Missouri's Gateway Information Sharing Initiative
The Gateway Information Sharing Initiative – a pilot federal, state and local law enforcement database initiated in 1997 by the St. Louis (Missouri) Police Department — was recently lauded by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft as a model that could be deployed nationwide. In an October 9 press release the database is said to allow officers to search for license plate numbers, suspect names, and many related kinds of information via secure Internet from FBI records and those of the other participants, which include the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, St. Louis County Police Department, Missouri State Highway Patrol, St. Clair County Sheriff's Office, Collinsville (Illinois) Police Department, the Illinois State Police, Southern Illinois Police Chiefs Association, St. Louis Area Police Chiefs Association, the FBI, and the United States Attorneys' Offices of the Southern District of Illinois and Eastern District of Missouri.
Source: “FBI Database Here is Model for the Nation, Ashcroft Says; System Allows Sharing of Reports” by Peter Shinkle; St. Louis (MO) Post-Dispatch, October 10, 2002, Pg. A1
Carson City (NV) Sheriff's Office upgrades systems
The Carson City (Nevada) Sheriff's Office has improved its operations through implementation of a new records and jail management Information system that integrates records from different county agencies. The system allows officers to search for criminal records before serving warrants, jailers to check for inmate histories, and deputies to track court dates. The next phase of the systems upgrade will allow officers to view records in the field.
Source: “Computers take byte out of crime” by Sandi Wright; Reno (NV) Gazette-Journal, September 26, 2002, Pg. 1C
Dublin (GA) Police receive grant for laptops
The Dublin (Georgia) Police Department has purchased 20 squad car laptop computers using a federal grant, enabling officers to prepare reports while in their vehicles. The department hopes for another federal grant to connect the $5,000 computers to the Georgia Crime Information Center, which would allow officers to run checks on license plates and drivers without going through a dispatcher. The computers also permit officers to prepare reports on traffic accidents using time-saving templates, including one that draws intersections.
Source: “Dublin police armed with technology” by Wayne Crenshaw; The Macon (GA) Telegraph, October 7, 2002, Pg. B1
Kettering (OH) Police get technology grant
The Kettering (Ohio) Police Department recently received a $20,212 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, which required $2,246 in matching funds from the city. Part of the grant will be used to purchase cell phones for 20 marked patrol cars and five hand-held computer units for use by other officers. The grant will also be used to purchase a Live Scan fingerprint system to run faster background checks for employers and volunteer organizations.
Source: “Kettering Police Add to Arsenal; Grant to fund fingerprinting system, cell phones” by Joanne Clodfelter; Dayton (OH) Daily News, October 3, 2002
West Virginia safe schools technology project
The Harrison County, West Virginia Board of Education has received a $442,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Technology Opportunities Program to develop Project SAFE (School Action For Emergencies) to connect emergency responders to video cameras inside 5 county high schools and six middle schools. The project will cost $1.4 million, with additional funding coming from a levy and donations. The school cameras will transmit to the laptops of emergency responders and the county command center, providing live feeds during any emergencies. More information on the grant can be found at:
http://ntiaotiant2.ntia.doc.gov/top/2002/details.cfm?tiiap_no=20248
Source: “W.Va. district links school cameras to emergency responders” by Vicki Smith; Associated Press State & Local Wire, October 8, 2002
Homeland security info sharing partnership
California's Gov. Gray Davis and Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer recently announced a new homeland security partnership between the California Anti-Terrorism Information Center (CATIC), New York Police Department's Counter Terrorism Division and the Defense Intelligence Agency that may prove to be a national model for intelligence sharing. The NYPD terrorist unit employs about 500 people and the CATIC has about 100 agents. Information sharing will be via secure computer and telephone lines, and will initially include four CATIC analysts. A press release on the joint effort is at: http://caag.state.ca.us/newsalerts/2002/02-107.htm
Source: “State Joins U.S., N.Y. to Fight Terror” by William Overend; Los Angeles (CA) Times, October 1, 2002
