AFIS leads to arrest in 1957 Calif. murder case
The Los Angeles County (California) Sheriff’s Department and El Segundo Police Department recently announced the arrest of a suspect in the murder of two El Segundo police officers during a traffic stop in 1957. A fingerprint from the crime scene was run through the FBI’s automated fingerprint identification system shortly after the Sheriff's Department got hooked up to the system last year, matching a man with a 1956 conviction for burglary in South Carolina. Investigators tracked down the suspect, a retired gas station owner still living in South Carolina, and built the rest of the case before making the arrest. The man has also been charged with robbing four teenagers and raping one of them shortly before the murder of the police officers.
Source: "45 Years Later, Fingerprint Points to a Suspect in Case That Shocked a City" by Richard Winton and Mitchell Landsberg; Los Angeles (CA) Times, January 30, 2003, Pg. A1
Southwest Alabama Integrated Criminal Justice System
The Southwest Alabama Integrated Criminal Justice System – which enables police officers to search multiple databases for driver's license data, prison records, fingerprints and other criminal justice records – is now available to departments statewide. The system was developed with a $7.5 million federal grant, mostly spent on computer equipment for local departments. Officials can use the system via any computer with Internet access, searching by name, vehicle or even by less specific identifiers such as a suspect’s height and weight.
Source: "New computer link gives law more details on criminals;" The Associated Press State & Local Wire, January 17, 2003
New dispatch system for Norfolk (VA) Police
The new $6.5 million 911 system under development in Norfolk, Virginia will greatly improve emergency response to residents by offering mobile wireless access to information needed by first responders. Police will be able to download and submit files and photos from their squad cars. Fire Department vehicles en route to a call will be able to search global positioning databases for the locations of hydrants and any dangerous chemicals at the fire scene. EMTs will be able to receive updates on patients' conditions even before they reach the location.
Source: "Norfolk Upgrading Its 911 Systems" by Matthew Roy; The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA) January 26, 2003, Pg. B1
Burlington (VT) Police develop crime analysis tool
The Burlington (Vermont) Police Department has developed a computer system to collect and analyze crime data, using a $500,000 federal grant and $200,000 in other funds. Vermont’s 10-year-old statewide system for sharing crime data among police is not as sophisticated as Burlington’s new system, which provides the department improved crime mapping and data sorting. University of Vermont Police, Winooski Police, and South Burlington Police plan to join the system once all the bugs are worked out and plan to submit data to the state system monthly.
Source: "Burlington police switch to new computer system" by Emily Stone; The Burlington (VT) Free Press, January 13, 2003, Pg. 1A
Shelby County (TN) Warrant Information System
The Shelby County (Tennessee) Sheriff's Department has launched an Internet site that allows residents to discover whether anyone in their neighborhood might have an outstanding warrant. The Shelby County Warrant Information System can be searched by last name or street address. The site contains more than 57,000 outstanding arrest warrants, ranging from unpaid traffic tickets to murder, with about 250 new warrants added to the site each day.
Source: "Web site posts outstanding arrest warrants;" The Associated Press State & Local Wire, January 30, 2003
Warren (MI) Police Web site receives tips
The Warren (Michigan) Police Department Web site provides information to residents and also hosts a Most Wanted page. Police have used tips from visitors to the site to make arrests, including a man wanted for two years on drug charges and a woman who was arrested shortly after her picture was posted on the site. The city site gets 42,000 hits a month, and will be redesigned in the near future.
Source: "Web site tips vital to police" by Edward L. Cardenas; The Detroit (MI) News, January 17, 2003, Pg. 5B
