Criminal Justice Technology in the News

Law Enforcement News

Michigan State Police to Update AMBER Alert Procedures
Bedford Now, (12/114/2016)
The Michigan State Police is changing the criteria for issuing an AMBER Alert. Effective January 1, AMBER Alerts will only be issued in Michigan for cases of child abductions involving victims under the age of 18. An alternative notification method to the news media will be used for other missing child instances. Previously, in addition to abducted children, AMBER Alerts were authorized by police for missing children with severe mental or physical disabilities who had wandered away. Missing child cases that don't meet the revised AMBER Alert criteria will be eligible for a new notification called an Endangered Missing Advisory, for which there is no age restriction.
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Lafayette Police Rolling Out Body Camera Program
The Advocate, (12/15/2016), Richard Burgess
The police department in Lafayette, La., is equipping 20 officers with body cameras for a test run before issuing the devices to every uniformed officer in the department. The department has about 60 body cameras and another 90 are on order. The expectation is that officers will use the cameras to record most of their interactions, with the exception of responses that don't involve a complaint of criminal activity.
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Havasu Police Department's New App Leads to First Arrest
Havasu News, (12/16/2016), Haley Walters
More than 400 people have downloaded the new Lake Havasu City Police app, which allows users in the Arizona city to submit anonymous or identified tips and pictures of suspected criminal activity from their cell phones. Police recently used the app to distribute information on a suspicious person believed to be connected to a series of damage reports, and made an arrest three days later. Police also use the app to release information on missing persons, stolen items and press releases.
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Lawmakers Undergo Police Training Simulation
CBS4, (12/16/16), Shaun Boyd
Colorado lawmakers recently experienced police training with a simulator to help them understand how the laws they pass affect law enforcement officers and the judgment calls officers have to make on the job. The police training simulator brought to the state capitol featured a series of videos. The lawmakers were given a fake gun and presented with visual mock situations including an active shooter at a school and an armed robbery at a warehouse.
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911 Technology Cuts Time for NC Dispatchers
The High Point Enterprise, (12/20/2016), Natalie Stewart
The High Point 911 Communications Center in High Point, N.C., recently installed new technology that is helping dispatchers work more quickly and efficiently. The new system processes calls digitally, allowing for faster speeds. The new system also allows for High Point 911 call-takers to get police dispatched to an alarm call more quickly.
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Chief: Drones Could One Day Replace Tucson Police Helicopters
Arizona Daily Star, (12/19/2-016), Joe Ferguson
The Tucson Police Department is considering drones as a possible option to police helicopters. Police Chief Chris Magnus noted that keeping the department's two helicopters is costly. Typically, drones are equipped with cameras and flown by someone on the ground using a control pad, and could be a way to augment the current aerial program. The department continues to gather information, and no decision has been made.
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Corrections News

Why Are State Prisons Closing? 92 Detention Facilities Have Been Eliminated Since 2011, Saving $333 Million, Report Says
International Business Times, (12/14/2016), Lydia O'Neal
Ninety-two state prisons in 22 states in the U.S. have been closed since 2011, reducing states' capacities by nearly 48,000 beds and their government expenditures by $333 million, according to a new report by The Sentencing Project. California had the most closures, followed by Texas. Some state facilities have been sold to private entities to repurpose them. Or state governments have simply transferred the newly vacant properties to city municipalities working to transform them into projects that support their local economies.
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Fentanyl a Danger Inside Prisons, Union Says
Calgary Herald, (12/14/2016), Yolande Cole
Correctional officers at the Bowden Institution in Innisfail, Alberta ,Canada administered naloxone to a fellow officer after he collapsed due to suspected fentanyl exposure during a search for drugs, according to a union official. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid. Naloxone is use to reverse the effects of opioids. The officer is recovering. Correctional officers saw a spike during the summer in overdoses among inmates at Bowden and the Drumheller Institution in Drumheller, Alberta, with many of them related to fentanyl. In two weeks during the summer at the Drumheller Institution, there were 21 inmate overdoses.
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Governor Rauner Signs Bipartisan Legislation to Reduce Recidivism
Positively Naperville, (12/17/2016)
Illinois government officials have approved legislation recommended by the Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform to ensure a valid state ID card for individuals on release from a correctional facility. The law requires the state to issue a standard Illinois ID card to any person being released from a correctional facility who presents their birth certificate, Social Security card and two proofs of address. Officials say providing low-level offenders with identification will help them to secure employment, housing and establish financial stability.
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Record Number of Convicts Under Supervision in Oklahoma
Associated Press via The Lawton Constitution, (12/20/2016)
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections says it is overseeing 61,012 people, a record number of convicts. The number includes 26,619 in state and private prisons or halfway houses and 32,564 who are supervised by GPS monitors, community supervision, or by probation and parole officers. Another 1,829 are in county jails awaiting space in prison. The department said the total number is the highest in its 49-year history.
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Utah Department of Corrections Joins Initiative to Reduce Number of Prison Inmates in Solitary Confinement
The Salt Lake Tribune, (12/19/2016), Mariah Noble
Utah and four other states will participate in the Vera Institute of Justice's Safe Alternatives to Segregation Initiative in an effort to reduce solitary confinement, also known as restrictive housing. A 21-month partnership between Vera and the state Department of Corrections is slated to begin in early 2017, funded by a $2.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance. Over the past year and a half, the percentage of Utah prison inmates in solitary confinement has dropped from 14 percent to 6 percent, and officials hope to reduce it further.
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