Criminal Justice Technology in the News

Law Enforcement News

Sheriff's Office Encourages Residents to Use New 'Property DNA' Adhesive to Help Recover Stolen Items
WYDaily, (03/27/2019), Sarah Fearing
The York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office in Virginia is offering "DNA for Property” to local residents as a way to identify property and register it in a national database. Individuals generate a unique PIN and use the device to mark items invisibly with the PIN. The PIN appears under an ultraviolent light, allowing law enforcement to locate the items' owners.
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Toward Zero Deaths Switches Gears, Targets Highway 371 in Crow Wing, Cass Counties
Brainerd Dispatch, (03/27/2019), Frank Lee
As one of 13 counties in Minnesota targeted by the state Department of Transportation for having the highest rates of alcohol-related deaths and injuries, Crow Wing County has taken a proactive approach by implementing the Toward Zero Deaths project. The project presently focuses on the Highway 210 Corridor Project in Crow Wing and neighboring Cass County, and involves the Minnesota State Patrol, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office and the Baxter, Brainerd, Crosby and Deerwood police departments. Alcohol-related crashes were reduced by 24 percent in 2018.
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A New Program Pairs Mental Health Specialists With Police Officers in Hopes of Directing People Toward Help — Rather Than Jail
Inlander, (03/28/2019), Josh Kelety
The Spokane (Wash.) Police Department's new Community Diversion Unit teams up a mental health clinician and a neighborhood resource officer to help individuals suffering from addiction, mental illness and homelessness access the services they need, rather than putting them in jail. This article looks at how one team provides assistance to several individuals during the course of a shift.
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On Reddit, Police Are Having Conversations They Can't on Facebook or Twitter
CNET, (04/01/2019), Alfred Ng
Law enforcement agencies increasingly are adding Reddit accounts to their use of Facebook, Instragram and Twitter. Using the popular social media platform helps departments engage with a different segment of the population, and using its "Ask Me Anything” feature allows an agency to create a virtual press conference that expands the way a department can share information with the community.
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Corrections News

Federal Bills Would Let State Prisons Jam Cellphone Signals
10News, (03/29/2019), Meg Kinnard for the Associated Press
Recently proposed legislation would allow federal correctional facilities to jam cellular signals on their campuses. Corrections officials say that the use of contraband cellphones is the top security threat they face, but the Federal Communications Commission has maintained that such activity is prohibited.
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Not Going to 'Waste Away,' Minnesota Inmates Work Toward Four-year Degrees
Duluth Tribune, (03/30/2019), Josh Verges for the St. Paul Pioneer Press
Nearly 200 inmates recently received four-year college degrees at a ceremony held at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater. Thanks to the 2018 restoration of Pell Grant eligibility, inmates at Stillwater, Shakopee and Moose Lake can now earn their degrees by using tablet technology available through the Second Chance program. Two-year degree programs are also available.
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Seeding Success
Lewiston Tribune, (03/31/2019), Kathy Hedberg
A certified gardening program at the North Idaho Correctional Institution teaches inmates how to grow greenhouse seedlings and prepare them for free distribution to nonprofits such as community gardens. The eight- to 10-week course, coordinated through Lewis-Clark State College, has been in existence for five years. The program is one of several gardening projects operating in the state's correctional facilities.
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Philadelphia Department of Prisons Will Begin Offering Buprenorphine to Male Inmates Again
WHYY, (04/01/2019), Nina Feldman
Following a three-month hiatus, the Philadelphia jail can once again accept male inmates into its Suboxone program. The program had to halt new admissions when its certified addiction specialist took another job. After failing to hire another specialist with a 275-patient quota, the program applied for, and received, an emergency waiver to resume new admissions.
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'60 Minutes' Goes Inside CT Prison to See German-style Experiment
CT Post, (04/01/2019), Lisa Backus
The state of Connecticut's T.R.U.E. program at the Cheshire Correctional Institute pairs young men between the ages of 18 and 25 with "lifers” who assist in providing them with counseling and incentives to accept personal responsibility. The older prisoners feel that they are giving back by helping these younger prisoners learn behaviors that will help keep them out of prison on release; the project, recently profiled on "60 Minutes,” is based on a German model.
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Free Prisons Calls Could Finally Be Coming to Connecticut
The Intercept, (04/02/2019), Rachel M. Cohen
Proposed legislation in Connecticut would make phone calls free for prisoners, who currently pay one of the highest calling rates among the nation's incarcerated populations. The bill also stipulates that should the state begin to offer video visitation, that it would be free as well. New York City already has made phone calls free for prisoners, and other cities and states are also looking at following suit.
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