Maryland State Police homeland security unit
Maryland State Police created a Homeland Security and Intelligence Bureau on 3 March 2003. Its toll-free number, which has been well publicized throughout the state on electronic billboards along major highways and distributed at bridge and tunnel tollbooths, asks people to report any "suspicious activity." The unit has more than 50 investigators to track down leads and produce a daily intelligence report, which is sent to the Governor, every Maryland police chief, and selected federal agencies.
Source: "Terrorism Tip Line Spurs Callers, Qualms" by Matthew Mosk; The Washington Post, 29 March 2003: B2
Bedford (TX) Police Most Wanted List
The Bedford (Texas) Police Department first posted its most wanted list on the Internet in June 2003, and has received several tips leading to arrests. The Most Wanted site is very popular with residents, and has received tips from Las Vegas, Louisiana and as far away as Germany.
Source: "Bedford's online most wanted list pays off" by Mark Thompson; Fort Worth (TX) Star Telegram, 30 March 2003
Cedar Falls (IA) Police get squad car laptops
The Cedar Falls (Iowa) Police Department will be equipped with new wireless laptop computers that will enable them to prepare reports and print tickets from their vehicles. The current squad car computers are not networkable from the field. The city of Cedar Falls has a population of 38,000 and is about 100 miles north and east of Des Moines
Source: "Police to get high-tech improvements to squad cars;" The Associated Press State & Local Wire, 23 March 2003
Portland (OR) Police test handheld devices
Starting next month, Portland (Oregon) Police Bureau officers will commence a pilot program to test handheld fingerprint scanners, thanks to a $250,000 federal COPS grant. One device will be distributed to each of the five precincts, and another 10 to investigative officers. The scanners will allow fingerprints to be scanned from the field and instantly compared against the FBI's automated fingerprint database and the Western Identification Network, which covers seven Western states. The bureau plans to expand the pilot project to all patrol officers using an additional $650,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Source: "Police Get Power to Check Prints on the Spot" by Maxine Bernstein; The Oregonian, 3 April 2003: C2
Alaska AFIS helps solve 1985 murder case
The Division of Alaska State Troopers Cold Case Unit, which was formed last summer using federal funding, recently made an arrest in a 1985 murder case with the help of the Alaska Automated Fingerprint Identification System. Crime scene prints recently resubmitted to the database matched those of a man who was required to submit prints for a school bus driver certification. It was the first arrest by the cold case unit.
Source: "Cold Case Unit cracks one" by Tataboline Brant; Anchorage (AS) Daily News, 28 March 2003: B1
Westchester County (NY) Police get LiveScan
Westchester County (New York) Police have purchased a LiveScan fingerprinting system to speed up the submission of fingerprints to State Police and the FBI. Previously, the department had to mail prints to Albany and wait weeks for the results, but the new inkless system produces results in but a few hours. The system also allows digital photographs and other information to be sent and received by the department.
Source: "Instant, Inkless Fingerprints" by Marek Fuchs; The New York Times, 30 March 2003, Westchester Weekly, pg. 3
