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

Vol. 3 #34 December 20, 1999

Connecticut State Police have begun installing equipment for their new $80 million radio communications system, which should be online throughout the state by summer. The Motorola 800 MHz system will cover 98% of the state. State Police began planning the replacement of its 60-year-old radio system 18 years ago.

[Source: "State Police Usher in a New Era; Communications System Said to Befit 21st Century" by Christine Dempsey; The Hartford (CT) Courant, December 16, 1999, Pg. A3]

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Item #2  OCEANSIDE (CA) POLICE GET LIVE-SCAN FINGERPRINT SYSTEM

Oceanside (California) Police recently received a $42,192 grant from the California Department of Justice to purchase a Live-Scan fingerprint computer system.  Previously, officers had to travel to nearby communities to use other departments' AFIS equipment to run the prints of suspects or job applicants through state and federal databases.

[Source:  "Police use new fingerprinting computer;" The San Diego (CA) Union-Tribune, December 18, 1999, Pg. B7]

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Item #3  FIGHTING CYBERCRIME IN INDIANA

The Indianapolis (Indiana) Police Department has assigned two detectives to fight cybercrime, and the team has cleared about 40 cases in the last six months, including fraud, hacking, online pornography and harassment.  The Indiana State Police formed a computer crime unit in May 1998, which has investigated 28 cases.  State Police have also assisted smaller departments across Indiana that lack the experience and technology skills to handle cybercrime investigations.

[Source:  "IPD catching up to cybercriminals; 2 detectives join trend of police developing expertise in flood of computer-related cases" by Stephen Beaven; The Indianapolis (IN) Star, December 15, 1999, Pg. B7]

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Item #4  COLUMBIA COUNTY (GA) GETS CHEMICAL LEAK TRACKING SYSTEM

The Columbia County (Georgia) Emergency Management Agency was recently connected to a meteorological monitor computer program provided by Savannah River Site, a U.S. Department of Energy Lab. This online capability will not only provide warning of upcoming weather emergencies, but can also be used for atmospheric tracking of chemical leaks from HAZMAT truck accidents and other sources.

[Source:  "New County Computer Tracks Leaks; Technology Expected to Help Emergency Teams Respond to Accidents Involving Chemicals" by Preston Sparks; The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, December  12, 1999]

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Item #5  GRANT FOR GREATER ATLANTA DATA CENTER CRIME MAPPING

The Greater Atlanta (Georgia) Data Center, a cooordinated effort of 12 police agencies, was recently awarded a $1 million federal grant to improve felony and drug crime mapping. Police in Atlanta, Acworth, Austell, Kennesaw, Marietta, Powder Springs and Smyrna and the counties of Cobb, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett, will share crime maps to study trends across their different communities. Maps will be available within a week after data is entered into the system, improving departments' ability to allocate their resources.

[Source: "Grant to aid metro cops map crimes" by Yolanda Rodriguez; The Atlanta (GA) Journal and Constitution, December 16, 1999, Pg. 17E]

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Item #6  NEW PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO SYSTEM FOR ALBUQUERQUE (NM) AREA

The new $20 million 800 MHz public-safety radio system -- which serves the Albuquerque (New Mexico) Police and Fire Departments, and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office -- will be fully operational just in time to avoid any Y2K-related glitches the old 150 MHz system might have caused. The system, manufactured by Ericsson Inc., is Y2K-compliant and has passed all of its tests, but officers will carry portable receivers from the old system in their cruiser trunks as backups.

[Source: "Public-safety radio system coming online bug-free" by Joline Gutierrez Krueger; Albuquerque (NM) Tribune, December 7, 1999, Pg. A2]

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COURT TECHNOLOGY NEWS
 

Item # 7  ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY (MD) CIRCUIT COURT TAKES Y2K PRECAUTIONS

Anne Arundel County (Maryland) Circuit Court officials have postponed all jury trials for the first week in January as a precaution against Y2K glitches outside the court's control.  Other area county courts have scheduled fewer cases to keep police officers out of the courtroom in case they are needed for policing duties. Anne Arundel County's Y2K readiness and compliance documents can be found at: http://www.co.anne-arundel.md.us/hot_y2k_plan.htm

[Source: "Jury trials for first week in Jan. put off; Move is precaution for Y2K problems" by Allison Foreman; The Capital (Annapolis, MD) December 13, 1999, Pg. B1]

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 CORRECTIONS TECHNOLOGY NEWS
 

Item #8  PRISON TELEMEDICINE DEVELOPER WINS AWARD

A Navy electrical engineer was recently awarded a special commendation medal from the U.S. Department of Justice for his work on telemedicine in federal prisons. James E. Broyles, a teleconferencing expert with the Charleston, South Carolina office of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), participated in a 1996-1997 DOJ-SPAWAR test program at two federal prisons. Broyles helped prove an average savings of $5,000 each time telemedicine was used instead of bringing an inmate outside the prison for medical attention. Teleconferencing equipment has gotten even less expensive since then, making the security benefit of keeping inmates inside prison for medical treatment all the more relevant.

[Source: "Hanahan man helps bring telemedicine into prisons" by Terry Joyce; The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC) December 9, 1999, Pg. B4]

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