Fingerprints ID escaped killer in
When an intoxicated man being booked into the Cumberland County (Maine) Jail gave several different names and dates of birth while being questioned, a Deputy Sheriff faxed the inmate’s fingerprints to the FBI. The hunch that something was wrong was confirmed when the man was identified by the FBI as a convicted murderer wanted on fugitive from justice charges in Hawaii after escaping from a 20-year sentence for strangling a woman in 1978. The 58-year-old man had only been charged with criminal trespass in Cumberland County, and probably would have been granted bail before his fingerprints were processed if not for the alert deputy.
Source: "Alert deputy snares fugitive" by Joshua L. Weinstein; Portland (ME) Press Herald, 21 April 2003: 1B
DNA cold hit solves 1988 Wyoming murder
The Wyoming State Crime Laboratory, part of the Division of Criminal Investigation, recently made a cold hit DNA match on the 1988 kidnapping, rape and murder of a woman driving from Denver to Montana to meet friends. The suspect -- who has since been charged with murder, sex assault, kidnapping and robbery -- was in the state database because of a prior felony conviction. Natrona County deputies searched the suspect’s property and found parts of the victim’s missing car, and then unearthed the entire vehicle buried eight feet down. Investigators say there are two other cases, one homicide and one missing person, that may be linked to the same suspect.
Source: "Wyoming Man Charged in 1988 Rape, Murder" by Brian D. Crecente and Hector Gutierrez; Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO) 18 April 2003: 14A
Utah police use of patrol car computers
Utah law enforcement officers will soon be able to view a person's driver's license record and photo on their patrol cars' laptop computers. The capability will exist only with high-tech licenses issued since 2001, but within a few years everyone in the state will have such licenses. SInce the Utah Highway Patrol reports many cases of drivers using fake I.D.s, the new system will not only catch those people but also protect innocent residents victimized by such identity theft. When patrol car computers are upgraded in the future, police will be able to "swipe" driver’s licenses through a reader to make the information immediately pop up on computer screens.
Source: "Drivers' licenses pop up on cops' laptops" by Bob Bernick Jr. and Amy Joi Bryson; Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah) 14 April 2003: B5
Dayton (OH) Police solve crimes with computers
The Dayton (Ohio) Police Department's Management Information System has been used to solve many cases since going online in January 1998. Dayton was the first Ohio city to comply with the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System, enabling officers using patrol car computers to access criminal records information during traffic stops. The system also allows the tracking of stolen property at local pawn shops, crime analysis and crime mapping, and searching on more than 2 million names in the master index. The nearby Riverside Police Department joined Dayton's system last year, a step in the department's goal of bringing the system countywide.
Source: "Police Tout Data-Rich Computer System's Importance; Dayton officers ride with wealth of information" by Lou Grieco; Dayton (OH) Daily News, 13 April 2003
Arizona homeland security plan released
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano released Arizona's first homeland security plan on April 24 and also named Frank Navarrete, current head of the Arizona Division of Emergency Management, to lead the state's homeland security effort. Among the recommendations of "Securing Arizona: A Roadmap for Arizona Homeland Security" are a 24x7 intelligence center to collect and analyze crime and terrorism trends, a new statewide 211 telephone system for Arizonans to call for help after natural disasters, and a statewide disease surveillance system to identify early indicators of bioterrorism.
Source: "Governor unveils plan for homeland security" by Chip Scutari; The Arizona Republic, 24 April 2003
Crestwood (MO) Police use grant for computers
The Crestwood (Missouri) Police Department plans to buy six patrol car computers and modems using $33,000 in COPS MORE federal grant funds. The purchase will enable the department to complete its outfitting of all 17 marked vehicles with computers.
Source: "Grant Money Helps Crestwood Equip its Police Cars with Computers" by Val McDowell; St. Louis (MO) Post-Dispatch, 17 April 2003
