CJITI WEEKLY NEWS: Covering
Law Enforcement, Corrections & Courts across the United States
| Vol. 3 #9 May 17, 1999 |
#1 Nevada police get grants for laptops
#2 Carpentersville (IL) police get LiveScan system
#3 Borough of Whitaker (PA) police receive grant for laptops
#4 Howard County joins Maryland's Regional Crime Analysis Program
#5 Albany (CA) police use DNA database to solve 1981 double murder
#6 West Contra Costa (CA) police consortium gets technology grant
#7 Videoconferencing in Florida courts
#8 Palm Beach
County (FL) digital booking of juveniles
LAW ENFORCEMENT TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Las Vegas (NV) police have used recent COPS MORE grants to hire 28 new officers and add crime analysis computer equipment to make its officers more efficient. The Mesquite (NV) police department has used its grant funds to add four officers and laptop computers for squad cars.
[Source: "Police program called boon for state" by Glenn Puit; Las Vegas (NV) Review-Journal, May 9, 1999]
Item #2 CARPENTERSVILLE (IL) POLICE GET LIVESCAN SYSTEM
Since the Village of Carpentersville (IL) police department will share its new LiveScan fingerprinting equipment with several local police departments the state is picking up all but $10,000 of the $70,000 cost. The village will also soon offer video bond hearings through which its jail will be linked with courtrooms, eliminating the need for prisoners to be driven to such hearings.
[Source: "New technology making time for old-fashioned police work" by Kate Clements; Chicago (IL) Daily Herald, May 2, 1999]
Item #3 BOROUGH OF WHITAKER (PA) POLICE RECEIVE GRANT FOR LAPTOPS
The Borough of Whitaker (PA) police department has received a $26,000 COPS MORE grant to link up with a regional digital booking system through which mug shots and criminal records will be shared online. The department will match 25% of the award from its own funds.
[Source: "Computer Grant $26,000;" Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette (Sooner edition) May 13, 1999, Pg. B4]
Item #4 HOWARD COUNTY JOINS MARYLAND'S REGIONAL CRIME ANALYSIS PROGRAM
Howard County, Maryland police have joined a statewide crime analysis database program that currently includes police from nearby Prince George's, Anne Arundel, Montgomery and Baltimore counties. The Regional Crime Analysis Program (R-CAP) computer center tracks crime trends in 13 Maryland counties, allowing detectives in every member county to access data and cooperate on unsolved crimes that may be committed by serial criminals.
[Source: "Fighting Crime Across Borders; Md. Jurisdictions Pool Resources" by Raja Mishra; The Washington Post, May 13, 1999, Pg. B1]
Item #5 ALBANY (CA) POLICE USE DNA DATABASE TO SOLVE 1981 DOUBLE MURDER
A man currently serving a life sentence for murder in Folsom prison has been identified through DNA database matching as the killer in an unsolved 1981 double murder. Police in Albany, California suspected the man of the crime but only recently were able to use the state's DNA database to make the match. Investigators believe the man may have committed additional unsolved murders in the nearby Oakland/San Francisco area.
[Source: "DNA Ties Inmate to 18-Year-Old Murders; Cops Say Evidence Conclusive in Slaying of Albany Couple" by Lance Williams; San Francisco (CA) Examiner, May 13, 1999, Pg. A1]
Item #6 WEST CONTRA COSTA (CA) POLICE CONSORTIUM GETS TECHNOLOGY GRANT
A regional consortium of West Contra Costa, California police departments was awarded a $2.75 million COPS MORE grant to purchase laptop computers, records management, and other equipment to make its officers more efficient. The consortium -- composed of police from El Cerrito, Hercules , Pinole , Richmond, San Pablo, Kensington and West County -- applied for the grant a year ago.
[Source: "Seven West County Police Agencies Win Grant; They Will Use the $2.75 Million to Buy Computer Equipment that Will Enable Officers to Spend More Time on Patrol" by Sonia Giordani; Contra Costa (CA) Times, April 30, 1999, Pg. A10]
COURT TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Item # 7 VIDEOCONFERENCING IN FLORIDA COURTS
The Florida Supreme Court , in a 4-3 decision, recently approved the use of videoconferencing currently being tested in a pilot project that offers links between courthouses and juvenile detention facilities in several counties across the state. Opponents of the practice believe juveniles are dehumanized if they only appear before judges on video, but law enforcement officials in the test areas testified that the electronic hearings have been very successful.
[Source: "Electronic Hearings for Juveniles;" Tampa (FL) Tribune, May 6, 1999, Pg. 18]
CORRECTIONS TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Item #8 PALM BEACH COUNTY
(FL) DIGITAL BOOKING OF JUVENILES
The Juvenile Assessment Center in West Palm Beach, Florida has begun using its new LiveScan fingerprint system for all bookings, cutting down on the use of aliases by criminals and matching suspects with their proper records in the state database. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Corrections staff plan to add a digital booking system that will allow photos, tattoos and other identifying marks to be sent along with fingerprints when doing checks with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement .
[Source: "Fingerprints Enter Information Age; Computer System Linked to Databases For More Precision" by Kevin Krause; (Florida) Sun Sentinel, May 13, 1999, Pg. 10B]
CJITI Weekly News is compiled by Jeffrey Michaels jeffreym@mitretek.org