CENTER FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE TECHNOLOGY WEEKLY NEWS: Covering Law Enforcement, Corrections & Courts across the United States
 

Vol. 3 #16 July 19, 1999

 

The FBI has gone live with its National Crime Information Center (NCIC) 2000 system that includes many upgrades over the old NCIC, including improved name-searching with alternate spellings. NCIC 2000 allows all 17 crime databases -- missing persons, stolen vehicles, stolen guns, etc. -- to be searched simultaneously. Law enforcement departments with the proper hardware and software will also be able to transmit mug shots and fingerprints over the system. An FBI press release on NCIC 2000 is available at: http://www.fbi.gov/pressrm/pressrel/ncic2000.htm

[ Source: "FBI turns on new crime-fighting system" by L. Scott Tillett; Federal Computer Week, July 15, 1999 ]

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Item #2  NYPD CENTRAL PARK PRECINCT GETS FUEL CELL 

The Central Park Precinct of the New York City Police Department recently purchased a $1 million dollar fuel cell to run its equipment, thereby eliminating need for power from the public utility. Lines from the utility were so old that the department could not run fingerprinting or air conditioning equipment. Fuel cells may revolutionize how cities, communities and even private homes receive their electricity.

[Source: "Businesses, homes getting their own power plants" by Seth Borenstein; San Jose (CA) Mercury News, July 6, 1999]

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Item #3  MOORPARK (CA) POLICE GET GRANT FOR SQUAD CAR LAPTOPS

The Moorpark (California) Police Department plans to install new laptop computers in its 138 patrol cars using COPS MORE grant funds. The computers will allow officers to write reports in their vehicles and send them back to headquarters, and will also allow the department to communicate with police in neighboring municipalities, which is not possible using current mobile data equipment.

[Source: "The Squad Car as Mobile Deputy's Desk;" Los Angeles Times (Ventura County Edition) June 28, 1999, Pg. B1]

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Item #4  SPOKANE COUNTY (WA) LAW ENFORCEMENT HOPES FOR LAPTOP GRANT

Spokane County (Washington) law enforcement officers will soon be receiving copies of local school blueprints on CD-ROM as a gift from the local company that compiled them, and could use the detailed drawings during emergency situations like the recent shootings in Littleton, Colorado. Spokane Police and the County Sheriff's office are also working jointly on a grant application that would equip cruisers with upgraded laptop computers.

[Source: "Police Officers to Get Digital Maps of Schools; Officers to See  Computerized Sneak Previews of Crime Scenes" by Jeanette White; Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA Edition) July 9, 1999, Pg. A1]

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Item #5  SANSOM PARK (TX) POLICE HACKING INCIDENT

Police in Sansom Park, Texas are investigating, with the help of the Texas Rangers,  the theft of current investigative data from their records database. A hacker tampered with electronic records management software by installing a different operating system. The department will spend about $7,000 to repair and upgrade the system.

[Source: "Metro & Texas Digest; Sansom Park police  computer tampered with;" Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram, July 9, 1999, Pg. 2]

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 COURT TECHNOLOGY NEWS
 

Item #6  COBB COUNTY (GA) POLICE REQUEST WARRANTS OVER VIDEO SYSTEM
 
Cobb County (Georgia) Police have adopted the videoconferencing system initiated last year in nearby Gwinnett County that allows police to request warrants without driving to the courthouse, a process often takes up to a few hours. The $71,000 system, paid for with a Federal grant, has cameras that allow judges and police to see each other over computer screens and sign warrants using electronic signatures. 18,000 warrants are issued each year in Cobb County, and the video system will enable officers to spend more time on the street.

[Source: "Computer Links Cobb Cops, Court" by Henry Farber; Atlanta (GA) Journal-Constitution, July 12, 1999, Pg. JJ6]

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 CORRECTIONS TECHNOLOGY NEWS
 

Item # 7  VIRGINIA CORRECTIONS' TEST OF VOICE-RECOGNITION PAROLEE TRACKING SYSTEM

The Virginia Department of Corrections is testing a voice-recognition system for tracking sex offenders on probation. The system, being tested in Roanoke on 23 sex offenders, randomly pages participants a few times a day and then monitors the return call for the correct voice and approved telephone number. If the call is not made from an approved work or home location the assigned case officer is notified within three minutes.

[Source: "New Parole System Knows Their Voices; System Keeps Parolees Tied to Phone" by Keisha Stewart; The Roanoke (VA) Times, July 6, 1999, Pg. B1]

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Item #8  MICHIGAN CORRECTIONS' WEB SITE OFFERS INMATE TRACKING 

The Michigan Department of Corrections has added its Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS) to its web site, allowing residents to check on the status of 58,000 prisoners and parolees. The OTIS web site should offer expanded information on inmates, including mug shots and historical lists of offenses, in the near future.

[Source: "New Web Page Lists Prisoners, Parolees But State Corrections Department Site Lacks Their Photos, Addresses" by Dawson Bell; Detroit (MI) Free Press, July 10, 1999, Pg. 3A]

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Mitretek Systems' Center for Criminal Justice Technology Weekly News is compiled by Jeffrey Michaels jeffreym@mitretek.org