Public Safety Technology in the News

Philadelphia Police Web Site Gets Face-Lift
Philadelphia Inquirer, (01/08/2010), Troy Graham
Twitter and YouTube are just two of the interactive features of the Philadelphia Police Department’s new Web site. Citizens can access Twitter at twitter.com/Phillypolice and YouTube (which will include postings of surveillance videos) at www.youtube.com/user/PhiladelphiaPolice. The Web site (www.phillypolice.com) also includes an emergency text and e-mail alert system. Police commissioner Charles H. Ramsey will write a blog at least once a week for the new site, which includes a separate subpage for each police district, crime statistics and crime mapping features, and links to search for accident and incident reports.
www.philly.com/philly/news/local/80979287.html

Trees Neighbors Stand Tall
The Barnstable Patriot, (01/08/2010)
In Hyannis, Mass., the police department held a meeting to specifically invite residents of the “Trees” neighborhood to sign up for a free crime statistics and crime mapping service provided by www.crimesreports.com. An officer showed residents how to use the service and asked them to sign up for customized e-mail alerts that provide location and incident descriptions when crimes are reported. Citizens can access the service through the department Web site at www.barnstablepolice.com. The meeting served as part of an ongoing effort to involve residents of this neighborhood in making it safer.
www.barnstablepatriot.com/home2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19993&Itemid=39

Public Alerts Will Soon Be a Call Away
Mineral Wells Index, (01/08/2010), David May
Mineral Wells, Texas, will begin using the CodeRed Emergency Communications Network to place emergency calls to homes and businesses in the city in the near future. All landline phone numbers currently in the Mineral Wells’ 911 system will be uploaded to CodeRed’s call database. The system will notify citizens about police and fire emergencies, calls for evacuations and road closure. Citizens can sign up to receive calls to their cell phone numbers and residents and businesses can also sign up to receive weather alerts. (Residents and businesses can opt out of participating in the emergency alert process.) The system can place 1,000 calls per minute and 60,000 calls per hour, and implementation does require the purchase of special equipment or dedicated phone lines. Operating on a 24/7 basis, the system attempts to deliver a message up to three times to each number in the database.
www.mineralwellsindex.com/local/local_story_008094832.html

Logan Gets New Bomb Dismantling Device
WCVB TV5 Boston, (01/12/2010)
assachusetts State Police have placed a new bomb dismantling-device into service at Boston’s Logan Airport. This particular Black-I Robotics device has been dedicated to a local man killed in Afghanistan in 2005, whose father is a member of the airport bomb squad. The robot allows officers to remotely manipulate suspect items. The so-called “Black Knight” robot was paid for with $100,000 in federal funding; the same model is used in Iraq and Afghanistan.
www.thebostonchannel.com/news/22216688/detail.html

Carlisle Borough Joins Internet Crime Mapping Service
The Sentinel, (01/14/2010)
Residents of Carlisle, Pa., can now search an Internet site for information on crimes reported in their borough during the past six months. Operated by www.crimesreports.com, the site can be searched by type of crime, by incident date or by location. Citizens can also sign up to receive free alerts about crimes reported on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. To access crime information from Carlisle, visit the Web site and enter “Carlisle, Pa.” or a specific street address.
www.cumberlink.com/articles/2010/01/14/news/local/doc4b4f54ea15f02858024680.txt

Airport Beefs Up Security
Corning Leader, (01/13/2010), John Zick
Elmira-Corning Regional Airport and the Chemung County Sheriff’s Office have teamed up on two new explosive-detection methods for use at the airport and in the local area. The two-pronged defense includes a Chesapeake Bay retriever certified in explosives detection and an XD-2i explosives detector. They can work together to detect materials such as black powder, pyrotechnics, improvised explosive devices and commercial products. The dog, the explosives detector and a deputy are on call 24 hours a day; they are based at the airport but can be made available throughout the area. A grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security paid for part of the project.
www.the-leader.com/news/x1689205261/Airport-beefs-up-security

Dispatch Pinpoints Cells in Emergencies
PNJ.com, (01/15/2010), Thyrie Bland
Escambia County, Fla., recently began using a mapping system that locates 911 callers on cell phones by using latitude and longitude coordinates obtained from the phone. This can be extremely useful in locating accident and assault victims or persons engaged in recreational activities who have become lost. Often, these individuals do not know their locations or they may lapse into unconsciousness. Installed at the county’s Emergency Communications Center, the Pensacola Police Department and Escambia County Sheriff's Office, the system can also locate 911 land line calls. Under the previous system, dispatchers had to use mapping applications in an attempt to locate callers. The new system projects a map on a monitor with a circle marking the caller’s location.
www.pnj.com/article/20100115/NEWS01/1150319

Albany Police Join Crime Map
DemocratHerald.com, (01/15/2010), AnneMarie Knepper
Albany, N.Y., has joined the growing ranks of jurisdictions across the nation now subscribing to www.crimesreports.com. The service allows users to search for crime reports by location and learn basic information such as time, date and type of crime. The service also includes graphing features and an e-mail crime alert service, and has an iPhone application. The decision to implement the crime reporting service was driven by requests from volunteers for more information on crime in their neighborhoods. More than 600 law enforcement agencies nationwide use the CrimeReports service.
www.democratherald.com/news/local/article_bf70f7f6-0253-11df-a0e9-001cc4c03286.html

Dallas Task Force to Test Using DNA to Solve Auto Thefts
Dallas Morning News, (01/19/2010), Jennifer Emily
A Dallas task force called Forensic Evidence Auto Recovery (FEAR) will use DNA testing as one tool in combating theft rings that dismantle vehicles for parts. Using DNA to link several thefts together will permit the city to pursue charges of engaging in organized crime rather than merely charging suspects with auto theft. Also, forensic evidence linking suspects to more than one car is thought to be harder to disprove in court than evidence tying them to only one theft. An organized crime conviction could earn a defendant 20 or more years in prison. Officers will begin collecting DNA evidence from stolen cars in spring 2010, swabbing areas possibly touched by thieves and any items left behind. A grant from the National Institute of Justice is partially funding the effort.
www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/011910dnmetdnacars.3ebab5f.html

In Easton, the Camera Never Lies
Allentown Morning Call, (01/19/2010), Pamela Lehman
Police in Easton, Pa., recently began using 15 cruisers mounted with in-car cameras that record traffic stops, police pursuits and field sobriety tests. The cameras will provide evidence that can be used in court and recordings can also be used to clear officers falsely accused of abusing their authority. Federal grants paid the majority of the cost of the new system, which uses wireless routers to collect information recorded by the in-car cameras. Officers can review recorded stops any department computer and use that review to ensure reporting accuracy. Their superiors can also use the footage as a training and evaluation tool. Since the project’s implementation, recorded video has been used twice to clear Easton officers accused of improper actions.
www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a9_3cameras.7147410jan19,0,5263568.story