Wichita, Kansas Gets Cruiser Laptops
Wichita police are beginning to get new laptop computers in patrol cars--letting them access more information, faster, on the street. It means, for example, that an officer will be able to determine more quickly whether a motorist in a traffic stop is lying about his identity.
Tim Potter, “Police delight in new laptops; The computers will let officers access more information more quickly, right in their cruisers,” The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, 28 March 2006: B1
2,000th DNA Cold Hit in California
A 34-year-old loan officer has been charged with a rape and a sexual assault as a result of what officials described as the state's 2,000th "cold hit" from DNA samples run in connection with Prop. 69. The proposition, passed in 2004, allows the taking of DNA samples from all convicted felons and those convicted of some misdemeanors.
John McDonald, “DNA cold hit yields rape suspect,” The Orange County (Calif.) Register, 28 March 2006
Testing Electronic Traffic Tickets in New Mexico
A dozen of the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office's patrol cruisers and motorcycles have been equipped with laptop computers, image scanners and printers that will electronically issue traffic citations. The department is one of a handful of state agencies participating in a six-month pilot program sponsored by the New Mexico Department of Transportation to evaluate an electronic citation system.
Dolores M. Bernal, “Authorities to issue electronic citations,” Las Cruces (N.M.) Sun-News, 31 March 2006: 1A
NGA Survey on State Fusion Centers
At least 28 states and U.S. territories are making it a top priority to open intelligence fusion centers, according to a survey of homeland security directors compiled by the National Governors Association. Forty directors from states and territories responded to the 2006 State Homeland Security Directors Survey.
Alice Lipowicz, “Governors mobilize fusion centers for better security,” Washington Technology, 6 April 2006, online at
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/1_1/daily_news/28333-1.html
Solving Crimes with Fingerprints in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Detectives credit Bob Yerton, a former police officer and current latent fingerprint examiner at the Tulsa Police Forensic Laboratory, with helping to crack two major arrests in Tulsa this year, those of a suspect in a series of rapes and a man accused of kidnapping and killing a 10-year-old girl this past week. Yerton recovered a fingerprint from duct tape evidence in the new case, entered the print into the Automated Fingerprint Identification System to compare it to other fingerprints in the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation's database, and found a match in about five minutes.
Nicole Marshall, “Fingerprint examiner credited with breaks,” Tulsa (Okla.) World, 30 March 2006: A1
Technology Helps Solve Crimes in Arizona
Scottsdale, Ariz. detectives have steadily improved in solving certain violent crimes since 2000, and have stayed above the state's case-clearance rates the last two years, according to statistics. Strides in technology and investigative techniques - including the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System - have helped police solve more cases.
Mike Sakal, “More violent crimes solved: Police cite better forensics in clearing higher number of cases,” East Valley Tribune (Mesa, Ariz.), 5 April 2006
GPS Use in Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County probation officers will use GPS to track the following types of offenders: sexual offenders, repeat DWI offenders, abusive spouses and drug dealers. GPS devices carried by offenders consist of an ankle bracelet and a pager-type tracking device worn on the waist.
Brandon Bain, “Ways GPS technology can aid police officers,” Newsday (Nassau and Suffolk County, N.Y.), 31 March 2006: A2
GPS Monitoring of Gang Parolees in California
San Bernardino, Calif. is the first city in the nation to use satellite tracking for high-risk gang members on parole, and authorities have made the first arrest as a result of the Global Positioning System anklets worn by offenders in the program. Twenty high-risk gang members in San Bernardino are now fitted with the GPS anklets, and another 20 are worn by high-risk sex offenders in the city.
Joe Nelson, “Police net first gang member violating parole with help of GPS anklet,” San Bernardino County (Calif.) Sun, 4 April 2006
Video Arraignment in Arizona Superior Court
Advances in technology are making life safer and easier for employees and clients at the Agua Fria Justice Court in Maricopa County, Ariz. The court installed a video link system last year that allows Judge Joe "Pep" Guzman to arraign inmates at the jail in Phoenix from his courtroom in Tolleson.
Marianne Refuerzo, “Video link makes court easier,” The Arizona Republic, 31 March 2006: Pg. 15
