Date: May 6-9, 2007
Location: Moundsville, West Virginia
The Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization (OLETC), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the National Corrections and Law Enforcement Training and Technology Center (NCLETTC) and the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation (WVHTCF) annually host a Mock Prison Riot on the grounds of the former West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville. The purpose of the riot is to showcase emerging corrections and law enforcement technologies and to give corrections officers and tactical team members an opportunity to use and evaluate emerging technologies in riot training scenarios.
The event helps determine the effectiveness of the technologies by placing them in realistic situations and allows for suggestions for modification of the technologies. It also provides corrections personnel from throughout the country significant training on how to best approach and handle a riot situation. Corrections officials from all over the world, including the West Virginia Division of Corrections, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, Federal Bureau of Prisons, The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Her Majesty's Prison in London, England, have participated in the event.
Registration
The Riot is free of charge to participating teams and observers. You and/or your team are responsible for paying for your transportation to and from, your lodging, and your food. For additional information and to register online, please visit www.oletc.org/riot/.
Point of Contact
Office of Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center
1-888-306-5382
info@oletc.org
Article sponsored by military and police personnel who have become authors; and criminal justice leadership online.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Monday, January 15, 2007
Ceremony Held for Iraqi Police Graduates
American Forces Press Service
On Jan. 13, a ceremony was held in recognition of Ramadi Iraqi police graduates. A total of 58 Iraqi police officers graduated from their weeklong advanced training course at the Ramadi Training Center.
Iraqi police officers train at the center after completing a five-week basic training course at the Jordan International Police Training Center, said U.S. Army Capt. Stewart H. McFall, the officer in charge of the RTC.
While in Jordan, the Iraqis learn basic skills in police work, McFall said. Upon completion, they return to their assigned Iraqi police station and begin working with police transition teams and Iraqi police liaison officers until there is an opening for advanced training at the RTC.
There has been a recent surge in qualified police candidates in Ramadi, with more than 1,000 applicants this month, McFall said.
RTC students completed intensive training which includes, detainee operations, cordon searches, dismounted patrols, building searches, traffic control point operations, and reflexive fire training, McFall said.
"I'm living the good life now because it's harder for the terrorists to do their job against the U.S. forces, Iraqi police, and Iraqi army combined," one graduate said through a translator. "Now that I work as an IP, my family feels much safer ... I'm ready to go to the streets to do my job here and help the Iraqi people."
Article sponsored by college education information online, police and military personnel who have become writers; and criminal justice leadership.
On Jan. 13, a ceremony was held in recognition of Ramadi Iraqi police graduates. A total of 58 Iraqi police officers graduated from their weeklong advanced training course at the Ramadi Training Center.
Iraqi police officers train at the center after completing a five-week basic training course at the Jordan International Police Training Center, said U.S. Army Capt. Stewart H. McFall, the officer in charge of the RTC.
While in Jordan, the Iraqis learn basic skills in police work, McFall said. Upon completion, they return to their assigned Iraqi police station and begin working with police transition teams and Iraqi police liaison officers until there is an opening for advanced training at the RTC.
There has been a recent surge in qualified police candidates in Ramadi, with more than 1,000 applicants this month, McFall said.
RTC students completed intensive training which includes, detainee operations, cordon searches, dismounted patrols, building searches, traffic control point operations, and reflexive fire training, McFall said.
"I'm living the good life now because it's harder for the terrorists to do their job against the U.S. forces, Iraqi police, and Iraqi army combined," one graduate said through a translator. "Now that I work as an IP, my family feels much safer ... I'm ready to go to the streets to do my job here and help the Iraqi people."
Article sponsored by college education information online, police and military personnel who have become writers; and criminal justice leadership.
Humor, Vintage Aircraft and the Windy City
January 15, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com added five new police officers to the growing list of state and local police officers who have authored books. Police-Writers.com now lists 258 police officers turned writers and their 658 books. Added during this round here Charles Shafer, Richard Solita, Lou Fugaro, Terry Roger and Joseph Kozenczak.
Charles Shafer retired from the Chicago Police Department after 28 years, of which 25 were spent as a detective. His short fiction and articles have appeared world wide, in such magazines as Crime Time, Crime Factory, Mystery Scene, and Murderous Intent. His first novel, “On Cabrini Green,” was published in 2000. His second novel, “Chicago Stretch,” was released in 2003.
According to Kerry J. Schooley, “On Cabrini Green is not just yuks. Shafer fashions a solid plot that depicts victims drawn to their fates through their own rapacious greed. Narration shifts points of view to keep the story moving briskly. Readers get a broad-shouldered tour that reveals even tourist-familiar sections of the Windy City from sharply different angles.”
After retiring from the Chicago Police Department, Richard Solita, wrote a humorous, insider’s tale of his journey from “rookie to veteran” in “Twenty Years of Vaudeville and a Pension: What Really Happens Behind the Badge Based on True Stories of Chicago's Finest.” Earl Zuelke, Commander Chicago Police Department, Marine Unit, said, “ Having over thirty-five years in law enforcement, I found this book to be quite amusing, as well as bringing back memories of many similar past experiences. I recommend this book to those who have lived the job and anyone that would like to get an insiders perspective on it.”
Lou Fugaro is a past member of the prestigious Chicago Crime Commission, pilot by passion, police officer and licensed private detective by vocation. Indeed, he dabbled in investigations to the age of seventy-one.
In the early months of the Korean War, he enlisted in the Air Force. Although he is a combat veteran, he describes his four medals insignificant. Upon return to the states he began a career in law enforcement. Most of his twenty-six years as a police officer were spent on the street as a Detective Sergeant. However, he retired as a Deputy Chief on the Downers Grove Police Department. Post policing career, he spent ten years as a private detective in four Midwest states and he dabbled in investigations for a second ten years in eight Southeast states.
An avid pilot, he has owned several aircraft from a 175 HP cabin Fairchild, (The R46 and Little Louie) up to a 3400 HP twin engine B-25, (Barbie III and Company). His latest book, “Giants Over Korea: A Sky Too Far” takes the reader to the early B-29 air war over North Korea with remarkable depth and frightening detail. His book on investigations takes the reader into the world of an authentic licensed private detective. Not only does he provide invaluable insights into being a private investigator, but he explores the world of a private investigator as a small business owner.
While Police-Writers.com hosts 258 police officers (representing over 70 police departments) and their 657 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors and international police officers who have written books.
Charles Shafer retired from the Chicago Police Department after 28 years, of which 25 were spent as a detective. His short fiction and articles have appeared world wide, in such magazines as Crime Time, Crime Factory, Mystery Scene, and Murderous Intent. His first novel, “On Cabrini Green,” was published in 2000. His second novel, “Chicago Stretch,” was released in 2003.
According to Kerry J. Schooley, “On Cabrini Green is not just yuks. Shafer fashions a solid plot that depicts victims drawn to their fates through their own rapacious greed. Narration shifts points of view to keep the story moving briskly. Readers get a broad-shouldered tour that reveals even tourist-familiar sections of the Windy City from sharply different angles.”
After retiring from the Chicago Police Department, Richard Solita, wrote a humorous, insider’s tale of his journey from “rookie to veteran” in “Twenty Years of Vaudeville and a Pension: What Really Happens Behind the Badge Based on True Stories of Chicago's Finest.” Earl Zuelke, Commander Chicago Police Department, Marine Unit, said, “ Having over thirty-five years in law enforcement, I found this book to be quite amusing, as well as bringing back memories of many similar past experiences. I recommend this book to those who have lived the job and anyone that would like to get an insiders perspective on it.”
Lou Fugaro is a past member of the prestigious Chicago Crime Commission, pilot by passion, police officer and licensed private detective by vocation. Indeed, he dabbled in investigations to the age of seventy-one.
In the early months of the Korean War, he enlisted in the Air Force. Although he is a combat veteran, he describes his four medals insignificant. Upon return to the states he began a career in law enforcement. Most of his twenty-six years as a police officer were spent on the street as a Detective Sergeant. However, he retired as a Deputy Chief on the Downers Grove Police Department. Post policing career, he spent ten years as a private detective in four Midwest states and he dabbled in investigations for a second ten years in eight Southeast states.
An avid pilot, he has owned several aircraft from a 175 HP cabin Fairchild, (The R46 and Little Louie) up to a 3400 HP twin engine B-25, (Barbie III and Company). His latest book, “Giants Over Korea: A Sky Too Far” takes the reader to the early B-29 air war over North Korea with remarkable depth and frightening detail. His book on investigations takes the reader into the world of an authentic licensed private detective. Not only does he provide invaluable insights into being a private investigator, but he explores the world of a private investigator as a small business owner.
While Police-Writers.com hosts 258 police officers (representing over 70 police departments) and their 657 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors and international police officers who have written books.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Chicago: the reality and the fiction
January 14, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com added three Chicago police officers to the listing of state and local police officers who have authored books. Added were William O’Shea, C.M. Russell and Daniel Schrager.
William O’Shea began his public service career in 1968 when, as a Chicago Police Cadet, he was assigned to the infamous Democratic National Convention. In the ensuing decades as a Chicago Police Officer he had many adventures, some of which are chronicled in his first novel, “The Foot Post.”
In 1992, Bill moved to southern Illinois with his wife, Susan, and established a detective agency under his private investigator’s license. In recent years, he has been active as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, working with children who find themselves mired in the court system. His experiences as a CASA volunteer moved him to write “The Advocate” and create the advocacy project.
Bill is now a relentless advocate for the rights of abused and sexually exploited children and fears that it will be a life long endeavor.
C. M. Russell was born and raised in Chicago, IL. After graduating from the University of Illinois/Chicago Campus, he began his career with the Chicago Police Department. He has drawn upon numerous real-life experiences from this urban city to depict the situations officers face on a daily basis. This, his first book, takes the reader on a virtual ride-a-long with the officers. His account is action packed, suspenseful, and keeps the adrenaline pumping right to the very end.
According to his book, Thin Blue Line is about power and control in the city of Chicago. The drama asks, “who is really running the streets of Chicago? A high-ranking gang member’s trial is less than a week away. Determined not to go back to the penitentiary, he decides to “tie up some loose ends”. An officer, on patrol in the area, interrupts those plans and pays the ultimate price. Now, two veteran police officers lead the manhunt to bring this killer to justice. There’s only one problem; too much red tape! Ultimately, they must choose between what is legally right and morally right.”
Daniel Schrager was a member of the Chicago Police Department for twenty-eight years, retiring at the rank of Lieutenant in 1998. During his career, he worked as a patrol officer in the Cabrini-Green housing project; spent eight years as a vice officer in the Rush Street entertainment area; three years as a sergeant in a special unit created by then-mayor Jane Byrne to investigate misconduct in the Chicago Transit Authority; and, several years as a patrol sergeant. During his last five years on the Chicago Police Department, he was the Acting Watch Commander in the 24th Patrol District.
For eighteen months, in an unofficial capacity, he assisted as a bodyguard and driver for a mayoral candidate during a re-election bid.
Prior to joining the Chicago Police Department, he served fourteen months in Vietnam assigned to the U.S. Army First Infantry Division, including the period of the Tet offensive in 1968.
His book “The Code” is the story of a Chicago cop, Jake Harmon, who stumbles across an unidentified man carrying $250,000. While struggling to adhere to the "Cop Code of Behavior," he attempts to uncover the source of the money. Aided by his girlfriend and fellow officer, Aranda Gonzalez, he makes a shocking discovery that pushes him to the limits of the Code. His second book, “On The Edge” is the story of two Chicago cops, the investigative reporter they've teamed up with, and their investigation into the seamy world of drugs, politics and corruption.
While Police-Writers.com hosts 253 police officers (representing over 70 police departments) and their 647 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors and international police officers who have written books.
William O’Shea began his public service career in 1968 when, as a Chicago Police Cadet, he was assigned to the infamous Democratic National Convention. In the ensuing decades as a Chicago Police Officer he had many adventures, some of which are chronicled in his first novel, “The Foot Post.”
In 1992, Bill moved to southern Illinois with his wife, Susan, and established a detective agency under his private investigator’s license. In recent years, he has been active as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, working with children who find themselves mired in the court system. His experiences as a CASA volunteer moved him to write “The Advocate” and create the advocacy project.
Bill is now a relentless advocate for the rights of abused and sexually exploited children and fears that it will be a life long endeavor.
C. M. Russell was born and raised in Chicago, IL. After graduating from the University of Illinois/Chicago Campus, he began his career with the Chicago Police Department. He has drawn upon numerous real-life experiences from this urban city to depict the situations officers face on a daily basis. This, his first book, takes the reader on a virtual ride-a-long with the officers. His account is action packed, suspenseful, and keeps the adrenaline pumping right to the very end.
According to his book, Thin Blue Line is about power and control in the city of Chicago. The drama asks, “who is really running the streets of Chicago? A high-ranking gang member’s trial is less than a week away. Determined not to go back to the penitentiary, he decides to “tie up some loose ends”. An officer, on patrol in the area, interrupts those plans and pays the ultimate price. Now, two veteran police officers lead the manhunt to bring this killer to justice. There’s only one problem; too much red tape! Ultimately, they must choose between what is legally right and morally right.”
Daniel Schrager was a member of the Chicago Police Department for twenty-eight years, retiring at the rank of Lieutenant in 1998. During his career, he worked as a patrol officer in the Cabrini-Green housing project; spent eight years as a vice officer in the Rush Street entertainment area; three years as a sergeant in a special unit created by then-mayor Jane Byrne to investigate misconduct in the Chicago Transit Authority; and, several years as a patrol sergeant. During his last five years on the Chicago Police Department, he was the Acting Watch Commander in the 24th Patrol District.
For eighteen months, in an unofficial capacity, he assisted as a bodyguard and driver for a mayoral candidate during a re-election bid.
Prior to joining the Chicago Police Department, he served fourteen months in Vietnam assigned to the U.S. Army First Infantry Division, including the period of the Tet offensive in 1968.
His book “The Code” is the story of a Chicago cop, Jake Harmon, who stumbles across an unidentified man carrying $250,000. While struggling to adhere to the "Cop Code of Behavior," he attempts to uncover the source of the money. Aided by his girlfriend and fellow officer, Aranda Gonzalez, he makes a shocking discovery that pushes him to the limits of the Code. His second book, “On The Edge” is the story of two Chicago cops, the investigative reporter they've teamed up with, and their investigation into the seamy world of drugs, politics and corruption.
While Police-Writers.com hosts 253 police officers (representing over 70 police departments) and their 647 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors and international police officers who have written books.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Christian Law Enforcement Summit
On April 3, 2007 through April 6, 2007, a Christian Law Enforcement summit will be held at the LifeWay Glorieta Conference Center in New Mexico. The mission of the Christian Law Enforcement Summit is to provide tools for character and ministry. The summit was designed by police officers and will be delivered by police officers for police officers. The Law Enforcement Summit provides an interactive process where Christian police officers and their spouses, by talking about their own life experiences, can share strengths and successes in maintaining their faith - faith in themselves, faith in others, faith in the SYSTEM and faith in a loving God. According to event organizers, “Often the only place a law enforcement officer feels safe is with fellow officers. It is easy to see how - given the day to day assault on these officers, that without God's strength - they can become bitter, disillusioned and even abusive veterans. This conference is designed to say, "It is okay to be a cop and be a Christian."
Workshops include:
The Road To Financial Freedom
Critical Incident Stress Management for the Family
Spiritual Leadership
Responding to the Call w/ Christ’s Spirit
My Marriage at Work & Home
Defining the Law Enforcement Chaplaincy
Recovering From Stress
To register for the Glorieta Law Enforcement Summit, call 1.800.797.4222, or visit their website here.
Workshops include:
The Road To Financial Freedom
Critical Incident Stress Management for the Family
Spiritual Leadership
Responding to the Call w/ Christ’s Spirit
My Marriage at Work & Home
Defining the Law Enforcement Chaplaincy
Recovering From Stress
To register for the Glorieta Law Enforcement Summit, call 1.800.797.4222, or visit their website here.
Friday, January 12, 2007
NLECTC Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology News Summary
Thursday, January 11, 2007
"Recognizing Odd Behavior"
Baltimore Sun (01/05/07); Roylance, Frank D.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland, and other facilities across the country are developing behavior recognition software that, in conjunction with video surveillance systems, alerts authorities to suspicious behaviors. This research has applications in security, anti-terrorism, and surveillance, among other sectors, and the Homeland Security Department and Pentagon have taken notice. The software developed by Johns Hopkins allowed authorities to arrest robbery suspects during an armed robbery that occurred near the campus of Johns Hopkins in June 2006. During the incident, the Hopkins software singled out an image from one of the campus's 89 security cameras; the software highlighted the image because it recognized that one of the suspects was engaging in suspicious behavior on the street, with aberrant movements. The security system automatically alerted an on-duty security guard, placing the image of the suspect on the security guard's computer screen, allowing the security guard to zoom in on the image and record a license plate number.
http://www.baltimoresun.com
/news/health/bal-hs.gait05jan
05,0,1884420.story?coll=bal-health-headlines
"Study Will Examine Cops' Gun Training"
New York Daily News (01/05/07) P. 8; Naspretto, Ernie; Gendar, Alison
The Rand consulting firm will evaluate how the New York Police Department (NYPD) trains officers in using firearms. Rand will assess the Police Academy's initial weapons training, the yearly re-qualification training, in-service training, and the department's shooting review process. The $500,000 study, being funded by the Police Foundation, will last six months, and will not specifically examine the controversial November shooting of Sean Bell. However, the report will utilize any data found by a Queens, N.Y., grand jury responsible for investigating the incident, according to NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly. The NYPD's training offerings consist of such things as video simulations, physical firings, and paint-ball guns. In addition, scenarios are used to train officers about using their weapons. Jack Riley, acting director of the Rand Center on Quality Policing, says Rand will also examine if the psychology involved in the training scenarios is appropriate.
http://www.nydailynews.com
/front/story/485905p-408971c.html
"Do We Really Need a New Huber Jail?"
Madison Capital Times (WI) (01/05/07) P. A1; Novak, Bill
A couple of Madison, Wis., County Board members are challenging the need to construct a proposed work-release prison, contending that with existing prisoner monitoring technology, buildings for overnight jailing could be a thing of the past. The proposed building would replace a work-release prison close to the Alliant Energy Center, and would include as well an alcohol and drug treatment facility. It is predicted to cost $34 million to $38 million. New positioning technology could allow county jailers to have more control of minimum-security prisoners than they now have, since under the present set-up prisoners are sent into the community daily without supervision, with the agreement they will come back to the facility at night. Sometimes the inmates do not come back when they are supposed to, and county law enforcement authorities have to search for them. "With new technology, such as GPS tracking and electronic bracelets, we can be absolutely pinpoint accurate where the inmates are at all times," notes County Board Supervisor Dennis O'Loughlin, who along with Chairman Scott McDonell is protesting the new facility.
http://www.madison.com/tct
/news/index.php?ntid=113777&ntpid=1
"Stun-Gun Use Deemed Reasonable"
Monterey County Herald (CA) (01/03/07); Reynolds, Julia
A Monterey County grand jury has ruled that Taser guns are a sensible weapon for law enforcement, but recommends the use of new video technology in conjunction with it. In a report, the grand jury concluded that Taser stun guns are "an effective and reasonable non-lethal" tool for police officers, but would be more effective if paired with new video technology called "Taser Cam." Only one of the county's 12 law enforcement agencies use the technology. According to the grand jury report, Tasers have been used in Monterey for the last three years; however, a rash of wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against the county and stun gun manufacturers in protest of how police officers use Tasers in the line of duty. The deaths and suits led to the grand jury investigation, which found that each of the 12 county agencies that use Tasers provide sufficient training to officers and have policies in place to ensure proper use of the weapons.
http://www.montereyherald.com
/mld/montereyherald/news/16372666.htm
"Computers for Police in Largo Long Overdue"
St. Petersburg Times (FL) (01/05/07) P. 2
After waiting years to get in-car computers for police cruisers, the Largo Police Department in Pinellas County, Fla., finally saw 90 vehicles equipped with computers approximately a week before Christmas. The $3.5 million system performs a number of functions for officers, such as tracking the location of all on-duty officers. They can also monitor what types of incidents are occurring across the city by observing the computer screen. Officers also have instant access to the criminal records, driving records, and outstanding warrants of individuals, and can determine if a vehicle was stolen by inputting the license plate number. Previously, officers had to wait for dispatchers to handle their requests for such data. Funding for the system was originally allocated by city managers and the City Commission in 2004 after Chief Lester Aradi made a special, direct request to commissioners.
http://www.sptimes.com
/2007/01/05/Northpinella
s/Computers_for_police_.shtml
"Proposal Expands DNA Use by Police"
Charleston Post and Courier (01/03/07) P. A1; Wenger, Yvonne M.
State lawmakers in South Carolina are weighing legislation that would allow police officers to obtain DNA samples from anyone arrested for any crime, regardless of the severity of the crime. Under the measure, law enforcement officials would be permitted to take samples before the felon is tried for the crime. The proposal is being sharply criticized by some civil rights advocates, who complain that the measure exceeds legal boundaries. But supporters of the measure counter that the bill does not withhold due process to arrestees, arguing that in restricting access to the databank and requiring the destruction of samples if charges are dropped, the measure makes sure that the civil rights and personal privacy of suspects are preserved. "It is no more invasive than fingerprinting", says Senate Pro Tem Glenn McConnell. "I see a tremendous amount of benefit for the law-abiding public." South Carolina already has a DNA databank; however, if passed, the bill would be the strictest DNA sampling protocol in the country.
http://www.charleston.net
/assets/webPages/departm
ental/news/Stories.aspx?section=loc
alnews&tableId=124943&pubDate=1/3/2007
"Britons to Be Scanned for FBI Database"
Guardian Unlimited (UK) (01/07/07); Harris, Paul; Doward, Jamie; Gallagher, Paul
The Department of Homeland Security plans to begin testing new airport technology that will scan all ten fingertips of passengers in a bid to make the data compatible with the FBI database. Currently, just two fingerprints are scanned. The new policy will apply equally to countries on friendly and unfriendly terms with the United States. Travelers from Briton and other E.U. nations as well as Japan, Australia, and New Zealand will be affected. Testing will begin this summer at 10 airports before being implemented across the United States by the end of 2008. Fingerprinting is a major component of the federal government's anti-terrorism efforts. "A fingerprint that is left ... in the training camp or in the safe house is, in fact, a powerful tool," says Homeland chief Michael Chertoff. "'We will have a world in which any terrorist who has ever been in a safe house or has ever been in a training camp is going to ask himself or herself this question: have I ever left a fingerprint anywhere?"
http://www.guardian.co.uk
/usa/story/0,,1984649,00.html
"Prisons Need More Funds, Report Says"
Monterey County Herald (CA) (01/03/07); Reynolds, Julia
In Monterey County, Calif., prisons and jails have reached a problematic degree of overcrowding and will require an infusion of funds to meet "projected county jail incarceration needs," says a local grand jury report. The report recommends jail staff "enhance communications" with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to more expediently process and deport detained illegal immigrants. The report also recommends that video and audio surveillance equipment be purchased, new jail facilities be created, and new technology be brought in for fingerprint and iris scanning and identification. Monterey County has two state prisons which contain twice as many inmates as stipulated in their design capacity, according to the report.
http://www.montereyherald.com
/mld/montereyherald/news/16372
670.htm?source=rss&channel=montereyherald_news
"Triangle Fire-Police Radio Better Than Most"
News & Observer (01/04/07); Beckwith, Ryan Teague
During the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, New York City police officers could not warn firefighters inside the Twin Towers to evacuate because their agency radios were not standardized and interoperable to talk directly with each other. Today only six out of 75 major U.S. cities have standardized communication among various law enforcement and emergency agencies, reports the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. For instance, Johnston County, N.C., has its police and firefighters on the same radio wavelength, so to speak. However, many Raleigh, N.C., agencies--such as the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the Raleigh police, and Orange County fire and police departments--cannot connect to statewide radio systems. These agencies around Raleigh today communicate by channeling messages through a central 911 system, which is a cumbersome process. N.C. Highway Patrol Maj. Woody Sandy says, "The problem we're trying to fix is that every day there's a fire truck, an ambulance and a law enforcement officer responding to a call and they can't talk to each other." The N.C. Highway Patrol alone needs $190 million to create a statewide communication network, and to date has amassed about $80 million in total funding for that purpose. They are exploring using a computer system to centralize communication and shrink data transport across an 800 MHz frequency. http://www.newsobserver.com
/102/story/528372.html
"BR Officials Say Report Biased"
2theAdvocate (01/04/07); Shields, Gerard
Emergency response leaders in Baton Rouge, La., have rejected the findings of a recent report from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that rated the region's radio communications systems as one of the worst among 75 metropolitan areas in the country. Baton Rouge officials say that despite variances in equipment compatibility and financing, the region is making progress in achieving interoperability. For example, the local governments of eight parishes last summer tested their systems and found only a few glitches, according to participants. The exercise will help officials uncover "weaknesses and make adjustments accordingly," says Mark Smith of the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. But Travis Prewitt, emergency response director of East Feliciana Parish, says there is room for improvement. For instance, local police rely on 450 MHz radios, compared to the State Police's 700 MHz radios, he notes. The DHS report asserted that the Baton Rouge area lacks a strategic plan to steer interoperability targets and funding, and also relies too much on mobile phones in emergencies. On Jan. 3, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff promised that by 2009, all 75 metropolitan areas surveyed in the report would have modern disaster communications systems in place, according to the Associated Press. http://www.2theadvocate.com
/news/5080951.html
"Control of Water Vapor and Mold Using a New Type of Epoxy Coating"
Sheriff (12/06) Vol. 58, No. 6, P. 31; Reed, Angus
Controlling moisture problems and the mold growth that results can be quite a challenge in a jail. Eliminating moisture problems often requires consultation with an experienced contractor to identify the problem and develop a plan for correcting it. Such a plan may involve coating the exterior foundation wall with waterproofing compounds and a membrane. However, water vapor exerts a great deal of pressure on anything that stands in its way of moving through material. Products such as solvent-based epoxy paints do not have enough adhesion to withstand this pressure. In addition, the difference in expansion between the wall material and the paint creates a shearing action that loosens the paint from the wall. As result, some jails are turning to water-based epoxy coatings that claim not peel off and not allow mold to grow. In a test of such a product at the Bristol County, Mass., Jail in February of 2006, no mold growth appeared on surfaces coated with the water-based epoxy. The test of the product impressed the Bristol County Sheriff's department enough to apply it in additional areas of the jails and other facilities.
http://www.sheriffs.org
"Cameras Free Police to Patrol Other Crimes"
Virginian-Pilot (01/02/07) P. B8
The editors of the Virginian-Pilot say police officers in Chesapeake, Va., as well in other areas of Virginia could stop drivers who run red lights if they employed "photo red cameras." The editors explain that state localities turned off the cameras two years ago, after Virginia lawmakers rejected renewing the law that allowed them. The editors state that currently there is a bill that will be proposed in the next legislative session that would permit localities to resurrect the cameras, and that it "deserves a vote in the full House." They add that legislators who are financially conservative, support law enforcement, and are concerned about traffic safety have even more incentive to vote to return the cameras. The editors note that since cameras are not permitted at intersections, Chesapeake police sometimes have an officer track motorists who pull into traffic intersections after the light is red and then radio ahead to a different officer who pulls the driver over. The editors point out that Chesapeake wrote over 1,500 tickets for red-light violations in 2006. The editors stress that these police officers should have the burden of this task removed from them so they can deal with other crimes. "Where the technology is available and affordable, red-light cameras are a smart option, and a cheap one," the editors conclude.
http://content.hamptonroads.com
/story.cfm?story=116921&ran=163705
"To Catch a Thief, a Police Department Puts a Video on YouTube"
InformationWeek (12/20/06); Gardner, W. David
In order to catch two men allegedly purchasing items worth hundreds of dollars at a Home Depot with a stolen credit card, the Franklin, Mass., police department posted a surveillance video of the crime on YouTube and the department's Web site. Officers hope someone will recognize the men from the video, which has been viewed almost 800 times on YouTube. Additionally, the department's site, www.franklinpolice.com, features alerts on such topics as traffic measures and winter parking bans, and the department also offers occasional podcasts and an e-mail blast system. The Franklin police serve 32,000 residents.
http://www.informationweek.com
/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=AZB
4Z0L40J5T0QSNDLPSKH0CJUN
N2JVN?articleID=196701199&queryText=gardner
"High-tech Weapon in Graffiti War"
Whittier Daily News (CA) (12/31/06); Esparza, Araceli
The Pico Rivera Sheriff's Department began using Graffiti Tracker in September to help arrest graffiti writers. The city allocates $18,000 annually to operate the system, but the sheriff's department provides $130,000 each year to have deputies operate the system. The technology allows deputies to submit photographs taken of graffiti into a large database that compares the pictures to others taken for the purpose of identifying the graffiti writer. City spokesman Bob Spencer said that the system dissuades some graffiti writers from vandalizing local structures. Violators can face as much as five years in prison. http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_4930131
"Counties Work to Hide Personal Data"
Computerworld (12/15/06); Vijayan, Jaikumar
Several counties across the nation are following in the footsteps of Florida's Orange County Comptroller's office by removing personally identifiable information from official records on their Web sites. Back in April 2005, Orange County reviewed over 30 million pages of public records, searching for Social Security numbers, credit cards numbers, and bank account information. Several counties and local governments are now blacking out personal information from documents or taking the documents off their Web sites altogether. Florida, New York, and Washington have already passed laws requiring recorders to redact personal information from online records. Public concern over personal data has still not caught the attention of several county governments, says B.J. Ostergren, a privacy advocate. A Grant County, Indiana, recorder's office removed documents from the Internet only after a lawsuit was filed related to identity theft. Travis County, Texas, pulled all document images of its Web site this past June and recently put them back online after redacting sensitive data. "The more publicity this has gotten the more people are getting to know about the issue," says Ostergren. "I think a lot of people are beginning to put the skids on this sort of issue."
http://www.computerworld.com
/action/article.do?command=vie
wArticleBasic&articleId=9006148
"Emerging Technologies: Computers Watching Over Us"
Government Technology (12/20/06); Harris, Chandler
Though it may seem Orwellian, surveillance technologies in use today are seen as tools for enhancing security rather than instruments of repression. The global video surveillance industry is valued at $160 billion, with its spectacular growth largely stimulated by homeland security initiatives after Sept. 11. About 30 million surveillance cameras are estimated to be in the United States, shooting 4 billion hours of footage every week; in cities such as New York and Chicago, these cameras are wirelessly networked. Municipalities that implement Wi-Fi networks can frequently use the infrastructure to substantially lower urban camera deployment costs, and police and emergency responders are going to rely on mobile video capabilities more and more. The problem of staffing the feeds from an astronomical number of cameras may be addressed by video analytics software, which tracks live feeds, locates video images that meet specified criteria, and alerts the appropriate authorities. The technology has carried the most benefits for security systems thanks to its ability to identify problems and notify the correct security staff. Frost and Sullivan's "Video Analytics: The Ground Reality" report estimates that federal and state governments comprise more than 50 percent of the video analytics market, while the second biggest video analytics software market is the retail, banking, and gaming industries. Frost and Sullivan analyst Dilip Sarangan says the parties expressing the most interest in video analytics are government agencies looking for something that can recognize license plates and faces, although the technology needs to be more reliable in natural settings and better able to identify constantly moving objects; the cost of video camera upgrades is another impediment to the wide adoption of video analytics technology. http://www.govtech.net
/digitalcommunities/story.php?id=102986
"Personal Defense Weapons: Considerations on Their Potential Role"
Police and Security News (12/06) Vol. 22, No. 6, P. 43; Ijames, Steve
Well-armed criminals and the potential for further terrorist attacks on U.S. soil necessitates a switch to higher-powered and more accurate weapons for U.S. law enforcement personnel. Highlighted are three such personal defense ultracompact shoulder weapons. The M16 AR15 Ultracompact is used by the U.S. military and numerous U.S. police agencies but is lacking when it comes to reliability of mechanical function and terminal ballistic performance due to its supershort barrel. The Remington 870P Sage International Compact model, though not the most accurate weapon of the group, offers unparalleled stopping power. The semiautomatic FN PS90-SBR offers ease of handling and near zero recoil and is a very short nonpistol caliber shoulder weapon. http://www.policeandsecuritynews.com
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice leadership; and, police and military writers who have become authors of books.
"Recognizing Odd Behavior"
Baltimore Sun (01/05/07); Roylance, Frank D.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland, and other facilities across the country are developing behavior recognition software that, in conjunction with video surveillance systems, alerts authorities to suspicious behaviors. This research has applications in security, anti-terrorism, and surveillance, among other sectors, and the Homeland Security Department and Pentagon have taken notice. The software developed by Johns Hopkins allowed authorities to arrest robbery suspects during an armed robbery that occurred near the campus of Johns Hopkins in June 2006. During the incident, the Hopkins software singled out an image from one of the campus's 89 security cameras; the software highlighted the image because it recognized that one of the suspects was engaging in suspicious behavior on the street, with aberrant movements. The security system automatically alerted an on-duty security guard, placing the image of the suspect on the security guard's computer screen, allowing the security guard to zoom in on the image and record a license plate number.
http://www.baltimoresun.com
/news/health/bal-hs.gait05jan
05,0,1884420.story?coll=bal-health-headlines
"Study Will Examine Cops' Gun Training"
New York Daily News (01/05/07) P. 8; Naspretto, Ernie; Gendar, Alison
The Rand consulting firm will evaluate how the New York Police Department (NYPD) trains officers in using firearms. Rand will assess the Police Academy's initial weapons training, the yearly re-qualification training, in-service training, and the department's shooting review process. The $500,000 study, being funded by the Police Foundation, will last six months, and will not specifically examine the controversial November shooting of Sean Bell. However, the report will utilize any data found by a Queens, N.Y., grand jury responsible for investigating the incident, according to NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly. The NYPD's training offerings consist of such things as video simulations, physical firings, and paint-ball guns. In addition, scenarios are used to train officers about using their weapons. Jack Riley, acting director of the Rand Center on Quality Policing, says Rand will also examine if the psychology involved in the training scenarios is appropriate.
http://www.nydailynews.com
/front/story/485905p-408971c.html
"Do We Really Need a New Huber Jail?"
Madison Capital Times (WI) (01/05/07) P. A1; Novak, Bill
A couple of Madison, Wis., County Board members are challenging the need to construct a proposed work-release prison, contending that with existing prisoner monitoring technology, buildings for overnight jailing could be a thing of the past. The proposed building would replace a work-release prison close to the Alliant Energy Center, and would include as well an alcohol and drug treatment facility. It is predicted to cost $34 million to $38 million. New positioning technology could allow county jailers to have more control of minimum-security prisoners than they now have, since under the present set-up prisoners are sent into the community daily without supervision, with the agreement they will come back to the facility at night. Sometimes the inmates do not come back when they are supposed to, and county law enforcement authorities have to search for them. "With new technology, such as GPS tracking and electronic bracelets, we can be absolutely pinpoint accurate where the inmates are at all times," notes County Board Supervisor Dennis O'Loughlin, who along with Chairman Scott McDonell is protesting the new facility.
http://www.madison.com/tct
/news/index.php?ntid=113777&ntpid=1
"Stun-Gun Use Deemed Reasonable"
Monterey County Herald (CA) (01/03/07); Reynolds, Julia
A Monterey County grand jury has ruled that Taser guns are a sensible weapon for law enforcement, but recommends the use of new video technology in conjunction with it. In a report, the grand jury concluded that Taser stun guns are "an effective and reasonable non-lethal" tool for police officers, but would be more effective if paired with new video technology called "Taser Cam." Only one of the county's 12 law enforcement agencies use the technology. According to the grand jury report, Tasers have been used in Monterey for the last three years; however, a rash of wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against the county and stun gun manufacturers in protest of how police officers use Tasers in the line of duty. The deaths and suits led to the grand jury investigation, which found that each of the 12 county agencies that use Tasers provide sufficient training to officers and have policies in place to ensure proper use of the weapons.
http://www.montereyherald.com
/mld/montereyherald/news/16372666.htm
"Computers for Police in Largo Long Overdue"
St. Petersburg Times (FL) (01/05/07) P. 2
After waiting years to get in-car computers for police cruisers, the Largo Police Department in Pinellas County, Fla., finally saw 90 vehicles equipped with computers approximately a week before Christmas. The $3.5 million system performs a number of functions for officers, such as tracking the location of all on-duty officers. They can also monitor what types of incidents are occurring across the city by observing the computer screen. Officers also have instant access to the criminal records, driving records, and outstanding warrants of individuals, and can determine if a vehicle was stolen by inputting the license plate number. Previously, officers had to wait for dispatchers to handle their requests for such data. Funding for the system was originally allocated by city managers and the City Commission in 2004 after Chief Lester Aradi made a special, direct request to commissioners.
http://www.sptimes.com
/2007/01/05/Northpinella
s/Computers_for_police_.shtml
"Proposal Expands DNA Use by Police"
Charleston Post and Courier (01/03/07) P. A1; Wenger, Yvonne M.
State lawmakers in South Carolina are weighing legislation that would allow police officers to obtain DNA samples from anyone arrested for any crime, regardless of the severity of the crime. Under the measure, law enforcement officials would be permitted to take samples before the felon is tried for the crime. The proposal is being sharply criticized by some civil rights advocates, who complain that the measure exceeds legal boundaries. But supporters of the measure counter that the bill does not withhold due process to arrestees, arguing that in restricting access to the databank and requiring the destruction of samples if charges are dropped, the measure makes sure that the civil rights and personal privacy of suspects are preserved. "It is no more invasive than fingerprinting", says Senate Pro Tem Glenn McConnell. "I see a tremendous amount of benefit for the law-abiding public." South Carolina already has a DNA databank; however, if passed, the bill would be the strictest DNA sampling protocol in the country.
http://www.charleston.net
/assets/webPages/departm
ental/news/Stories.aspx?section=loc
alnews&tableId=124943&pubDate=1/3/2007
"Britons to Be Scanned for FBI Database"
Guardian Unlimited (UK) (01/07/07); Harris, Paul; Doward, Jamie; Gallagher, Paul
The Department of Homeland Security plans to begin testing new airport technology that will scan all ten fingertips of passengers in a bid to make the data compatible with the FBI database. Currently, just two fingerprints are scanned. The new policy will apply equally to countries on friendly and unfriendly terms with the United States. Travelers from Briton and other E.U. nations as well as Japan, Australia, and New Zealand will be affected. Testing will begin this summer at 10 airports before being implemented across the United States by the end of 2008. Fingerprinting is a major component of the federal government's anti-terrorism efforts. "A fingerprint that is left ... in the training camp or in the safe house is, in fact, a powerful tool," says Homeland chief Michael Chertoff. "'We will have a world in which any terrorist who has ever been in a safe house or has ever been in a training camp is going to ask himself or herself this question: have I ever left a fingerprint anywhere?"
http://www.guardian.co.uk
/usa/story/0,,1984649,00.html
"Prisons Need More Funds, Report Says"
Monterey County Herald (CA) (01/03/07); Reynolds, Julia
In Monterey County, Calif., prisons and jails have reached a problematic degree of overcrowding and will require an infusion of funds to meet "projected county jail incarceration needs," says a local grand jury report. The report recommends jail staff "enhance communications" with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to more expediently process and deport detained illegal immigrants. The report also recommends that video and audio surveillance equipment be purchased, new jail facilities be created, and new technology be brought in for fingerprint and iris scanning and identification. Monterey County has two state prisons which contain twice as many inmates as stipulated in their design capacity, according to the report.
http://www.montereyherald.com
/mld/montereyherald/news/16372
670.htm?source=rss&channel=montereyherald_news
"Triangle Fire-Police Radio Better Than Most"
News & Observer (01/04/07); Beckwith, Ryan Teague
During the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, New York City police officers could not warn firefighters inside the Twin Towers to evacuate because their agency radios were not standardized and interoperable to talk directly with each other. Today only six out of 75 major U.S. cities have standardized communication among various law enforcement and emergency agencies, reports the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. For instance, Johnston County, N.C., has its police and firefighters on the same radio wavelength, so to speak. However, many Raleigh, N.C., agencies--such as the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the Raleigh police, and Orange County fire and police departments--cannot connect to statewide radio systems. These agencies around Raleigh today communicate by channeling messages through a central 911 system, which is a cumbersome process. N.C. Highway Patrol Maj. Woody Sandy says, "The problem we're trying to fix is that every day there's a fire truck, an ambulance and a law enforcement officer responding to a call and they can't talk to each other." The N.C. Highway Patrol alone needs $190 million to create a statewide communication network, and to date has amassed about $80 million in total funding for that purpose. They are exploring using a computer system to centralize communication and shrink data transport across an 800 MHz frequency. http://www.newsobserver.com
/102/story/528372.html
"BR Officials Say Report Biased"
2theAdvocate (01/04/07); Shields, Gerard
Emergency response leaders in Baton Rouge, La., have rejected the findings of a recent report from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that rated the region's radio communications systems as one of the worst among 75 metropolitan areas in the country. Baton Rouge officials say that despite variances in equipment compatibility and financing, the region is making progress in achieving interoperability. For example, the local governments of eight parishes last summer tested their systems and found only a few glitches, according to participants. The exercise will help officials uncover "weaknesses and make adjustments accordingly," says Mark Smith of the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. But Travis Prewitt, emergency response director of East Feliciana Parish, says there is room for improvement. For instance, local police rely on 450 MHz radios, compared to the State Police's 700 MHz radios, he notes. The DHS report asserted that the Baton Rouge area lacks a strategic plan to steer interoperability targets and funding, and also relies too much on mobile phones in emergencies. On Jan. 3, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff promised that by 2009, all 75 metropolitan areas surveyed in the report would have modern disaster communications systems in place, according to the Associated Press. http://www.2theadvocate.com
/news/5080951.html
"Control of Water Vapor and Mold Using a New Type of Epoxy Coating"
Sheriff (12/06) Vol. 58, No. 6, P. 31; Reed, Angus
Controlling moisture problems and the mold growth that results can be quite a challenge in a jail. Eliminating moisture problems often requires consultation with an experienced contractor to identify the problem and develop a plan for correcting it. Such a plan may involve coating the exterior foundation wall with waterproofing compounds and a membrane. However, water vapor exerts a great deal of pressure on anything that stands in its way of moving through material. Products such as solvent-based epoxy paints do not have enough adhesion to withstand this pressure. In addition, the difference in expansion between the wall material and the paint creates a shearing action that loosens the paint from the wall. As result, some jails are turning to water-based epoxy coatings that claim not peel off and not allow mold to grow. In a test of such a product at the Bristol County, Mass., Jail in February of 2006, no mold growth appeared on surfaces coated with the water-based epoxy. The test of the product impressed the Bristol County Sheriff's department enough to apply it in additional areas of the jails and other facilities.
http://www.sheriffs.org
"Cameras Free Police to Patrol Other Crimes"
Virginian-Pilot (01/02/07) P. B8
The editors of the Virginian-Pilot say police officers in Chesapeake, Va., as well in other areas of Virginia could stop drivers who run red lights if they employed "photo red cameras." The editors explain that state localities turned off the cameras two years ago, after Virginia lawmakers rejected renewing the law that allowed them. The editors state that currently there is a bill that will be proposed in the next legislative session that would permit localities to resurrect the cameras, and that it "deserves a vote in the full House." They add that legislators who are financially conservative, support law enforcement, and are concerned about traffic safety have even more incentive to vote to return the cameras. The editors note that since cameras are not permitted at intersections, Chesapeake police sometimes have an officer track motorists who pull into traffic intersections after the light is red and then radio ahead to a different officer who pulls the driver over. The editors point out that Chesapeake wrote over 1,500 tickets for red-light violations in 2006. The editors stress that these police officers should have the burden of this task removed from them so they can deal with other crimes. "Where the technology is available and affordable, red-light cameras are a smart option, and a cheap one," the editors conclude.
http://content.hamptonroads.com
/story.cfm?story=116921&ran=163705
"To Catch a Thief, a Police Department Puts a Video on YouTube"
InformationWeek (12/20/06); Gardner, W. David
In order to catch two men allegedly purchasing items worth hundreds of dollars at a Home Depot with a stolen credit card, the Franklin, Mass., police department posted a surveillance video of the crime on YouTube and the department's Web site. Officers hope someone will recognize the men from the video, which has been viewed almost 800 times on YouTube. Additionally, the department's site, www.franklinpolice.com, features alerts on such topics as traffic measures and winter parking bans, and the department also offers occasional podcasts and an e-mail blast system. The Franklin police serve 32,000 residents.
http://www.informationweek.com
/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=AZB
4Z0L40J5T0QSNDLPSKH0CJUN
N2JVN?articleID=196701199&queryText=gardner
"High-tech Weapon in Graffiti War"
Whittier Daily News (CA) (12/31/06); Esparza, Araceli
The Pico Rivera Sheriff's Department began using Graffiti Tracker in September to help arrest graffiti writers. The city allocates $18,000 annually to operate the system, but the sheriff's department provides $130,000 each year to have deputies operate the system. The technology allows deputies to submit photographs taken of graffiti into a large database that compares the pictures to others taken for the purpose of identifying the graffiti writer. City spokesman Bob Spencer said that the system dissuades some graffiti writers from vandalizing local structures. Violators can face as much as five years in prison. http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_4930131
"Counties Work to Hide Personal Data"
Computerworld (12/15/06); Vijayan, Jaikumar
Several counties across the nation are following in the footsteps of Florida's Orange County Comptroller's office by removing personally identifiable information from official records on their Web sites. Back in April 2005, Orange County reviewed over 30 million pages of public records, searching for Social Security numbers, credit cards numbers, and bank account information. Several counties and local governments are now blacking out personal information from documents or taking the documents off their Web sites altogether. Florida, New York, and Washington have already passed laws requiring recorders to redact personal information from online records. Public concern over personal data has still not caught the attention of several county governments, says B.J. Ostergren, a privacy advocate. A Grant County, Indiana, recorder's office removed documents from the Internet only after a lawsuit was filed related to identity theft. Travis County, Texas, pulled all document images of its Web site this past June and recently put them back online after redacting sensitive data. "The more publicity this has gotten the more people are getting to know about the issue," says Ostergren. "I think a lot of people are beginning to put the skids on this sort of issue."
http://www.computerworld.com
/action/article.do?command=vie
wArticleBasic&articleId=9006148
"Emerging Technologies: Computers Watching Over Us"
Government Technology (12/20/06); Harris, Chandler
Though it may seem Orwellian, surveillance technologies in use today are seen as tools for enhancing security rather than instruments of repression. The global video surveillance industry is valued at $160 billion, with its spectacular growth largely stimulated by homeland security initiatives after Sept. 11. About 30 million surveillance cameras are estimated to be in the United States, shooting 4 billion hours of footage every week; in cities such as New York and Chicago, these cameras are wirelessly networked. Municipalities that implement Wi-Fi networks can frequently use the infrastructure to substantially lower urban camera deployment costs, and police and emergency responders are going to rely on mobile video capabilities more and more. The problem of staffing the feeds from an astronomical number of cameras may be addressed by video analytics software, which tracks live feeds, locates video images that meet specified criteria, and alerts the appropriate authorities. The technology has carried the most benefits for security systems thanks to its ability to identify problems and notify the correct security staff. Frost and Sullivan's "Video Analytics: The Ground Reality" report estimates that federal and state governments comprise more than 50 percent of the video analytics market, while the second biggest video analytics software market is the retail, banking, and gaming industries. Frost and Sullivan analyst Dilip Sarangan says the parties expressing the most interest in video analytics are government agencies looking for something that can recognize license plates and faces, although the technology needs to be more reliable in natural settings and better able to identify constantly moving objects; the cost of video camera upgrades is another impediment to the wide adoption of video analytics technology. http://www.govtech.net
/digitalcommunities/story.php?id=102986
"Personal Defense Weapons: Considerations on Their Potential Role"
Police and Security News (12/06) Vol. 22, No. 6, P. 43; Ijames, Steve
Well-armed criminals and the potential for further terrorist attacks on U.S. soil necessitates a switch to higher-powered and more accurate weapons for U.S. law enforcement personnel. Highlighted are three such personal defense ultracompact shoulder weapons. The M16 AR15 Ultracompact is used by the U.S. military and numerous U.S. police agencies but is lacking when it comes to reliability of mechanical function and terminal ballistic performance due to its supershort barrel. The Remington 870P Sage International Compact model, though not the most accurate weapon of the group, offers unparalleled stopping power. The semiautomatic FN PS90-SBR offers ease of handling and near zero recoil and is a very short nonpistol caliber shoulder weapon. http://www.policeandsecuritynews.com
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice leadership; and, police and military writers who have become authors of books.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Ninth Crime Mapping Research Conference
About the conference
The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial data analysis techniques have become prominent tools for analyzing criminal behavior and the impacts of the criminal justice system on society. Classical and spatial statistics have been merged to form more comprehensive approaches in understanding social problems from research and practical standpoints. These methods allow for the measurement of proximity effects on places by neighboring areas that lead to a multi-dimensional and less static understanding of factors that contribute to or repel crime across space.
The Ninth Crime Mapping Research Conference will focus on the use and development of methodologies for practitioners and researchers. The MAPS Program is anticipating the selection of key accepted presentations for further development of an electronic monograph on GIS, Spatial Data Analysis and the Study of Crime in the following year. Its purpose will be to demonstrate the fusing of classical and spatial analysis techniques to enhance policy decisions. Methods should not be limited to the use of classical and spatial statistics but also demonstrate the unique capabilities of GIS in preparing, categorizing and visualization of data for analysis.
The Crime Mapping Research Conference is about more than mapping crime locations. Participants will discuss a range of issues including policy decisions, research methods to identify and dispel hot spots, and other applied practice solutions. The conference is about the study of society and elements of mapping technology that contribute to both crime and justice.
Agenda
The conference will include workshop and panel sessions, as well as some plenary sessions. One plenary session will be about the "Coming Wave of GPS". The conference also includes a Map competition, Pre-conference workshops, and provides an excellent opportunity for researchers and practitioners to network with each other.
For more information:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/maps/pittsburgh2007/index.html
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice leadership; and, police and military writers who have become authors of books.
The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial data analysis techniques have become prominent tools for analyzing criminal behavior and the impacts of the criminal justice system on society. Classical and spatial statistics have been merged to form more comprehensive approaches in understanding social problems from research and practical standpoints. These methods allow for the measurement of proximity effects on places by neighboring areas that lead to a multi-dimensional and less static understanding of factors that contribute to or repel crime across space.
The Ninth Crime Mapping Research Conference will focus on the use and development of methodologies for practitioners and researchers. The MAPS Program is anticipating the selection of key accepted presentations for further development of an electronic monograph on GIS, Spatial Data Analysis and the Study of Crime in the following year. Its purpose will be to demonstrate the fusing of classical and spatial analysis techniques to enhance policy decisions. Methods should not be limited to the use of classical and spatial statistics but also demonstrate the unique capabilities of GIS in preparing, categorizing and visualization of data for analysis.
The Crime Mapping Research Conference is about more than mapping crime locations. Participants will discuss a range of issues including policy decisions, research methods to identify and dispel hot spots, and other applied practice solutions. The conference is about the study of society and elements of mapping technology that contribute to both crime and justice.
Agenda
The conference will include workshop and panel sessions, as well as some plenary sessions. One plenary session will be about the "Coming Wave of GPS". The conference also includes a Map competition, Pre-conference workshops, and provides an excellent opportunity for researchers and practitioners to network with each other.
For more information:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/maps/pittsburgh2007/index.html
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice leadership; and, police and military writers who have become authors of books.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
250 Police Officers
January 10, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com reached 250 state and local police officers who have written books. The five newly added police officers are all from the Chicago Police Department.
Jack Muller served on a minesweeper in World War II, as a rookie cop he was shot in the head and he became known as the uncompromising Chicago Police Officer who wrote traffic tickets to Mayor Richard Daily, sportscaster Jack Brickhouse and Mobster Sam Giancanna. Once, he even cited Jack Webb, of Dragnet fame, for drunk and disorderly. He retired in 1981 and not only did he win a $1.6 million dollar lottery, but he wrote “I, Pig: Who the World’s Most Famous Cop, Me, is Fighting City Hall.”
Edward Nowicki is the Executive Director of the National Criminal Justice Training Council (NCJTC) and 33 year law enforcement veteran, in addition to being one of the founders and the first Executive Directors of the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers (ASLET). He holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice and an M.A. in Management. A recipient of many prestigious awards, Ed has been judicially recognized as a Use of Force Expert in many courts across the nation and he has taught various use of force programs both across the nation and internationally. He developed the Use of Force Program and is a Master Instructor in both the OCAT Program and the Handcuffing Program, in addition to being an Instructor Trainer with the Tasertron TASER. Ed is a survivor of six separate shooting incidents, and he has authored a number of books and over 200 law enforcement articles. His books include “True Blue: True Stories about Real Cops” and “Total Survival: A Comprehensive Guide for the Physical, Emotional and Professional Survival of Law Enforcement Officers.
Thomas J. Keevers, a former homicide detective with the Chicago Police Department. His short stories have appeared in literary magazines and anthologies. One of them, "Thanksgiving Day in Homicide," was featured on National Public Radio's "Stories on Stage." He has published two books in the “P.I. Mike Duncavan Mystery Series:” “What the Hyena Knows” and “Music Across the Wall.” According to Booklist, “His flawed hero, Mike Duncavan, has been rejected by almost everyone: two ex-wives, the police department, and the Chicago Bar Association. About all that's left is PI work and staring at girls walking under his downtown office window. With his hot temper and fondness for Stolie on the rocks, Duncavan is a disaster waiting to happen--and you don't have to wait too long.”
William Getz’ 1977 book is the inside story of police work. Starting at the beginning of a policeman's career, the police academy, where the new recruit is expected to learn just about everything there is to know about police work and then some. According to the review, “From there, he's put on a beat, usually riding with another man in a squad car, and then the "fun" begins - once in the street, he is at its mercy, never able to predict what he may face during his eight-hour stint: could be a drunk having a fit on a downtown corner; could be a crazed husband threatening his wife with a baseball bat; or it could be a man with a shotgun who's just blown the top of a robbery victim's head off. Whatever, the life of a patrolman is unique and his stories can either bring tears to your eyes, or make you retch - something, believe it or not, cops are capable of experiencing themselves.”
Thomas Krupowicz retired from the Chicago Police Department with over 33 years on the job. He was an expert in Latent Fingerprint work and supervised of the Latent Print Unit for 12 years. Six books: Fingerprints: Innocence or Guilt: The Identity Factors; Dead Men Don't Drink Vodka; The Lincoln Dollars; First Line Defense; Death Danced at the Boulevard Ballroom; and, Murder In The Fourth Dimension.
While Police-Writers.com hosts 250 police officers (representing over 70 police departments) and their 642 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors and international police officers who have written books.
Jack Muller served on a minesweeper in World War II, as a rookie cop he was shot in the head and he became known as the uncompromising Chicago Police Officer who wrote traffic tickets to Mayor Richard Daily, sportscaster Jack Brickhouse and Mobster Sam Giancanna. Once, he even cited Jack Webb, of Dragnet fame, for drunk and disorderly. He retired in 1981 and not only did he win a $1.6 million dollar lottery, but he wrote “I, Pig: Who the World’s Most Famous Cop, Me, is Fighting City Hall.”
Edward Nowicki is the Executive Director of the National Criminal Justice Training Council (NCJTC) and 33 year law enforcement veteran, in addition to being one of the founders and the first Executive Directors of the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers (ASLET). He holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice and an M.A. in Management. A recipient of many prestigious awards, Ed has been judicially recognized as a Use of Force Expert in many courts across the nation and he has taught various use of force programs both across the nation and internationally. He developed the Use of Force Program and is a Master Instructor in both the OCAT Program and the Handcuffing Program, in addition to being an Instructor Trainer with the Tasertron TASER. Ed is a survivor of six separate shooting incidents, and he has authored a number of books and over 200 law enforcement articles. His books include “True Blue: True Stories about Real Cops” and “Total Survival: A Comprehensive Guide for the Physical, Emotional and Professional Survival of Law Enforcement Officers.
Thomas J. Keevers, a former homicide detective with the Chicago Police Department. His short stories have appeared in literary magazines and anthologies. One of them, "Thanksgiving Day in Homicide," was featured on National Public Radio's "Stories on Stage." He has published two books in the “P.I. Mike Duncavan Mystery Series:” “What the Hyena Knows” and “Music Across the Wall.” According to Booklist, “His flawed hero, Mike Duncavan, has been rejected by almost everyone: two ex-wives, the police department, and the Chicago Bar Association. About all that's left is PI work and staring at girls walking under his downtown office window. With his hot temper and fondness for Stolie on the rocks, Duncavan is a disaster waiting to happen--and you don't have to wait too long.”
William Getz’ 1977 book is the inside story of police work. Starting at the beginning of a policeman's career, the police academy, where the new recruit is expected to learn just about everything there is to know about police work and then some. According to the review, “From there, he's put on a beat, usually riding with another man in a squad car, and then the "fun" begins - once in the street, he is at its mercy, never able to predict what he may face during his eight-hour stint: could be a drunk having a fit on a downtown corner; could be a crazed husband threatening his wife with a baseball bat; or it could be a man with a shotgun who's just blown the top of a robbery victim's head off. Whatever, the life of a patrolman is unique and his stories can either bring tears to your eyes, or make you retch - something, believe it or not, cops are capable of experiencing themselves.”
Thomas Krupowicz retired from the Chicago Police Department with over 33 years on the job. He was an expert in Latent Fingerprint work and supervised of the Latent Print Unit for 12 years. Six books: Fingerprints: Innocence or Guilt: The Identity Factors; Dead Men Don't Drink Vodka; The Lincoln Dollars; First Line Defense; Death Danced at the Boulevard Ballroom; and, Murder In The Fourth Dimension.
While Police-Writers.com hosts 250 police officers (representing over 70 police departments) and their 642 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors and international police officers who have written books.
Fiction, Rap and Life
January 9, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com added five new authors to the growing list of police officers who have written books.
Lou Campanozzi was born and raised in Rochester, New York. As a young man he joined the Rochester Police Department and for 22 years he commanded the homicide and robbery squad, worked undercover narcotics, and eventually became the city’s District Commander. He was one of the three founders of BowMac Educational Services, a police training consulting firm formed in 1980. The company was designed to teach police officers how to properly interrogate criminal suspects. Lou’s techniques were adapted by police officers around the country and resulted in thousands of criminal justice convictions.
After retiring as a Captain from the Rochester Police Department, Lou relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico. While in Albuquerque he worked with the New Mexico State Police and continued to educate police officers throughout the country. He also assumed the position of Chief of Police for the Sandia Indian Reservation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Prior to his death in October 2002, Lou completed three books in the Mike Amato Detective Series: Killing Cards, Ground Lions and his final work, Justice.
In the late 1990s, a trio of Chicago Police Department police officers, Eric Davis, Randy Martin and Randy Holcomb created a positive message through music and ultimately writing. According to Amazon.com, “the Slick Boys were three undercover Chicago cops who moonlight as rappers with an upbeat message. "We tour elementary schools and junior and senior high schools," writes Eric Davis. Their agenda envisions the police officer's job as social work rather than gunplay, values education and respect, and urges kids to ditch stereotypes and "dream extra large." In addition to the musical presentation the police officers authored the book “The Slick Boys: A Ten Point Plan to Rescue your Community by Three Chicago Cops who are Making it Happen.”
In 2005, Mark Davis, of the Chicago Police Department published “Race Traitors.” According to Dennis Banahan, a retired Chicago Police Department detective, and the author of Threshold of Pain, in his review of Davis’ book remarked, “In the 1970's, Don Cornelius, the host of a very popular dance show called Soul Train, and a former policeman himself, ended every episode of the program with the optimistic words, "Peace, Love and Soul". On the streets of Southside Chicago, however, there was anything but peace and love. The Black Stone Rangers street gang, still in its infancy, had a stranglehold on the black community. Extortion, drugs and shootings permeated the fabric of everyday life in the black community. The leading cause of death for black males between the ages of 18-25 was murder. And there were more murders in any given year than had occurred during the entire Al Capone era. Mark Davis does an outstanding job reconsturcting the era and giving us some insight as to what it was like for a working black policeman. Not the Hollywood, rebellious, anti-establishment black policeman stereotype, just a hard working stiff trying his best to do the right thing for the right reasons. A guy who has to endure the dichotomy of sometimes being called an "Uncle Tom" by the community he loves while still not being fully accepted by his white brothers in blue. Mark Davis walked that walk, talked that talk, and now, wrote that book. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of "Race Traitors". Peace, Love and Soul.”
While Police-Writers.com hosts 244 police officers (representing over 70 police departments) and their 627 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors and international police officers who have written books.
Lou Campanozzi was born and raised in Rochester, New York. As a young man he joined the Rochester Police Department and for 22 years he commanded the homicide and robbery squad, worked undercover narcotics, and eventually became the city’s District Commander. He was one of the three founders of BowMac Educational Services, a police training consulting firm formed in 1980. The company was designed to teach police officers how to properly interrogate criminal suspects. Lou’s techniques were adapted by police officers around the country and resulted in thousands of criminal justice convictions.
After retiring as a Captain from the Rochester Police Department, Lou relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico. While in Albuquerque he worked with the New Mexico State Police and continued to educate police officers throughout the country. He also assumed the position of Chief of Police for the Sandia Indian Reservation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Prior to his death in October 2002, Lou completed three books in the Mike Amato Detective Series: Killing Cards, Ground Lions and his final work, Justice.
In the late 1990s, a trio of Chicago Police Department police officers, Eric Davis, Randy Martin and Randy Holcomb created a positive message through music and ultimately writing. According to Amazon.com, “the Slick Boys were three undercover Chicago cops who moonlight as rappers with an upbeat message. "We tour elementary schools and junior and senior high schools," writes Eric Davis. Their agenda envisions the police officer's job as social work rather than gunplay, values education and respect, and urges kids to ditch stereotypes and "dream extra large." In addition to the musical presentation the police officers authored the book “The Slick Boys: A Ten Point Plan to Rescue your Community by Three Chicago Cops who are Making it Happen.”
In 2005, Mark Davis, of the Chicago Police Department published “Race Traitors.” According to Dennis Banahan, a retired Chicago Police Department detective, and the author of Threshold of Pain, in his review of Davis’ book remarked, “In the 1970's, Don Cornelius, the host of a very popular dance show called Soul Train, and a former policeman himself, ended every episode of the program with the optimistic words, "Peace, Love and Soul". On the streets of Southside Chicago, however, there was anything but peace and love. The Black Stone Rangers street gang, still in its infancy, had a stranglehold on the black community. Extortion, drugs and shootings permeated the fabric of everyday life in the black community. The leading cause of death for black males between the ages of 18-25 was murder. And there were more murders in any given year than had occurred during the entire Al Capone era. Mark Davis does an outstanding job reconsturcting the era and giving us some insight as to what it was like for a working black policeman. Not the Hollywood, rebellious, anti-establishment black policeman stereotype, just a hard working stiff trying his best to do the right thing for the right reasons. A guy who has to endure the dichotomy of sometimes being called an "Uncle Tom" by the community he loves while still not being fully accepted by his white brothers in blue. Mark Davis walked that walk, talked that talk, and now, wrote that book. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of "Race Traitors". Peace, Love and Soul.”
While Police-Writers.com hosts 244 police officers (representing over 70 police departments) and their 627 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors and international police officers who have written books.
Monday, January 08, 2007
NYPD leads LAPD, 77 to 47
January 8, 2007 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com added ten Los Angeles Police Department police officers who have written books. This brings the LAPD total to 47 authors whereas NYPD leads police agencies world-wide with 77 authors.
This round of writers leads off with three “tell-all” police writers. First, a look at LAPD domestic spying in “L.A. Secret Police: Inside the LAPD Elite Spy Network.” The work is co-written by Michael Rothmiller, a former detective inside the LAPD Organized Crime Intelligence Division.
In LAPD’s “Rouge Cops: Cover up and the Cookie Jar,” Vince Carter, a 25-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, separates fact from fiction in a look at one of America’s most celebrated, and publicized, police departments. Vincent A. Carter and his Uncle Herb Carter, between them, patrolled the streets of Los Angeles for nearly fifty years. In these memoirs Sergeant Carter describes the birth and early years of a political/financial/newspaper syndicate which ruled Los Angeles with dictatorial power from the late 1880s until recent times.
The author of C.U.B.O. (Conduct Unbecoming an Officer), Don Lucier, enlisted in the United States Army after high school. He served in Vietnam as an infantryman. He was a Los Angeles Police Officer from 1970 to 1980.
Robert Houghton began his career in law enforcement in 1937 when be joined the Beverly Hills Police Department. In 1942, he joined the Los Angeles Police Department, rising to the rank of Chief of Detectives. His book, “Special Unit Senator,” tells the story of the LAPD’s investigation into the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
Editors Note: The editor’s father was the first Los Angeles Police Officer on scene at the Ambassador Hotel.
Pierce R. Brooks began his police career in 1959, as a beat cop in Los Angeles. Twenty years later he retired as a captain with the reputation as one of the best detectives in the United States. After the Los Angeles Police Department, Chief Brooks served as the Director of Public Safety in Lakewood, Colorado. Brooks gained famed as the detective in Joseph Wambaugh’s book, “The Onion Field,” a true story of a brutal police killing. An acknowledged expert on police survival, he has conducted many seminars and lectures through the country. Brooks firm belief that most police killings could have been avoided motivated him to write, “…officer down, code three.”
Chief William L. Williams worked his way up from rookie patrolman at age twenty in 1964 to become commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department in 1988. In 1992, William Williams became the fiftieth chief of the Los Angeles Police Department and the first African-American chief of the department. According to the Library Journal, “That Los Angeles police chief Williams is upbeat shines through everything he has to say about his four years' tenure in L.A., his service before that in Philadelphia, and the country's prospects for fighting urban crime. Only a hopeful, positive, and competent person would sign on for a police department and a city wracked by the Rodney King trial riots and the exodus of elected officials from the city. Even as Williams was uplifting and retraining his demoralized police and giving the public renewed confidence in them, his department has faced a whole series of new traumas: the second King trial and its threat of riot; the Reginald Denny trial; the earthquake; the Michael Jackson child molestation probe; the Heidi Fleiss prostitution case; and the O.J. Simpson trial.”
While Police-Writers.com focuses on the 239 police officers (representing over 70 police departments) and their 622 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees; and, international police officers who have written books.
This round of writers leads off with three “tell-all” police writers. First, a look at LAPD domestic spying in “L.A. Secret Police: Inside the LAPD Elite Spy Network.” The work is co-written by Michael Rothmiller, a former detective inside the LAPD Organized Crime Intelligence Division.
In LAPD’s “Rouge Cops: Cover up and the Cookie Jar,” Vince Carter, a 25-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, separates fact from fiction in a look at one of America’s most celebrated, and publicized, police departments. Vincent A. Carter and his Uncle Herb Carter, between them, patrolled the streets of Los Angeles for nearly fifty years. In these memoirs Sergeant Carter describes the birth and early years of a political/financial/newspaper syndicate which ruled Los Angeles with dictatorial power from the late 1880s until recent times.
The author of C.U.B.O. (Conduct Unbecoming an Officer), Don Lucier, enlisted in the United States Army after high school. He served in Vietnam as an infantryman. He was a Los Angeles Police Officer from 1970 to 1980.
Robert Houghton began his career in law enforcement in 1937 when be joined the Beverly Hills Police Department. In 1942, he joined the Los Angeles Police Department, rising to the rank of Chief of Detectives. His book, “Special Unit Senator,” tells the story of the LAPD’s investigation into the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
Editors Note: The editor’s father was the first Los Angeles Police Officer on scene at the Ambassador Hotel.
Pierce R. Brooks began his police career in 1959, as a beat cop in Los Angeles. Twenty years later he retired as a captain with the reputation as one of the best detectives in the United States. After the Los Angeles Police Department, Chief Brooks served as the Director of Public Safety in Lakewood, Colorado. Brooks gained famed as the detective in Joseph Wambaugh’s book, “The Onion Field,” a true story of a brutal police killing. An acknowledged expert on police survival, he has conducted many seminars and lectures through the country. Brooks firm belief that most police killings could have been avoided motivated him to write, “…officer down, code three.”
Chief William L. Williams worked his way up from rookie patrolman at age twenty in 1964 to become commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department in 1988. In 1992, William Williams became the fiftieth chief of the Los Angeles Police Department and the first African-American chief of the department. According to the Library Journal, “That Los Angeles police chief Williams is upbeat shines through everything he has to say about his four years' tenure in L.A., his service before that in Philadelphia, and the country's prospects for fighting urban crime. Only a hopeful, positive, and competent person would sign on for a police department and a city wracked by the Rodney King trial riots and the exodus of elected officials from the city. Even as Williams was uplifting and retraining his demoralized police and giving the public renewed confidence in them, his department has faced a whole series of new traumas: the second King trial and its threat of riot; the Reginald Denny trial; the earthquake; the Michael Jackson child molestation probe; the Heidi Fleiss prostitution case; and the O.J. Simpson trial.”
While Police-Writers.com focuses on the 239 police officers (representing over 70 police departments) and their 622 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees; and, international police officers who have written books.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
LAPD’s not so secret Hollywood connections
LAPDAuthors.com, a website dedicated to listing Los Angeles Police Department police officers who have written books added four listings of officers who have unusual insights into Hollywood.
Jim Dougherty’s book is described as “the sensitive and touching story of the four-year marriage of Jim Dougherty and Norma Jeane Baker before her Hollywood transformation to Marilyn Monroe. This is a very unusual book about Norma Jeane, because it isn't just another book about Marilyn Monroe. It's a completely different, and very sensitive, view of a young girl married at 16 who is very much in love with her husband, Jim Dougherty, a long-time, veteran Los Angeles Police Officer and firearms instructor.
Fred Otash was a legendary LAPD officer in the 1940s. A clash with the brass motivated him to resigned and ultimately become one of the most notorious Hollywood Private Investigators. He tells all in “Investigation Hollywood.” In the book, Lana Turner’s Bedroom, Gaby Wood wrote, “…..suggested to Lana that she call the most celebrated criminal lawyer in Los Angeles, Jerry Giesler. Giesler was nicknamed 'the magnificent mouthpiece'; he had got Errol Flynn cleared of two rape charges and Bugsy Siegel cleared of murder. He arrived with a private eye, Fred Otash, who was a former vice cop and fed stories to Confidential magazine on the side. By now the house was surrounded—by medics, policemen and neighbors in bathrobes.” Fred was everywhere and into everything.
John O’Grady, a Los Angeles area top private investigator was with the Los Angeles Police Department for over 20 years. For 12 of those years he was in charge of the Hollywood Narcotics Detail. Additionally, he spent eight years teaching police science, was a member of the International Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association, California State Narcotics Association and a nationally recognized polygraph expert. In his book, “O’Grady: The life and Times of Hollywood’s No. 1 Private Eye,” he gives the reader names, dates and details of investigations in the 1960s and 1970s.
Detective Leon Smith, a thirty-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department and a lifelong movie buff guides the reader on a nostalgic journey to famous Hollywood movie and television locations. His investigations reveal exact addresses of these historical sites; and, feature his present-day photographs compared with production stills showing how the locations appeared in the original film. His first book, “Famous Hollywood Locations,” contains descriptions and photographs of 382 sites involving 289 films and 105 television series.” He followed up with a second book that does not repeat any locations; “Hollywood Goes on Location.”
LAPD Authors.com lists 47 Los Angeles police officers and their books in five categories. The sister-site at www.police-writers.com lists 229 state and local police officers and their over 600 books.
Jim Dougherty’s book is described as “the sensitive and touching story of the four-year marriage of Jim Dougherty and Norma Jeane Baker before her Hollywood transformation to Marilyn Monroe. This is a very unusual book about Norma Jeane, because it isn't just another book about Marilyn Monroe. It's a completely different, and very sensitive, view of a young girl married at 16 who is very much in love with her husband, Jim Dougherty, a long-time, veteran Los Angeles Police Officer and firearms instructor.
Fred Otash was a legendary LAPD officer in the 1940s. A clash with the brass motivated him to resigned and ultimately become one of the most notorious Hollywood Private Investigators. He tells all in “Investigation Hollywood.” In the book, Lana Turner’s Bedroom, Gaby Wood wrote, “…..suggested to Lana that she call the most celebrated criminal lawyer in Los Angeles, Jerry Giesler. Giesler was nicknamed 'the magnificent mouthpiece'; he had got Errol Flynn cleared of two rape charges and Bugsy Siegel cleared of murder. He arrived with a private eye, Fred Otash, who was a former vice cop and fed stories to Confidential magazine on the side. By now the house was surrounded—by medics, policemen and neighbors in bathrobes.” Fred was everywhere and into everything.
John O’Grady, a Los Angeles area top private investigator was with the Los Angeles Police Department for over 20 years. For 12 of those years he was in charge of the Hollywood Narcotics Detail. Additionally, he spent eight years teaching police science, was a member of the International Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association, California State Narcotics Association and a nationally recognized polygraph expert. In his book, “O’Grady: The life and Times of Hollywood’s No. 1 Private Eye,” he gives the reader names, dates and details of investigations in the 1960s and 1970s.
Detective Leon Smith, a thirty-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department and a lifelong movie buff guides the reader on a nostalgic journey to famous Hollywood movie and television locations. His investigations reveal exact addresses of these historical sites; and, feature his present-day photographs compared with production stills showing how the locations appeared in the original film. His first book, “Famous Hollywood Locations,” contains descriptions and photographs of 382 sites involving 289 films and 105 television series.” He followed up with a second book that does not repeat any locations; “Hollywood Goes on Location.”
LAPD Authors.com lists 47 Los Angeles police officers and their books in five categories. The sister-site at www.police-writers.com lists 229 state and local police officers and their over 600 books.
Corruption, incompetence and gritty fiction
Police-Writers.com continued to add to the listing of state and local police officers who have authored books. Added were BJ Bourg, Charles Stoker, Tom Lange and Phillip Vannatter.
BJ Bourg began his law enforcement career in 1990 with the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana. He worked dispatch while attending the academy and, upon graduation was assigned to patrol. He worked patrol for about two years; and, in February of 1993, was promoted to detective. BJ worked as a detective for over ten years. He was promoted to sergeant and in 2003, became a full-time instructor at the police academy. In 2004, became the Chief Investigator for the Lafourche Parish District Attorney’s Office. He still teaches at the police academy. He began to take his life-long passion for writing seriously in 2003. Since that time, he has published nearly 100 short stories in publications like Future’s Mystery Magazine, Mysterical-E, Bewildering Stories, Apollo’s Lyre, Writer’s Post Journal, Amazon Shorts, and Chippewa Publishing. Additionally, his short stories appear in four books, “Absent the Soul” (a collection of my first twelve shorts), “The EX Factor” (a multi-authored anthology), “Stories of Strength” (a multi-authored anthology, the proceeds of which benefit victims of hurricane Katrina and other disasters), and “Seven By Seven” (a multi-authored anthology).
Former Los Angeles Police Department police officer Charles Stoker blasted 1940s corruption in the LAPD. In 1951, Charles Stoker published “Thicker’n Thieves.” According to the book cover, “where corrupt police officers, venal politicians and office-holders claimed to have been fighting the underworld, Stocker fought it personally, furiously and with everything at his command to the point where he was framed and fired for “CONDUCT UNBECOMING A POLICE OFFICER” because he testified to the fact before the 1949 Los Angeles Grand Jury. Aside from being a cold steel account of what transpired during his tenure as an officer, this is the highly human story of young Texan, Stoker.” Stoker’s 1951 bombshell is now a 2006 collectable, selling for as much as $500.
“Evidence Dismissed” is “the inside story of the police investigation of O.J. Simpson.” The authors, Detective Tom Lange and Detective Phillip Vannatter, were the lead detectives during the infamous case. Detective Tom Lange joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1967 after earning a Bronze Star in Vietnam as a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. In nearly 29 years with the LAPD, he was awarded more than 60 commendations from various law enforcement agencies. During his career, he was involved in more than 250 murder investigations. He retired in 1996. His partner, Phillip Vannatter, entered the Los Angeles Police Department in 1969 after serving on the United States Army Peacekeeping force in Korea. In 27 years with the LAPD he investigated more than 250 homicides, and became a court expert in highly sensitive officer-involved shootings and homicides. Throughout his career, he received more than 60 commendations from law enforcement and over 200 from civilians. He retired in 1996.
While Police-Writers.com hosts 229 police officers (representing over 70 police departments) and their 611 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors and international police officers who have written books.
BJ Bourg began his law enforcement career in 1990 with the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana. He worked dispatch while attending the academy and, upon graduation was assigned to patrol. He worked patrol for about two years; and, in February of 1993, was promoted to detective. BJ worked as a detective for over ten years. He was promoted to sergeant and in 2003, became a full-time instructor at the police academy. In 2004, became the Chief Investigator for the Lafourche Parish District Attorney’s Office. He still teaches at the police academy. He began to take his life-long passion for writing seriously in 2003. Since that time, he has published nearly 100 short stories in publications like Future’s Mystery Magazine, Mysterical-E, Bewildering Stories, Apollo’s Lyre, Writer’s Post Journal, Amazon Shorts, and Chippewa Publishing. Additionally, his short stories appear in four books, “Absent the Soul” (a collection of my first twelve shorts), “The EX Factor” (a multi-authored anthology), “Stories of Strength” (a multi-authored anthology, the proceeds of which benefit victims of hurricane Katrina and other disasters), and “Seven By Seven” (a multi-authored anthology).
Former Los Angeles Police Department police officer Charles Stoker blasted 1940s corruption in the LAPD. In 1951, Charles Stoker published “Thicker’n Thieves.” According to the book cover, “where corrupt police officers, venal politicians and office-holders claimed to have been fighting the underworld, Stocker fought it personally, furiously and with everything at his command to the point where he was framed and fired for “CONDUCT UNBECOMING A POLICE OFFICER” because he testified to the fact before the 1949 Los Angeles Grand Jury. Aside from being a cold steel account of what transpired during his tenure as an officer, this is the highly human story of young Texan, Stoker.” Stoker’s 1951 bombshell is now a 2006 collectable, selling for as much as $500.
“Evidence Dismissed” is “the inside story of the police investigation of O.J. Simpson.” The authors, Detective Tom Lange and Detective Phillip Vannatter, were the lead detectives during the infamous case. Detective Tom Lange joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1967 after earning a Bronze Star in Vietnam as a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. In nearly 29 years with the LAPD, he was awarded more than 60 commendations from various law enforcement agencies. During his career, he was involved in more than 250 murder investigations. He retired in 1996. His partner, Phillip Vannatter, entered the Los Angeles Police Department in 1969 after serving on the United States Army Peacekeeping force in Korea. In 27 years with the LAPD he investigated more than 250 homicides, and became a court expert in highly sensitive officer-involved shootings and homicides. Throughout his career, he received more than 60 commendations from law enforcement and over 200 from civilians. He retired in 1996.
While Police-Writers.com hosts 229 police officers (representing over 70 police departments) and their 611 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors and international police officers who have written books.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Pushing past 600
With the addition of four new authors, Police-Writers.com, a website dedicated to police officers turned authors, reached 225 state and local police officers who have written books; and, pushed the total number of books written by those officers to 606.
Retired NYPD Captain Tom Walker’s Fort Apache, Bronx, NY was written during the early 1970's. According to one reviewer, “Fort Apache captures in vivid detail what it was like to work in the then busiest and deadliest precinct in New York. Walker describes the neighborhood and the cops who police it with uncanny accuracy. You will ride along with him to shootings, stabbings, muggings, and homicides. Walker captures the frustration and the dedication of the cops assigned to the 41st as they race from call to call in the seemingly endless parade of crime. A must read for those who enjoy true police stories.” Walker followed up years later with “Death of a Bronx Cop,” a true story about survival and love in the face of tragedy by a fourth-generation New York city police officer. In this book, Walker writes: "In the days, months and years to come, more New York City police will die. The official cause of death will be listed as suicide, heart attack, even homicide. In truth, the death certificate should read 'Organizational Murder--N.Y.C.P.D.'"
The author of 7 books, Bob Weir is a New York Police Department sergeant, with over ten years of undercover investigations and over 500 felony arrests to his credit. His first book, “City To Die For” chronicles the attempted takeover of Dallas, Texas by the Mafia in the 1940's. Bob also wrote, “Powers That Be,” a story of government collusion with organized crime, and “Ruthie's Kids,” his account of growing up poor in NYC; as well as three other powerful novels.
B. J. Whalen is a father and son writing team. The son, Bernard Whalen, is a lieutenant in the New York Police Department with more than eighteen years of service. During his career he has worked in New York City's Harlem, East Side, and Chinatown and in the plainclothes Anti-Crime Unit. He has sixteen department recognition awards, including two Commendations, and is a member of the NYPD Honor Legion.
His father, Jon Whalen, retired as a teacher from Manhasset High School on Long Island after thirty years in the classroom. While attending college, he worked as a New York State corrections officer at Sing Sing and Auburn prisons. He served four years in the U.S. Army 3rd Armored Cav. Regt. in Germany. Together, the father and son teamed pen their first novel, “Justifiable Homicide.”
Leo Whittlesey published his first novel entitled, End of Tour. The book is a fast-paced, suspense-filled tale of a New York mob kid, Frank Horan, turned cop who finds himself trapped in a massive corruption scheme and the main suspect in multiple murders. Frank is forced to use his mob connections and street smarts to extricate himself from the morass that his life has become at the hands of gangsters, cops and his own poor judgment. Leo lives in Charlotte, NC with his wife and two sons. He is an attorney and has also been a New York City police officer and small business owner.
While Police-Writers.com hosts 225 police officers (representing over 70 police departments) and their 606 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors and international police officers who have written books.
Retired NYPD Captain Tom Walker’s Fort Apache, Bronx, NY was written during the early 1970's. According to one reviewer, “Fort Apache captures in vivid detail what it was like to work in the then busiest and deadliest precinct in New York. Walker describes the neighborhood and the cops who police it with uncanny accuracy. You will ride along with him to shootings, stabbings, muggings, and homicides. Walker captures the frustration and the dedication of the cops assigned to the 41st as they race from call to call in the seemingly endless parade of crime. A must read for those who enjoy true police stories.” Walker followed up years later with “Death of a Bronx Cop,” a true story about survival and love in the face of tragedy by a fourth-generation New York city police officer. In this book, Walker writes: "In the days, months and years to come, more New York City police will die. The official cause of death will be listed as suicide, heart attack, even homicide. In truth, the death certificate should read 'Organizational Murder--N.Y.C.P.D.'"
The author of 7 books, Bob Weir is a New York Police Department sergeant, with over ten years of undercover investigations and over 500 felony arrests to his credit. His first book, “City To Die For” chronicles the attempted takeover of Dallas, Texas by the Mafia in the 1940's. Bob also wrote, “Powers That Be,” a story of government collusion with organized crime, and “Ruthie's Kids,” his account of growing up poor in NYC; as well as three other powerful novels.
B. J. Whalen is a father and son writing team. The son, Bernard Whalen, is a lieutenant in the New York Police Department with more than eighteen years of service. During his career he has worked in New York City's Harlem, East Side, and Chinatown and in the plainclothes Anti-Crime Unit. He has sixteen department recognition awards, including two Commendations, and is a member of the NYPD Honor Legion.
His father, Jon Whalen, retired as a teacher from Manhasset High School on Long Island after thirty years in the classroom. While attending college, he worked as a New York State corrections officer at Sing Sing and Auburn prisons. He served four years in the U.S. Army 3rd Armored Cav. Regt. in Germany. Together, the father and son teamed pen their first novel, “Justifiable Homicide.”
Leo Whittlesey published his first novel entitled, End of Tour. The book is a fast-paced, suspense-filled tale of a New York mob kid, Frank Horan, turned cop who finds himself trapped in a massive corruption scheme and the main suspect in multiple murders. Frank is forced to use his mob connections and street smarts to extricate himself from the morass that his life has become at the hands of gangsters, cops and his own poor judgment. Leo lives in Charlotte, NC with his wife and two sons. He is an attorney and has also been a New York City police officer and small business owner.
While Police-Writers.com hosts 225 police officers (representing over 70 police departments) and their 606 books in six categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors and international police officers who have written books.
Friday, January 05, 2007
U.S. Department of Justice grant funds creation of the Champlain College Center for Digital Investigation
Champlain College has created a regional center for computer forensics with major funding from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). On December 28, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who helped secure the funding, joined Champlain College President David F. Finney on campus to discuss the important role of the new Champlain College Center for Digital Investigation (C3DI), which received a $650,000 grant from the DOJ's Bureau of Justice Assistance.
The new center has been developed to advance three major initiatives. First, two new Champlain faculty members work with federal, state and local law enforcement investigators, performing digital investigations and adding capacity to law enforcement agencies in Vermont. Based at the Burlington Police Department, these investigators sift through digital evidence found on computers, cell phones, iPods and other digital devices so that crucial pieces of evidence can be applied to criminal investigations.
Secondly, these two new faculty members also share their professional experience as they teach courses in Champlain’s Computer & Digital Forensics program. And lastly, the College is creating new online training opportunities that will be available to members of law enforcement in Vermont and across the country.
”Local, state and federal law enforcement officials have seen an explosion of complex electronic crimes,” said Leahy, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Leahy also is the incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees federal anti-crime programs, and he has led on digital security and privacy issues. “In a time when computers hold the key to everything from terrorist plots to accounting scandals, understanding e-crime and digital forensics is crucial for today’s federal, state and local law enforcement officers and our civilian cyber security personnel. The digital forensics education curriculum that Champlain College has put together is right on point in helping law enforcement professionals succeed in countering cyber criminals. This grant will help the College expand its outreach to the public sector, building a rare and important partnership between academia and law enforcement to improve our effectiveness against these crimes.”
Champlain College President David F. Finney said, “We’re thrilled that the federal government is supporting Champlain’s efforts to both educate professionals in computer forensics and directly support law enforcement activities. Senator Leahy and his staff have been extremely helpful in furthering our outreach. It’s clear that our country needs innovative programs to fight crime today, and Champlain is well-positioned to deliver leading-edge programs both face-to-face and over the Internet.”
The director of the new center is Associate Professor Gary C. Kessler, who also directs Champlain’s Computer & Digital Forensics and Information Security degree programs. Robert Edwards, director of Champlain’s Criminal Justice program, was named associate director of C3DI.
“Computer forensics and digital investigations have become an integral part of police work in the new millennium,” Kessler said. “Computers are now as much a part of the modern law enforcement officer’s daily routine as the baton, sidearm, radio and handcuffs.”
The Center funds two part-time digital forensics examiner positions to assist Vermont law enforcement in criminal digital investigations. Reporting to the Vermont Internet Crimes Task Force and housed at the Burlington Police Department, these new positions increase the state’s digital evidence examination capacity by about 20 percent, Kessler estimated.
Today, many crimes have computer-based evidence and Vermont has just a handful of examiners. Burlington Police Chief Thomas Tremblay said, “This program and partnership are innovative and necessary given the limited resources and funding available to local law enforcement to take on new and highly technical responsibilities.”
The new, part-time examiners spend the other part of their week on the Champlain campus teaching students in the College’s three-year-old Computer & Digital Forensics program -- the first bachelor’s degree program of its kind in New England and the only such program in the nation offered online. These instructors teach on campus and online in positions that are funded for three years.
The grant also supports an online training initiative that allows Champlain College to share its expertise with law enforcement from Seattle to Boston. The College is creating online programs that train law enforcement in computer forensics through the Vermont Police Academy and Vermont Internet Crimes Task Force, as well as through two national law enforcement training organizations.
These organizations currently conduct face-to-face training -- which requires officers to travel to major cities for training. “We all agree that it’s possible to reach about 98 percent of American law enforcement if we create online training in appropriate topics, and it’s more cost effective when it is provided online,” Kessler said.
Currently, Champlain’s Computer & Digital Forensics program enrolls approximately 150 students -- nearly half are traditional, on-campus students and the rest are enrolled online from as far away as California and Texas. Some of the online students are already members of the law enforcement community and they work their online education around their careers.
This is Champlain’s second federal grant for computer forensics education. In 2004, the U.S. Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice awarded Champlain College a $185,000 grant to further develop the college’s digital forensics program. Champlain’s program was hailed as the national educational model for undergraduate computer forensics education.
Article reprinted with permission (K. Surette) and sponsored by Criminal Justice leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
The new center has been developed to advance three major initiatives. First, two new Champlain faculty members work with federal, state and local law enforcement investigators, performing digital investigations and adding capacity to law enforcement agencies in Vermont. Based at the Burlington Police Department, these investigators sift through digital evidence found on computers, cell phones, iPods and other digital devices so that crucial pieces of evidence can be applied to criminal investigations.
Secondly, these two new faculty members also share their professional experience as they teach courses in Champlain’s Computer & Digital Forensics program. And lastly, the College is creating new online training opportunities that will be available to members of law enforcement in Vermont and across the country.
”Local, state and federal law enforcement officials have seen an explosion of complex electronic crimes,” said Leahy, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Leahy also is the incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees federal anti-crime programs, and he has led on digital security and privacy issues. “In a time when computers hold the key to everything from terrorist plots to accounting scandals, understanding e-crime and digital forensics is crucial for today’s federal, state and local law enforcement officers and our civilian cyber security personnel. The digital forensics education curriculum that Champlain College has put together is right on point in helping law enforcement professionals succeed in countering cyber criminals. This grant will help the College expand its outreach to the public sector, building a rare and important partnership between academia and law enforcement to improve our effectiveness against these crimes.”
Champlain College President David F. Finney said, “We’re thrilled that the federal government is supporting Champlain’s efforts to both educate professionals in computer forensics and directly support law enforcement activities. Senator Leahy and his staff have been extremely helpful in furthering our outreach. It’s clear that our country needs innovative programs to fight crime today, and Champlain is well-positioned to deliver leading-edge programs both face-to-face and over the Internet.”
The director of the new center is Associate Professor Gary C. Kessler, who also directs Champlain’s Computer & Digital Forensics and Information Security degree programs. Robert Edwards, director of Champlain’s Criminal Justice program, was named associate director of C3DI.
“Computer forensics and digital investigations have become an integral part of police work in the new millennium,” Kessler said. “Computers are now as much a part of the modern law enforcement officer’s daily routine as the baton, sidearm, radio and handcuffs.”
The Center funds two part-time digital forensics examiner positions to assist Vermont law enforcement in criminal digital investigations. Reporting to the Vermont Internet Crimes Task Force and housed at the Burlington Police Department, these new positions increase the state’s digital evidence examination capacity by about 20 percent, Kessler estimated.
Today, many crimes have computer-based evidence and Vermont has just a handful of examiners. Burlington Police Chief Thomas Tremblay said, “This program and partnership are innovative and necessary given the limited resources and funding available to local law enforcement to take on new and highly technical responsibilities.”
The new, part-time examiners spend the other part of their week on the Champlain campus teaching students in the College’s three-year-old Computer & Digital Forensics program -- the first bachelor’s degree program of its kind in New England and the only such program in the nation offered online. These instructors teach on campus and online in positions that are funded for three years.
The grant also supports an online training initiative that allows Champlain College to share its expertise with law enforcement from Seattle to Boston. The College is creating online programs that train law enforcement in computer forensics through the Vermont Police Academy and Vermont Internet Crimes Task Force, as well as through two national law enforcement training organizations.
These organizations currently conduct face-to-face training -- which requires officers to travel to major cities for training. “We all agree that it’s possible to reach about 98 percent of American law enforcement if we create online training in appropriate topics, and it’s more cost effective when it is provided online,” Kessler said.
Currently, Champlain’s Computer & Digital Forensics program enrolls approximately 150 students -- nearly half are traditional, on-campus students and the rest are enrolled online from as far away as California and Texas. Some of the online students are already members of the law enforcement community and they work their online education around their careers.
This is Champlain’s second federal grant for computer forensics education. In 2004, the U.S. Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice awarded Champlain College a $185,000 grant to further develop the college’s digital forensics program. Champlain’s program was hailed as the national educational model for undergraduate computer forensics education.
Article reprinted with permission (K. Surette) and sponsored by Criminal Justice leadership; and, police and military personnel who have written books.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology
NLECTC Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology News Summary
Thursday, December 28, 2006
"More Surveillance Cameras Planned for City Next Year"
Los Banos Enterprise (CA) (12/22/06); Pride, Corey
The Los Banos, Calif., police department hopes to purchase and install 20 wireless surveillance cameras before next year comes to an end. If won, a $275,000 grant will pay for the cameras, which will be placed outside 10 schools above speed radar signs to monitor traffic conditions. Two other cameras may be used at key intersections. The police department already monitors around 45 cameras at various sites. The surveillance system "definitely helps with traffic accident investigations," says Police Chief Chris Gallagher, noting its deterrent effect as well. Each camera will cost about $2,500. "It cuts cost for safety," says Mayor Tommy Jones of the system. "It's cheaper than hiring another police officer."
http://www.losbanosenterprise.com/
"Tasers Under the Gun"
New Haven Register (12/24/06); Helsel, Phil
The Milford, Conn. Police Department's decision to allow its patrol officers as well as its supervisors to use Taser stun guns has resulted in an 850 percent increase in the number of times the devices have been used so far this year compared with 2003. The dramatic increase in the number of incidents involving the use of Tasers, as well as the circumstances surrounding some of those incidents, is causing a controversy in Milford. Of the 34 incidents in which Milford police used Tasers this year, four involved an armed subject, according to a review of the city's police records. In two incidents, people were shocked with Taser stun guns after they had already been handcuffed. And in one incident, 24-year-old Nicholas Brown, a Bridgeport, Conn. man who had been shocked three times by a Taser stun gun, died while in custody of Milford police of what a medical examiner has ruled "cocaine toxicity." For its part, Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Taser International, the company that manufactures most of the stun guns used by police departments around the country, says its products are safe--though it does warn law enforcement to be particularly careful when using the stun guns on people who appear to be high on drugs, are exhibiting delirium, extreme agitation, or other conditions of what it calls "sudden in-custody death syndrome." Although more police departments in Connecticut are planning to purchase Taser stun guns, the Hartford Police Department says the deaths of Brown and others have convinced it to hold off on buying the devices.
http://www.nhregister.com
/site/news.cfm?newsid=176288
89&BRD=1281&PAG=46
1&dept_id=517514&rfi=6
"Helicopter Takes to Sky for Training"
St. Petersburg Times (FL) (12/22/06) P. CT1; Frank, John
Citrus County has purchased a new $2.4 million American Eurocopter equipped with a rescue hoist, becoming the only county in the state to have a hoist on its police chopper. The county has always been on the cutting edge of law enforcement technology. In 1990, it and Jacksonville were the only ones to employ thermal imaging technology with their helicopters. The hoist will be especially useful in this flood-prone region.
http://www.sptimes.com
/2006/12/22/Citrus/Helicopter_takes_to_s.shtml
"Jail Docket Coming Back Online"
Biloxi Sun Herald (MS) (12/21/06); Fitzgerald, Robin
The Harrison County Sheriff's Department in Mississippi will soon have access to its online jail docket as it migrates to a new records-management system. The technology will let the department access the dockets of Jackson and Hancock counties as well, and other counties in the state will soon be added in the future. The online docket has been offline since Nov. 7 because of the changeover. The situation "has made it difficult because we had to call the front desk to get the information," says D&D Bail Bond owner Wayne Dowdle. Once the new system is viewable, mug shots of prisoners will be posted; this is likely to be finalized after January 2007. Officials with the Sheriff's Department say the new technology will enhance information as well as assist them in knowing who and where prisoners are. A 1983 state law mandated that jail dockets and certain other types of information about incarcerations be made public.
http://www.sunherald.com
/mld/thesunherald/news/
special_packages/
renewal/long_beach/16287354.htm
"County Steps Up Monitoring After Predator Cluster Found"
Modesto Bee (CA) (12/22/06) P. B3; Jason, Scott
Law enforcement in Merced County, Calif., will track parolees' release and housing more closely after the recent eviction of six convicted sex offenders from a home, according to county sheriff's officials. They were evicted because they were residing illegally on agricultural property in a secondary home, also known as a granny house, meant for farm workers or family members. The state of California had moved the group to the house in November amid several changes--a school bus route was alerted, and surveillance gear was added to the home. Windows were also blacked out. A town meeting at a citizen's home was held on Dec. 15, attended by sheriff deputies, Supervisor Deidre Kelsey, and other officials. More than 50 residents attended to oppose the felons' occupancy of the house.
http://www.modbee.com/local/story
/13135954p-13782450c.html
"Asking the Right Questions"
Baltimore Sun (12/22/06) P. 1D; Hobby, Susan Thornton
Columbia, Md., firm SIMmersion has devised numerous interactive computer simulation games employing real actors to instruct new police officers, physicians, and social workers on how to handle witnesses, patients, or clients without causing explosive incidents or initiating malpractice lawsuits. When they are finished, interviewers receive a numeric score for how well they conducted their interview, and an in-depth analysis of their performance, as well as chance to repeatedly play the game. SIMmersion's Dale Olsen, who has a statistics doctorate and a polygraph background, worked for over three decades at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physicians Laboratory, where he helped create simulations software that instructed sailors on how to drive nuclear submarines. Simulator designers explain that while interviewers select their lines from all the potential scenarios shown on the screen and read them to a computer, the responses are written in a conversational manner, so that communication is natural. One of Olsen's simulations has trial witnesses receive interrogation on the witness stand by a pair of hostile attorneys. SIMmersion is now moving in multiple directions, while its foundation is in law enforcement. Former FBI office of information and learning resources unit chief Garland Phillips, who urged his agency to finance SIMmersion's initial simulation for the FBI Training Academy, explained that instructors discovered that enrollees would frequently spend their personal time operating the simulations. After the FBI was convinced, the academy introduced the simulations to its 56 field offices, and then the 16,000 state and local police groups it helps instruct, as well as additional federal agencies and foreign institutions.
http://www.baltimoresun.com
/news/health/
bal-hs.simulation22dec22,0,74
0663.story?coll=bal-health-headlines
"Dallas Courthouse to Increase Security"
Des Moines Register (IA) (12/20/06) P. 1B; Walker, Melissa
The Dallas County Courthouse in Iowa will soon have metal detectors and a $28,075 X-ray machine, the cost of which was covered by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security, to screen visitors. A security council comprising courthouse employees, law enforcement officials, and judges also proposed a security staff of 10 full- and part-time deputies at a cost of as much as $520,000, security cameras, employee access cards, and a building alarm system, among other things. County officials are expected to review the requests early in the new year. The sheriff's department will likely provide two full-time employees and part-time, off-duty police officers to monitor security systems and patrol the courthouse, according to Sheriff's Deputy Doug Lande. Lande notes, "We're going to make this as least intrusive as possible but protect the building and the people who work there." Metal detectors and a gated parking lot are among the security measures already put in place at the federal courthouse in Polk County.
http://desmoinesregister.com
/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20
061220/NEWS01/612200365/-1/BUSINESS04
"Fresno Cracks Down on DUI"
Associated Press (12/21/06); Burke, Garance
Fresno, Calif., police are erecting roadblocks, performing stakeouts, and utilizing night-vision goggles, satellite tracking devices, and video cameras in a crackdown intended to stop drunken drivers. These strategies have made the city one of the nation's toughest regarding drunk driving. Although police claim the four-year-old initiative has resulted in a significant decrease in fatal car accidents, restaurants and bars contend it is harming business and placing a damper on city's nightlife, while defense attorneys and civil liberties activists caution that Fresno has gone too far. Fresno police are placing undercover police close to bars to look out for drunken individuals heading to their vehicles. They are also erecting numerous drunk-driving checkpoints, and are discreetly placing Global Positioning System (GPS) devices on the vehicles of convicted drunken drivers to track whether they are going to liquor stores or bars, which would violate their parole or probation. The International Association of Chiefs of Police has listed Fresno's initiative as the best in the country. Four years ago, more individuals in Fresno were killed in car accidents than by murder, a figure that caused Police Chief Jerry Dyer to expand the traffic division from 22 officers to 76, to have the department make greater use of checkpoints, and to start utilizing GPS devices. The level of alcohol-related accidents that have caused injuries has dropped from 125 four years ago to 105 in 2006, while the level of DUI arrests has increased from 2,169 in 2002 to a predicted 3,000 for 2006, police stated.
http://www.chron.com
/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4419203.html
"State Lawmaker Calls for Limits on Taser Use"
Associated Press (12/22/06)
In Texas, Rep. Lon Burnam (D-Fort Worth) has introduced legislation that would allow police officers to use Tasers only when the use of deadly force is justified under the state penal code. Burnam's bill is in response to incidents in which suspects have been subdued by Tasers and later died. Burnam has also raised concerns that Tasers are used more often on minorities. Houston police used Tasers in 892 instances since 2004, but city Police Chief Harold Hurtt says only 39 justified deadly force.
http://www.ap.org
"Most Back Cameras to Battle Crime"
Stamford Advocate (CT) (12/20/06); Lee, Natasha
At a recent hearing in Stamford, Conn., local citizens said they endorse the use of cameras to increase safety, but want safeguards in place that would prevent officials from abusing the technology. The hearing was arranged by the Public Safety and Health Committee of Stamford's Board of Representatives Office. At present, the city is allowed to use its 16 closed-circuit cameras only for monitoring traffic in accordance with a 1999 ordinance. However, members of the Public Safety and Health Committee as well as if the Legislative and Rules Committee have voted to alter the ordinance to lessen the restrictions; the changes need to be approved by the Board of Representatives in January, said Richard Lyons, chairman of the Public Safety and Health Committee. The majority of residents said the cameras would help reduce crimes such as vandalism and improper dumping, but some residents advocated boosting the number of police officers rather than initiating camera surveillance. Others asserted that surveillance cameras fail to successfully deter crime.
http://www.stamfordadvoc
ate.com/news/local/scn-sa-
surveillance.hearing4dec20
,0,7184026.story?coll=stam
-news-local-headlines
"UMass Checks Data to Identify Rioters"
Boston Globe (12/20/06) P. B7; Simpson, April
University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass) police are employing photos, Web sites, videos, and students to locate students who set items on fire and heaved bike tires, beer bottles, and other dangerous materials at police following the football team's loss on Dec. 15 in the Division 1-AA championship game. Campus police authorities informed students on Dec. 18 that they will post photos of rioters on the school's Web site each day. Of the 11 individuals recently arrested, 10 were students. At their Dec. 18 and Dec. 19 arraignments, the students pleaded not guilty. On Dec. 17, however, university vice chancellor for student affairs and campus life Michael Gargano stated in an a email letter to students' parents that around 200 students actively partook in "the violence and destruction on December 15," and noted they could be expelled, face criminal charges, or lose academic credit for the fall semester. Around 1,800 students rushed a residential section of the school at 11 p.m. on Dec. 15, after the UMass football team lost to Appalachian State. A pair of police officers were hurt by thrown rocks, and several have reported bruises. Police stated they are seeking the worst offenders, especially those who threw things at them.
http://www.boston.co
m/news/local/articles/
2006/12/20/umass_
checks_data_to_identify_rioters/
"Invention: Taser Gets Tougher"
New Scientist Tech (12/18/06); Fox, Barry
In a project funded by the U.S. government, Arizona's Taser International is developing a stun gun capable of shocking recipients insulated by clothing as well as animals with thick fur. The projectiles fired by current stun guns can lose their effectiveness if they become stuck in clothing or fur because the recipient is protected from the shock delivered by the projectile's barbed electrodes. However, the new stun guns will have an additional electrode that faces away from the target on the rear of the projectile capable of providing a shock that instinctively compels the target to grab or bite the projectile. Once the target's bare skin makes good electrical contact with the electrode, a disabling shock is delivered.
http://www.newscientisttech.com
/channel/tech/dn10817-invention
-taser-gets-tougher.html
"City to Hold Annual Vehicle Safety 'Roadeo' on Dec. 1"
US States News (11/28/06)
On Dec. 1, the City of Corpus Christi's Risk Management Office and Safety Advisory Board held the annual Vehicle Safety "Roadeo" Contest. There were nine different testing categories involving full-size sedans, police sedans, VIP sedans, pickup trucks, dump trucks, and many other vehicle types. The best city employee driver in each category was given an award or prize for their efforts. City employees with good driving records navigated six different obstacle-course layouts and demonstrated their safe-driving skills.
http://www.nexis.com
/research
"Justice Dept. Database Stirs Privacy Fears"
Washington Post (12/26/06) P. A7; Eggen, Dan
A huge database being constructed by the Justice Department intended to allow local investigators around the country to access information held by federal law enforcement agencies is receiving widespread disapproval from privacy groups. There are currently one million records, from both open and closed cases, in the database known as "OneDOJ," which can only be accessed by 150 police departments at this time, but in three years the number of case records is expected to triple, and the number of regional authorities with access is expected to jump to 750. Privacy and civil rights advocates see the database as a dangerous source of unfounded details, particularly concerning people who have not been arrested or charged with a crime. The ACLU's Technology and Liberty Project director Barry Steinhardt says that, " Raw police files or FBI reports can never be verified and can never be corrected. That is a problem with even more formal and controlled systems. The idea that they're creating another whole system that is going to be full of inaccurate information is just chilling." He cites the 2003 statement by the FBI that it would no longer recognize the Privacy Act's requirements for accuracy in the National Crime Information Center, the main criminal-background-check database that is utilized by 80,000 law enforcement agencies in the country. Others express fear that the information disseminated by this system could make its way into realms outside of law enforcement. Despite calls for a halt to the project, the DOJ remains confident that OneDOJ will provide invaluable assistance to local authorities by "essentially hooking them up to a pipe that will take them into [the DOJ's] records."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2006/12/25/AR
2006122500483.html
"1 Police Force, 1 Lesson Plan"
Indianapolis Star (11/13/06) P. 1; O'Neal, Kevin
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IPD) and the Marion County Sheriff's Department continue to merge their departments into one, and as part of the merger plans, the departments will rely on a single training center--the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Training Academy. Police department officials claim that the single training center will foster consistency among officers and improve the efficiency levels of the entire police force. Moreover, the merged departments are expected to reduce duplication in procedures, policies, and training, though deadly-force policies will remain in effect. The academy is equipped with a shoot-or-don't-shoot simulator in the firearms range and a program to teach officers basic Spanish language skills to better serve the growing Hispanic population. However, one difference under the new training academy will be the elimination of the precision immobilization technique (PIT), in which officers learn how to hit fleeing cars in order to spin them and shorten pursuits. Other skills updates for veteran officers will also be offered.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll
/article?AID=/20061113/LOCAL/6111
30426/1006/LOCAL
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice Leadership; and, police and military personnel who have become writers.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
"More Surveillance Cameras Planned for City Next Year"
Los Banos Enterprise (CA) (12/22/06); Pride, Corey
The Los Banos, Calif., police department hopes to purchase and install 20 wireless surveillance cameras before next year comes to an end. If won, a $275,000 grant will pay for the cameras, which will be placed outside 10 schools above speed radar signs to monitor traffic conditions. Two other cameras may be used at key intersections. The police department already monitors around 45 cameras at various sites. The surveillance system "definitely helps with traffic accident investigations," says Police Chief Chris Gallagher, noting its deterrent effect as well. Each camera will cost about $2,500. "It cuts cost for safety," says Mayor Tommy Jones of the system. "It's cheaper than hiring another police officer."
http://www.losbanosenterprise.com/
"Tasers Under the Gun"
New Haven Register (12/24/06); Helsel, Phil
The Milford, Conn. Police Department's decision to allow its patrol officers as well as its supervisors to use Taser stun guns has resulted in an 850 percent increase in the number of times the devices have been used so far this year compared with 2003. The dramatic increase in the number of incidents involving the use of Tasers, as well as the circumstances surrounding some of those incidents, is causing a controversy in Milford. Of the 34 incidents in which Milford police used Tasers this year, four involved an armed subject, according to a review of the city's police records. In two incidents, people were shocked with Taser stun guns after they had already been handcuffed. And in one incident, 24-year-old Nicholas Brown, a Bridgeport, Conn. man who had been shocked three times by a Taser stun gun, died while in custody of Milford police of what a medical examiner has ruled "cocaine toxicity." For its part, Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Taser International, the company that manufactures most of the stun guns used by police departments around the country, says its products are safe--though it does warn law enforcement to be particularly careful when using the stun guns on people who appear to be high on drugs, are exhibiting delirium, extreme agitation, or other conditions of what it calls "sudden in-custody death syndrome." Although more police departments in Connecticut are planning to purchase Taser stun guns, the Hartford Police Department says the deaths of Brown and others have convinced it to hold off on buying the devices.
http://www.nhregister.com
/site/news.cfm?newsid=176288
89&BRD=1281&PAG=46
1&dept_id=517514&rfi=6
"Helicopter Takes to Sky for Training"
St. Petersburg Times (FL) (12/22/06) P. CT1; Frank, John
Citrus County has purchased a new $2.4 million American Eurocopter equipped with a rescue hoist, becoming the only county in the state to have a hoist on its police chopper. The county has always been on the cutting edge of law enforcement technology. In 1990, it and Jacksonville were the only ones to employ thermal imaging technology with their helicopters. The hoist will be especially useful in this flood-prone region.
http://www.sptimes.com
/2006/12/22/Citrus/Helicopter_takes_to_s.shtml
"Jail Docket Coming Back Online"
Biloxi Sun Herald (MS) (12/21/06); Fitzgerald, Robin
The Harrison County Sheriff's Department in Mississippi will soon have access to its online jail docket as it migrates to a new records-management system. The technology will let the department access the dockets of Jackson and Hancock counties as well, and other counties in the state will soon be added in the future. The online docket has been offline since Nov. 7 because of the changeover. The situation "has made it difficult because we had to call the front desk to get the information," says D&D Bail Bond owner Wayne Dowdle. Once the new system is viewable, mug shots of prisoners will be posted; this is likely to be finalized after January 2007. Officials with the Sheriff's Department say the new technology will enhance information as well as assist them in knowing who and where prisoners are. A 1983 state law mandated that jail dockets and certain other types of information about incarcerations be made public.
http://www.sunherald.com
/mld/thesunherald/news/
special_packages/
renewal/long_beach/16287354.htm
"County Steps Up Monitoring After Predator Cluster Found"
Modesto Bee (CA) (12/22/06) P. B3; Jason, Scott
Law enforcement in Merced County, Calif., will track parolees' release and housing more closely after the recent eviction of six convicted sex offenders from a home, according to county sheriff's officials. They were evicted because they were residing illegally on agricultural property in a secondary home, also known as a granny house, meant for farm workers or family members. The state of California had moved the group to the house in November amid several changes--a school bus route was alerted, and surveillance gear was added to the home. Windows were also blacked out. A town meeting at a citizen's home was held on Dec. 15, attended by sheriff deputies, Supervisor Deidre Kelsey, and other officials. More than 50 residents attended to oppose the felons' occupancy of the house.
http://www.modbee.com/local/story
/13135954p-13782450c.html
"Asking the Right Questions"
Baltimore Sun (12/22/06) P. 1D; Hobby, Susan Thornton
Columbia, Md., firm SIMmersion has devised numerous interactive computer simulation games employing real actors to instruct new police officers, physicians, and social workers on how to handle witnesses, patients, or clients without causing explosive incidents or initiating malpractice lawsuits. When they are finished, interviewers receive a numeric score for how well they conducted their interview, and an in-depth analysis of their performance, as well as chance to repeatedly play the game. SIMmersion's Dale Olsen, who has a statistics doctorate and a polygraph background, worked for over three decades at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physicians Laboratory, where he helped create simulations software that instructed sailors on how to drive nuclear submarines. Simulator designers explain that while interviewers select their lines from all the potential scenarios shown on the screen and read them to a computer, the responses are written in a conversational manner, so that communication is natural. One of Olsen's simulations has trial witnesses receive interrogation on the witness stand by a pair of hostile attorneys. SIMmersion is now moving in multiple directions, while its foundation is in law enforcement. Former FBI office of information and learning resources unit chief Garland Phillips, who urged his agency to finance SIMmersion's initial simulation for the FBI Training Academy, explained that instructors discovered that enrollees would frequently spend their personal time operating the simulations. After the FBI was convinced, the academy introduced the simulations to its 56 field offices, and then the 16,000 state and local police groups it helps instruct, as well as additional federal agencies and foreign institutions.
http://www.baltimoresun.com
/news/health/
bal-hs.simulation22dec22,0,74
0663.story?coll=bal-health-headlines
"Dallas Courthouse to Increase Security"
Des Moines Register (IA) (12/20/06) P. 1B; Walker, Melissa
The Dallas County Courthouse in Iowa will soon have metal detectors and a $28,075 X-ray machine, the cost of which was covered by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security, to screen visitors. A security council comprising courthouse employees, law enforcement officials, and judges also proposed a security staff of 10 full- and part-time deputies at a cost of as much as $520,000, security cameras, employee access cards, and a building alarm system, among other things. County officials are expected to review the requests early in the new year. The sheriff's department will likely provide two full-time employees and part-time, off-duty police officers to monitor security systems and patrol the courthouse, according to Sheriff's Deputy Doug Lande. Lande notes, "We're going to make this as least intrusive as possible but protect the building and the people who work there." Metal detectors and a gated parking lot are among the security measures already put in place at the federal courthouse in Polk County.
http://desmoinesregister.com
/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20
061220/NEWS01/612200365/-1/BUSINESS04
"Fresno Cracks Down on DUI"
Associated Press (12/21/06); Burke, Garance
Fresno, Calif., police are erecting roadblocks, performing stakeouts, and utilizing night-vision goggles, satellite tracking devices, and video cameras in a crackdown intended to stop drunken drivers. These strategies have made the city one of the nation's toughest regarding drunk driving. Although police claim the four-year-old initiative has resulted in a significant decrease in fatal car accidents, restaurants and bars contend it is harming business and placing a damper on city's nightlife, while defense attorneys and civil liberties activists caution that Fresno has gone too far. Fresno police are placing undercover police close to bars to look out for drunken individuals heading to their vehicles. They are also erecting numerous drunk-driving checkpoints, and are discreetly placing Global Positioning System (GPS) devices on the vehicles of convicted drunken drivers to track whether they are going to liquor stores or bars, which would violate their parole or probation. The International Association of Chiefs of Police has listed Fresno's initiative as the best in the country. Four years ago, more individuals in Fresno were killed in car accidents than by murder, a figure that caused Police Chief Jerry Dyer to expand the traffic division from 22 officers to 76, to have the department make greater use of checkpoints, and to start utilizing GPS devices. The level of alcohol-related accidents that have caused injuries has dropped from 125 four years ago to 105 in 2006, while the level of DUI arrests has increased from 2,169 in 2002 to a predicted 3,000 for 2006, police stated.
http://www.chron.com
/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4419203.html
"State Lawmaker Calls for Limits on Taser Use"
Associated Press (12/22/06)
In Texas, Rep. Lon Burnam (D-Fort Worth) has introduced legislation that would allow police officers to use Tasers only when the use of deadly force is justified under the state penal code. Burnam's bill is in response to incidents in which suspects have been subdued by Tasers and later died. Burnam has also raised concerns that Tasers are used more often on minorities. Houston police used Tasers in 892 instances since 2004, but city Police Chief Harold Hurtt says only 39 justified deadly force.
http://www.ap.org
"Most Back Cameras to Battle Crime"
Stamford Advocate (CT) (12/20/06); Lee, Natasha
At a recent hearing in Stamford, Conn., local citizens said they endorse the use of cameras to increase safety, but want safeguards in place that would prevent officials from abusing the technology. The hearing was arranged by the Public Safety and Health Committee of Stamford's Board of Representatives Office. At present, the city is allowed to use its 16 closed-circuit cameras only for monitoring traffic in accordance with a 1999 ordinance. However, members of the Public Safety and Health Committee as well as if the Legislative and Rules Committee have voted to alter the ordinance to lessen the restrictions; the changes need to be approved by the Board of Representatives in January, said Richard Lyons, chairman of the Public Safety and Health Committee. The majority of residents said the cameras would help reduce crimes such as vandalism and improper dumping, but some residents advocated boosting the number of police officers rather than initiating camera surveillance. Others asserted that surveillance cameras fail to successfully deter crime.
http://www.stamfordadvoc
ate.com/news/local/scn-sa-
surveillance.hearing4dec20
,0,7184026.story?coll=stam
-news-local-headlines
"UMass Checks Data to Identify Rioters"
Boston Globe (12/20/06) P. B7; Simpson, April
University of Massachusetts at Amherst (UMass) police are employing photos, Web sites, videos, and students to locate students who set items on fire and heaved bike tires, beer bottles, and other dangerous materials at police following the football team's loss on Dec. 15 in the Division 1-AA championship game. Campus police authorities informed students on Dec. 18 that they will post photos of rioters on the school's Web site each day. Of the 11 individuals recently arrested, 10 were students. At their Dec. 18 and Dec. 19 arraignments, the students pleaded not guilty. On Dec. 17, however, university vice chancellor for student affairs and campus life Michael Gargano stated in an a email letter to students' parents that around 200 students actively partook in "the violence and destruction on December 15," and noted they could be expelled, face criminal charges, or lose academic credit for the fall semester. Around 1,800 students rushed a residential section of the school at 11 p.m. on Dec. 15, after the UMass football team lost to Appalachian State. A pair of police officers were hurt by thrown rocks, and several have reported bruises. Police stated they are seeking the worst offenders, especially those who threw things at them.
http://www.boston.co
m/news/local/articles/
2006/12/20/umass_
checks_data_to_identify_rioters/
"Invention: Taser Gets Tougher"
New Scientist Tech (12/18/06); Fox, Barry
In a project funded by the U.S. government, Arizona's Taser International is developing a stun gun capable of shocking recipients insulated by clothing as well as animals with thick fur. The projectiles fired by current stun guns can lose their effectiveness if they become stuck in clothing or fur because the recipient is protected from the shock delivered by the projectile's barbed electrodes. However, the new stun guns will have an additional electrode that faces away from the target on the rear of the projectile capable of providing a shock that instinctively compels the target to grab or bite the projectile. Once the target's bare skin makes good electrical contact with the electrode, a disabling shock is delivered.
http://www.newscientisttech.com
/channel/tech/dn10817-invention
-taser-gets-tougher.html
"City to Hold Annual Vehicle Safety 'Roadeo' on Dec. 1"
US States News (11/28/06)
On Dec. 1, the City of Corpus Christi's Risk Management Office and Safety Advisory Board held the annual Vehicle Safety "Roadeo" Contest. There were nine different testing categories involving full-size sedans, police sedans, VIP sedans, pickup trucks, dump trucks, and many other vehicle types. The best city employee driver in each category was given an award or prize for their efforts. City employees with good driving records navigated six different obstacle-course layouts and demonstrated their safe-driving skills.
http://www.nexis.com
/research
"Justice Dept. Database Stirs Privacy Fears"
Washington Post (12/26/06) P. A7; Eggen, Dan
A huge database being constructed by the Justice Department intended to allow local investigators around the country to access information held by federal law enforcement agencies is receiving widespread disapproval from privacy groups. There are currently one million records, from both open and closed cases, in the database known as "OneDOJ," which can only be accessed by 150 police departments at this time, but in three years the number of case records is expected to triple, and the number of regional authorities with access is expected to jump to 750. Privacy and civil rights advocates see the database as a dangerous source of unfounded details, particularly concerning people who have not been arrested or charged with a crime. The ACLU's Technology and Liberty Project director Barry Steinhardt says that, " Raw police files or FBI reports can never be verified and can never be corrected. That is a problem with even more formal and controlled systems. The idea that they're creating another whole system that is going to be full of inaccurate information is just chilling." He cites the 2003 statement by the FBI that it would no longer recognize the Privacy Act's requirements for accuracy in the National Crime Information Center, the main criminal-background-check database that is utilized by 80,000 law enforcement agencies in the country. Others express fear that the information disseminated by this system could make its way into realms outside of law enforcement. Despite calls for a halt to the project, the DOJ remains confident that OneDOJ will provide invaluable assistance to local authorities by "essentially hooking them up to a pipe that will take them into [the DOJ's] records."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2006/12/25/AR
2006122500483.html
"1 Police Force, 1 Lesson Plan"
Indianapolis Star (11/13/06) P. 1; O'Neal, Kevin
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IPD) and the Marion County Sheriff's Department continue to merge their departments into one, and as part of the merger plans, the departments will rely on a single training center--the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Training Academy. Police department officials claim that the single training center will foster consistency among officers and improve the efficiency levels of the entire police force. Moreover, the merged departments are expected to reduce duplication in procedures, policies, and training, though deadly-force policies will remain in effect. The academy is equipped with a shoot-or-don't-shoot simulator in the firearms range and a program to teach officers basic Spanish language skills to better serve the growing Hispanic population. However, one difference under the new training academy will be the elimination of the precision immobilization technique (PIT), in which officers learn how to hit fleeing cars in order to spin them and shorten pursuits. Other skills updates for veteran officers will also be offered.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll
/article?AID=/20061113/LOCAL/6111
30426/1006/LOCAL
Article sponsored by Criminal Justice Leadership; and, police and military personnel who have become writers.
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