Criminal Justice Technology in the News

Law Enforcement News

Greenville Police to Wear Body Cameras by the First Week of May
The Greenville News, (04/12/2017), Tesalon Felicien
Police in Greenville, S.C., will soon be wearing body cameras. The city police department is one of the final law enforcement agencies in Greenville County to implement the technology. The department is set to roll out 149 body cameras by May 5. Police have completed preparations for the program and will begin training and issuing the cameras to patrol officers and special units on April 19. The camera can be mounted on an officer's eye-wear or shoulder.
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New Computer-Aided Dispatch System Unites Local Public Safety Agencies
The Suburban Times, (04/12/2017)
South Sound 911 and the Tacoma Fire Department in Washington have launched a new computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, officially uniting public safety agencies countywide. All local police and fire agencies are now united on a single dispatch platform. The countywide CAD project was a six-year undertaking, and brought all public safety call takers, dispatchers and first responders onto the same CAD system to facilitate emergency communications and interoperability.
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Marquette University Establishes Milwaukee Area's First Cyber Security Center
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, (04/09/2017), Brittany Carloni
Marquette University has established a center that will focus on cyber security education, research and community involvement. The Center for Cyber Security Awareness and Cyber Defense will be affiliated with the Helen Way Klingler College of Arts and Sciences and the university's computer science department. It will help prepare Marquette students for cyber security professions, provide education on topics related to cyber security, and host events. The center also will focus on technical and industry-focused research to understand best cyber security practices.
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Corrections News

Shuttered Minnesota Prison Could Reopen
Correctional News, (04/12/2017)
A correctional facility in Appleton, Minn., could reopen under legislation approved by the state House of Representatives. The Prairie Correctional Facility was closed in 2010. The bill to reopen the facility is part of a comprehensive public safety proposal. It would allow inmates to be housed in non-publicly owned facilities and require the state to enter into a contract to operate and purchase, or lease to own, the Prairie Correctional Facility to address prison bed capacity shortfalls in the state, according to a statement issued by the office of the bill's sponsor, State Representative Tim Miller. The DOC would run the facility. The public safety proposal that includes the prison bill now goes to the Minnesota state Senate for consideration.
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W.Va. Begins Crisis Intervention Training for Prisons and Jails
The Register-Herald, (04/13/2017)
West Virginia crisis intervention teams will be trained on safely defusing and de-escalating incidents involving inmates with mental illness. The state Division of Corrections received a grant from the National Institute of Corrections last year, through which an initial class of correctional officers will receive 40 hours of intensive training adapted from the Memphis Model for crisis intervention. The state's prison system is also providing mental health first aid training for all correctional officers and facility staff.
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Addiction Drug Suboxone is Popular Prison Contraband
The Columbus Dispatch, (04/16/2017), Alan Johnson
Prison inmates in Ohio are abusing Suboxone, a prescription drug usually used to treat people with opioid addiction. Prison officials say a strip of Suboxone the size of a postage stamp, which melts on the tongue, sells for about $100 or more in a prison black market. The Suboxone strips are similar to small mouthwash strips but contain a slow-acting opioid. The strips are small and easy to hide behind a postage stamp, in the spine of a book, in a greeting card, or liquefied and placed on paper so it looks like a smudge but retains its drug properties. The inmate then eats the paper. Ed Voorhies, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction prison operations director, said mail is now inspected using a black light to detect drugs adhering to paper or cardboard. He said each prison also will soon be outfitted with ion scanners that "sniff" for trace drug residue on objects and people.
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Jail Study Points to Alternative Methods for Housing Pretrial Inmates
The Columbia Missourian, (04/12/2017), Kaitlin Washburn
A report proposes alternatives to housing pretrial inmates in the Boone County jail in Missouri, rather than increasing the size of the jail or building a new one to alleviate crowding. The report by former 13th Circuit Court Judge Gary Oxenhandler proposed more funding to Adult Court Services to improve its electronic services, such as providing electronic alerts for court dates and to expand its alternative incarceration options. He also proposed better evaluation of people who can't post bond to determine whether it's possible for them to avoid jail, more home detention options for nonviolent offenders and better auditing of the jail system to ensure that those being held have to be there for public safety reasons.
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Substance Use Recovery Program Starting at Jail
Herald-Tribune, (04/13/2017), Pete Spitler
The Randolph County Sheriff's Office and the Human Service Center are partnering to provide a drug substance recovery program for Randolph County Jail inmates. According to Sheriff Shannon Wolff, more than half of the inmates are in directly for possession of a controlled substance and drug-related crimes; the other 45 percent are in the jail for crimes connected to drugs such as burglary or theft. The HSC will offer a substance use program to inmates designed to reduce recidivism and promote recovery. The program is focusing on inmates who will be released within three to six months.
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