Criminal Justice Technology in the News

Law Enforcement News

New App Offers Public Safety Info
Tri-City Times, (11/29/2017), Maria Brown
The new "Lapeer County Sheriff" app, a free tool developed with local funding, now offers residents of this Michigan County access to information as varied as jail visiting hours and a list of Most Wanted individuals. It offers more in-depth information than the department's website, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office said.
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Bexar County Sheriff's Office Partners With Social Media Platform Nextdoor
Texas Public Radio, (11/29/2017), Paul Flahive
The Bexar County Sheriff's Office has teamed up with social media platform Nextdoor to send targeted information to specific neighborhoods. Prompted by a recent case where deputies engaged in door-to-door footwork to locate surveillance footage, the partnership could help the department solve cases more quickly by reaching out electronically to specific areas.
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New Kiosk Offers Safety Tips and Crime Alerts
McDonough County Voice, (11/30/2017), Jared DuBoch                        
The McDonough County Sheriff's Office has a new kiosk in its lobby, which displays public service announcements, safety tips, "most wanted" criminals, missing persons and other information. Individuals can also use the kiosk to anonymously send tips to Macomb Area Crime Stoppers. The kiosk can be updated wirelessly from authorized smartphones.
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Milwaukee Police Did Something Different to Tackle Crime in the City - They Focused on Just 2.3 Square Miles of It
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, (12/01/2017), Ashley Luthern
Since Milwaukee began participating in the federal Public Safety Partnership program, which brings assistance from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Attorney's Office to a local law enforcement agency, the city has seen a marked drop in violent crime in a specific target area. The city chose to focus on this area noted for high crime rather than on a citywide effort, with ongoing positive results. In the first nine months of 2016, crime rates fell 28 percent, and although there was a slight uptick in 2017 when the police department reduced some efforts, rates are still lower than those of 2015.
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Can These Beanbags Save Lives? Sacramento Police Hope So
Sacramento Bee, (12/01/2017), Nashelly Chavez
In response to several recent officer-involved fatal shootings, the Sacramento Police Department has adopted a new training program encouraging the use of less lethal forms of force. Officers recently began increased training in the use of foam bullets and bean bag rounds.
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Hundreds Show Up at New O'Fallon, Mo., Justice Center to See What $26.8 Million Can Buy
St. Louis Dispatch, (12/01/2017), Doug Moore
Officials have stated they expect the newly completed Justice Center in O'Fallon, Mo., to meet the community's needs for at least 25 years, as 10 percent of the new facility remains unused and designated to meet future needs. Finished parts of the facility, recently opened for a public tour, include an indoor shooting range, a simulation training room and underground parking that can also be turned into a storm shelter.
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W.Va. County Building Opioid Data Hub
GCN, (12/04/2017), Stephanie Kanowitz
Harrison County, W.Va., will use a $479,545, two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance to launch a central analytical data hub to track statistics related to the opioid epidemic in the county. The Harrison County Sheriff's Office will partner with the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) in developing and establishing the center, which should be running by April 2018.
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Cybersecurity Dog Shows Off Skills At Pace
Pleasantville Daily Voice, (12/01/2017), Sam Barron
Harley, a two-year-old Labrador retriever operating out of the FBI's New York Field Office, has been trained to locate electric devices such as chip cards, USB devices, sim cards and flash drives. Once imprinted with the scent of these devices, trained dogs can locate potentially valuable evidence even if it's been blown up or burnt in an attempt to hide evidence of a cybercrime.
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Local Maine Authorities Turn to Drones for Rail Line Safety
Government Technology, (12/05/2017), Matt Byrne for the Portland Press Herald
The Brunswick (Maine) Police Department and the Federal Railroad Administration are teaming up on a planned project to use drones to patrol for trespassers near the town's railroad tracks. The project would make Brunswick the first police department in the state to use drones to look for potential criminal activity. However, some issues remain to be worked out before the project can launch.
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Boise Police Buys Lie Detector Tool That Measures Pupils
Idaho Press-Tribune, (12/06/2017), Emily Lowe
The Boise Police Department has purchased, but not yet used, a new technology called EyeDetect, which measures pupil dilation to determine if someone is lying. Its developer says there is scientific evidence that whenever someone is lying, his/her pupils dilate.
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Corrections News

The Future of Corrections in 2018 and Beyond
Corrections.com, (12/04/2017), Gary York
In this article, the author speculates about where technology and human interactions may take corrections in the future. He cautions that the incarcerated population may continue to increase before it falls, and says the field must remain on continued guard against corruption.
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Flying a Drone Near a Prison Can Land You Behind Bars
Charlotte Observer, (12/01/2017), Gavin Off and Ames Alexander
A new North Carolina law took effect on Dec. 1, making it illegal to fly a drone within 250 feet above and 500 feet around a prison. The aircraft have been used in attempts to smuggle contraband such as drugs and cellphones to inmates.
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ADOC Faces Challenges to Improving Mental Health Staffing
Montgomery Advertiser, (12/01/2017), Andrew J. Yawn
The Alabama Department of Corrections is working on a plan to hire more mental health professionals in the wake of a class-action suit settled last summer, but is hindered by inadequate funding. Some 19 percent of all individuals incarcerated in the state have been diagnosed with a mental illness.
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Inmates on Facebook: WBRC Finds Multiple Profiles Connected to Alabama Prisoners
WBRC Fox News, (11/30/2017), Beth Shelburne
As part of an ongoing investigative series, WBRC has identified several Facebook accounts connected to Alabama inmates, including locating a Death Row inmate posting to Facebook with a contraband cell phone. The station has identified several other accounts as well.
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'They Could Have Raped Me or Killed Me.' Faulty Radios put Prison Officers in Danger
Emergency Communications, (11/29/2017), Gavin Off and Ames Alexander for the Charlotte Observer
According to this investigative piece, a number of current and former correctional employees have stated that their two-way radios often do not work, leaving them unable to communicate and feeling vulnerable. Five North Carolina correctional officers have been attacked and killed on the job in the past eight months.
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Denver Sheriff Department to Consider Bringing Back In-person Visits With Working Committee Next Week
Denver Post, (11/29/2017), Danika Worthington
Due to concerns raised by an independent monitor, the Denver Sheriff Department plans to look into the possibility of restoring in-person inmate visitation, which ended in 2005. The department put video-only visitation into place to cut down on contraband smuggling and incidents of domestic violence.
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Program Gives Inmates Tablets to Help Re-integrate Into Society
Fox 13 Salt Lake City, (11/27/2017), Lauren Handley
The state of Utah has piloted a tablet-based educational program aimed at helping incarcerated individuals learn skills to reintegrate with society. All communication made using the tablets is monitored and there is no access to Wi-Fi. The tablets come pre-loaded with educational materials, individualized treatment plans, housing information and employment opportunities. Link to Article

Michigan Hacker Modifies Jail Records to Get Friend Released, Now Faces Jail Time
IBTimes, (12/04/2017), A.J. Dellinger
A Michigan man recently pleaded guilty to multiple hacking efforts attempting to get a friend released from custody early. He used a campaign that included making phone calls and sending spear-phishing emails to Washtenaw County Jail employees in an attempt to get them to download malware that would let him gain entry to the system.
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