N.H. State Police use new computers to nab suspect
A New Hampshire State Police Trooper recently captured a Florida fugitive wanted for attempted murder, thanks to laptop computers added to cruisers six months ago that allow license plate checks to be run without using dispatchers. The trooper found the man’s vehicle stopped in a highway high speed breakdown lane and asked him to move his car to the next exit where he would be safer. A routine check run on his car registration came back with the Florida warrant, whereupon the man was arrested without incident.
Source: “Information from laptop helps nab suspect” by Hunter McGee; The Union Leader (Manchester NH) December 11, 2002, Pg. C7
South Carolina Computer Crime Center opens
South Carolina has set up a $5.6 million computer crime lab to handle cybercrimes ranging from theft to terrorism. The South Carolina Computer Crime Center in Columbia will be staffed by eight officers from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and four agents from the FBI and the Secret Service. Similar computer labs have been established in New York City, San Diego, and metropolitan north Texas, but the Columbia facility is the first designed to support local police departments statewide.
Source: “New lab to target cybercrime, terrorism” by Lora Hines; The State (Columbia, SC) December 17, 2002, Pg. A1
Jefferson Parish (LA) gets mobile command center
The Jefferson Parish (Louisiana) Sheriff's Office has purchased a new high-tech 36-foot mobile command center to use in emergencies and criminal cases. The $320,000 mobile unit is outfitted with advanced video, communications and computer equipment -- customized for the department -- and can also monitor weather and news broadcasts. It was purchased using money that had been budgeted for unfilled jobs in the street crimes unit.
Source: “Show On the Road; Jeff's new $320,000 mobile command center comes loaded with TVs, video cameras, satellite dish and Internet access” by Michelle Hunter; The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA) December 21, 2002, Metro Pg. 1
Simi Valley (CA) Police upgrade communications
The Simi Valley (California) Police Department plans to undergo a $2.6 million communications upgrade that will include new squad car laptops and computer-aided dispatch equipment. Officers will be able to run license plates without using dispatchers and prepare paperwork while in the field, making officers more productive and improving public safety. The city will provide only $225,600 toward the purchase, with the rest coming from grants and seized drug funds. The system should be up and running within two years.
Source: “City will put computers in police cars; New communication system funded in large part by state, federal grants” by Roberta Freeman; Ventura County (CA) Star, December 12, 2002, Pg. B1
California DNA Cold Hit Program
California’s DNA Cold Hit Program – a three-year, $50 million effort started in late 2000 to fund DNA analysis of unsolved sexual assault case evidence – has helped the state close more 200 cases. Sacramento County, for example, has solved three homicides and six rapes in the past six months, and hopes to screen an additional 1,500 cold cases. The number of cold hits should increase because DNA profiles of California's 600 Death Row inmates will soon be added to the state database, an action postponed by an ultimately unsuccessful legal challenge.
Source: “Baffling rapes, slayings solved; Federal 'cold hit' DNA database links old evidence to felons” by Erin Hallissy; The San Francisco (CA) Chronicle, December 9, 2002, Pg. A1
Nebraska modernizes driver's license
Nebraska will begin issuing high-tech driver's licenses early next year, incorporating digital photos and digital signatures to make it easy to renew the document online. The Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles has included the cardholder's height, weight, hair and eye color over a ghost image of the photo. The security improvements will make the license one of the most difficult in the nation to counterfeit. The card can be quickly swiped through a reader to allow police – as well as bartenders and other retailers – to confirm the cardholder's identity.
Source: “Driver's licenses to go digital” by Leslie Reed; Omaha (NE) World-Herald, December 18, 2002, Pg. A1
