Criminal Justice Technology in the News

Law Enforcement News

Storing Body Cam Footage Isn't Cheap, but Omaha Police Says It's Worth It
KMTVNewsNowOmaha, (01/30/2019), Jon Kipper
About two-thirds of the more than $2 million spent by the Omaha Police Department on its body-worn camera program has gone toward storing digital evidence. At a time when some departments are dropping their programs due to high storage costs, OPD has built the DREAM (digitally recorded evidence access and management) unit, a room at headquarters where all collected video is stored and copied to disc as requested by courts. The Omaha Police Foundation has paid much of the cost for the program.
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UF Researchers Are Rethinking School Police Training, Emergency Response Drills
WJCT, (01/30/2019), Jessica Bakeman
A team at the University of Florida is using a National Institute of Justice grant to fund the development of a model training program that seeks to improve officers' interactions with vulnerable students. In the pilot program, school resource officers from Miami-Dade County will take an online course to learn research-supported strategies for communicating with children who have experienced trauma.
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Metro Tackles Increase in Gun Violence With New Crime Unit
WRKN.com, (01/31/2019), Jessica Jaglois
The Metro Nashville Police Department, the U.S. Attorney's Office and Mayor David Briley have teamed up to create a Crime Gun Unit that will use forensics and stronger prosecution methods to combat gun violence. The new unit consists of six detectives and one sergeant, all of whom were formerly assigned to the police department's Gang Unit.
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Massachusetts Police Department Offering 911 Tracking Integrated Into Uber App
Fox 8 Cleveland, (02/02/2019), Natasha Anderson
The Cambridge (Mass.) Police Department has become the second in the start to adopt Uber's new Safety Toolkit app. If a passenger swipes the app, dispatchers will receive the exact location of the car; make, model and license number; and detailed information on the caller. The app updates every 30 seconds.
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MPD's Special Events Team Prepared to Protect
WMTV, (02/03/2019), Isabel Lawrence
The Madison (Wis.) Police Department Special Events Team, which consists of 75 officers and an additional medic platoon whose members have more advanced medical training, works at festivals, rallies and other events that draw large crowds. The number of individuals at these events can make it harder for paramedics to quickly reach individuals who need assistance. The team also provides crowd control.
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Police Learn to Deal With Mentally Ill Residents
Albuquerque Journal, (02/04/2019), Ryan Boethel
For the past three years, Albuquerque police officers have taken part in videoconference workshops that are part of the CIT (Crisis Intervention Training) ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Options) project. The weekly workshops, which teach officers how to handle mental health crisis calls, have drawn participants from Texas, Illinois and North Carolina, and are based on ECHO projects created for health care providers in rural parts of the state. The original funding for the project has expired and the department is now looking for alternative funding sources to continue.
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State to Offer Opioid Reversal Medicine in Alabama High Schools
WSFA, (01/30/2019), Morgan Young
The Alabama Department of Education and the Alabama Department of Public Health, in conjunction with the Children's Hospital of Alabama, the Alabama Board of Nursing and the Alabama Board of Pharmacy, are working to develop a training program for administrators, coaches and school staff on how to use naloxone, the medication that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. Grant funding is making the drug available to all high schools in the state.
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State Troopers to Conduct ‘Operation Yellow Jacket' In Indiana County
KDKA, (02/04/2019)
Using PennDOT highway maintenance vehicles, Pennsylvania state troopers participating in "Operation Yellow Jacket” will conduct speed enforcement and Steer Clear checks in Indiana County this week. PennDOT and the state police will work together at set locations throughout the county.
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Corrections News

MS Prisons 'A Pressure Cooker,' MDOC Commissioner Warns. Staff Shortage Leads to Lockdown.
Clarion Ledger, (01/27/201), Associated Press
Visitation and other privileges have been canceled indefinitely at the South Mississippi Correctional Facility in Leakesville due to a 48-percent vacancy rate among staff jobs. The facility holds 3,051 inmates, just 31 short of capacity. Similar measures may also take place at two other facilities.
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Kansas Prisons ‘Under Stress': Photos Show Destroyed Facilities, Injured Officers
Wichita Eagles, (01/30/2019), Jonathan Shorman
Kansas' interim corrections secretary says years of double-bunking inmates and moving them around have contributed to acute disturbances within the system. The state faces a severe staffing shortage and rising overtime costs as well.
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Criminal Justice Reform Paves the Way for Welfare Reform
Governing, (01/22/2019), Mattie Quinn
Although many states have recently enacted policies allowing former inmates convicted of drug felonies to access food stamps and/or cash assistance programs, Pennsylvania recently passed legislation that enforces the ban on benefits. Research has shown that individuals with full access to public benefits are less likely to reoffend.
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State: Lauderdale County Serial Rapist Used Illegal Prison Cell Phone to Plot Escape
WAAY 31, (02/01/2019), Breken Terry
Corey Davis, who escaped from the St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville, Ala., on Jan. 23, used a contraband cell phone to establish a relationship with a woman who took him into her home after his escape. Corrections officials say Davis hid in a furniture transport trailer to escape, and was recaptured at the woman's home in Kentucky.
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Feds Say They've Cracked Prison Drug Network
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, (02/06/2019), Torsten Ove
Noah Landfried of Moon, Pa., who obtained an early release from a drug-trafficking sentence in 2017, has been arrested on charges related to trafficking multiple kinds of drugs and orchestrating a nationwide ring that smuggled contraband substances into prison via drug-soaked paper. The ring was broken up following an investigation by multiple federal agencies.
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Gun Found on Suspect's Pant Leg as He Was Being Booked Into Jail, Officials Say
WESH 2, (02/01/2019)
A body scanner found a gun hidden inside a man's pants leg as he was being booked into jail in Orlando, Fla. The individual had been arrested on various drug- and gun-related charges.
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Let's Train Inmates for Success in the High-Tech Economy
The Crime Report, (02/01/2019), Emily Mooney and Arthur Rizer
This article takes an in-depth look at the need for inmate vocational training programs that lead individuals to success in today's high-tech economy. A past criminal record can hinder an individual's chances of finding employment, and many work-release and training programs focus on low-skill, low-wage positions.
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