DHS Unveils Pilot Information Sharing Program at IACP Conference
In his address to the 112th Annual Conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) on Sep. 27, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff unveiled a Homeland Security Operations Center pilot program to improve communications and information sharing with states. These 'DHS Alerts' will be made available immediately via email or pagers to agency law enforcement heads and other public safety leaders in the pilot areas, according to Chertoff.
Source: "Remarks by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff at the 112th Annual International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference," DHS press release, 27 Sep. 2005, online at http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?content=4861
Mobile Command Center Helps Katrina Response in Mississippi
The arrival of 1,000 officers from around the nation following Hurricane Katrina offered a tremendous relief to the Harrison County, Miss. Sheriff’s Department, but officials quickly realized it was nearly impossible to manage the sudden influx of officers and equipment from a logistical standpoint. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, experienced in hurricane response, offered to set up a Unified Command Center satellite communications trailer in Harrison County and ran it until area officers recently took it over.
Source: Robin Fitzgerald, “Police agencies are now organized,” Biloxi (Miss.) Sun Herald, 30 Sep. 2005: A4
U.S. House Hearing on Public Safety Communications Lessons Learned
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet held a hearing on Sep. 29 titled “Public Safety Communications from 9/11 to Katrina: Critical Public Policy Lessons.” Prepared testimony from the hearing, including that of Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and David Boyd, of the Department of Homeland Security’s SAFECOM Program Office, can be read online.
Source: "Public Safety Communications from 9/11 to Katrina: Critical Public Policy Lessons," House Energy and Commerce Committee, Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee hearing, 29 Sep. 2005
Pennsylvania State Police Testing License Plate Readers
For the next 45 days, State Police on the Pennsylvania Turnpike will experiment with a high-tech device that reads license plates and provides instant crime information. At no cost to state police, Motorola, the manufacturer of the Automatic License Plate Reader, has installed cameras and support equipment on seven turnpike patrol cars that operate out of Bowmansville Barracks east of Harrisburg
Source: Joe Grata, "State Police Testing Device That IDs Suspect Vehicles," Pittsburgh (Pa.) Post-Gazette, 6 Oct. 2005: B4
High-Tech Neighborhood Watch in Wichita, Kansas
The Wichita, Kan. Police Department and neighborhood associations have begun using e-mail and fax notices to more quickly spread news of crimes and other concerns. Since the Wichita Business Security Network, a fax alert network in one south Wichita area, was so successful last year in cutting robberies in half from the year before, the department is hoping to take it citywide.
Source: Stan Finger, “Neighborhood Watch goes high-tech; E-mail alerts are the latest tool for spreading the word about localized crime trends,” The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, 29 Sep. 2005: E1
CODIS Cold Hit Solves 1988 Virginia Murder Cases
Nearly 17 years after three people were abducted and shot to death in Northern Virginia -- a CIA financial officer behind an Arlington elementary school and two college students in a Reston field -- police believe they have found their killer sitting on death row in a California prison, thanks to the FBI Laboratory's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). Preliminary tests by technicians in California show that DNA taken from the convicted killer matches samples from the two crime scenes entered in Virginia's DNA database.
Source: Tom Jackman, “DNA Leads to Suspect in 1988 N.Va. Killings; Evidence Is Linked to Killer on California's Death Row, Records Show,” The Washington Post, 28 Sep. 2005: B1
Hollywood, Fla. Police Get "Secure Our Schools" Grant
The Hollywood, Fla. Police Department is working on a high technology approach to enhancing security and surveillance capabilities at South Broward High School using a $97,272 Secure Our Schools grant received from the Department of Justice this year. Fifteen marked vehicles will be outfitted with laptop computers and digital video cameras with the ability to access numerous databases and 60 video security cameras at South Broward High via wireless infrastructure access devices.
Source: Randy Abraham, “Police Focus on School; New Hi-Tech System Makes Students Safer,” Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 5 Oct. 2005
