Criminal Justice Technology in the News

Law Enforcement News

Charleroi School District Bolsters Security
Observer-Reporter, (08/23/2018), Beth Hope-Cushey
The Charleroi Area School District in Pennsylvania is adding one full-time school resource officer and one part-time school resource officer to the full-time school security officer already on staff. All three officers will be armed, and the two resource officers will have arrest powers. Plans also call for a visitor management system.
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Louisville LEAD Program Aims to Divert Opioid Addicted Individuals Away From Criminal Justice System, Into Treatment
The Lane Report, (08/23/2018)
Louisville, Ky., now has a Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program to which it can divert opioid-addicted people from jails to case management and treatment options. The LEAD program, which was first launched in Seattle in 2011, is a pre-booking, community-based program. Louisville has been awarded a $400,000 federal grant to fund a pilot project.
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Connecticut Launches Text-to-911 System
Fox61, (08/23/2018), Associated Press and Spencer Allan Brooks
Connecticut residents can now use text messages to reach 911 emergency dispatchers. Officials say voice calls to 911 are the best way to contact emergency services. The text service is for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability, or in a situation where it is unsafe to place a voice call.
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Lehigh Rolls Out New Safety Tool, Communications System
Lehigh University, (08/23/2018), Linda Harbrecht
Lehigh University has a new emergency communications system that includes a personal safety app option that allows greater connectivity with university resources in emergency situations. HawkWatch alerts are deployed in instances where there is an imminent threat or weather conditions that affect normal campus operations. The personal safety app puts the user in direct contact with LUPD dispatchers and allows users to employ a "virtual walk home" tool.
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UPD to Utilize New Body Worn Cameras This Fall
The Runner, (08/24/2018), Dylan Bryant
Police at California State University will be using body-worn cameras this fall. The cameras were obtained in a package deal that includes unlimited secure cloud storage and maintenance. The cameras will be worn by officers with the rank of sergeant or below.
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Drones Are Newest Tool in Austin Police Department's Arsenal
North Austin Patch, (08/26/2018), Tony Cantu
The Austin Police Department plans to use drones to help monitor fatal traffic crashes. The department says the program will help trim investigating time in gathering evidence by as much as 80 percent, help reduce traffic at perilous and congested traffic sites, and help safeguard officers who otherwise would be at the side of the road assessing wrecks. The department is holding a series of hearings to brief the public on the program.
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Corrections News

Texas Prison System Slashes Price of Inmate Phone Calls by 77 Percent
Houston Chronicle, (08/24/2018), Keri Blakinger
The Texas prison system has decided to slash the cost of inmate calls home by more than 75 percent with a new phone contract. Now, instead of paying an average of 26 cents per minute, prisoners will pay 6 cents per minute, regardless of the destination of the call.
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How the Smallest State is Defeating America's Biggest Addiction Crisis
Politico Magazine, (08/25/2018), Erick Trickey
This article highlights a drug addiction treatment program offered to prison inmates in Rhode Island. In 2016, the state began offering inmates all three medications approved to treat opioid addiction: methadone, Suboxone and Vivitrol. About 350 prisoners each month take one of the three medicines, and inmates continue treatment after their release. In the first half of 2016, 26 recently incarcerated people died of drug overdoses. In the same period last year, nine did, which is 61 percent fewer fatalities.
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These Indiana Counties Stopped Requiring Bail. Here's How That's Worked.
Indianapolis Star, (08/27/2018), Billy Kobin
This article discusses a pilot program in Indiana under which 11 counties stopped requiring bail. Instead of setting money bail amounts, judges use risk assessments to decide whether defendants should be held in jail or allowed to go home on the promise they would return for their next court date. Officials in Hamilton and Hendricks counties say that generally the new program has kept low-risk offenders out of jail, while keeping the high-risk offenders locked up.
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Synthetic Marijuana Blamed for Increasing Deaths in Florida Prisons
WLRN, (08/21/2018), Daniel Rivero
Florida authorities blame a synthetic marijuana substance known as K2 or spice for an increase in inmate deaths. The number of "accidental deaths" spiked from 12 in 2016 to 62 in 2017, most of them drug overdoses, according to the state. Internal audits cited by the Miami Herald show that K2 has been identified as the top killer. The Department of Corrections is stepping up efforts to keep contraband out of prisons.
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Drug Testing Sewers Shows That Americans Get Lit During Holidays and Special Events
Quartz, (08/22/2018), Katherine Ellen Foley
A study by researchers from Murray State University in Kentucky showed that they could calculate drug use in two communities by testing wastewater. The study found concentrations of amphetamine and methamphetamine that suggest use of those drugs is two to four times higher than previous estimates. Also, higher drug use coincided with special events such as the July 4 holiday.
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The Growing Movement to Grant All Prisoners the Right to Vote
In These Times, (08/22/2018), Eli Day
This opinion piece discusses efforts to restore voting rights to prison inmates.
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Smuggled K2 Drug Turning Pa. Inmates Violent
The Morning Call, (08/23/2018), Steve Esack
Pennsylvania prison officials say inmates' use of K2, a synthetic form of marijuana, has contributed to a rise in assaults. Officials say use of the drug is contributing to a 4 percent increase in inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-staff assaults in the first half of 2018. Safety gear, training, scanners and drug-sniffing dogs are being added to facilities.
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Prisons Continue Search for Substance That Sickened Guards, Inmates
Triblive, (08/24/2018), Chuck Biedka
Authorities are investigating to determine what is sickening prison guards, nurses and inmates at Pennsylvania state and local prisons. Four jail guards at the Butler County Prison, two nurses and three inmates were stricken this month. In August, there also have been five incidents of an unknown substance causing illness among staff and inmates at the state prisons in Greene, Fayette and Mercer counties. Authorities are investigating whether an illicit substance is to blame.
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Gang Leader Orders Murder From Jail With Contraband Cell Phone
Loganville Patch, (08/20/2018), John Barker
A Gwinnett gang leader has been sentenced to a life sentence plus 20 years after being convicted of ordering a murder from jail in 2015 while serving time for another murder. Gordon Evans was convicted of malice murder, three counts of felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, aggravated battery and two counts of criminal street gang activity.
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PTSD as Common Among Prison Guards as War Veterans, Study Finds
Houston Chronicle, (08/19/2018), Keri Blakinger
A recent study found that prison guards have rates of post-traumatic stress disorder comparable to that found among Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. The study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine relied on surveys sent to corrections employees in Washington state. Of the more than 300 who responded, 19 percent met the criteria for PTSD.
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