D.C. Police Command Center used during terrorist attack
The Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s new $7 million Synchronized Operations Command Center (SOCC) was operational during the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, even though it had not been scheduled to be ready until the following week’s World Bank meeting. The SOCC was used to monitor activities around the city, allowing federal and local law enforcement agencies to coordinate their efforts and quickly dispel rumors concerning car bombs and additional attacks by air.
Source: “Attack opens D.C. command center early” by Jim Keary; Washington (DC) Times, September 18, 2001, Pg. B3
DNA cold hit on 1995 rape of Tacoma, WA schoolgirl
A DNA database cold hit has linked an Arizona inmate currently serving a 740-year sentence for sexual crimes to the unsolved 1995 rape of a Tacoma, Washington girl walking home from grade school. The inmate has not yet been charged in the case, but the DNA match allows the investigation to move forward. Investigators were able to search Washington’s database of DNA samples from 30,000 convicted felons as well as the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) .
Source: “DNA turns up new lead in rape case” by Stacey Burns; The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) September 19, 2001, Pg. B8
Randolph County (NC) Sheriff's Office upgrades technology
The Randolph County (North Carolina) Sheriff's Office recently announced plans to use $125,000 in seized drug money for a new fingerprint identification system. An additional $95,000 in such funds will be used for ten squad car mobile computers that will be linked to North Carolina's Criminal Justice Information Network. The department currently has 26 of the computers, which allow deputies to file reports and send instant messages to any other officers on the system.
Source: “Sheriff to Upgrade Technology” by Mark Brumley; News & Record (Greensboro, NC) September 16, 2001, Pg. R1
Computerized security cameras in Knox County (TN) schools
Seven elementary schools in Knox County, Tennessee will soon have security camera systems that can be viewed from principals’ home computers and police squad cars, thanks to a federal $48,000 Local Law Enforcement Block Grant designed to improve safety in low-income areas. The security system at each school includes nine motion-activated color digital cameras that record and save footage to computers. Each of the participating schools were also given handheld police radios.
Source: “Technology permits round-the-clock safety; Police, principals can view schools via cameras, computers” by Jennifer Lawson; Knoxville (TN) News-Sentinel, August 24, 2001, Pg. A6
E-911 for Jersey County, MO
Jersey County, Missouri plans to launch an E-911 system for emergency calls that will identify locations of all callers, including those on cellular phones, by July 2002. In 1999, county voters approved a $2.50 monthly surcharge to develop the $700,000 system.
The addressing phase of the project—naming unnamed roads and creating other usable addresses using GPS technology —is almost complete.
Source: “Jersey County is Preparing to Launch 911 Service” by Terry Hillig; St. Louis (MO) Post-Dispatch, September 3, 2001
Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Photo Imaging Network
The Upper Bucks County (Pennsylvania) Regional Consortium –which includes Police departments in Bedminster, Hilltown, Richland, Springfield and Tinicum townships, and the Quakertown, Dublin, Perkasie and Pennridge Regional departments – recently made a joint purchase of LiveScan fingerprint ID and digital booking equipment. A federal grant paid for 75% of the cost, and each of the nine members paid $1,350 towards the required matching funding. Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Photo Imaging Network offers police across the state a standard format for linking fingerprint records with digital mug shots.
Source: “Computer System Police Departments' New Crime Fighter; Nine Bucks Agencies Using High-Tech Programs to Help Identify Criminals” by Donna Dudick; The Morning Call (Allentown, PA) September 11, 2001, Pg. B1
