II, on a Heavy SEAL Support Craft (HSSC), operating in the MeKong Delta.”
James T. Born graduated from the Los Angeles Police Department academy in 1969. During his ten year career in law enforcement he served as a Los Angeles Police Officer and a Deputy Sheriff. The highest rank he attained in law enforcement was as a Sheriff’s Captain, Chief of the Detective Bureau. In 1978, James Born was licensed as a private investigator in California. And, in 1989, he was licensed as a private investigator in Nevada.
James Born is a District Court Certified Forensic and Fingerprint Expert and has taught Crime Scene Technology and Investigation to law enforcement officers in eleven states. Jim born is a recipient of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution “Law Enforcement Commendation Medal” the highest civilian law enforcement medal in the United States. He is a graduate of Los Angeles Pierce College and has further attended fours years of University instruction in his field of Criminal Justice Administration. James Born has graduated from 82 law enforcement training schools. He is also the author of Coping with Marital Infidelity: How to Catch your Spouse Cheating.
According to the description of Coping with Marital Infidelity, “If you are a victim or know someone who is a victim of marital infidelity (cheating mates), this unique "How to" book will grab held of your life in a way you could never dream of and give you the tools needed that will help you to cope with this problem. The author has investigated thousands of such cases and has consulted with many thousands of other victims having the same problem, who couldn't afford to hire an investigator and needed advice.”
Dr. John P. Kenney began his career in criminal justice and law enforcement career as a patrol officer for the Berkeley Police Department. A recognized leader in the improvement of policing, Dr. John Kenney has been a director at the California Department of Justice; the president of the Los Angeles Police Commission; a management consultant (which included the Denver City Council retaining him in 1957 when a Denver Police Department scandal received national publicity for numerous police officers taking contracts to burglarize businesses); and, he worked extensively with the Agency for International Development identifying police consultants to work overseas, and personally conducted an international conference on democratic policing in Thailand.
Dr. John Kenney was a founder of the International Association of Police Professors which became the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and was a President of the American Society of Criminology. His work as a criminal justice educator included the graduate schools for police administration at the University of Southern California and California State University at Long Beach. He is the author of Police Operations: Policies and Procedures: Four Hundred Field Situations with Solutions; Principles of Investigation and Study Guide to Accompany Principles of Investigation (2 Books); The Police Executive Handbook; and, Police Work with Juveniles and the Administration of Juvenile Justice.
According to the book description of Principles of Investigation, “Covering topics from a conceptual viewpoint, this text brings the ethical and legal obligations of investigation into perspective. It uses tabulated lists and checklists along with Features (examples) to cover the techniques of investigation.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 724 police officers (representing 333 police departments) and their 1547 police books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
According to the Southern Oregon University Retirees Association Newsletter (Spring 2007 edition) Dr. Victor H. Sims “died on April 27, 2007. Victor Sims joined the University’s Department of Criminology in 1994 and retired in 2006. He had extensive experience in service and leadership positions, serving as a Company Commander in the U. S. Army Military Police Corps, a police officer in Berkeley, Phoenix, and Anchorage. In Nome, Alaska he served as chief of police of the Nome Police Department.
He received his PhD from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1982 and taught
at Stephen F. Austin State University, at the University of Southern Mississippi, and Lamar State University before going to SOU as Associate Professor of Criminology. Vic’s scholarship included research on rural and small town policing. He helped the department connect with regional law enforcement agencies and brought a chapter of Alpha Phi Sigma (the Criminal Justice Honor Society) to SOU. He received an Elmo award for his leadership in motivating students to come to the University. During his life he was also a commercial pilot, a marathon runner and triathlete.” Victor Sims was also the author of Small Town and Rural Police.
Prior to his law enforcement career, James T. Born was a member of the United States Navy. In 1967, James Born was deployed to Vietnam as a Boatswain’s Mate Third Class. He received a Bronze Star “while serving as Assistant Boat Captain with Mobile Support Team II, on a Heavy SEAL Support Craft (HSSC), operating in the MeKong Delta.”
James T. Born graduated from the Los Angeles Police Department academy in 1969. During his ten year career in law enforcement he served as a Los Angeles Police Officer and a Deputy Sheriff. The highest rank he attained in law enforcement was as a Sheriff’s Captain, Chief of the Detective Bureau. In 1978, James Born was licensed as a private investigator in California. And, in 1989, he was licensed as a private investigator in Nevada.
James Born is a District Court Certified Forensic and Fingerprint Expert and has taught Crime Scene Technology and Investigation to law enforcement officers in eleven states. Jim born is a recipient of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution “Law Enforcement Commendation Medal” the highest civilian law enforcement medal in the United States. He is a graduate of Los Angeles Pierce College and has further attended fours years of University instruction in his field of Criminal Justice Administration. James Born has graduated from 82 law enforcement training schools. He is also the author of Coping with Marital Infidelity: How to Catch your Spouse Cheating.
According to the description of Coping with Marital Infidelity, “If you are a victim or know someone who is a victim of marital infidelity (cheating mates), this unique "How to" book will grab held of your life in a way you could never dream of and give you the tools needed that will help you to cope with this problem. The author has investigated thousands of such cases and has consulted with many thousands of other victims having the same problem, who couldn't afford to hire an investigator and needed advice.”
Dr. John P. Kenney began his career in criminal justice and law enforcement career as a patrol officer for the Berkeley Police Department. A recognized leader in the improvement of policing, Dr. John Kenney has been a director at the California Department of Justice; the president of the Los Angeles Police Commission; a management consultant (which included the Denver City Council retaining him in 1957 when a Denver Police Department scandal received national publicity for numerous police officers taking contracts to burglarize businesses); and, he worked extensively with the Agency for International Development identifying police consultants to work overseas, and personally conducted an international conference on democratic policing in Thailand.
Dr. John Kenney was a founder of the International Association of Police Professors which became the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and was a President of the American Society of Criminology. His work as a criminal justice educator included the graduate schools for police administration at the University of Southern California and California State University at Long Beach. He is the author of Police Operations: Policies and Procedures: Four Hundred Field Situations with Solutions; Principles of Investigation and Study Guide to Accompany Principles of Investigation (2 Books); The Police Executive Handbook; and, Police Work with Juveniles and the Administration of Juvenile Justice.
According to the book description of Principles of Investigation, “Covering topics from a conceptual viewpoint, this text brings the ethical and legal obligations of investigation into perspective. It uses tabulated lists and checklists along with Features (examples) to cover the techniques of investigation.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 724 police officers (representing 333 police departments) and their 1547 police books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Police Books List Grows
Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. With addition of Kevin Hughes, Douglas Vaughn and Clarence Lee, Police-Writers.com has grown to 718 police officers and their 1536 books.
Kevin Hughes has over 27 years of law enforcement experience. Kevin Hughes joined the Shorewood Hills Police Department in 1974. In 1978, he joined the Dane County Sheriff’s Office (Wisconsin). In 1984, he was promoted to detective and is considered a senior detective for the Dane County Sheriff’s Office. Writing under the pen name of “Charles Porter,” he is the author of Just Another Shade of Blue. According to the book description, “When Detective Conrad Garrity is called to the scene of a body discovered in a remote park, he knows it will be a tough case: the victim is a 13 year old girl who has been missing for several weeks. Internal conflict within his own agency creates instant heartburn and fueling the frenzy is a prolific small market television reporter.”
According to one reader of Just Another Shade of Blue, “I found this book to have all the elements needed to make reading a pleasant experience. The characters take on a life all their own. It is very apparent that Charles Porter has worked in the detective field for many years, as the plot is believable and is interesting until the very end. This is a book that rates right up there with some of the best I've ever read and I recommend it to anyone that takes pleasure in reading. One word of caution, make sure you don't have any up and coming plans, the book is difficult to put down”
Douglas J. Vaughn graduated with honors from the New York Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Criminal Justice. He is a former United States Marine and Vietnam veteran, having served as a forward observer for artillery, naval gunfire and air strikes. He spent most of his thirteen-month tour in Vietnam just below the Demilitarized Zone near the Cua Viet River with the 1st Amphibious Tractor Battalion where he served with Ron Kovic, the author of “Born on the Fourth of July.
Douglas Vaughn is also a veteran of the New York Police Department. While assigned to the 48th Precinct in the South Bronx, he gave technical advice to Paul Newman during the filming of “Fort Apache The Bronx.” He also worked in the 20th Precinct on Manhattan’s upper West Side and in the Highway Patrol Unit. Douglas Vaughn He spent his final years with the Police Department planning escorts for dignitaries and was forced to retire in his twentieth year due to an injury incurred while escorting former President George H.W. Bush. He is also one of the 200, or so, officers who has been awarded the Police Combat Cross since its inception in 1934. This second highest Department award is given for “exemplification of extraordinary bravery in armed combat.”
Douglas Vaughn is the author of From the Heights. According to the book description of From the Heights, it “begins in the New York City of the 1930’s and takes the reader to the war in the Pacific and the secret workings of the OSS in Italy and Switzerland during World War II. It is a story of the privileged that summer in South Hampton and the poor who swim in the Harlem River. It is a story of social climbing and empire building. It follows the lives and loves of two generations and delves into the inner workings of the New York Police Department and battles fought by United States Marines in Vietnam.”
According to James Allan Matte, Ph.D, in Forensic Psychophysiology using the Polygraph, “in 1938, Captain Clarence D. Lee of the Berkeley Police Department (California) designed the Berkeley Psychograph.” In 1953, Captain Clarence Lee published The Instrumental Detection of Deception: The Lie Test.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 718 police officers (representing 331 police departments) and their 1536 police books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Kevin Hughes has over 27 years of law enforcement experience. Kevin Hughes joined the Shorewood Hills Police Department in 1974. In 1978, he joined the Dane County Sheriff’s Office (Wisconsin). In 1984, he was promoted to detective and is considered a senior detective for the Dane County Sheriff’s Office. Writing under the pen name of “Charles Porter,” he is the author of Just Another Shade of Blue. According to the book description, “When Detective Conrad Garrity is called to the scene of a body discovered in a remote park, he knows it will be a tough case: the victim is a 13 year old girl who has been missing for several weeks. Internal conflict within his own agency creates instant heartburn and fueling the frenzy is a prolific small market television reporter.”
According to one reader of Just Another Shade of Blue, “I found this book to have all the elements needed to make reading a pleasant experience. The characters take on a life all their own. It is very apparent that Charles Porter has worked in the detective field for many years, as the plot is believable and is interesting until the very end. This is a book that rates right up there with some of the best I've ever read and I recommend it to anyone that takes pleasure in reading. One word of caution, make sure you don't have any up and coming plans, the book is difficult to put down”
Douglas J. Vaughn graduated with honors from the New York Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Criminal Justice. He is a former United States Marine and Vietnam veteran, having served as a forward observer for artillery, naval gunfire and air strikes. He spent most of his thirteen-month tour in Vietnam just below the Demilitarized Zone near the Cua Viet River with the 1st Amphibious Tractor Battalion where he served with Ron Kovic, the author of “Born on the Fourth of July.
Douglas Vaughn is also a veteran of the New York Police Department. While assigned to the 48th Precinct in the South Bronx, he gave technical advice to Paul Newman during the filming of “Fort Apache The Bronx.” He also worked in the 20th Precinct on Manhattan’s upper West Side and in the Highway Patrol Unit. Douglas Vaughn He spent his final years with the Police Department planning escorts for dignitaries and was forced to retire in his twentieth year due to an injury incurred while escorting former President George H.W. Bush. He is also one of the 200, or so, officers who has been awarded the Police Combat Cross since its inception in 1934. This second highest Department award is given for “exemplification of extraordinary bravery in armed combat.”
Douglas Vaughn is the author of From the Heights. According to the book description of From the Heights, it “begins in the New York City of the 1930’s and takes the reader to the war in the Pacific and the secret workings of the OSS in Italy and Switzerland during World War II. It is a story of the privileged that summer in South Hampton and the poor who swim in the Harlem River. It is a story of social climbing and empire building. It follows the lives and loves of two generations and delves into the inner workings of the New York Police Department and battles fought by United States Marines in Vietnam.”
According to James Allan Matte, Ph.D, in Forensic Psychophysiology using the Polygraph, “in 1938, Captain Clarence D. Lee of the Berkeley Police Department (California) designed the Berkeley Psychograph.” In 1953, Captain Clarence Lee published The Instrumental Detection of Deception: The Lie Test.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 718 police officers (representing 331 police departments) and their 1536 police books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Failure Equals Death, and other stuff
Police-Writers.com is a website that lists over 700 state and local police officers who have written books. The website added three police officer authors: John Hefley; William Butler; and Ric Robinson.
Since 1999, John C. Hefley has been the Chief of Police of the Village of Big Bend Police Department (Wisconsin). John Hefley is also the author of Failure Equals Death. According to the book description of Failure Equals Death, “Young girls are being murdered. The members of the Special Investigations Unit are responsible for identifying the killer and stopping the deaths. They find nothing that links the victims. Worse than that, no physical evidence is found at the crime scenes and there is no sign of forced entry or burglary. This is the most challenging investigation this elite unit has ever encountered. There is only one certainty: they cannot fail because failure equals death.”
Ric Robinson, a 21 year veteran of law enforcement, was a state trooper with the West Virginia State Police. During his law enforcement career, he “investigated virtually every heinous crime.” During his law enforcement career with the West Virginia State Police was the director of Media Relations. In that assignment, Ric Robinson became an integral part of thousands of interviews, not only throughout the State, but for Dateline, 60 Minutes, Nightline, Larry King Live, COPS, and many more. After early retirement, Ric Robinson “took his unique talents to legendary radio giant WLW. As a daily host, his life experience, knowledge and aggressive style made Ric a popular entertainer, covering all of today's hottest topics.” Ric Robinson is the author of Cop: The Truth Behind the Badge.
According to the book description of Cop: The Truth Behind the Badge, it “knocks the politically correct crowd back on its heels with the truth about racial profiling, serial snipers, illegal immigrants, guns, drugs, and more. Nationally recognized police expert, talk radio host and teacher, Ric Robinson, delivers a powerful reality check with real cop stories about "scum-sucking slopeheads and their lying, thieving lawyers. Ric sets the record straight regarding homeland insecurity, misuse of power and justice denied.”
William Butler was a police officer for the Gilmer Police Department (Texas). In addition to his law enforcement career, William Butler is a former member of the United States Army. During his more than seven years as a soldier he attained the rank of sergeant (E5) and his duty stations included: Fort Sam Houston (Texas); White Sands Missile Range (New Mexico); and, two overseas tours. One of his military assignments overseas was as a patrol officer assigned to the Allied Checkpoints Bravo and Charlie in Berlin, Germany.
William Butler is the author of I Remember Tomorrow. According to the book description, “In an attempt to rebuild her life, Jeanette relocates to a quiet little town, after spending ten years in the military and suffering a failed marriage. But Jeanette is a precognitive; able to see the future. It scares her and causes her to question her sanity. Matters are complicated further when she meets the man of her dreams and what follows is a series of events that threaten to push her over the edge. Now she must deal with new challenges in her career, struggle with ever increasing psychic abilities, and come to grips with her feelings for a man she wants to love but fears she cannot.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 715 police officers (representing 330 police departments) and their 1533 police books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Since 1999, John C. Hefley has been the Chief of Police of the Village of Big Bend Police Department (Wisconsin). John Hefley is also the author of Failure Equals Death. According to the book description of Failure Equals Death, “Young girls are being murdered. The members of the Special Investigations Unit are responsible for identifying the killer and stopping the deaths. They find nothing that links the victims. Worse than that, no physical evidence is found at the crime scenes and there is no sign of forced entry or burglary. This is the most challenging investigation this elite unit has ever encountered. There is only one certainty: they cannot fail because failure equals death.”
Ric Robinson, a 21 year veteran of law enforcement, was a state trooper with the West Virginia State Police. During his law enforcement career, he “investigated virtually every heinous crime.” During his law enforcement career with the West Virginia State Police was the director of Media Relations. In that assignment, Ric Robinson became an integral part of thousands of interviews, not only throughout the State, but for Dateline, 60 Minutes, Nightline, Larry King Live, COPS, and many more. After early retirement, Ric Robinson “took his unique talents to legendary radio giant WLW. As a daily host, his life experience, knowledge and aggressive style made Ric a popular entertainer, covering all of today's hottest topics.” Ric Robinson is the author of Cop: The Truth Behind the Badge.
According to the book description of Cop: The Truth Behind the Badge, it “knocks the politically correct crowd back on its heels with the truth about racial profiling, serial snipers, illegal immigrants, guns, drugs, and more. Nationally recognized police expert, talk radio host and teacher, Ric Robinson, delivers a powerful reality check with real cop stories about "scum-sucking slopeheads and their lying, thieving lawyers. Ric sets the record straight regarding homeland insecurity, misuse of power and justice denied.”
William Butler was a police officer for the Gilmer Police Department (Texas). In addition to his law enforcement career, William Butler is a former member of the United States Army. During his more than seven years as a soldier he attained the rank of sergeant (E5) and his duty stations included: Fort Sam Houston (Texas); White Sands Missile Range (New Mexico); and, two overseas tours. One of his military assignments overseas was as a patrol officer assigned to the Allied Checkpoints Bravo and Charlie in Berlin, Germany.
William Butler is the author of I Remember Tomorrow. According to the book description, “In an attempt to rebuild her life, Jeanette relocates to a quiet little town, after spending ten years in the military and suffering a failed marriage. But Jeanette is a precognitive; able to see the future. It scares her and causes her to question her sanity. Matters are complicated further when she meets the man of her dreams and what follows is a series of events that threaten to push her over the edge. Now she must deal with new challenges in her career, struggle with ever increasing psychic abilities, and come to grips with her feelings for a man she wants to love but fears she cannot.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 715 police officers (representing 330 police departments) and their 1533 police books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Counter-Terrorism/Medical Disaster Preparedness: A Pro-Active Approach
Saturday, SEPTEMBER 29, 2007
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Campus Center
The mission of this symposium is to educate the public on counter-terrorist prevention strategies and disaster response; this symposium will have a particular emphasis on response resources, looking at real scenarios run in a major medical center environment.
The latest in a series of seminars hosted by the NJ Marine Corps Reserve Association/ Military Order of the Purple Heart focusing on different aspects of terrorist prevention and disaster response.
More Information
http://www.criminaljustice-online.com/forum1/852.html
8:30 am - 4:30 pm
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Campus Center
The mission of this symposium is to educate the public on counter-terrorist prevention strategies and disaster response; this symposium will have a particular emphasis on response resources, looking at real scenarios run in a major medical center environment.
The latest in a series of seminars hosted by the NJ Marine Corps Reserve Association/ Military Order of the Purple Heart focusing on different aspects of terrorist prevention and disaster response.
More Information
http://www.criminaljustice-online.com/forum1/852.html
Simulated Flu Outbreak Teaches Real Lessons
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 16, 2007 - About 1,000 Pentagon employees participated in a two-day pandemic influenza exercise that concluded yesterday to prepare portions of the Defense Department for a possible mass outbreak of deadly flu virus. Personnel deemed "infected" worked from home, and "healthy" participants in the building wore masks over their faces and maintained six-foot barriers from coworkers while working through a script of challenging tasks.
The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the Pentagon made officials realize that "we would have to be prepared to carry on our mission, perform our day-to-day functions in situations and circumstances we didn't really anticipate," said Michael L. Dominguez, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
"That was reinforced for us with Hurricane Katrina, and that whole set of activities -- where accounting for people and being able to conduct your operations when you've lost some people -- was also very critical," he said.
Pandemic flu is a fast-spreading infectious disease that causes a global outbreak, or pandemic, of serious illness that could sicken or kill hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of people, according to the U.S. government's pandemic flu Web site. For example, the 1918 flu epidemic killed more than a half million Americans. Furthermore, it could take six to eight months to develop a vaccine for pandemic flu after it strikes.
At the exercise command center here, organizers followed the adage, "plan for the worst, and hope for the best," displaying the faces of department directors killed or incapacitated by the simulated flu outbreak. Charts detailed personnel strength of each department, with Defense Human Resources suffering 16 employees killed within the flu's first hours.
A doomsday scenario forced personnel to adapt quickly to achieve a scripted series of tasks:
-- Reorganize each department according to orders of succession;
-- Use a phone tree to call employees;
-- Strive for 100-percent accountability despite BlackBerry devices being rendered useless due to a network crash;
-- Compile status reports of personnel and family members killed; and
-- Send letters of condolence where necessary.
Exercise manager Kathleen Ott, director of talent, acquisition and management for the Office of the Undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness, said the exercise has prepared the department to carry out essential functions in the event of a pandemic.
Ott said the department identified various weaknesses as early as April, when the planning phase began.
"We got a working group of action officers from each of the directorates together, and we started with the very basics. Did we have a recall roster? Did we have current organization charts? Did we have a list of our mission-essential functions?" she said. "We found that as we were developing those documents that we didn't really have everything that we needed to have in place."
As a result, Personnel and Readiness developed a recall roster listing current phone numbers for all employees and up-to-date organization charts indicating orders of succession and delegations of authority should current directors become incapacitated. The department also documented mission-essential functions.
Officials at the Defense Department and other federal agencies that are conducting similar exercises will share lessons learned from their respective demonstrations, Ott said.
"We thought there would be value in doing an exercise within (Personnel and Readiness) so that we could capture lessons learned to help us better frame policies we would be sending out to the field," she said.
John Winkler, acting principal deputy of Reserve Affairs, coordinated the exercise on behalf of Reserve Affairs.
Winkler said practicing "social distancing" -- maintaining 6 feet of space from coworkers -- and wearing the required face mask for the duration of the work day was an adjustment. As he spoke, his breath escaped through gaps near the top of his mask, and condensation began to form on his spectacles.
"We started off by testing our phone trees last night and we learned, for example, that despite all of our careful preparation we still have old phone numbers in (electronic) contact lists," he said. "That's exactly the kind of thing we want to find out. Even though we thought we had figured it all out, what did we miss? That's part of the education."
The exercise's interactive nature makes it a more effective means of teaching than distributing dry, text-based guidelines, he said.
"This exercise has certainly caused people to think harder about what it might really be like," said Winkler, his eyeglass lenses now completely opaque. "When you walk around with masks and have to remind yourself to stay 6 feet away from everybody else, it adds another layer of reality to it all."
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 16, 2007 - About 1,000 Pentagon employees participated in a two-day pandemic influenza exercise that concluded yesterday to prepare portions of the Defense Department for a possible mass outbreak of deadly flu virus. Personnel deemed "infected" worked from home, and "healthy" participants in the building wore masks over their faces and maintained six-foot barriers from coworkers while working through a script of challenging tasks.
The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the Pentagon made officials realize that "we would have to be prepared to carry on our mission, perform our day-to-day functions in situations and circumstances we didn't really anticipate," said Michael L. Dominguez, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
"That was reinforced for us with Hurricane Katrina, and that whole set of activities -- where accounting for people and being able to conduct your operations when you've lost some people -- was also very critical," he said.
Pandemic flu is a fast-spreading infectious disease that causes a global outbreak, or pandemic, of serious illness that could sicken or kill hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of people, according to the U.S. government's pandemic flu Web site. For example, the 1918 flu epidemic killed more than a half million Americans. Furthermore, it could take six to eight months to develop a vaccine for pandemic flu after it strikes.
At the exercise command center here, organizers followed the adage, "plan for the worst, and hope for the best," displaying the faces of department directors killed or incapacitated by the simulated flu outbreak. Charts detailed personnel strength of each department, with Defense Human Resources suffering 16 employees killed within the flu's first hours.
A doomsday scenario forced personnel to adapt quickly to achieve a scripted series of tasks:
-- Reorganize each department according to orders of succession;
-- Use a phone tree to call employees;
-- Strive for 100-percent accountability despite BlackBerry devices being rendered useless due to a network crash;
-- Compile status reports of personnel and family members killed; and
-- Send letters of condolence where necessary.
Exercise manager Kathleen Ott, director of talent, acquisition and management for the Office of the Undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness, said the exercise has prepared the department to carry out essential functions in the event of a pandemic.
Ott said the department identified various weaknesses as early as April, when the planning phase began.
"We got a working group of action officers from each of the directorates together, and we started with the very basics. Did we have a recall roster? Did we have current organization charts? Did we have a list of our mission-essential functions?" she said. "We found that as we were developing those documents that we didn't really have everything that we needed to have in place."
As a result, Personnel and Readiness developed a recall roster listing current phone numbers for all employees and up-to-date organization charts indicating orders of succession and delegations of authority should current directors become incapacitated. The department also documented mission-essential functions.
Officials at the Defense Department and other federal agencies that are conducting similar exercises will share lessons learned from their respective demonstrations, Ott said.
"We thought there would be value in doing an exercise within (Personnel and Readiness) so that we could capture lessons learned to help us better frame policies we would be sending out to the field," she said.
John Winkler, acting principal deputy of Reserve Affairs, coordinated the exercise on behalf of Reserve Affairs.
Winkler said practicing "social distancing" -- maintaining 6 feet of space from coworkers -- and wearing the required face mask for the duration of the work day was an adjustment. As he spoke, his breath escaped through gaps near the top of his mask, and condensation began to form on his spectacles.
"We started off by testing our phone trees last night and we learned, for example, that despite all of our careful preparation we still have old phone numbers in (electronic) contact lists," he said. "That's exactly the kind of thing we want to find out. Even though we thought we had figured it all out, what did we miss? That's part of the education."
The exercise's interactive nature makes it a more effective means of teaching than distributing dry, text-based guidelines, he said.
"This exercise has certainly caused people to think harder about what it might really be like," said Winkler, his eyeglass lenses now completely opaque. "When you walk around with masks and have to remind yourself to stay 6 feet away from everybody else, it adds another layer of reality to it all."
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Both Washingtons
Police-Writers.com is a website that lists over 700 state and local police officers who have written books. The website added police officers from both the State of Washington and Washington, DC.
George D. Shuman is a twenty year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department (Washington, DC). During his law enforcement career, he has served as an undercover narcotics detective, sergeant in the Internal Affairs Division, an operations commander of the police academy and as a lieutenant commander in the Public Integrity Branch, Internal Affairs Division. George Shuman is the author of two novels: 18 Seconds: A Sherry Moore Novel and Last Breath: A Sherry Moore Novel.
Publisher’s Weekly said of Last Breath, “In Shuman's mesmerizing second suspense novel to feature blind Philadelphia psychic Sherry Moore (after 2006's 18 Seconds), the Maryland attorney general asks Sherry, who can relive a murder victim's last moments by touching the body, to do her thing on three women discovered gruesomely murdered in an abandoned Maryland meat processing plant. Soon Sherry is plagued by eerie nightmares. After another woman is found strangled in an upscale suburban Pittsburgh home, the Pennsylvania state police get involved, but territorial wrangling between state and federal law enforcement agencies hampers the search for the serial killer. Shuman, who has worked for more than 20 years with the Washington, D.C., metropolitan police, brings a chilling realism to his depiction of crime scenes and has a real gift for conveying fear.”
Calvin Rowley was a police officer for the Seattle Police Department and served on the Seattle Vice Squad for many years. He is dedicated to the battle against prostitution and often did undercover work. In addition to his law enforcement career, Calvin Rowley has designed and built several homes, as well as operating a private detective agency. Cal Rowley is the author The Eyes of a Leaf.
Wayne Meyer is a police officer for the Kennewick Police Department (Washington). He began his law enforcement career as a cadet for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office (Washington). After his 21st birthday, he was hired by the Spokane Sheriff’s Office as a deputy sheriff. Later, he went to work as a police officer for the Wenatchee Police Department. After six years with that police department he again transferred, this time to the Kennewick Police Department where he as worked as a police officer since 1992. Wayne Meyer is the author of Code 4 Crucial.
Jeffrey V. Robinson is a former police officer from the Metropolitan Police Department (Washington, DC). He is the author of The Right To Remain Silent: A Real Life Account Of One Man's Shocking Experiences As A Police Officer, A Husband, A Father, & A Victim.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 709 police officers (representing 326 police departments) and their 1527 police books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
George D. Shuman is a twenty year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department (Washington, DC). During his law enforcement career, he has served as an undercover narcotics detective, sergeant in the Internal Affairs Division, an operations commander of the police academy and as a lieutenant commander in the Public Integrity Branch, Internal Affairs Division. George Shuman is the author of two novels: 18 Seconds: A Sherry Moore Novel and Last Breath: A Sherry Moore Novel.
Publisher’s Weekly said of Last Breath, “In Shuman's mesmerizing second suspense novel to feature blind Philadelphia psychic Sherry Moore (after 2006's 18 Seconds), the Maryland attorney general asks Sherry, who can relive a murder victim's last moments by touching the body, to do her thing on three women discovered gruesomely murdered in an abandoned Maryland meat processing plant. Soon Sherry is plagued by eerie nightmares. After another woman is found strangled in an upscale suburban Pittsburgh home, the Pennsylvania state police get involved, but territorial wrangling between state and federal law enforcement agencies hampers the search for the serial killer. Shuman, who has worked for more than 20 years with the Washington, D.C., metropolitan police, brings a chilling realism to his depiction of crime scenes and has a real gift for conveying fear.”
Calvin Rowley was a police officer for the Seattle Police Department and served on the Seattle Vice Squad for many years. He is dedicated to the battle against prostitution and often did undercover work. In addition to his law enforcement career, Calvin Rowley has designed and built several homes, as well as operating a private detective agency. Cal Rowley is the author The Eyes of a Leaf.
Wayne Meyer is a police officer for the Kennewick Police Department (Washington). He began his law enforcement career as a cadet for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office (Washington). After his 21st birthday, he was hired by the Spokane Sheriff’s Office as a deputy sheriff. Later, he went to work as a police officer for the Wenatchee Police Department. After six years with that police department he again transferred, this time to the Kennewick Police Department where he as worked as a police officer since 1992. Wayne Meyer is the author of Code 4 Crucial.
Jeffrey V. Robinson is a former police officer from the Metropolitan Police Department (Washington, DC). He is the author of The Right To Remain Silent: A Real Life Account Of One Man's Shocking Experiences As A Police Officer, A Husband, A Father, & A Victim.
Police-Writers.com now hosts 709 police officers (representing 326 police departments) and their 1527 police books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Vampires, Hell Raisers and Homeland Security
August 13, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists over 700 state and local police officers who have written books. The website added three additional police officers who have authored books: Frank Borelli, James Lardner and Willard M. Oliver.
Lieutenant Frank Borelli is the Training Commander for the Fairmount Heights Police Department (Maryland) and has been a law enforcement instructor since 1989. Using his six-year military background and twenty-year police background, Frank Borelli regularly writes equipment evaluations and incorporates new technology into his police training programs. Currently Lieutenant Frank Borelli teaches use of force programs at all levels of law enforcement and corrections.
In addition to his police and military service, Frank Borelli began a writing career in 1999. With several dozen articles published internationally, he has become a recognized expert on police training techniques and technologies. Frank Borelli is currently a weekly columnist for the Blackwater Tactical Weekly as well as Officer.com, and Editor of the Borelli Consulting Forum News & Intel page. Frank Borelli s also the Editor In Chief for New American Truth magazine, a monthly publication launched in January 2007; and, a contributing editor for American Cop magazine, published bi-monthly. He is also the author of A Cop's Nightmare: Cloning the Ancients, A Cop's Nightmare 2: Vampires in the Old West (the first two installments of a planned 12 series) and American Thinking.
According to the book description of A Cop’s Nightmare 2, it “pits Morgan Blackwell and his best friend, Chuck Bendetti, against a conspiracy to recreate the state of Colorado as a “pure” vampire region. Traveling back to the 1860s, Morgan and Chuck find themselves pitted against a full team of vamp-clones, sent back to further the success of the conspiracy. As Morgan and Chuck battle vamp-clones and Indians in the old west, Karl and Don keep the modern-day vampire mayoral candidate from successfully completing the plan of a pure vampire colony started one hundred and thirty years before!”
James Lardner is a senior fellow at Demos was a police officer for the Metropolitan Police Department (Washington, DC) for two and half years during the early 1970s. Today, he is a well-regard researcher and writer. As a journalist, he has written for the New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and The Nation, among other publications. He is the author of Crusader: The Hell-Raising Police Career of Detective David Durk; and, the co-author of NYPD: A City and Its Police and the editor of Inequality Matters: The Growing Economic Divide in America and Its Poisonous Consequences.
According to the book description of Crusader: The Hell-Raising Police Career of Detective David Durk, “When David Durk joined the New York Police Department in 1963, he found an organization with its own set of rules, where bribery and payoffs were routine and no one wanted to be disturbed. Durk set out to fix the whole mess. For 22 years, until he was forced to retire at age 51, he was a thorn in the side of mayors, police commissioners, commanders, sergeants, and beat cops alike. His crusading led to an investigation into police corruption in the 1970s by the Knapp Commission (credit for which usually goes to Frank Serpico) and more recently, the Mollen Commission.”
Willard M. Oliver began his law enforcement career as a summer police officer for the Wildwood Police Department (New Jersey). In 1989, he enlisted in the U.S. Army reserves and served as a military police officer in Desert Storm. From 1991 to 1994 Willard Oliver was a police officer for the Arlington County Police Department (Virginia). In 1994, Willard Oliver embarked on his academic career by becoming an assistance professor of criminal justice at Glenville State College (West Virginia). Today, Dr. Willard M. Oliver, Ph.D.,is an Associate Professor at the College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University (Texas). Willard Oliver is also a Major in the United States Army Reserves, Military Police Corps.
Dr. Willard Oliver is the author of Community-Oriented Policing: A Systemic Approach to Policing, Homeland Security for Policing, The Law & Order Presidency, and Community Policing: Classical Readings. He is the co-author of A History of Crime and Criminal Justice in America and The Public Policy of Crime and Criminal.
According to the book description of Homeland Security for Policing, is “unique in focus, Homeland Security for Policing presents a framework for understanding the role police play in today’s era of Homeland Security. The only book of its kind, it examines the events that led up to this new policing era, the relationship between national, state and local agencies, and specific strategies, operations and tactics that can be used to prevent and protect against future threats. Special emphasis is placed on understanding 9-11, the entire framework of Homeland Security in the U.S. and the unique issues faced by local law enforcement.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 705 police officers (representing 325 police departments) and their 1521 police books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Lieutenant Frank Borelli is the Training Commander for the Fairmount Heights Police Department (Maryland) and has been a law enforcement instructor since 1989. Using his six-year military background and twenty-year police background, Frank Borelli regularly writes equipment evaluations and incorporates new technology into his police training programs. Currently Lieutenant Frank Borelli teaches use of force programs at all levels of law enforcement and corrections.
In addition to his police and military service, Frank Borelli began a writing career in 1999. With several dozen articles published internationally, he has become a recognized expert on police training techniques and technologies. Frank Borelli is currently a weekly columnist for the Blackwater Tactical Weekly as well as Officer.com, and Editor of the Borelli Consulting Forum News & Intel page. Frank Borelli s also the Editor In Chief for New American Truth magazine, a monthly publication launched in January 2007; and, a contributing editor for American Cop magazine, published bi-monthly. He is also the author of A Cop's Nightmare: Cloning the Ancients, A Cop's Nightmare 2: Vampires in the Old West (the first two installments of a planned 12 series) and American Thinking.
According to the book description of A Cop’s Nightmare 2, it “pits Morgan Blackwell and his best friend, Chuck Bendetti, against a conspiracy to recreate the state of Colorado as a “pure” vampire region. Traveling back to the 1860s, Morgan and Chuck find themselves pitted against a full team of vamp-clones, sent back to further the success of the conspiracy. As Morgan and Chuck battle vamp-clones and Indians in the old west, Karl and Don keep the modern-day vampire mayoral candidate from successfully completing the plan of a pure vampire colony started one hundred and thirty years before!”
James Lardner is a senior fellow at Demos was a police officer for the Metropolitan Police Department (Washington, DC) for two and half years during the early 1970s. Today, he is a well-regard researcher and writer. As a journalist, he has written for the New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and The Nation, among other publications. He is the author of Crusader: The Hell-Raising Police Career of Detective David Durk; and, the co-author of NYPD: A City and Its Police and the editor of Inequality Matters: The Growing Economic Divide in America and Its Poisonous Consequences.
According to the book description of Crusader: The Hell-Raising Police Career of Detective David Durk, “When David Durk joined the New York Police Department in 1963, he found an organization with its own set of rules, where bribery and payoffs were routine and no one wanted to be disturbed. Durk set out to fix the whole mess. For 22 years, until he was forced to retire at age 51, he was a thorn in the side of mayors, police commissioners, commanders, sergeants, and beat cops alike. His crusading led to an investigation into police corruption in the 1970s by the Knapp Commission (credit for which usually goes to Frank Serpico) and more recently, the Mollen Commission.”
Willard M. Oliver began his law enforcement career as a summer police officer for the Wildwood Police Department (New Jersey). In 1989, he enlisted in the U.S. Army reserves and served as a military police officer in Desert Storm. From 1991 to 1994 Willard Oliver was a police officer for the Arlington County Police Department (Virginia). In 1994, Willard Oliver embarked on his academic career by becoming an assistance professor of criminal justice at Glenville State College (West Virginia). Today, Dr. Willard M. Oliver, Ph.D.,is an Associate Professor at the College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University (Texas). Willard Oliver is also a Major in the United States Army Reserves, Military Police Corps.
Dr. Willard Oliver is the author of Community-Oriented Policing: A Systemic Approach to Policing, Homeland Security for Policing, The Law & Order Presidency, and Community Policing: Classical Readings. He is the co-author of A History of Crime and Criminal Justice in America and The Public Policy of Crime and Criminal.
According to the book description of Homeland Security for Policing, is “unique in focus, Homeland Security for Policing presents a framework for understanding the role police play in today’s era of Homeland Security. The only book of its kind, it examines the events that led up to this new policing era, the relationship between national, state and local agencies, and specific strategies, operations and tactics that can be used to prevent and protect against future threats. Special emphasis is placed on understanding 9-11, the entire framework of Homeland Security in the U.S. and the unique issues faced by local law enforcement.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 705 police officers (representing 325 police departments) and their 1521 police books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Iraqi Criminal Justice System, Police Institute Rule of Law, Officials Say
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 13, 2007 - Establishing the necessary components to enable the rule of law to function across Iraq's society is vital to creating stable institutions and lasting security in that country, a U.S. military lawyer said in Baghdad today. The Iraqi government is making measurable progress toward that goal by providing fair and impartial courts, professional lawyers, judges and police, and modern and humane detention facilities, Army Col. Mark Martins, Multinational Force Iraq's senior legal official, told reporters at a news conference.
"The rule of law is a principle of governance which holds that your fate depends not on who you are, what religious sect, what region, what tribe, but on what you did," Martins explained.
The rule of law stipulates "that all citizens, institutions, entities, public and private, including the state itself, are accountable to laws, laws that have been publicly passed by a body representative of the people," Martins said.
Laws are to be enforced equally by the police, who are themselves trained to follow the law, Martins said. An impartial, independent and evenhanded judiciary system interprets the law, he said.
A new judicial facility recently opened in Baghdad illustrates progress the Iraqi government is making to establish the rule of law, Martins said.
"This Rule of Law complex now provides a secure place in the heart of Baghdad for all participants in the criminal justice system," Martins explained, including police, investigators, witnesses, judges, court personnel and detainee guards.
Members of Baghdad's criminal justice system now "can work free from attack or intimidation," Martins pointed out. About 30 judges are expected to preside over court cases at the complex, which also features nearly 5,000 modern detention cells, he said.
The rule of law stipulates that citizens are not to take the law into their own hands, Martins pointed out. So, for the rule of law to succeed in Iraq, he said, its citizens need to accept it and put aside ages-old tribal and sectarian animosities.
Much progress is being made each day to establish the rule of law across Iraq, but more work needs to be done, Martins conceded.
"It will require the government, and eventually the people, to reject revenge and terror, which is the use of spectacularly violent attacks on civilians, to achieve a political end," Martins observed. "It will require acceptance of the rule of law."
Martins saluted Iraqi judicial officials' efforts in promoting the rule of law across Iraq, like Higher Judicial Council spokesman Judge Abdul Satar Bayrkdar, who accompanied the colonel at the news conference.
Hundreds of new Iraqi investigators and judges have been hired in recent months, Bayrkdar said, noting there are now about 1,000 judges presiding at courts located across the country. The new judges, he said, are lawyers with 10 or more years of courtroom experience who are vetted for loyalty and integrity by the government. The Iraqi legal system also provides oversight to ensure that all prisoners receive fair and humane treatment, he added.
Iraq's new legal system is obviously fairer and more efficient than the despotic, haphazard courts operated by late dictator Saddam Hussein's regime, Bayrkdar said. For example, 96 percent of all court cases heard in Iraqi courtrooms in 2006 were resolved, he said.
"This is the highest percentage in the history of the Iraqi courts," Bayrkdar said.
Iraq's judiciary system plays "a key part in the rule of law in ensuring that justice is delivered in a fair, expeditious and evenhanded manner" during civil and criminal trials, Jim Santelle, justice attache at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, said at the news conference.
Without an independent, fair and efficient criminal justice system, "the rule of law cannot stand and cannot survive," Santelle pointed out.
American Forces Press Service
Aug. 13, 2007 - Establishing the necessary components to enable the rule of law to function across Iraq's society is vital to creating stable institutions and lasting security in that country, a U.S. military lawyer said in Baghdad today. The Iraqi government is making measurable progress toward that goal by providing fair and impartial courts, professional lawyers, judges and police, and modern and humane detention facilities, Army Col. Mark Martins, Multinational Force Iraq's senior legal official, told reporters at a news conference.
"The rule of law is a principle of governance which holds that your fate depends not on who you are, what religious sect, what region, what tribe, but on what you did," Martins explained.
The rule of law stipulates "that all citizens, institutions, entities, public and private, including the state itself, are accountable to laws, laws that have been publicly passed by a body representative of the people," Martins said.
Laws are to be enforced equally by the police, who are themselves trained to follow the law, Martins said. An impartial, independent and evenhanded judiciary system interprets the law, he said.
A new judicial facility recently opened in Baghdad illustrates progress the Iraqi government is making to establish the rule of law, Martins said.
"This Rule of Law complex now provides a secure place in the heart of Baghdad for all participants in the criminal justice system," Martins explained, including police, investigators, witnesses, judges, court personnel and detainee guards.
Members of Baghdad's criminal justice system now "can work free from attack or intimidation," Martins pointed out. About 30 judges are expected to preside over court cases at the complex, which also features nearly 5,000 modern detention cells, he said.
The rule of law stipulates that citizens are not to take the law into their own hands, Martins pointed out. So, for the rule of law to succeed in Iraq, he said, its citizens need to accept it and put aside ages-old tribal and sectarian animosities.
Much progress is being made each day to establish the rule of law across Iraq, but more work needs to be done, Martins conceded.
"It will require the government, and eventually the people, to reject revenge and terror, which is the use of spectacularly violent attacks on civilians, to achieve a political end," Martins observed. "It will require acceptance of the rule of law."
Martins saluted Iraqi judicial officials' efforts in promoting the rule of law across Iraq, like Higher Judicial Council spokesman Judge Abdul Satar Bayrkdar, who accompanied the colonel at the news conference.
Hundreds of new Iraqi investigators and judges have been hired in recent months, Bayrkdar said, noting there are now about 1,000 judges presiding at courts located across the country. The new judges, he said, are lawyers with 10 or more years of courtroom experience who are vetted for loyalty and integrity by the government. The Iraqi legal system also provides oversight to ensure that all prisoners receive fair and humane treatment, he added.
Iraq's new legal system is obviously fairer and more efficient than the despotic, haphazard courts operated by late dictator Saddam Hussein's regime, Bayrkdar said. For example, 96 percent of all court cases heard in Iraqi courtrooms in 2006 were resolved, he said.
"This is the highest percentage in the history of the Iraqi courts," Bayrkdar said.
Iraq's judiciary system plays "a key part in the rule of law in ensuring that justice is delivered in a fair, expeditious and evenhanded manner" during civil and criminal trials, Jim Santelle, justice attache at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, said at the news conference.
Without an independent, fair and efficient criminal justice system, "the rule of law cannot stand and cannot survive," Santelle pointed out.
Preventing Terrorist Suicide Attacks by Michael Aman
As a subject matter expert in law enforcement, I often take assignments as a pre-publication technical reviewer for publishing houses. Some weeks ago I was asked to review the law enforcement related portion of an upcoming Administration of Criminal Justice text book for Jones and Barlett Publishers. In addition to monetary compensation, I was allowed to choose a copy of any of their titles. Naturally, I choose a book written by a cop and that was listed on www.police-writers.com.
Michael Aman, a detective with the El Paso Police Department (Texas) is the author of Preventing Terrorist Suicide Attacks. Michael Aman’s book is a practical look at suicide attacks and the information is squarely aimed at the first responders such as police officers and security officials. While the book is brief, only 90 or so pages, it has an extraordinarily high ratio of words to ideas. That is, there is a ton of information succulently presented in the book.
The book is divided into two sections: the first discusses the terrorist and terrorists groups that use human beings as delivery mechanisms; the second section uses the terrorists’ own methodology as a means to explore prevention. As an example, in the first section, Michael Aman covers the objectives of a suicide tactics. This becomes important because by understanding objectives and motivation, the first responder gets a clearer picture on what to look for, beforehand.
In the second section Aman concentrates on presenting the reader with practical means for prevention. As an example, on page 44, Aman provides a simple, yet powerful matrix with which to evaluate potential targets. The section on prevention has checklists, prevention tips, self-assessment questions and clear learning objects.
While the book makes an excellent reference for the first responder, its hidden potential may be to first line supervisors in law enforcement and private security, and those officers involved in bomb disposal units. Michael Aman’s book was developed as a result of his teaching a course on the subject. Therefore, the book is a teaching tool. If you are supervisor (in law enforcement or security) you should own this book so that you can teach your subordinates. Michael Aman lays out a clear path for you to increase your knowledge and the discussion questions are perfect for training at briefings, etc. If you are working in a bomb disposal unit, well, you are an expert. But, Michael, again, has given you a tool, already designed to use as a means to share your knowledge and expertise within your organization and community.
About Michael Aman
Michael Aman was a commissioned officer in the German Air Force from 1984 to 1993. Upon immigrating to the United States he joined the El Paso Police Department and has risen to the rank of detective. Michael Aman has served in the Gang Unit, Cold Case Squad, Criminal Investigations Division, Dignitary Protection Unit, and the Patrol Division.
Michael Aman has an MBA from the German Armed Forces University. During his law enforcement career, Michael Aman Developed a course for law enforcement officials called “Defense Against Terrorist Suicide Attacks.” Eventually, that course let to the book Preventing Suicide Terrorist Attacks.
About the reviewer
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA is a 24 year veteran of law enforcement. In his retirement he is a university professor and writer. He is the author of Police Technology; Leadership: Texas Hold ‘em Style; and, is currently working on. From NYPD to LAPD: An Introduction to Policing. You can view Raymond’s complete CV at www.police-technology.net/raymond.foster.cv.html.
Michael Aman, a detective with the El Paso Police Department (Texas) is the author of Preventing Terrorist Suicide Attacks. Michael Aman’s book is a practical look at suicide attacks and the information is squarely aimed at the first responders such as police officers and security officials. While the book is brief, only 90 or so pages, it has an extraordinarily high ratio of words to ideas. That is, there is a ton of information succulently presented in the book.
The book is divided into two sections: the first discusses the terrorist and terrorists groups that use human beings as delivery mechanisms; the second section uses the terrorists’ own methodology as a means to explore prevention. As an example, in the first section, Michael Aman covers the objectives of a suicide tactics. This becomes important because by understanding objectives and motivation, the first responder gets a clearer picture on what to look for, beforehand.
In the second section Aman concentrates on presenting the reader with practical means for prevention. As an example, on page 44, Aman provides a simple, yet powerful matrix with which to evaluate potential targets. The section on prevention has checklists, prevention tips, self-assessment questions and clear learning objects.
While the book makes an excellent reference for the first responder, its hidden potential may be to first line supervisors in law enforcement and private security, and those officers involved in bomb disposal units. Michael Aman’s book was developed as a result of his teaching a course on the subject. Therefore, the book is a teaching tool. If you are supervisor (in law enforcement or security) you should own this book so that you can teach your subordinates. Michael Aman lays out a clear path for you to increase your knowledge and the discussion questions are perfect for training at briefings, etc. If you are working in a bomb disposal unit, well, you are an expert. But, Michael, again, has given you a tool, already designed to use as a means to share your knowledge and expertise within your organization and community.
About Michael Aman
Michael Aman was a commissioned officer in the German Air Force from 1984 to 1993. Upon immigrating to the United States he joined the El Paso Police Department and has risen to the rank of detective. Michael Aman has served in the Gang Unit, Cold Case Squad, Criminal Investigations Division, Dignitary Protection Unit, and the Patrol Division.
Michael Aman has an MBA from the German Armed Forces University. During his law enforcement career, Michael Aman Developed a course for law enforcement officials called “Defense Against Terrorist Suicide Attacks.” Eventually, that course let to the book Preventing Suicide Terrorist Attacks.
About the reviewer
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA is a 24 year veteran of law enforcement. In his retirement he is a university professor and writer. He is the author of Police Technology; Leadership: Texas Hold ‘em Style; and, is currently working on. From NYPD to LAPD: An Introduction to Policing. You can view Raymond’s complete CV at www.police-technology.net/raymond.foster.cv.html.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Over 700 Police Officers
Police-Writers.com is a website that lists over 700 state and local police officers who have written books. With the addition of Timothy A. Perry, Neil Moloney and Howard A. Monta, the website now lists 702 state and local law enforcement officials who have written books.
Timothy A. Perry is currently the undersheriff of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (Washington) and has more than 35 years of law enforcement experience. He served twenty-five years with the Seattle Police Department; working in patrol, investigations and training. After retiring from the Seattle Police Department, he was the Chief of Police for the Clyde Police Department (Washington). Tim Perry has a BS in Police Science and the Administration of Justice; and, is the author of two law enforcement books: Basic Patrol Procedures and The Practical Mock Scene Manual: A Complete Manual to Aid the Police Trainer
According to the book description of Basic Patrol Procedures, it “has been revised and updated throughout! It includes sections on community oriented policing, law enforcement ethics, vehicle pursuits and other timely subjects. Basic Patrol Procedures, 2/E is reader friendly, yet packed with important information for the law enforcement student or police department recruit. It is perfect for a foundation for the law enforcement student of as an effective guide for training recruits. It is widely used in community college police training courses, it works well in criminal justice courses as a policing supplement, and it was written by an experienced street officer for his fellow officers.”
Neil Moloney’s law enforcement career has included Chief of the Washington State Patrol, Director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and Chief of Police of the Port of Seattle Police Department. Neil Moloney is the author of Renaissance Cop; Class of Twenty-Eight; and, Cops, Crooks and Politicians.
According to the book description of Renaissance Cop, it is “a story of political corruption and violence that Scott Allan Jackson and his city police colleagues encounter on the streets of a major city in the United States. While assigned to a beat in China Town, Jackson and Officer Pete Petersen are both shot. Officer Petersen dies from his wounds. Investigators identify the suspects as a group of renegade law enforcement officers. While assigned to the mayor’s security detail, Jackson is again injured in what the press describes as an attempt to assassinate the mayor. The officer kills the assailants. A newly elected reform mayor selects Jackson and his colleagues to root out the corruption that has existed in their hometown for more than a century. When the investigation is complete, a grand jury indicts the former mayor, the chief of police and the district attorney. However, three police officers die violent deaths before the case comes to trial.”
Howard A. Monta is a retired sergeant with the Seattle Police Department. He is the author of three law enforcement related books: How Police Officers Get Hired: The Key to Getting the Cop Job and Keeping It; Survive Low Morale, Stress and Burnout in Law Enforcement: (Identify & Manage the Eight Elements of Job Burnout); and, his autobiography, Like a Cat with Nine Lives
According to the book description of Like a Cat with Nine Lives, “This is the story of Howard A. Monta’s evolution from a picked-on, chubby kid, to a risk-taking adventurer who was drawn to a long career as an aggressive law enforcer. The saga spans his life from childhood in a poor Seattle neighborhood, to his retirement from the Seattle Police Department in 1997.The colorful narration of his infatuation for a New York girl whom he cajoled into marrying him, despite his outrageous behavior, will bring a smile to the face of even the most somber reader.”
Howard Monta said of How Police Officers Get Hired (Formerly entitled, Cops Who Succeed), the book “provides insight into the most exciting, most controversial, most scrutinized, and the most important occupation in our society. In addition to vividly describing the public expectations and actual duties of police officers, Chapters One through Four identify the personal qualities of those who are "cut out" to be cops. The application, testing, and training processes are meticulously described. Chapters Five through Eleven describe those elements of the law enforcement profession that cause stress, low morale, and eventual job burnout. Helpful methods of surviving the stress and trauma of police duties are offered. This information is not only directed toward prospective officers, it is also invaluable for experienced officers. The book will never be outdated. Similar requirements and problems that exist for cops today, existed in the 1960s, and will continue to be relevant for generations to come.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 702 police officers (representing 323 police departments) and their 1510 police books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Timothy A. Perry is currently the undersheriff of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (Washington) and has more than 35 years of law enforcement experience. He served twenty-five years with the Seattle Police Department; working in patrol, investigations and training. After retiring from the Seattle Police Department, he was the Chief of Police for the Clyde Police Department (Washington). Tim Perry has a BS in Police Science and the Administration of Justice; and, is the author of two law enforcement books: Basic Patrol Procedures and The Practical Mock Scene Manual: A Complete Manual to Aid the Police Trainer
According to the book description of Basic Patrol Procedures, it “has been revised and updated throughout! It includes sections on community oriented policing, law enforcement ethics, vehicle pursuits and other timely subjects. Basic Patrol Procedures, 2/E is reader friendly, yet packed with important information for the law enforcement student or police department recruit. It is perfect for a foundation for the law enforcement student of as an effective guide for training recruits. It is widely used in community college police training courses, it works well in criminal justice courses as a policing supplement, and it was written by an experienced street officer for his fellow officers.”
Neil Moloney’s law enforcement career has included Chief of the Washington State Patrol, Director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and Chief of Police of the Port of Seattle Police Department. Neil Moloney is the author of Renaissance Cop; Class of Twenty-Eight; and, Cops, Crooks and Politicians.
According to the book description of Renaissance Cop, it is “a story of political corruption and violence that Scott Allan Jackson and his city police colleagues encounter on the streets of a major city in the United States. While assigned to a beat in China Town, Jackson and Officer Pete Petersen are both shot. Officer Petersen dies from his wounds. Investigators identify the suspects as a group of renegade law enforcement officers. While assigned to the mayor’s security detail, Jackson is again injured in what the press describes as an attempt to assassinate the mayor. The officer kills the assailants. A newly elected reform mayor selects Jackson and his colleagues to root out the corruption that has existed in their hometown for more than a century. When the investigation is complete, a grand jury indicts the former mayor, the chief of police and the district attorney. However, three police officers die violent deaths before the case comes to trial.”
Howard A. Monta is a retired sergeant with the Seattle Police Department. He is the author of three law enforcement related books: How Police Officers Get Hired: The Key to Getting the Cop Job and Keeping It; Survive Low Morale, Stress and Burnout in Law Enforcement: (Identify & Manage the Eight Elements of Job Burnout); and, his autobiography, Like a Cat with Nine Lives
According to the book description of Like a Cat with Nine Lives, “This is the story of Howard A. Monta’s evolution from a picked-on, chubby kid, to a risk-taking adventurer who was drawn to a long career as an aggressive law enforcer. The saga spans his life from childhood in a poor Seattle neighborhood, to his retirement from the Seattle Police Department in 1997.The colorful narration of his infatuation for a New York girl whom he cajoled into marrying him, despite his outrageous behavior, will bring a smile to the face of even the most somber reader.”
Howard Monta said of How Police Officers Get Hired (Formerly entitled, Cops Who Succeed), the book “provides insight into the most exciting, most controversial, most scrutinized, and the most important occupation in our society. In addition to vividly describing the public expectations and actual duties of police officers, Chapters One through Four identify the personal qualities of those who are "cut out" to be cops. The application, testing, and training processes are meticulously described. Chapters Five through Eleven describe those elements of the law enforcement profession that cause stress, low morale, and eventual job burnout. Helpful methods of surviving the stress and trauma of police duties are offered. This information is not only directed toward prospective officers, it is also invaluable for experienced officers. The book will never be outdated. Similar requirements and problems that exist for cops today, existed in the 1960s, and will continue to be relevant for generations to come.”
Police-Writers.com now hosts 702 police officers (representing 323 police departments) and their 1510 police books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Law Enforcement Technology
NLECTC Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology News Summary
Thursday, August 9, 2007
"Crime-Fighting Revolution"
Daily Times (08/06/07); Butler, Iva
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is creating a fusion center which will permit law enforcement agencies throughout the state to network when solving crimes. The center is situated in Nashville at the TBI headquarters and is 4,000 square feet. The center has 26 analysts, and data from throughout Tennessee is being entered into the center's computer. Within the coming few months, all the data from law enforcement agencies in Tennessee is scheduled to be online. The data is comprised of open records that anybody is allowed to acquire from any law enforcement agency in Tennessee. The plan is to move all the information into one location where analysts can conduct a more in-depth service and study crime trends. Some of the crimes that the TBI investigates are illegal drug production, sales and use, juvenile crime, and weapons.
http://www.thedailytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=/20070806/NEWS/70806001
"Coming Next in the Police Arsenal: Light Sabers?"
Indianapolis Star (08/08/07)
The Department of Homeland Security is trying to equip federal agents with a light-saber device giving off a bright strobe that would temporarily blind criminals, terrorists, and disruptive airplane passengers. It is the newest government plan to create a nonlethal weapon. To date, the Homeland Security Department has spent $1 million on testing the light-emitting diode (LED) incapacitator. If it yields good results, the department claims the device could be in the possession of thousands of police, border agents, and National Guardsmen within three years. The light-saber functions by temporarily blinding and confusing an individual. Once focused at somebody's eyes, several light pulses can be initiated, and the suspect's eyes cannot compensate fast enough to see.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/
20070808/NATIONWORLD/708080428/-1/LOCAL17
"High-Tech Cameras Give Cars the Boot"
Chicago Tribune (08/06/07)
On Aug. 3, the Chicago Department of Revenue stated it would erect cameras in 26 of its boot vans, which search city streets for vehicles that should be booted due to traffic breaches. A vehicle becomes eligible for a boot--which makes the car unmovable--when a driver acquires three tickets or more on any vehicle registered in his name and ignores multiple requests for payment. The new cameras have license-plate recognition technology that does away with the need to enter a vehicle's plate number into a handheld gadget to decide if it can be booted. In addition, the cameras read license plates on either side of a street at the same time, which will enable crews to drive down a street one time instead of twice. Three newly-outfitted vans are currently monitoring the streets. The Department of Revenue believes that all of its boot crews will employ the new technology by the end of this month.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/
chicago/chi-bootvanaug06,0,6926399.story
"Fingerprints May Soon Yield Gender Clues"
ScienceDaily (08/03/07)
British researchers have developed a novel fingerprinting technique that generates chemical clues regarding the suspected criminals gender and diet, according to research published in Analytical Chemistry. Gel tapes lift the prints, which are then examined in a spectroscopic microscope. Infrared rays irradiate the sample to produce a comprehensive chemical composition. An infrared array detector then processes the chemical structure. The chemical clues could suggest whether the suspect was a meat-eater or a vegetarian, and may distinguish traces of handled items, such as narcotics, gunpowder, and chemical or biological weapons.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=
UPI-1-20070803-23040200-bc-us-fingerprinting.xml
"MySpace Helps NLR Police Link to Students"
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (08/06/07); Carrick, Kayla
Police officers at Arkansas middle schools have erected MySpace pages, in order to be in touch with students who spend a lot of time on the Internet. In the last year, around 24 pages sponsored by police departments throughout the United States have come up on MySpace, which has around 160 million profile pages overall. School resource officers Jon Schwulst and Fran Hichens note that once in a while, students will utilize MySpace to inform officers about trouble at school. Hichens, who works at Poplar Street Middle School, explained that one of his students was putting "alarming" items on a MySpace page, and that another student informed Hichens about the problem through a MySpace page, thereby enabling Hichens to help the student get personal assistance. Miami-Dade, Fla., Police Department Sgt. Erick Palmer, who erected and manages his department's MySpace page, notes his department's presence dissuades online predators. Palmer was one of the initial police officers to create a viable MySpace page sponsored by a law enforcement agency. Miami-Dade's site, which gets over 5,000 hits every month, has been helpful in recruiting officers and promoting the department's youth-volunteer campaign. In addition, the department has gotten anonymous tips on MySpace that have resulted in drug busts. http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/197811/
"Understanding the National Data Exchange (N-DEx) System"
PoliceOne.com (08/07/07); Marshall, Mark A.
International Association of Chiefs of Police Mark A. Marshall says data-sharing has become the new "buzzword" among law enforcement groups. He states a superior system would obtain crime-related information from all involved law-enforcement interests and change it into relevant data, an idea that has became the basis for the National Data Exchange (N-DEx) project. N-DEx's goal is to share detailed, correct, up-to-date, and helpful data from all jurisdiction regions and offer new investigative tools that improve the country's ability to combat crime and terrorism. Marshall says at the heart of N-DEx is enabling law-enforcement groups to provide their incident information to a main repository where it is compared with events which are already on record to find connections between individuals, locations, things, or related activities. The events can then stay on file to be compared with all pending incoming incidents. Marshall notes that local, state, and tribal law enforcement investigators will be the leading beneficiaries of the program. He states that N-DEx will also offer contact data and collaboration tools for institutions working on cases of interest to all parties. http://www.policeone.com/writers/columnists/MarkMarshall/articles/1295732/
"Police Plan to Use New Tech to Find Missing Persons"
San Bernardino County Sun (08/02/07); Lopez, C.L.
Redlands, Calif.'s Police Department will soon implement new technology to be employed as a part of the department's Never Alone Safely Back Home program that was begun last year. The database-enrollment program is offered at no cost to city residents. Thumb prints, photographs, data, and sometimes samples of DNA are stored on file. The data is utilized to locate and identify people with memory loss who become lost. While in 2006 and 2007, the program has employed gadgets that were sported on the ankle and equipped with GPS technology to locate people with memory loss who wander away from their residences and get lost, Police Chief Jim Bueermann said recently that a new technology known as Project Lifesaver--which transmits a radio signal from a bracelet that is similar to a wristwatch--will be used. He noted that the Project Lifesaver gadget has the benefit of being more comfortable to wear than the GPS devices. While it is not known how much Project Lifesaver will cost, Bueermann stated he is thinking about utilizing grant funds so inhabitants can use the devices.
http://www.sbsun.com//ci_6525518?IADID=Search-
www.sbsun.com-www.sbsun.com
"Satellite Aids in Tracking Bank Robbers: Bad Guys Now Have to Worry About GPS Technology"
New Haven Register (08/05/07); Kaempffer, William
Global Positioning System (GPS) technology is being utilized in New Haven, Conn., to follow bank thieves, most likely the first time it has been used for that reason. "The banks will tend to use it in higher-risk locations because it's not the cheapest," explains Connecticut Bankers Association senior vice president Lindsey R. Pinkham. "That, to some degree, has limited its deployment." Industry sources claim one product being worked on is a computerized fiscal recognition system in a current database. While GPS technology functions in a similar fashion to traditional dye packs, which are placed alongside money and go off after the thief exits the bank, the GPS tracker silently transmits signals that permit police to precisely uncover the suspect's whereabouts on a computer screen. Throughout the country, GPS technology has been more and more used by police to solve a broad variety of crimes. A female bank robber was recently apprehended in New Haven after exiting the branch with money and a concealed transmitter. Police were able to find and arrest her in minutes by using GPS to locate her. http://www.nhregister.com
"Plate Scanners Give Police Rapid Tool"
Arizona Republic (08/01/07) P. 4; Sowers, Carol
Law enforcement groups in Arizona's Valley region are employing high-speed technologies to capture license-plate images and monitor stolen vehicles utilized in crimes. Police hope the scanners will get violent individuals off the streets sooner. The Scottsdale Police Department intends to use funds captured from illegal activities to purchase four high-speed license-plate scanners. Three of the gadgets will be erected on police cruisers, while the remaining device is a handheld one that can be transferred from one police cruiser to another. The license-plate scanners can read a plate in around one second. They then look through a "hot sheet" of wanted cars downloaded to officers' cruiser computers. If a match is found, certain readers utilize voice technology to notify the officer. The scanners have helped find numerous stolen vehicles and helped result in multiple arrests in Phoenix. http://www.arizonarepublic.com
"Radiation-Monitor Study Sought"
Washington Post (08/01/07) P. D2; O'Harrow, Robert Jr.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief Michael Chertoff has requested that the Defense Department's Defense Threat Reduction Agency create a team of independent experts to review the effectiveness of DHS radiation-detection machines used to scan trucks and cargo containers. A Government Accountability Office report found that the machines were not nearly effective as the DHS had advertised to Congress. In reaction to the report, Congress has mandated that Chertoff ensure that the machines are effective before implementing the machines as part of a $1.2 billion project. Chertoff has sent a letter to several lawmakers, promising that a "highly experienced team of technical and programmatic" experts will review the machines.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2007/07/31/AR2007073101901.html
"10 Fingerprints Needed to Enter US Soon"
Manila Bulletin (07/31/07)
A pilot program will be launched in late 2007 at 10 major U.S. airports to test the feasibility of digitally scanning all 10 fingerprints of incoming passengers rather than the two currently scanned under the U.S.-VISIT Program. The airports chosen for the pilot are Logan International, Chicago OHare International, George Bush Intercontinental, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Miami International, John F. Kennedy International, Orlando International, San Francisco International, and Dulles International. The new requirement will apply to passengers from countries participating in the U.S. Visa-Waiver program as well as those who require a visa to enter the Untied States. U.S. Department of Homeland Security operations director P.T. Wright says that the scanning of additional fingerprints would not take more time than the current procedure but would ensure near 100 percent accuracy. http://www.mb.com.ph/TOUR2007073199113.html#
"Sky Spies Target Crime"
Mirror (UK) (08/03/07) P. 6; Cunningham, Jimmy
The Republic of Ireland has acquired two Israeli-made Orbiter UAVs that will be used for military activities and for monitoring drug smuggling along the Irish border and coastline. The unmanned planes, which were purchased at a price of 780,000 euros, have a range of 15 kilometers, can be used to spy from an altitude of 15,000 feet, and contain two cameras that can be used day or night. They can be carried in a soldier's backpack, assembled in 10 minutes, and launched from a catapult. Israel has used the unmanned vehicles to pinpoint targets before fighter aircraft are called in. Switzerland will use the versatile craft to monitor soccer fans during Euro 2008. http://www.mirror.co.uk
"Mauritians Pioneer Emergency Preparedness Training in Second Life"
L'Express (07/23/07); Beedasy-Ramloll, Jaishree
Idaho State University researchers have established a virtual town where first responders can receive disaster training in the popular Web-based 3D virtual world Second Life. The town, which includes a police station, hospital, and residences, is located in Second Life's Play2Train section, which is a federally-funded collaborative effort involving the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and several universities. Real-life first responders can use their computers to visit the Play2Train area, where they can participate in several types of virtual training events, including Alternative Care Facility Mobile Quarantine and Healthcare Facility "Sidewalk Triage" for an Avian Flu Pandemic. The Second Life virtual world is populated by real-life people who control their "avatars" in the fictional world; these avatars are capable of interacting with and communicating with other avatars within the virtual world. Thus, the avatars can participate in the disaster-training exercises--including instructional courses and table-top exercises--which have some advantages over real-world training in that simulated weather conditions such as rain, snow, and lightning can be added to provide realism to the training. The researchers behind the Play2Train effort believe that the training exercises in the virtual world could eventually supplant real-world exercises. http://www.lexpress.mu/display_article.php?news_id=90612
"New Less-Lethal Series of Projectile Launchers for Law Enforcement and Military Now Available"
Market Wire (07/30/07)
Security With Advanced Technology, Inc., a leading provider of security products and services, reports that its new MK Series of less-lethal projectile launchers designed primarily for use by military and law enforcement are now available for sale and delivery. Developed by Veritas Tactical, a division of Security With Advanced Technology, the MK Series of less-lethal launchers are propelled by high pressured air and shoot PAVA-filled projectiles, which break open on impact releasing a cloud of potent PAVA powder that causes subjects to cough, choke and become temporarily debilitated. The powder is significantly stronger than the effect of pepper spray. The launchers give military and law enforcement officers the ability to deliver less-lethal rounds accurately at a point target at 50 meters, providing them with a tactical advantage in many control situations. The MK Series also delivers rounds up to 100 meters for riot and crowd control situations. http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0284005.htm
Thursday, August 9, 2007
"Crime-Fighting Revolution"
Daily Times (08/06/07); Butler, Iva
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is creating a fusion center which will permit law enforcement agencies throughout the state to network when solving crimes. The center is situated in Nashville at the TBI headquarters and is 4,000 square feet. The center has 26 analysts, and data from throughout Tennessee is being entered into the center's computer. Within the coming few months, all the data from law enforcement agencies in Tennessee is scheduled to be online. The data is comprised of open records that anybody is allowed to acquire from any law enforcement agency in Tennessee. The plan is to move all the information into one location where analysts can conduct a more in-depth service and study crime trends. Some of the crimes that the TBI investigates are illegal drug production, sales and use, juvenile crime, and weapons.
http://www.thedailytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=/20070806/NEWS/70806001
"Coming Next in the Police Arsenal: Light Sabers?"
Indianapolis Star (08/08/07)
The Department of Homeland Security is trying to equip federal agents with a light-saber device giving off a bright strobe that would temporarily blind criminals, terrorists, and disruptive airplane passengers. It is the newest government plan to create a nonlethal weapon. To date, the Homeland Security Department has spent $1 million on testing the light-emitting diode (LED) incapacitator. If it yields good results, the department claims the device could be in the possession of thousands of police, border agents, and National Guardsmen within three years. The light-saber functions by temporarily blinding and confusing an individual. Once focused at somebody's eyes, several light pulses can be initiated, and the suspect's eyes cannot compensate fast enough to see.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/
20070808/NATIONWORLD/708080428/-1/LOCAL17
"High-Tech Cameras Give Cars the Boot"
Chicago Tribune (08/06/07)
On Aug. 3, the Chicago Department of Revenue stated it would erect cameras in 26 of its boot vans, which search city streets for vehicles that should be booted due to traffic breaches. A vehicle becomes eligible for a boot--which makes the car unmovable--when a driver acquires three tickets or more on any vehicle registered in his name and ignores multiple requests for payment. The new cameras have license-plate recognition technology that does away with the need to enter a vehicle's plate number into a handheld gadget to decide if it can be booted. In addition, the cameras read license plates on either side of a street at the same time, which will enable crews to drive down a street one time instead of twice. Three newly-outfitted vans are currently monitoring the streets. The Department of Revenue believes that all of its boot crews will employ the new technology by the end of this month.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/
chicago/chi-bootvanaug06,0,6926399.story
"Fingerprints May Soon Yield Gender Clues"
ScienceDaily (08/03/07)
British researchers have developed a novel fingerprinting technique that generates chemical clues regarding the suspected criminals gender and diet, according to research published in Analytical Chemistry. Gel tapes lift the prints, which are then examined in a spectroscopic microscope. Infrared rays irradiate the sample to produce a comprehensive chemical composition. An infrared array detector then processes the chemical structure. The chemical clues could suggest whether the suspect was a meat-eater or a vegetarian, and may distinguish traces of handled items, such as narcotics, gunpowder, and chemical or biological weapons.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=
UPI-1-20070803-23040200-bc-us-fingerprinting.xml
"MySpace Helps NLR Police Link to Students"
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (08/06/07); Carrick, Kayla
Police officers at Arkansas middle schools have erected MySpace pages, in order to be in touch with students who spend a lot of time on the Internet. In the last year, around 24 pages sponsored by police departments throughout the United States have come up on MySpace, which has around 160 million profile pages overall. School resource officers Jon Schwulst and Fran Hichens note that once in a while, students will utilize MySpace to inform officers about trouble at school. Hichens, who works at Poplar Street Middle School, explained that one of his students was putting "alarming" items on a MySpace page, and that another student informed Hichens about the problem through a MySpace page, thereby enabling Hichens to help the student get personal assistance. Miami-Dade, Fla., Police Department Sgt. Erick Palmer, who erected and manages his department's MySpace page, notes his department's presence dissuades online predators. Palmer was one of the initial police officers to create a viable MySpace page sponsored by a law enforcement agency. Miami-Dade's site, which gets over 5,000 hits every month, has been helpful in recruiting officers and promoting the department's youth-volunteer campaign. In addition, the department has gotten anonymous tips on MySpace that have resulted in drug busts. http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/197811/
"Understanding the National Data Exchange (N-DEx) System"
PoliceOne.com (08/07/07); Marshall, Mark A.
International Association of Chiefs of Police Mark A. Marshall says data-sharing has become the new "buzzword" among law enforcement groups. He states a superior system would obtain crime-related information from all involved law-enforcement interests and change it into relevant data, an idea that has became the basis for the National Data Exchange (N-DEx) project. N-DEx's goal is to share detailed, correct, up-to-date, and helpful data from all jurisdiction regions and offer new investigative tools that improve the country's ability to combat crime and terrorism. Marshall says at the heart of N-DEx is enabling law-enforcement groups to provide their incident information to a main repository where it is compared with events which are already on record to find connections between individuals, locations, things, or related activities. The events can then stay on file to be compared with all pending incoming incidents. Marshall notes that local, state, and tribal law enforcement investigators will be the leading beneficiaries of the program. He states that N-DEx will also offer contact data and collaboration tools for institutions working on cases of interest to all parties. http://www.policeone.com/writers/columnists/MarkMarshall/articles/1295732/
"Police Plan to Use New Tech to Find Missing Persons"
San Bernardino County Sun (08/02/07); Lopez, C.L.
Redlands, Calif.'s Police Department will soon implement new technology to be employed as a part of the department's Never Alone Safely Back Home program that was begun last year. The database-enrollment program is offered at no cost to city residents. Thumb prints, photographs, data, and sometimes samples of DNA are stored on file. The data is utilized to locate and identify people with memory loss who become lost. While in 2006 and 2007, the program has employed gadgets that were sported on the ankle and equipped with GPS technology to locate people with memory loss who wander away from their residences and get lost, Police Chief Jim Bueermann said recently that a new technology known as Project Lifesaver--which transmits a radio signal from a bracelet that is similar to a wristwatch--will be used. He noted that the Project Lifesaver gadget has the benefit of being more comfortable to wear than the GPS devices. While it is not known how much Project Lifesaver will cost, Bueermann stated he is thinking about utilizing grant funds so inhabitants can use the devices.
http://www.sbsun.com//ci_6525518?IADID=Search-
www.sbsun.com-www.sbsun.com
"Satellite Aids in Tracking Bank Robbers: Bad Guys Now Have to Worry About GPS Technology"
New Haven Register (08/05/07); Kaempffer, William
Global Positioning System (GPS) technology is being utilized in New Haven, Conn., to follow bank thieves, most likely the first time it has been used for that reason. "The banks will tend to use it in higher-risk locations because it's not the cheapest," explains Connecticut Bankers Association senior vice president Lindsey R. Pinkham. "That, to some degree, has limited its deployment." Industry sources claim one product being worked on is a computerized fiscal recognition system in a current database. While GPS technology functions in a similar fashion to traditional dye packs, which are placed alongside money and go off after the thief exits the bank, the GPS tracker silently transmits signals that permit police to precisely uncover the suspect's whereabouts on a computer screen. Throughout the country, GPS technology has been more and more used by police to solve a broad variety of crimes. A female bank robber was recently apprehended in New Haven after exiting the branch with money and a concealed transmitter. Police were able to find and arrest her in minutes by using GPS to locate her. http://www.nhregister.com
"Plate Scanners Give Police Rapid Tool"
Arizona Republic (08/01/07) P. 4; Sowers, Carol
Law enforcement groups in Arizona's Valley region are employing high-speed technologies to capture license-plate images and monitor stolen vehicles utilized in crimes. Police hope the scanners will get violent individuals off the streets sooner. The Scottsdale Police Department intends to use funds captured from illegal activities to purchase four high-speed license-plate scanners. Three of the gadgets will be erected on police cruisers, while the remaining device is a handheld one that can be transferred from one police cruiser to another. The license-plate scanners can read a plate in around one second. They then look through a "hot sheet" of wanted cars downloaded to officers' cruiser computers. If a match is found, certain readers utilize voice technology to notify the officer. The scanners have helped find numerous stolen vehicles and helped result in multiple arrests in Phoenix. http://www.arizonarepublic.com
"Radiation-Monitor Study Sought"
Washington Post (08/01/07) P. D2; O'Harrow, Robert Jr.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief Michael Chertoff has requested that the Defense Department's Defense Threat Reduction Agency create a team of independent experts to review the effectiveness of DHS radiation-detection machines used to scan trucks and cargo containers. A Government Accountability Office report found that the machines were not nearly effective as the DHS had advertised to Congress. In reaction to the report, Congress has mandated that Chertoff ensure that the machines are effective before implementing the machines as part of a $1.2 billion project. Chertoff has sent a letter to several lawmakers, promising that a "highly experienced team of technical and programmatic" experts will review the machines.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2007/07/31/AR2007073101901.html
"10 Fingerprints Needed to Enter US Soon"
Manila Bulletin (07/31/07)
A pilot program will be launched in late 2007 at 10 major U.S. airports to test the feasibility of digitally scanning all 10 fingerprints of incoming passengers rather than the two currently scanned under the U.S.-VISIT Program. The airports chosen for the pilot are Logan International, Chicago OHare International, George Bush Intercontinental, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Miami International, John F. Kennedy International, Orlando International, San Francisco International, and Dulles International. The new requirement will apply to passengers from countries participating in the U.S. Visa-Waiver program as well as those who require a visa to enter the Untied States. U.S. Department of Homeland Security operations director P.T. Wright says that the scanning of additional fingerprints would not take more time than the current procedure but would ensure near 100 percent accuracy. http://www.mb.com.ph/TOUR2007073199113.html#
"Sky Spies Target Crime"
Mirror (UK) (08/03/07) P. 6; Cunningham, Jimmy
The Republic of Ireland has acquired two Israeli-made Orbiter UAVs that will be used for military activities and for monitoring drug smuggling along the Irish border and coastline. The unmanned planes, which were purchased at a price of 780,000 euros, have a range of 15 kilometers, can be used to spy from an altitude of 15,000 feet, and contain two cameras that can be used day or night. They can be carried in a soldier's backpack, assembled in 10 minutes, and launched from a catapult. Israel has used the unmanned vehicles to pinpoint targets before fighter aircraft are called in. Switzerland will use the versatile craft to monitor soccer fans during Euro 2008. http://www.mirror.co.uk
"Mauritians Pioneer Emergency Preparedness Training in Second Life"
L'Express (07/23/07); Beedasy-Ramloll, Jaishree
Idaho State University researchers have established a virtual town where first responders can receive disaster training in the popular Web-based 3D virtual world Second Life. The town, which includes a police station, hospital, and residences, is located in Second Life's Play2Train section, which is a federally-funded collaborative effort involving the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and several universities. Real-life first responders can use their computers to visit the Play2Train area, where they can participate in several types of virtual training events, including Alternative Care Facility Mobile Quarantine and Healthcare Facility "Sidewalk Triage" for an Avian Flu Pandemic. The Second Life virtual world is populated by real-life people who control their "avatars" in the fictional world; these avatars are capable of interacting with and communicating with other avatars within the virtual world. Thus, the avatars can participate in the disaster-training exercises--including instructional courses and table-top exercises--which have some advantages over real-world training in that simulated weather conditions such as rain, snow, and lightning can be added to provide realism to the training. The researchers behind the Play2Train effort believe that the training exercises in the virtual world could eventually supplant real-world exercises. http://www.lexpress.mu/display_article.php?news_id=90612
"New Less-Lethal Series of Projectile Launchers for Law Enforcement and Military Now Available"
Market Wire (07/30/07)
Security With Advanced Technology, Inc., a leading provider of security products and services, reports that its new MK Series of less-lethal projectile launchers designed primarily for use by military and law enforcement are now available for sale and delivery. Developed by Veritas Tactical, a division of Security With Advanced Technology, the MK Series of less-lethal launchers are propelled by high pressured air and shoot PAVA-filled projectiles, which break open on impact releasing a cloud of potent PAVA powder that causes subjects to cough, choke and become temporarily debilitated. The powder is significantly stronger than the effect of pepper spray. The launchers give military and law enforcement officers the ability to deliver less-lethal rounds accurately at a point target at 50 meters, providing them with a tactical advantage in many control situations. The MK Series also delivers rounds up to 100 meters for riot and crowd control situations. http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0284005.htm
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
