LAW ENFORCEMENT
DNA COLD HITS SOLVES 1968 CALIF. MURDER
A DNA cold hit from the FBI's national database has solved the brutal rape and murder of a 14-year-old San Francisco girl that occurred while she was baby-sitting at a neighbor's house in 1968. A collaborative effort by the San Francisco Police Department Crime Lab, the medical examiner's office and homicide inspectors led to the arrest of a man with prior convictions for sex offenses.
Source: “Arrest in 1968 sexual slaying; S.F. cops match DNA with that of predator in prison” by Harriet Chiang; The San Francisco (CA) Chronicle, 24 Dec. 2003: A13
ALASKA HEIGHTENS INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY
Security has been beefed up across Alaska in response to elevated concerns about terrorism. Even though there have been no corroborated threats regarding Valdez or any other Alaska location, state officials decided to increase protection for oil facilities statewide with help from the FBI, National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska State Troopers and Alaska State Defense Force volunteers.
Source: "State steps up oil facility security" by Zaz Hollander; Anchorage Daily News, 31 Dec. 2003: A1
UTAH JOINS MATRIX PROJECT
Utah has joined an eight-state $12 million pilot program for law enforcement information sharing designed to improve homeland security and overall public safety. MATRIX (Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange) is an Intranet system that combines a variety of public, state and federal law enforcement databases to speed up access to records. The pilot, financed by grants from the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security, is scheduled to conclude in November 2004.
Source: “Utah sets 'MATRIX' against criminals” by Frank Oliver; Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah), 4 Jan. 2004: A1
PALM PRINT DATABASES POPPING UP
While about 30 metropolitan law enforcement agencies nationwide have begun keeping palm print databases as the technology has improved, the Montgomery County (Texas) Sheriff's Office has been taking palm prints for about 15 years and has thousands on file. The FBI is investigating the feasibility of establishing a national database, since half of crime scene prints include only include the palm and not the fingers.
Source: “More than just fingers; Palm prints gain favor with police tracking criminals” by Charlie Bier; The Houston (TX) Chronicle, 1 Jan. 2004
SOUTH CAROLINA CRIME LAB IS ONE YEAR OLD
The South Carolina Computer Crime Center, established using more than $7.8 million in federal grants, is now one year old. It is the first computer crime unit to be run by both federal and state officials, being staffed by eight agents from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), three from the FBI and four from the Secret Service. Child exploitation makes up nearly 2/3 of the 263 cases the center has worked through November.
Source: “Crime center links network of experts” by Ron Barnett; The Greenville (SC) News, 23 Dec. 2003: 14B
GLENDALE (AZ) POLICE GO DIGITAL
The Glendale (Arizona) Police Department’s $9 million digital police communication system is now online, meaning clearer radio calls and a greater coverage area for police officers. Glendale is the first Arizona city to go all digital, after replacing the 15-year-old analog system the city had been using.
Source: “Digital Radio System Clears the Air for Glendale Police” by Monica Alonzo-Dunsmoor; The Arizona Republic, 20 December 2003