Criminal Justice Technology in the News

Law Enforcement News

Simple But Effective — NYPD Turns to Rope and Wedge to Help Contain Emotionally Disturbed People
New York Daily News, (05/29/2019), Rocco Parascandola
The New York Police Department has recently added a three-item kit to nearly 1,600 patrol cars, equipping officers with a rope, a wedge and a shield to deploy when dealing with emotionally disturbed persons. Officers use the rope to secure doors and hold individuals in one room while they attempt to use de-escalation tactics. The wedge can be used against doors that open outward and the shield offers some protection while they attempt to de-escalate the situation.
Link to Article

Charter School Shows Off New Shooter Detection System
Rhino Times, (05/29/2019), Scott D. Yost
Phoenix Academy, a charter school located in High Point, N.C., will serve as the beta site for a video-integrated active shooter detection system. If a shot is fired in the school or the fire alarm is pulled, the system automatically alerts first responders and provides access to the school's security cameras to local law enforcement and dispatch.
Link to Article

Computer Algorithm Helps Reopen Dozens of Chicago Cold Cases
WPSD Local 6, (05/30/2019), Associated Press
Research performed by the Murder Accountability Project, which uses a computer algorithm to analyze U.S. homicides, has led to the Chicago Police Department's re-opening 51 similar cases involving women found dead in some of the city's poorest areas. The group has had success with similar efforts; in 2010, its analysis found a pattern among 15 unsolved cases in Indiana, and four years later, a man confessed to killing seven of the women. In Chicago, police have yet to report any breakthroughs or find a firmer connection between the cases.
Link to Article

When Minutes Matter: Boone County Law Enforcement to Get Donation of Trauma Kits
Kokomo Tribune, (05/30/2019), Gus Pearcy for CNHI News Indiana
Every law enforcement vehicle in Boone County, Ind., soon will be equipped with one of 256 trauma kits thanks to a donation from the Central Indiana Police Foundation. Officers must have two hours of training before they are issued a kit, which could be used to save the officer's own life or the life of another person who has suffered a traumatic injury.
Link to Article

Albany Police Launch Therapy Dog Program
WAMC, (05/30/2019), Jesse King
In Albany, N.Y., a 15-month-old chocolate Lab named Maxie will soon receive training that will allow her to act as a therapy dog for the city's police officers. By just being around the department, the dog will help officers handle stress; therapy dogs often receive credit for lowering blood pressure and just generally helping individuals cope. The department has plans to add a second dog to the program in near future.
Link to Article

The First Ever K9 Cop Critical Care Course Kicks Off in Hartford
Fox 61, (05/30/2019), Jim Altman
Using a training tool called Axel the Sim Dog, canine handlers are participating in a new course at Hartford Hospital's Center for Education, Simulation, and Innovation. The course teaches them immediate first aid that they can provide to their canine partners; it is being taught with assistance from the Connecticut State Police.
Link to Article

Kan. Ambulance Transformed Into Community Outreach Vehicle
EMS World, (05/30/2019), Tim Hrenchir
The city of Topeka, Kan., has repurposed an ambulance into a community outreach vehicle that will provide medical attention and mental health outreach to homeless and low-income residents. Staff will include a paramedic, a police department crisis intervention team member, a homeless outreach advocate and a licensed mental health professional. Project goals include reducing unnecessary 911 calls as well as providing treatment to those in need.
Link to Article

Have You Seen This New Columbia Police Department Car? You Haven't? That's the Point
The State, (05/31/2019), David Travis Bland
All-white patrol cars with nearly invisible, reflective decals will help make neighborhoods safer in Columbia, S.C. The decals glow when illuminated by a light source, such as headlights, but are difficult to see otherwise. Officers will use the cars when conducting DUI and public safety checkpoints and otherwise patrolling for unsafe drivers. Other agencies in the area already use similar vehicles.
Link to Article

Officer Saved by Bulletproof Vest After Being Shot by Virginia Beach Gunman
13NewsNow, (05/30/2019), Elizabeth Eisele
A Virginia Beach police officer survived the mass shooting attack in the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on May 31 because he was wearing his ballistic-resistant vest. The officer, who responded to the call for a man shooting indiscriminately at staff, was one of several injured survivors of the attack.
Link to Article

SC Trooper Shot Following Traffic Stop 'in Good Spirits' After Release From Hospital
WBTV, (06/02/2019), Bria Bell
A stop for a seat belt violation ended with a South Carolina state trooper's being shot on June 2 near a campground in York County. Trooper Paul Wise was treated and released from a nearby hospital after his ballistic-resistant vest apparently saved his life. Wise managed to wound and apprehend the suspect.
Link to Article

Corrections News

Maine Will Soon Offer Medication-assisted Treatment to Inmates Struggling With Opioid Addiction
BDN MidCoast, (06/03/2019), Lauren Abbate
Some 100 to 150 inmates in Maine will receive medication-assisted treatment, counseling and other services to combat addiction as part of a pilot program funded by Groups: Recover Together. The pilot, which launches in July, is the first of its kind in the state. In addition to helping individuals overcome addiction, the program also aims to help them transition back into the community.
Link to Article

Taking the Healing Power of Dance to Prisons
Chronicle of Philanthropy, (06/04/2019), Maria Di Mento
Launched in Denver in 2015, the Dance to Be Free program teaches dance classes, combining elements of various styles, to incarcerated women at 13 facilities in eight states. The classes help them cope with stressors such as depression, despair, PTSD and complex trauma.
Link to Article

Making Inmates Ready for Jobs
The Intelligencer & Wheeling News-Register, (06/05/2019)
This editorial focuses on a program that teaches minimum security inmates gardening and landscaping skills, ultimately resulting in their certification by the Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association. The program benefits inmates by teaching them job skills they can use on release and also provides free labor to entities that could not afford professional landscaping help.
Link to Article