NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION FORMS UMBRELLA AFIS GROUP
Police in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. have formed the National Capital Region Automated Fingerprinting Identification System (NC-RAFIS) to achieve optimal use of two fingerprint systems -- the Northern Virginia Regional Identification System (NOVARIS) and the Regional Automated Fingerprinting Identification System (RAFIS) -- to fight cross-jurisdictional crime. About half of the $600,000 budget for NC-RAFIS will come from Fairfax County, Va., with the rest coming from Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William, Montgomery and Prince George's counties, the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church and the District.
Source: “New Fingerprinting System Streamlines Police Work; Online Tool Links Area Jurisdictions” by Liz Seymour; The Washington Post, 29 April 2004: T1
ARKANSAS WIRELESS INFORMATION SYSTEM ANNOUNCED
On May 5, Governor Mike Huckabee announced plans for the Arkansas Wireless Information System (AWIN), a statewide digital communications system for first responders. The first phase of the project will connect Arkansas State Police with three pilot counties - Miller, Craighead and Lonoke - within 18 months.
Source: "Huckabee announces new $27 million first responder system" by Wesley Brown; Arkansas News, 6 May 2004
DNA COLD HIT ON 1989 N.M. MURDER
The New Mexico Department of Public Safety Crime Lab recently made a Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) cold hit on the 1989 murder of a 22-year-old Santa Fe woman, linking a state inmate already serving two life sentences for the 1999 kidnapping and rape of a 24-year-old woman. A Santa Fe County grand jury indicted the inmate on an open count of murder, kidnapping and two counts of first-degree criminal sexual penetration for the 1989 homicide.
Source: “State Police Say DNA Ties Felon to Slaying” by Jeremy Pawloski; Albuquerque (NM) Journal, 1 May 2004
DNA COLD HIT ON 1992 OKLA. MURDER
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation recently made a Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) cold hit on a 1992 Oklahoma City murder. The crime scene sample matched that of a 33-year-old inmate at the Northeast Oklahoma Correctional Facility in Vinita who was convicted of burglary, drug possession and false declaration of ownership to a pawn broker.
Source: “Prisoner charged in slaying; A convict's DNA was matched by computer with blood taken from the victim's motel room,” by Diana Baldwin; The Daily Oklahoman, 28 April 2004: 15A
LEXINGTON (KY) POLICE USE OF CRUISER LAPTOPS
Officers with the Lexington (Ky.) Police Department are now able to use computers in their cruisers to run license plate checks, prepare reports electronically and email other officers. So far, 190 of the department’s 280 cruisers have been outfitted with computers, using nearly $3 million in federal grants.
Source: “Cruiser control: cops with laptops; Computers in cars give officers information at their fingertips” by Delano R. Massey; Lexington (KY) Herald Leader, 2 May 2004: C1
NEW ORLEANS LINKS TO JRIES
The Department of Homeland Security announced that the New Orleans area has been linked to its Joint Regional Information Exchange System (JRIES), expected to be in place in more than 3,300 local jurisdictions by the end of the year. Police and fire departments will be able to access a secure computer chat room to share information with other departments nationwide regarding terrorist threats.
Source: “Area agencies link to terrorism alerts; Homeland Security connects Web system” by Susan Finch; Times-Picayune (New Orleans, LA), 8 May 2004
