Criminal Justice Technology in the News

Law Enforcement News

Kearney Area Police Officers Get Training in Social Media to Improve Communication With the Community
Kearney Hub, (04/24/2019), Kim Schmidt
Police in the area of Kearney, Neb., are being encouraged to use social media to improve communication with the community. Some police leaders are encouraging officers to have professional Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, although it won't be required.
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IUPD Updates Training, Use of Data and Tools Available to Officers
Indiana University, (04/24/2019), Tracy James
The Indiana University Police Department has made changes in training, the use of data and the less-lethal tools — both mental and physical — provided to officers. Officers said during focus groups that they wanted more options for dealing with heated situations and the kinds of resistance they encounter in nonstudents. New training and equipment to support this is being implemented at IUPD divisions on all campuses.
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New Bulletproof Gear Will Allow Firefighters to Get into 'Wound Zones' Faster
Click2Houston, (04/24/2019), Vincent Crivelli
Houston firefighters recently received body armor and ballistic helmets to help protect them when responding to dangerous situations, such as active shooter scenes. The ballistic protection could allow responders to get into 'wound zones' quicker, before the scene is stabilized.
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Local Law Enforcement Agencies Snag $130,000 for Body Armor
Cincinnati Enquirer, (04/24/2019), Jeanne Houck
A group of 320 law enforcement agencies in Ohio will split nearly $2.7 million in state grants for body armor. Under the program, agencies can receive up to $40,000 each with 25 percent of matching funds.
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Woods Cross Police Experimenting With Gun-Mounted Cameras
Standard-Examiner, (04/24/2019), Mark Shenefelt
Police in Woods Cross, Utah, are experimenting with gun-mounted cameras, envisioning a new layer of transparency. Gun-mounted camera packages include high-definition video, microphone, tactical light and secure holster.
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DPD Introduces Pilot Program to Reduce Vehicle Pursuits
Thedenverchannel.com, (04/24/2019), Tony Kovaleski, Stephanie Butzer
The Denver Police Department is testing a vehicle pursuit management system that gives officers an alternative to pursuing a fleeing vehicle. Police patrol vehicles equipped with StarChase will use compressed air to deploy a nonlethal adhesive GPS tracking tag onto a fleeing suspect vehicle.
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Cape May County Dispatch Center Rolls Out New 911 System
The Press of Atlantic City, (04/30/2019), Molly Bilinski
The Cape May County dispatch center has a new system that pinpoints the location of a 911 call made on a cell phone within 150 feet. The RapidSOS program, part of a Next Generation 911 emergency response service, will allow the dispatch center to locate the origin of the call instead of the nearest cell phone tower.
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Corrections News

Maryland's Prison Population Drops to 1980s levels, Continuing a Multi-Year Decline
The Baltimore Sun, (04/24/2019), Christine Zhang
Maryland's prison population has fallen below 18,000 for the first time in nearly three decades. According to a report released by the Vera Institute of Justice, 17,815 people were held in Maryland's state prisons at the end of last year, which is a prison incarceration rate of 295 per 100,000 residents — a 1.7 percent drop from the rate in 2017. Over the past decade, the rate has fallen by nearly 29 percent.
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County Jails Struggle With a New Role As America's Prime Centers for Opioid Detox
NPR, (04/24/2019)
This article discusses efforts by jails to help drug-addicted inmates, such as adding some form of medication-assisted treatment to help inmates safely detox from opioids and stay clean behind bars and after release.
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