CJITI WEEKLY NEWS: Covering Law Enforcement, Corrections & Courts across the United States
 

Vol. 2 #47 March 8, 1999

 

A family broke off contact with a friend after seeing his picture on Virginia's Sex Offender Registry , but a month later a boy in the family reported being abused by the man. The man was charged with felony aggravated sexual battery, the first such arrest as a result of the web site according to State Police.

[Source: "Virginia's Sex-Offender Web Site Yields an Arrest, State Police Say" by Associated Press; Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA) March 4, 1999, Pg. B7]

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Item #2  MIDDLETOWN (OH) POLICE GET LIVESCAN FINGERPRINTING EQUIPMENT

Middletown (OH) Police recently received a livescan fingerprinting terminal through the Ohio Attorney General's office and have begun using the system when booking prisoners. Less than 10% of the 6,644 suspects booked in 1998 were fingerprinted because the old ink process took up to 30 minutes. With the new livescan equipment officials plan to fingerprint all suspects, which should identify some using aliases and some with outstanding warrants.

[Source: "Prisoners get hands scanned; Fingerprints forgo ink pad, Data base also speeds matches" by Janice Morse; Cincinnati Enquirer, February 18, 1999]

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Item #3 ALLEGHENY COUNTY (PA) PLANS NEW EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM 

The Allegheny County (PA) Bureau of Emergency Services plans to develop a new $25 million emergency communications system so all 215 fire departments and 117 police departments in the county can communicate over a single frequency. There are 400 radio frequencies being used across the county at present, with some police cars forced to have several different radios in order to communicate with different emergency personnel. The system would be financed with a bond issue.

[Source: "Emergency Network Expected to Get OK Today" by Mark Belko; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 4, 1999, Pg. B7]

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Item #4 LAKE COUNTY (IL) SHERIFF'S WEB SITE LEADS TO ARRESTS  

The Lake County (IL) Sheriff's Office has noted increases in arrests since its web page was set up in October and plans an assessment after the first year to assess the impact of the Internet site on arrests. Two men turned themselves in after their pictures were posted on the Deadbeat Parents Most Wanted , and nine of 23 postings on the Most Wanted page are marked as captured.

[Source: "Web site helping Lake county nab criminals" by Laurie Aucoin; Chicago Daily Herald, March 1, 1999]

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Item #5 INSTANT FIREARMS CHECKS IN TENNESSEE

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has reported that 5.5% of  residents that applied for guns during the first three months of the state's new instant check system -- 4,100 people-- were denied permission after checks of state and federal databases for felony arrests and other offenses that prohibit the purchase of weapons.  The TBI also identified 78 people with outstanding warrants.

[Source: "4,100 Denied Guns Under New System; Instant Background Checks Weed Out the `Wrong' Buyers" by Kathy Carlson; The Tennessean, March 1, 1999]
 

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COURT TECHNOLOGY NEWS
 

Item #6  MERRIAM (KS) COURT VIDEO ARRAIGNMENT SAVES MONEY

Officials in Merriam, Kansas approved $3,229 in 1997 to set up a videoconferencing link between its municipal court and the Johnson County Detention Center. The system is used for first arraignments and saves $833 per month in transportation costs.
 
[Source: "Computers streamline Merriam court operations" by Linda Cruse; The Kansas City Star (Johnson County edition) February 20, 1999, Pg. 26]
 

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CORRECTIONS TECHNOLOGY NEWS
 
Item # 7 KING COUNTY (WA) INCREASES USE OF HOME DETENTION SYSTEMS

King County, Washington is increasingly using home-monitoring equipment as an alternative to incarceration for some low-risk non-violent criminals. Of the 1,100 offenders who were screened for home-detention, 85 to 90% completed their sentences without any problem. According to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, other cities in Washington had equal success, with cities charging prisoners the daily costs of the program.

[Source: "Electronic Home Detention on the Rise" by Claire Booth; (Portland) Oregonian (Northwest edition) March 1, 1999, Pg. E02]

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Item #8  MINNEHAHA COUNTY (SD) PLANS VIDEO ARRAIGNMENT SYSTEM

Officials in Minnehaha County, South Dakota plan to install a video arraignment system to improve security by keeping inmates behind bars during first court appearances and some other hearings. County officials estimate the new system will cost between $50,000 and $100,000.

[Source: "Two-Way Video System Would Link Jail to Courthouse;" Aberdeen (SD) American News, February 17, 1999, Pg. 6A]

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CJITI Weekly News is compiled by Jeffrey Michaels jeffreym@mitretek.org