CENTER FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE TECHNOLOGY
RESEARCH WEEKLY NEWS: Covering Law Enforcement, Corrections
& Courts across the United States
| Vol. 3 #27 October 18, 1999 |
#1 Village of Hoffman Estates (IL) Police web site
#2 Proliferation of photo radar and red-light cameras
#3 Tulsa (OK) Police set up sex offender list on web site
#4 Mentor (OH) Police get grant for squad car laptops
#5 Harris County (TX) contracts for digital imaging system
#6 Ventura County (CA) high-tech courtmobile
#7 St. Clair County (IL) Court to test electronic document system
#8 Multnomah
County (OR) Probation Officers want to use videoconferencing
LAW ENFORCEMENT TECHNOLOGY NEWS
The Village of Hoffman Estates (Illinois) Police Department recently created a new Web site with sections devoted to crime alerts, crime prevention tips, community policing, traffic safety and a local sex offenders list. E-mail links to department personnel allow another method of communication with residents.
[Source: "Hoffman Estates police Web page is a hit with public" by Chad Brooks; Chicago (IL) Daily Herald, October 8, 1999, Pg. 1]
Item #2 PROLIFERATION OF PHOTO RADAR AND RED-LIGHT CAMERAS
The Phoenix, Arizona suburb of Paradise Valley was the first municipality to employ photo radar over a decade ago to catch speeding drivers, and the use has spread to cities such as Denver, San Jose and Portland, Oregon. Denver has three vans outfitted with photo radar, and sends out 10,000 tickets a month produced by the vans. Red-light cameras are even more common, with 35 cities using the technology that can cost as much as $75,000 per intersection but has reduced red-light running by up to 40% in some states.
[Source: "These Speed Cops Never Take a Doughnut Break" by Guy Webster; The Christian Science Monitor, October 7, 1999, Pg. 2]
Item #3 TULSA (OK) POLICE SET UP SEX OFFENDER LIST ON WEB SITE
The Tulsa (Oklahoma) Police Department has set up a Sex Offender Registration on its web site as a public information tool. Searches can be done by zip code, which will bring up a list of names with photos when available. The database will maintain its accuracy because convicted sex offenders are required to notify police when they move, and warrants will be issued for offenders who fail to do so.
[Source: "Police launch listing; Convicted sex offenders named on Internet site" by Nicole Marshall; Tulsa (OK) World, October 4, 1999, Pg.1]
Item #4 MENTOR (OH) POLICE GET GRANT FOR SQUAD CAR LAPTOPS
The Mentor (Ohio) Police Department was recently awarded a $202,876 COPS MORE grant to install mobile laptop computers in 25 police vehicles. The grant will enable officers to access state and federal crime databases from their squad cars without the use of dispatchers, greatly speeding up license plate checks and other records searches.
[Source: "Grant to Pay for Computers in Police Cars;" (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, October 9, 1999, Pg. 1B]
Item #5 HARRIS COUNTY (TX) CONTRACTS FOR DIGITAL IMAGING SYSTEM
The Harris County (Texas) Commissioners Court recently approved a $3.1 million contract for a digital imaging system to catch drivers who drive through high-speed toll lanes without the use of smart tags. Digital cameras will capture license plates, and the system will interface with the Department of Motor Vehicles to identify the car's owner and mail an invoice for the toll plus a fine.
[Source: "County OKs $3.1 million to nab toll road scofflaws" by Jo Ann Zuniga; Houston (TX) Chronicle, October 13, 1999, pg. 27]
COURT TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Item #6 VENTURA COUNTY (CA) HIGH-TECH COURTMOBILE
Ventura County (California) court officials have modified a mobile home and turned it into a high-tech Mobile Self-Help Center to provide residents with forms, computers connected to court databases, and legal advice. The $100,000 courtmobile will be staffed by attorneys and volunteers and be connected to the courthouse, but was not designed to allow residents to file document or pay fines. An anonymous $40,000 grant initiated the project, with the county providing the remainder of the funding.
[Source: "New Wheels of Justice Put Gavel to the Gravel" by Tracy Wilson; Los Angeles Times (Ventura County Edition) October 4, 1999, Pg. 1B]
Item # 7 ST. CLAIR COUNTY (IL) COURT TO TEST ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT SYSTEM
The St. Clair (Illinois) County court will begin a pilot project next year under which it will test the use of an electronic document management system for traffic cases. The county handles about 80,000 traffic charges each year, and by using scanned versions of files will save the time involved retrieving, copying and refiling paper copies of those documents. The pilot project was approved by the Illinois Supreme Court to determine the effectiveness of the technology for the state's remaining 101 counties.
[Source: "St. Clair County is Going Electronic on Traffic Cases; System is Expected to Ease Workload at Courthouse" by Robert Goodrich; The St. Louis (MO) Post Dispatch, October 14, 1999, St. Clair-Monroe Post Pg. 1]
CORRECTIONS TECHNOLOGY
NEWS
Item #8 MULTNOMAH COUNTY (OR) PROBATION OFFICERS WANT VIDEOCONFERENCING
The Multnomah County (Oregon) Department of Community Justice special gang unit hopes to improve its supervision of gang members on parole or probation. The unit plans to begin its supervision before inmates are released from prison, and hopes to use videoconferencing equipment set up in state correctional facilities to interview these new parolees in the most productive manner without traveling to various facilities across the state. Each parole-probation officer currently handles more than 50 offenders.
[Source: "Plan Puts Itself Between Gang Parolees and Trouble; Multnomah County's Efforts to Help Former Inmates are Challenged by Heavy Caseloads for Parole and Probation Officers" by Maxine Bernstein; The (Portland) Oregonian, October 10, 1999, Pg. C1]
Center for Criminal Justice Technology Research Weekly News is
compiled by Jeffrey Michaels jeffreym@mitretek.org