N. Las Vegas (NV) Police get squad car laptops
The North Las Vegas (Nevada) Police Department plans to purchase 32 laptop computers for its patrol cars, enabling officers to prepare reports and access NCIC records from their vehicles. The City Council recently unanimously approved $125,727 for the computers and $115,607 for radio equipment needed to enable database searches. The department tested computers to see which model is able to withstand hot summer temperatures before selecting a vendor for the project.
Source: “News Wrap: North Las Vegas Police to access criminal histories;” Las Vegas (NV) Review-Journal, March 22, 2001, Pg. 2B
Chicago (IL) Police district gets squad car laptops
The Chicago (Illinois) Police Department has outfitted about 300 squad cars in the 20th district with touch-screen computers allowing for simpler data entry and report preparation. Electronic reports will get to detectives for follow-up much faster than paper copies. The department is also upgrading its Criminal History Records Information System (CHRIS), first launched in 1998, to be Web-based and more user-friendly.
Source: “Technology: Shows progress; Moving toward digital documents” by Frank Main; Chicago (IL) Sun-Times, March 4, 2001
N. Providence (RI) Police get squad car laptops
The North Providence (Rhode Island) Police Department has recently upgraded its technology, adding digital booking, LiveScan fingerprinting equipment, new dispatch communications equipment and ten squad car laptops. The town's share of the $225,000 modernization project was $100,000. The rest came from a grant from the Rhode Island Justice Commission.
Source: “Putting some bytes into crime; Technology latest weapon in war on crime” by Richard Salit; The Providence (RI) Journal-Bulletin, February 27, 2001, Pg. 1C
First DNA cold hit for Ohio's database
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI) recently reported the first cold hit from the state DNA database, solving a 1999 rape and attempted murder case. The announcement came only days after entry of 30,000 samples from prison inmates into the system was completed. The BCI worked with the Warren County Sheriff's Office and Hamilton County Sheriff's Office to charge a 25-year-old prison inmate serving time for aggravated burglary and theft with the crime.
Source: “DNA Match a First for Ohio; Search of database links man to rape” by Sheri King and J.R. Lewis; Dayton (OH) Daily News, March 15, 2001, Pg. 1A
Kanawha County (WV) Sheriff upgrades technology
The Kanawha County (West Virginia) Sheriff's Department has upgraded its technology with squad car computers, improving officer safety and efficiency. Since their backups are often 30 minutes away, deputies’ ability to run license plate checks without the aid of dispatchers offers potentially life-saving information during traffic stops. Deputies can also prepare reports in their vehicles, speeding up the record keeping process and saving officers an average of four hours each per shift.
Source: “Deputies cruising with new technology Mobile data units help sheriff's department file, get information on scene” by Vada Mossavat; Charleston (WV) Daily Mail, March 21, 2001, Pg. C1
Temple Terrace (FL) gets news public safety computer system
The Temple Terrace (Florida) City Council recently approved spending $862,310 for a new public safety computer system that will utilize fire, police and Computer Assisted Dispatch (CAD) software from three different companies. Temple Terrace will act as a test site for the integration of the three different products, which will offer improved communications and dispatching. The current system went online in 1989 and is now obsolete.
Source: “Police, fire computers to update” by Michael Dunn; The Tampa (FL) Tribune, March 2001
