CENTER FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE TECHNOLOGY
RESEARCH WEEKLY NEWS: Covering Law Enforcement, Corrections
& Courts across the United States
| Vol. 3 #28 October 25, 1999 |
#1 Miramar (FL) Police purchase squad car laptops
#2 Waterford (NY) Police web site offers weekly crime report
#3 Tribal Resources Grant Program technology awards
#4 Overland Park (KS) Police crime analysis unit
#5 State DNA databases need more funding to increase cold hits
#6 Euclid (OH) Police use fingerprint ID system to solve 1978 murder
#7 Douglas County (NE) court records added to state system
#8 Alamance
County (NC) approves video arraignment
LAW ENFORCEMENT TECHNOLOGY NEWS
The Miramar (Florida) Police Department has purchased 18 laptop computers for use in patrol vehicles, and plans to add additional units over the next few months with the goal of eventually acquiring enough for all 130 officers. The $6,000 computers were purchased with federal grant and forfeiture funds. License plate checks and other database searches that used to take up to 25 minutes using dispatchers now can be run by officers from their vehicles in just seconds.
[Source: "New Laptops Help Expedite Patrol Officers' Workload" by Hannah Sampson; Miami (FL) Herald, October 17, 1999, Pg. 1M1]
Item #2 WATERFORD (NY) POLICE WEB SITE OFFERS WEEKLY CRIME REPORT
The Waterford (New York) Police Department has added a police blotter section to its web site which covers weekly crime news. The web site also provides a list of outstanding warrants and a "How Do I?" section that provides answers to residents' frequently asked questions.
[Source: "Waterford Police Go On-Line with Web Site" by Dennis Yusko; Times Union (Albany, NY) October 15, 1999, Pg. F3]
Item #3 TRIBAL RESOURCES GRANT PROGRAM TECHNOLOGY AWARDS
As part of the $89 million U.S. Department of Justice Tribal Resources Grant Program to reduce crime on tribal lands, Oregon and Washington tribes were recently awarded $8.4 million to hire new police officers, build new correctional facilities, and purchase law enforcement equipment such as new vehicles and computers. A press release on the grant program is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/cops/news_info/press_releases/pr_9_23_99.htm
[Source: "Northwest Tribes Will Get Money to Make Law Enforcement Better; The U.S. Department of Justice Allocates $8.4 Million in Grants to the Native American Communities" by Courtenay Thompson; The (Portland) Oregonian, October 15, 1999, Pg. C9]
Item #4 OVERLAND PARK (KS) POLICE CRIME ANALYSIS UNIT
The Overland Park (Kansas) Police Department has created a crime analysis unit with a national reputation. The six-year old team in this suburb of Kansas City, Missouri runs a wide variety of maps, bulletins and statistical reports daily, weekly and monthly that are sent to local, federal and state law enforcement agencies. The department uses maps and data produced by the unit to better allocate its resources and inform the community and city government about crime trends.
Item #5 STATE DNA DATABASES NEED MORE FUNDING TO INCREASE COLD HITS
National efforts at placing samples into the FBI's national DNA database suffer from a lack of funding and staff to perform necessary testing, with 500,000 samples waiting to be processed in state labs. In Virginia, where contractors were hired to reduce the backlog of DNA samples waiting to be entered into its database, cold hits are on the rise. Florida has had over 200 cold hits from its DNA database over the past six years, another sign of how powerful the FBI's National DNA Index System will be as backlogs of samples across the country are entered and more samples are collected from convicts.
[Source: "Dangerous Delay on DNA; State Struggles to Gather Genetic Profiles of Violent Felons" by Charlie Goodyear and Erin Hallissy; San Francisco (CA) Chronicle, October 19, 1999, Pg. A1 and "How DNA Fights Crime; Other States Make Better Use of Technology" by Erin Hallissy and Charlie Goodyear; San Francisco Chronicle, October 20, 1999, Pg. A1]
Item #6 EUCLID (OH) POLICE USE FINGERPRINT ID SYSTEM TO SOLVE 1978 MURDER
The Euclid (Ohio) Police Department recently ran an unmatched fingerprint from an unsolved 1978 murder, in which a 21 year-old woman was stabbed 13 times, and matched it to prints on file in the Cleveland Police database. The suspect was tracked down in New York City where he was arrested and charged with aggravated murder. The department has also used the fingerprint identification system to solve additional cold cases.
[Source: "Fingerprint Search Leads to Suspect in '78 Slaying" by Andrea Simakis; Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) October 15, 1999, Pg. 3B]
COURT TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Item # 7 DOUGLAS COUNTY (NE) COURT RECORDS ADDED TO STATE SYSTEM
The Douglas County, Nebraska civil and small claims division has been added to the Nebraska court computer system, with records and case filings to be available across the state. Criminal and traffic case information was added to the state system in 1996, and probate division records will go online early next year.
[Source: "County Division Shifts Some Computers;" Omaha (NE) World-Herald, October 16, 1999, Pg. 17]
CORRECTIONS TECHNOLOGY
NEWS
Item #8 ALAMANCE COUNTY (NC) APPROVES VIDEO ARRAIGNMENT
Alamance County, North Carolina Commissioners recently approved the installation and use of video arraignment equipment for first appearances by inmates before a judge. The $31,450 system will be paid for using seized drug funds. The system will reduce time spent by bailiffs escorting prisoners from the jail to the courtroom and decrease the security risks of such transportation. First appearances usually last about five minutes, and allow judges to inform inmates about the charges against them and their right to hire attorneys.
[Source: "Alamance Courtrooms Adopt Video" by Mike Fuchs; Greensboro (NC) News & Record, October 19, 1999, Pg. B3]
Center for Criminal Justice Technology Research Weekly News is
compiled by Jeffrey Michaels jeffreym@mitretek.org