Wicomico County Sheriff's Office Upgrades Patrol Cars
The Wicomico County Sheriff's Office is upgrading its fleet of cruisers with high-tech equipment, including mobile data terminals which allow deputies to prepare reports while on patrol. Equipment placed in each patrol car costs about the same as the $19,500 price tag of each purchased 2007 Ford Police Interceptor.
Joseph Gidjunis, "New sheriff patrol cars go high-tech, black and white," Daily Times (Salisbury, Md.), 24 Oct. 2007
New Jersey City Develops "Crime Dashboard"
Over the past nine months, the East Orange Police Department has developed a real time Web-based crime reporting and public-safety monitoring system that offers updates every thirty seconds to the 277-member department. The Law Enforcement Enterprise Dashboard (LEED) was designed to make officers more reactive, connecting officers in their patrol cars to video surveillance cameras located around the city and real time police incident reports.
Kevin C. Dilworth, "Battling crime at the speed of the Web," The Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.), 21 Oct. 2007: 37
Mississippi City Gets Grant for Squad Car Laptops
Using federal grant funding, the Jackson Police Department has purchased 150 touch-screen, wireless laptop computers for its patrol cars. The computers will allow officers to run their own NCIC records checks without the help of dispatchers, improving department operations as well as officer safety.
Nicklaus Lovelady, "Technology grants buy laptops for police cars," The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Miss.), 22 Oct. 2007: 2B
DNA Cold Hit Solves 1978 Murder
Thanks to hard work by the Seattle Police Department's Homicide unit and a DNA cold hit from the state database, a 62-year-old inmate has been linked to the kidnapping, rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl from her home in Ballard, Wash. in July 1978. The inmate is currently serving a sentence for the September 1978 murder of another Seattle woman.
Mike Carter, "Charges in '78 slaying filed against inmate," Seattle (Wash.) Times, 25 Oct. 2007: B3
Oregon City Gets Technology Grant from ODOT
The Sherwood Police Department has outfitted its cruisers with a computerized ticket issuing system to improve operations, freeing officers from the tedious task of paperwork so they can spend more time on patrol. The system, purchased with $15,000 provided by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), connects to DMV records, and includes wireless printers for police vehicles.
Abby Haight, "Computers in cruisers will speed police work," The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.), 18 Oct. 2007: 6
