MARYLAND INTELLIGENCE CENTER HELPS NAB TERROR SUSPECT
The Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center (MCAC) - created in Nov. 2003 to improve statewide law enforcement information sharing - helped in the Aug. 20 arrest of a man with suspected ties to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Three off duty Baltimore County police officers who spotted a passenger in a vehicle suspiciously videotaping the Chesapeake Bay Bridge immediately contacted Maryland Transportation Authority Police, who were informed by the MCAC that the driver was on an FBI terrorist watch list.
Source: “Bridge tape called reconnaissance" by Stephanie Hanes, Julie Bykowicz and Alec MacGillis; The Baltimore Sun, 25 Aug. 2004: A1
PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. POLICE GO HIGH TECH
The Pembroke Pines, Fla. Police Department has purchased software that will enable officers to issue computerized traffic tickets from their squad cars, speeding up and eliminating handwriting errors from the citation process while also enabling the department to quickly compile a database of traffic offenses. Costs to the department include $70,000 for 140 printers, $34,000 for the software, $2,000 for a driver's license swiping device and $7,000 a year for system maintenance.
Source: “Traffic cops going high-tech” by Amy Sherman; The
CODIS COLD HIT ON 1990 VIRGINIA RAPE CASE
A Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) “cold hit” has led to a guilty plea for the 1990 rape of a Prince William County, Va. woman. The man linked to the crime is currently serving a 48-year sentence for sexual assault in West Virginia.
Source: “DNA Hit Produces Rape Plea; W.Va. Inmate Admits 1990 Crime in N.Va.” by Ian Shapira; The
NYC "FUSION" CENTER PROTECTS RNC
An intelligence “fusion” center that includes members from 20 federal and state agencies has been set up in New York City to protect the Republican National Convention (RNC). The center is equipped with high-tech computers and satellite equipment that will allow analysts from the CIA, FBI, NYPD, the Department of Homeland Security and other participating agencies to receive and disseminate real-time information gathered by various sources in order to quickly determine if a police response is needed.
Source: “Intel op center fuses 20 units; 'Fusion' center brings together agencies to protect GOP convention” by Patrice O'Shaughnessy; Daily News (NY), 30 Aug. 2004
UTAH HIGHWAY PATROL GETS MOTORCYCLE LAPTOPS
In what may be a first in the nation, the Utah Highway Patrol has outfitted its fleet of 22 motorcycles with wireless laptop computers, using about $32,000 in federal grant funds. The computers will allow troopers to run their own license plate checks, be tracked by GPS, and print out traffic citations from a printer stowed on the rear of each motorcycle.
Source: “Laptops to assist biker cops” by Ashley Broughton; The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 Aug. 2004: C6
NEW JERSEY STATEWIDE INTELLIGENCE DATABASE
New Jersey’s Statewide Information Management System (SIMS), a law enforcement database for reporting and managing counter-terrorism information and leads, has expanded to 300 users at the state police level and 200 at the local level. SIMS is divided into two sections - one for intelligence on gangs, organized crime, and drug trafficking, and the other on terrorism-related leads – with content reviewed regularly by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, the state Office of Counter-Terrorism, and state police.
Source: “Network links watchful eyes around state; Computer system allows cops to share data;” The Record (
