Ventura County Malls Use DHS Grant to Link to Police
Two Ventura County, Calif. shopping malls -- Pacific View in Ventura and The Oaks in Thousand Oaks -- will plug their security systems into local police networks, thanks to nearly $100,000 in federal anti-terrorism grants. The grants are part of $12.85 million awarded to the state of California by the federal Department of Homeland Security to protect 257 sites identified by a statewide vulnerability assessment.
Source: Tony Biasotti, “A security system links two malls with local police,” Ventura County (Calif.) Star, 29 Nov. 2005: 1
Arrest Made From Nebraska Sex Offender Registry
After the victim identified him through a search on the Nebraska State Patrol's online Sex Offender Registry, Lincoln police arrested a 55-year-old high-risk sex offender accused of exposing himself to her last September. In a search of the suspect’s home, officers recovered shorts and a red baseball cap the victim had described.
Source: “Woman finds suspect’s mug on online registry,” Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star, 23 Nov. 2005: B3
Iowa County Leads Tri-State Emergency Communications Project
The new $10 million emergency communications system in Woodbury County, Iowa was paid for through a federal Emergency Operations Center and Interoperable Communications Grant. The system will, for the first time, electronically connect emergency and law enforcement services from three counties, one each in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota.
Source: Juli Probasco-Sowers, "System hooks up 3 states' responders; The three counties in Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa will coordinate better during emergencies," Des Moines (Iowa) Register, 30 Nov. 2005: C1
Auburn, N.Y. Police Use Live Scan to Nab Violator
The Auburn, N.Y. Police Department has made their first arrest using the department's new Live Scan fingerprint system. The arrest of a Bronx man who gave a false name during a traffic stop was a direct result of using the fingerprint system to locate the man’s true identity and outstanding parole violation.
Source: John Stith, “Live scan aids in arrest,” The Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.), 24 Nov. 2005: 34
Wisconsin Law Enforcement Use of Ticket Writing Software
The Wisconsin State Patrol, along with the Dane County and Kenosha County sheriff's departments and the Fond du Lac and Town of Rome police departments, have started using an electronic reporting system that will eliminate handwritten tickets. All troopers' squad cars will be equipped with printers producing tickets at the push of a button, making routine traffic stops faster.
Source: Jacqueline Seibel, “State Patrol's ticket-writing goes high tech; Computers in squad cars will link to DOT,” Milwaukee (Wis.) Journal Sentinel, 25 Nov. 2005: A1
NASCIO Releases Report on Communications Interoperability
NASCIO's Interoperability and Integration Committee -- representing Chief Information Officers of the states - has released a report titled We Need to Talk: Governance Models to Advance Communications Interoperability. This research brief provides an overview of the challenges states face in developing communications interoperability initiatives. It also attempts to answer questions on what needs to be addressed when contemplating a communications interoperability initiative and what is being done at the state and federal levels to develop communications interoperability governance models.
Source: Ethan Butterfield, “NASCIO brief offers communications interoperability model,” Washington Technology, 23 Nov. 2005
Early Warning Groups Being Formed in Ohio
Modeled after a Los Angeles group started nine years ago, a Terrorism Early Warning Group is being established in Columbus, Ohio, to focus on gathering and analyzing intelligence, fostering communication and revising plans to protect roads, businesses and other essentials in central Ohio. Some police officers from the early warning group will have offices in the Ohio Department of Public Safety's Strategic Analysis and Information Center, as will officers representing early warning groups at various levels of readiness in Cincinnati, Cleveland and other Ohio cities.
Source: Kevin Mayhood, “Task force to scan for terrorists; New Columbus group to focus on early alerts,” The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, 21 Nov. 2005: 1B
