Cold hit DNA match for 1999 Maryland rape
Anne Arundel County (Maryland) Police reported a state police DNA database match for the November 1999 rape of a 17–year-old student abducted from a high school parking lot on her way to class. The Maryland prison inmate identified through the cold hit DNA match, who detectives plan to request be indicted with the rape, is serving a four-year-sentence for robbery. It is the third DNA cold hit in the county since last year.
Source: "Police link inmate to rape; DNA match made in assault of Mead High student in 1999" by Laura Barnhardt; Baltimore (MD) Sun, December 21, 2001, Pg. B1
Wireless network for Greensboro (NC) Police
The Greensboro (North Carolina) Police Department plans to connect all its patrol cars through a wireless computer network, using a $597,000 federal grant. The network will allow officers to download crime maps and mug shots as well as email colleagues and other city departments from their vehicles. The department has estimated each officer should be able to save an hour a day using the system, making the network the equivalent of adding 23 new police officers.
Source: "Wireless Network to Link Officers; The System Allows Police to See Crime Maps and Mug Shots From Their Patrol Cars" by Philip Reuse; News & Record (Greensboro, NC) December 12, 2001, Pg. B1
Aberdeen (SD) Police post sex offenders list
The Aberdeen (South Dakota) Police Department has placed on the Internet a list of 44 registered sex offenders in Brown County. Information supplied includes the person's name, offense, conviction date and photograph. Addresses are not included on the Web site because of recent judicial rulings across the country against their use. The registry is available at: http://www.aberdeen.sd.us/police/offender/offender.html
Source: "Brown County sex offenders list on Internet;" The Associated Press State & Local Wire, December 8, 2001
Shawnee (OK) Police get handheld computers
The Shawnee (Oklahoma) Police Department has become the first department in the state to use Palm Pilots that allow officers to run license plate checks, send e-mail and perform other administrative functions. The devices are the first step in the eventual outfitting of each patrol car with wireless laptops, for which the department received an $82,000 grant from the U.S. Justice Department.
Source: "Shawnee police to get wireless devices;" The Associated Press State & Local Wire, December 10, 2001
Medina (OH) Police put crime log on the Web
The Medina (Ohio) Police Department has put its daily crime log on its Web site, perhaps the first department in the country to do so. Public Information Logs list every call made to the police, in an effort to educate the public about what police do.
Source: "Medina puts police blotter on the Web; Site may be first of its kind in nation, experts say" by Stephen Hudak; Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) December 15, 2001, Pg. B1
Troy (NY) Police get digital booking system
Police in Troy, New York will soon have a digital booking system online, allowing photos and fingerprints to be taken for the rapid identification of suspects. The booking process will be much faster, and results of fingerprint checks will be received in about 30 minutes. Under the current booking process, ink fingerprints are mailed to the state's Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) for matching, a far lengthier process. The $800,000 system will also allow crime scene prints to be submitted for DCJS matches.
Source: "Computer system speeds up cops' work; Troy new fingerprinting and booking equipment will produce rapid reports on suspects" by Tim O'Brien; The Times Union (Albany, NY) December 18, 2001, Pg. F1
