Ballistics Database Solves Chicago Murder Case from 1995
A hit from the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) Integrated Ballistics Information System and investigative work by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Chicago Police has led to an arrest in the Sept. 30, 1995 murder of a 19-year-old factory worker. The database matched crime scene ballistics evidence to a gun seized in a random 2003 traffic stop, with investigators subsequently tracing the owners of the weapon back to the man now charged in the case.
Source: Frank Main, “Cops: Bullet Database Cracks '95 Murder; Lab work makes cold case hot, leads police to arrest suspect,” Chicago Sun-Times, 31 May 2005
Rio Rancho, N.M. Police Get Squad Car Laptops
The Rio Rancho, N.M. Police Department has equipped patrol cars with computers that enable officers to prepare reports in their vehicles and communicate with headquarters by silent dispatch. The department purchased 47 computers at the cost of around $4,500 per vehicle.
Source: Michael Davis, “Police Officers Get Computers in Cars,” Albuquerque (N.M.) Journal, 31 May 2005
Tampa Bay Information Sharing System Now Online
Online as of mid-April, the Tampa Bay Security Network is an information sharing computer system that connects police in Tampa, Clearwater and St. Petersburg and sheriff's offices in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. The system, which contains dispatch and arrest records, traffic citations and the state's sex offender database, was recently used by a Tampa robbery detective to identify two possible suspects within hours of the crime.
Source: Valerie Kalfrin, “Online System Links Local Law Enforcement; 5 Major Jurisdictions Test Network Connection,” The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune, 1 June 2005
Minneapolis Police Install Red Light Cameras
The Minneapolis, Minn. Police Department has installed red light cameras at 12 of the city’s most dangerous intersections as part of its "Stop on Red" Program designed to reduce accidents. Warnings will be issued during the first month of the cameras’ operation, with $130 tickets issued after that.
Source: Beth Silver, “Intersection cameras on today; They'll be aimed at red-light runners,” Saint Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press, 7 June 2005: 3B
Miami-Dade Police Interoperability Project
The Miami-Dade (Fla.) Police Department, working with two high-tech companies, has come up with a system that routes police radio calls to the Transportation Security Administration over the Internet, offering interoperability for the low cost of $300,000. The communications system won an award last month from the International Association of Police Chiefs, which represents more than 20,000 top police officials from 89 countries.
Source: Susannah A. Nesmith, “Web-routed radios link cops; Miami-Dade police developed a way to connect different radio systems so local officers can talk to federal agents in an emergency,” The Miami Herald, 7 June 2005: B6
Biometrics Database to Locate Missing Children
The Richland County, S.C. Sheriff's Department is the first in the southeastern U.S. and one of three sheriffs' offices nationwide to join The CHILD Project, a secure nationwide network and registry that uses iris recognition instead of fingerprints to locate missing children. While Richland County, Phoenix, Ariz., and Northampton, Mass., are the only sheriffs’ offices using the biometrics database, an additional 1,200 offices - including 26 in South Carolina - have requested it.
Source: Adam Beam, “In the blink of an eye, system can ID children,” The State (Columbia, S.C.), 9 June 2005: B1
