Washington, D.C. Area Joins LInX
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) – the felony investigative arm of the Department of the Navy (DON) – has launched the Law Enforcement Information Exchange (LInX) initiative, a project designed to enhance information sharing between local, state, and federal law enforcement in areas of strategic importance to the Department of the Navy. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) Police Chiefs Committee has collaborated with NCIS to launch the National Capital Region Law Enforcement Information Exchange (NCR-LInX), using $2.7 million in funding from the Navy and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Mary Beth Sheridan, "System Lets Agencies in Area Share Data," The Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2007: B3
Portable Fingerprinting Units for Northern Virginia
Using federal grant funds, Fairfax County police have purchased 50 portable Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) devices that can search the million or so fingerprint sets on file in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. in about 30 seconds. Some of the devices will be distributed to neighboring county and city departments, while the rest will be shared among Fairfax County crime scene and accident reconstruction units.
Tom Jackman, "Fairfax Goes High Tech to Finger Criminals," The Washington Post, 6 Dec. 2007: VA3
DNA Testing to Solve Property Crime in South Carolina
As part of a $3.3 million program at the Marshall University Forensic Science Center in West Virginia funded by the National Institute of Justice, 66 evidence samples from 33 unsolved property crime cases in Charleston County, South Carolina will undergo DNA analysis and be added to CODIS. Successful CODIS hits will be forwarded to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), which focuses its lab efforts on violent crimes.
Glenn Smith, "Police ready for DNA testing; City to take part in program for property crimes," The Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.), 8 Dec. 2007: B3
Jackson, Tenn. Police Going Wireless
Using a $583,340 federal grant, police in Jackson, Tenn. will soon have 120 wireless access points around the city to electronically submit reports and automatically upload video of all traffic stops from cruiser cameras. The wireless system will also allow police to download feeds from private security cameras when responding to alarms, which will soon be tested during a pilot program with a local bank.
Tajuana Cheshier, "Council OKs cops going wireless," The Jackson (Tenn.) Sun, 5 Dec. 2007: 1
The Austin Police Department's Mobile Data Computer Project
The Austin Police Department’s $5.5 million Mobile Data Computer project, to be completed in early 2008, will connect 400 ruggedized laptop computers in patrol cars via a commercial vendor’s broadband network. The touch screen computers are mounted in the cruiser dashboard, giving officers access to up-to-date information without using dispatchers.
Kirk Ladendorf, "Officers chasing information through high-speed networks," Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, 29 Nov. 2007: D1
Iris Scans Being Used More Often by Law Enforcement
Iris scanning is growing more common among law enforcement agencies nationwide, with at least 10 jurisdictions creating databases of sexual offenders and other criminals. In another trend, more than 2,100 departments in 27 states are creating voluntary local databases of individuals such as Alzheimer's patients, who might require identification if they wander away from home.
Wendy Koch, "Iris scans let law enforcement keep eye on criminals," USA Today, 5 Dec. 2007: A1
