CJITI WEEKLY NEWS: Covering
Law Enforcement, Corrections & Courts across the United States
| Vol. 2 #42 February 1, 1999 |
#1 Info-sharing project for Winston-Salem and High Point (NC) police
#2 Burrillville (RI) police get grant for squad car laptops
#3 Elburn (IL) police get grant for squad car laptops
#4 Orange County (CA) TracKRS database helps solve sex crimes
#5 Colorado plans test of CJIN intranet to share drug crime information
#6 Biological terrorism preparedness in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
#7 Charleston (SC) civil court records go online
#8 Bay area (CA) Corrections workshop on Y2K
LAW ENFORCEMENT TECHNOLOGY NEWS
In order to improve information sharing and track down criminals that operate in both jurisdictions, police in High Point and Winston-Salem North Carolina plan to connect their criminal records databases. The two departments use the same records systems and will be linked by secure modem line.
[Source: "Police Plan to Connect Databases; High Point and Winston-Salem
Police Hope to Share Their Records via Computer as Soon as February" by
Michael Grossman; Greensboro (NC) News & Record, January 19, 1999]
Top of Page
Item #2 BURRILLVILLE (RI) POLICE GET GRANT FOR SQUAD CAR LAPTOPS
The 23-officer Burrillville, Rhode Island Police Department recently received a $60,000 COPS MORE grant to purchase laptop computers and modems for its cruisers. The department learned from the problems police in nearby Pawtucket and East Providence had with their communications software and decided to purchase the Datamax Technologies software used by Rhode Island for its criminal justice computers.
[Source: "Police officers to cruise with new technology" by Drake Witham; Providence (RI) Journal, January 22, 1999]
Item #3 ELBURN (IL) POLICE GET GRANT FOR SQUAD CAR LAPTOPS
The Elburn (Illinois) Police Department recently received a grant to purchase squad car laptop computers that will enable officers to search the state criminal records database without the aid of dispatchers, reducing the village's annual dispatch bill by $4,000. Officers will also use the computers to write reports in their squad cars, allowing more time for community policing.
[Source: "New computers promise benefits for Elburn police" by Dawn Ruffolo; Chicago Daily Herald, January 21, 1999]
Item #4 ORANGE COUNTY (CA) TRACKRS DATABASE HELPS SOLVE SEX CRIMES
Orange County (CA) law enforcement agencies have begun sharing information on TracKRS (Task Force Review Aimed at Catching Killers, Rapists and Sexual Offenders), a crime analysis database developed to help solve sex murders. Officials hope the database can be put on a secure intranet so agencies beyond the county could input and share such information. The database represents the growing realization that sharing information on sexual crimes with other police departments helps in the analysis of criminal patterns that helps solve cases.
For more information on technology used for TracKRS go to: http://www.asksam.com/trackers/shave.htm
[Source: "Crime Database's Aim: Countywide Clout" by Daniel Yi; Los Angeles Times (Orange County edition) January 21, 1999, Pg. B1]
Item #5 COLORADO PLANS TEST OF CJIN INTRANET TO SHARE DRUG CRIME INFORMATION
The Colorado Justice Information Network will go online in June with a test involving police in Grand Junction and La Junta and county sheriff's offices in Arapahoe, El Paso and Pueblo. The CJIN intranet's $500,000 budget is funded by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy , and is meant to help solve drug crimes in the state through Internet-based searching and sharing of text, audio and video information.
[Source: "New intranet will help police compile, share drug case data" by Ardy Friedberg; The Gazette (Colorado Springs, CO) January 22, 1999]
Item #6 BIOLOGICAL TERRORISM PREPAREDNESS IN MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
Law enforcement officials in and around Milwaukee, Wisconsin recently met with military and public health representatives through an effort of the National Domestic Preparedness Office to discuss methods of preparing for possible biological and chemical attacks. In his State of the Union address, President Clinton requested $683 million to fund such local preparedness efforts around the country, many of which will include the use of information technology.
[Source: "Area Law Enforcement Moves to Head Off Terrorism Threat; Agencies Coordinate with FBI on Danger of Chemical, Biological Weapons" by Gretchen Schuldt; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 25, 1999, Pg.1]
COURT TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Item # 7 CHARLESTON (SC) CIVIL COURT RECORDS GO ONLINE
Civil court records have gone online at the Charleston, South Carolina Web site. Residents can check on files such as judgments filed against businesses and individuals. The site is at www.CharlestonCounty.org.
[Source: "Charleston Court Records Can Now Be Checked by Computer" by Associated Press; Charlotte (NC) Observer, January 19, 1999, Pg. 3Y]
CORRECTIONS TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Item #8 BAY AREA (CA) CORRECTIONS
WORKSHOP ON Y2K
The Santa Clara (CA) County Department of Corrections recently hosted a workshop at which Corrections officials from nine Bay Area counties met to discuss their preparations for the Y2K problem. Several officials reported on their planning scenarios, including using low-tech alternatives to minimize the impact of software bugs on high-tech jail security systems and computer systems.
[Source: "Trying to Get a Lock on Y2K Problems; Jail Officials Share Ideas on Averting Disaster" by Todd Henneman; San Francisco Chronicle, January 23, 1999, Pg. 1. The complete article can be found at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/01/23/MN62422.DTL ]
CJITI Weekly News is compiled by Jeffrey Michaels jeffreym@mitretek.org