DNA COLD HIT ON ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY (MD) MURDERS
The Anne Arundel County, Md., Police Department has announced that three cold case murders have been solved by ever-improving DNA technology and years of detective work by its detectives. A CODIS DNA cold hit linked a state prison inmate to the 1993 murder of a 14-year-old Glen Burnie girl and two murders from the late 1980s. The suspect, who has since been charged with three counts of first-degree murder, is already serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for a 1994 murder.
Source: “Years after 3 killings, DNA technology allows evidence to point to a suspect; Arundel crime technicians had foresight to save clues” by Julie Bykowicz; The Baltimore Sun, 14 July 2004: 1B
MASSACHUSETTS STATE POLICE UNVEIL MOBILE COMMAND CENTER
Massachusetts State Police showed off their new $1.4 million, 53-foot mobile command center, which will be available for the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Boston as well as for more typical emergency management situations. The vehicle, financed primarily with homeland security grants, provides communications interoperability for all local, state, and federal public safety frequencies, with a 100-kilowatt generator supporting both a 210-square-foot communications room and 300-square-foot command and control room.
Source: "Revving Up a Convention Hot Rod; Gadgets on $1.4M Mobile Command Station to Aid State Police" by Suzanne Smalley; The Boston Globe, 10 July 2004: B1
INDIANA FUSION CENTER UNDER DEVELOPMENT
The first stage of development of Indiana’s counterterrorism Fusion Center is underway, with the Franklin and Greenwood police departments and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office among the early participants. The goal of the Fusion Center is to connect federal, state and local criminal records databases, allowing police at the local level easy access to information that might help nab terror suspects. The program will be funded by Department of Homeland Security grants given to the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, the Indiana State Police, the Indianapolis Police Department and the Indiana National Guard.
Source: “Database to have information on terrorists for county” by Leah Snyder; The Daily Journal (Johnson County, Ind.), 16 July 2004
UTAH WIRELESS NETWORK GOES ONLINE
After a successful test run during a June 13-17 training exercise involving the state national guard and public safety agencies, the Utah Wireless Integrated Network (UWIN) went online on July 1, meeting the deadline that had been set by Gov. Olene Walker. The $4 million UWIN project will provide seamless, coordinated, and integrated communication for local, state, and federal agencies on a wide variety of vendor products statewide.
Source: "Emergency network has glitch-free debut" by Jennifer Dobner; Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City, Utah), 7 July 2004
MONTGOMERY (AL) POLICE GET AFIS
The Montgomery, Ala., Police Department hopes to soon begin phase one of its plan to implement an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), pending City Council approval of the $88,000 purchase. In phase two, the department would create its own database of fingerprint records, replacing 25,000 fingerprint cards, improving its ability to solve crimes using fingerprint evidence and identify suspects using aliases at booking.
Source: “City police begin high-tech fingerprinting program” by Crystal Bonvillian; The Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser, 10 July 2004: B1
CAPE CORAL (FL) POLICE GET LIVE SCAN
The Cape Coral, Fla., Police Department has purchased a $54,000 Live Scan booking station that scans both fingerprints and palm prints of a suspect. The machine rejects low quality prints as a method of reducing human error, and will help the department create a print database that will identify suspects using aliases at the time of arrest.
Source: “Fingerprinting goes inkless” by Charles Runnells; The News-Press (Fort Myers, FL), 11 July 2004: 1L
