Nebraska Criminal Justice Information System
The Nebraska Criminal Justice Information System, developed over the past seven years under the guidance of the Nebraska Crime Commission, allows statewide sharing of misdemeanor arrests, parolee and probation records, protection orders and other information. Currently, 199 Nebraska police departments, sheriff's offices, jails, and county attorney offices participate in the voluntary system, which connects many smaller departments to statewide criminal justice records for the first time. CJIS was developed using $3.1 million in federal funds and $1.4 million in state funds. The Commission trains local law enforcement officials to use the system and also offers system maintenance.
Source: "New crime fighting tool is a statewide database" by Paul Hamlet; Omaha (NE) World Herald, July 9, 2002, Pg. A1
Vermont plans new communications network
Vermont's Department of Public Safety began planning the upgrade of its obsolete 50-year-old microwave communications network to a digital network in 1999. A new communications system was needed to connect 48 municipal police departments, state police, the Department of Transportation, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, and a number of fire departments. The state recently awarded a $9 million contract for a digital system that will put voice, data and video on a single network, using T1 lines to increase data transfer speed. State police will save nearly $100,000 a year by eliminating use of telecom services required to connect to the old system.
Source: "Vermont public safety goes digital" by Jason Miller; Government Computer News, July 1, 2002, Pg. 18
Albany (NY) Police use AFIS to catch murder suspect
Albany (New York) Police recently used their automated fingerprint identification system to nab a man wanted for a March 2000 homicide in Newport News, Virginia. The suspect was originally arrested, under an alias, for the criminal sale of narcotics. The AFIS check initiated upon his booking came back in a few hours, allowing the man to be held for extradition to Virginia.
Source: "Computer System Key to Arrest in Homicide;" Albany (NY) Times Union, July 5, 2002, Pg. B4
Cook County (IL) Criminal Apprehension and Booking System
The Cook County (Illinois) Sheriff's Office Criminal Apprehension and Booking System (CABS), which went online in 1998 and was developed using federal funding, has enabled Burbank (IL) Police to catch a repeat DUI offender with outstanding warrants. When police entered his fingerprints at booking they discovered his past arrests for drunk driving in five local towns, under several aliases, and outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court. CABS contains fingerprints and mug shots for arrests in Chicago and over 100 Cook County suburbs.
Source: "Sheriff's network helps collar suspected repeat DUI offender; Fingerprint database helps catch man who skipped 4 court dates" by Frank Main; Chicago (IL) Sun Times, July 10, 2002
Baltimore (MD) Police use of WI-FI
As part of its $3.8 million communications upgrade, the Baltimore (Maryland) Police Department joins Oakland, California as the only two departments in the country to use WI-FI (wireless fidelity) for high speed police communications. Officers in the 140 WI-FI-equipped patrol cars can drive near the WI-FI network installed at every district station and headquarters for license plate searches, and will soon be able to transmit their reports over the network from their vehicles. Once officers drive away from the limited range of the network, squad car computers automatically switch back to the slower but much wider cellular data network used by the department.
Source: "Fastest switch in the land; Speed: Using squad cars equipped with PCs, Baltimore police can switch between a high speed wireless fidelity network and cellular network effortlessly" by Kevin Washington; Baltimore (MD) Sun, June 20, 2002, Pg. C11
Idaho gets first responder technology grant
The State of Idaho has received a $1,040,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP), to improve first responders' ability to react to acts of terrorism involving biological, chemical, nuclear, radiological, or explosive weapons. Funds will be used to purchase cutting edge technology, including chemical/biological detection equipment, chemical/biological decontamination equipment and emergency communications equipment.
Source: "Idaho Receives $1,040,000 For Equipment to Respond to Terrorist Acts;" U.S. Newswire, July 2, 2002
