Criminal Justice Technology in the News

Law Enforcement News

3 Seattle Cops Shot as 7-Eleven Robbery Turns Deadly
SeattlePI.com, (04/21/2017), Lynsi Burton
Three Seattle police officers, one of whom was saved by her body armor, are recovering from wounds sustained while responding to a reported robbery at a convenience store on April 21. A 42-year-old female officer was reported in satisfactory condition after her armor apparently blocked a bullet; one of the two male officers shot in the incident received a flesh wound in the hand and was treated and released. The second took an initial shot in the face that was deflected downward; he was in serious but stable condition. The robbery suspect died from multiple gunshot wounds.
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Gunfire Sensors Credited With Quick Arrest in Fresno Rampage
CTPost.com, (04/22/2017), Scott Smith for the Associated Press
The Fresno Police Department gives credit to its gunshot detection system for the fast apprehension of Kori Ali Muhammad, the gunman accused of killing three people April 18 in what has been described as a hate crime vendetta. Once a report of gunshots is verified, ShotSpotter provides, at minimum, location, number and time that shots were fired. Fresno officers receive the information on their smartphones and squad-car laptops.
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PSA Video Aims to Build Trust Between Police and Southern Wake Residents
News&Observer.com, (04/22/2017), Thomasi McDonald
Police chiefs and community leaders from six towns in southern Wake County, N.C., have teamed up to appear in a one-minute public service announcement aimed at building trust between police and the community. Plans call for promoting the video through social media.
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Is Your Loved One Special Needs? Police Would Like To Know, Too
Waukesha Patch.com, (04/22/2017), Scott Anderson
The Waukesha (Wis.) Police Department offers a "Special Needs Form" that family members may fill out to inform officers about likes and dislikes, triggers and sensory issues, and possible de-escalation solutions that can be used with specific citizens with special needs. The information on the voluntary form remains completely confidential and will be entered into a special database accessible only to police department personnel.
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Want a Rhode Island Driver's License? Smiling No Longer Allowed
Providence Journal, (04/20/2017), Jennifer Bogdan
Individuals having photos taken for new driver's licenses and photo ID cards in Rhode Island must now comply with a number of requirements including removing glasses, keeping hair away from the facial area and not smiling. The new requirements are aimed at providing images that work with the state's facial recognition software and thus assist law enforcement.
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For Two Years, a Wheat Ridge Elementary School Sat Empty. Now It Trains Law Enforcement for School Shootings.
Denver Post, (04/24/20217), Peyton Garcia
The Frank DeAngelis Center for Community Safety in Wheat Ridge, Colo., which is housed in a former elementary school, offers a one-of-a-kind training facility for dealing with school shootings. SWAT teams and other law enforcement officers from agencies across the nation have been using the training center, where a donated use-of-force simulator uses actors to recreate domestic violence situations and incidents involving mentally ill individuals, in addition to school shootings.

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Corrections News

State Correctional Facilities Cracking Down on Employees Two Years After Dannemora Escape
LocalSyr.com, (04/19/2017)
Employees of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (NYSDOCCS) must now bring their lunches and other personal belongings in clear plastic bags, aimed at reducing the amount of contraband smuggled into the state's correctional system. The change is a response to the 2015 escape of two convicts from the Dannemora facility; the escapees used tools smuggled to them by a corrections employee. The state has provided the approved bags to all employees, and in addition, has stepped up metal detector searches and the use of canines.
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Ohio Prisons Are In The Midst of a Suboxone-Smuggling Crisis
The Fix.com, (04/20/2017), Paul Gaita
Random drug tests conducted in Ohio prisons in December 2016 indicate that one out of every 20 inmates had used Suboxone, the addiction treatment drug that has become a highly sought-after form of contraband. Suboxone comes in small strips, similar in appearance to breath strips, and is easily converted to forms that can be smuggled into correctional facilities. A black-market strip may sell for as much as $100.
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Corrections Agency Scraps Prison Health Contract
NorthEscambia.com, (04/21/2017)
The Florida Department of Corrections has issued a required 18-day notice of termination to Wexford Health Sources, putting an early end to a contract that expired at the end of 2017. The health services provider received an extremely negative review earlier in April from the Correctional Medical Authority for poor service related to mental health, the state DOC said.
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Rikers COs Sue, Say City's Policy Changes Threaten Their Safety
CorrectionsOne.com, (04/26/2017), Larry Neimeister for the Associated Press
Claiming that recent policy changes in New York City's jails have placed corrections officers in danger, the nation's largest municipal jail guard union filed suit against the city on April 21. Filed in Manhattan federal court, the lawsuit alleges that violence has increased by nearly 20 percent since the implementation of policy changes in the wake of reports about inmate abuse, particularly at Rikers Island.
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