Upgrading Law Enforcement Technology in Denver
Denver is betting millions of dollars that new laptops in patrol cars and a cutting-edge records-management database will speed the police department into 21st century crime-fighting, helping them quickly spot trends and identify faceless serial criminals. The $6.7 million three-year initiative to arm police with modern technology is part of a $22 million program - 80 percent of which is funded by federal grants and cellular phone fees – designed to dramatically upgrade Denver police, fire, jail and traffic-monitoring technology.
Source: Alan Gathright, “A new age of crime-fighting; Updated system will give Denver officers access to latest data,” Rocky Mountain News (Denver, Colo.), 27 Dec. 2005: 7A
Online Crime Reporting in Boulder County, Colorado
Minor crimes and complaints in Boulder County, Colo. can now be reported online, saving time for residents and deputies. Once an online report is made, it goes into the Boulder County Sheriff’s records management system and is reviewed by a supervisor to see whether there are any investigative leads to pursue and to assign the case to a deputy.
Source: Felisa Cardona, “County taking a byte at minor crimes; Boulder sheriff accepting reports online to save time for residents and deputies,” The Denver Post, 20 Dec. 2005: B5
Greenwood, Ind. Police Purchase AFIS Equipment
The Greenwood, Ind. Police Department has joined Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and South Bend police as departments with the capability of electronically searching the Indiana State Police automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) database to identify fingerprints collected at crime scenes and from suspects. The newly purchased AFIS system has already helped Greenwood make at least eight identifications from State Police files on open cases.
Source: Paul Bird, “Fingerprints point the way; Joining computerized system gives city police a new crime-solving tool,” The Indianapolis (Ind.) Star, 28 Dec. 2005
Tennessee Creates Online Meth Offender Registry
Tennessee law enforcement officials are trying a new tactic in the battle against methamphetamine: posting the names of people convicted of manufacturing the drug in an online database modeled after sex-offender registries. The Tennessee Meth Offender Registry Database, created in 2005 by the General Assembly, allows Internet users to enter a name or a county, and instantly displays convictions that occurred after March 30, 2005.
Source: Ellen Barry, “Tennessee Posts Convicted Meth Makers on Web,” Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2005: A24
Fingerprints Nab Suspect in 1978 Illinois Murder
The arrest of a man using an alias at a routine sobriety checkpoint this week in El Monte, Calif. turned out to be anything but ordinary after police ran his fingerprints and discovered he was wanted in a nearly 30-year-old murder in Chicago. Cook County sheriff's officials are expected to bring him back to Illinois where he is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery and armed violence.
Source: Courtney Flynn, “Fugitive held in '78 killing; Police in California run his fingerprints during DUI arrest, find arrest warrant,” Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2006: C3
DNA Cold Hit Solves 1995 Fort Worth, Texas Murder
A convicted felon already in jail awaiting trial for the August 1986 rape and strangulation of an 11-year-old girl faces a second charge of capital murder after the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) linked him to the 1995 slaying of a woman in a Fort Worth, Texas park. Fort Worth police cold case detectives are re-examining the slayings of four other women killed in a similar fashion between 1986 and 1995 for possible links to the suspect.
Source: Deanna Boyd, “Felon is suspect in 1995 killing,” Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram, 17 Dec. 2005
