First Responders Expedited Assistance Act of 2003
Two members of Congress – Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) and Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) – have sponsored a bill to increase homeland security funding to the nation's first responders by more than $10 billion over the next two years. Their February 13 press release offers more details on the legislation, HR 764 "First Responders Expedited Assistance Act of 2003." The bill can be read online at http://www.house.gov/skelton/HR_764.pdf
Source: "First responders in dire need" by Dibya Sarkar; Government E-Business, February 13, 2003
California forms homeland security
On February 7, California Gov. Gray Davis signed an executive order creating a state Office of Homeland Security, which will be headed by his homeland security adviser, George Vinson. The Executive Order [D-67-03] states: "The mission of the Office of Homeland Security shall be to develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive state strategy to coordinate security activities throughout California, and to highlight the extraordinary technological capabilities of California's private industry to help protect all Americans."
Source: "State, L.A. Ratchet Up Terrorism Alerts" by Dan Morain and Kishan Kumar Putta; Los Angeles (CA) Times, February 8, 2003, Pg. A23
N.J. State Police Web site for unidentified bodies
The New Jersey State Police Web site has added a section on Unidentified Persons/Bodies, a listing of cold cases by county designed to solicit tips from the public. More than 20 cases have been placed on the Web site over the last few months, with morgue photos, computer imaging and skull reconstruction models provided to aid in identification. The 230 corpses, skeletons and partial remains found in the state since the 1970s have included suicides and deaths by natural causes along with homicides.
Source: "State police hunt for identities online" by Joel Bewley; Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer, February 3, 2003, Jersey edition Pg. B1
Kentucky receives interoperability grant
Kentucky State Police and the Kentucky Division of Vehicle Enforcement recently received a $10 million federal grant to test a high-tech emergency communications systems that would allow police and emergency workers to communicate even over incompatible systems. The interoperability test will begin in 42 counties in southern and eastern parts of the state, building on an earlier $22.5 million federal grant that provided computers and other equipment to 110 police agencies in those counties.
Source: "Police, emergency workers to test new radio linkup; Federal money funds improved system;" Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader, February 4, 2003, Pg. B2
Grants for squad car computers in
Two Florida law enforcement agencies, the Largo Police Department and Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, have each been awarded federal grants for squad car computers through the help of U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. The Sheriff's Office received a $1.5 million grant and Largo police received $1 million. Largo’s grant will enable the department to buy its first squad car computers, while Pinellas will be upgrading equipment for 300 squad cars.
Source: "Grants to boost squad cars' technology" by Chris Tisch; St. Petersburg (FL) Times, February 15, 2003
Arizona Sex Crimes Analysis Network
The Arizona Department of Public Safety recently announced a new computer system available over a secure Intranet to law enforcement statewide for investigations of sex crimes. The Sex Crimes Analysis Network (SCAN) links the state's registry of 14,000 sex offenders to an FBI database on violent crimes and uses a computer mapping program to locate possible suspects in new crimes. The project's $308,000 funding was originally approved by the Legislature in 2000.
Source: "State gives law enforcement new access to data on sex offenders" by Paul Davenport; The Associated Press State & Local Wire, February 12, 2003
