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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Four International Hacking Suspects Charged with Racketeering

            WASHINGTON – A criminal indictment and four arrest warrants were unsealed today charging an American, a Slovenian, a Serbian, and a Spaniard with a racketeering conspiracy to develop and distribute malware through the major computer hacking forum known as Darkode.

            U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu for the District of Columbia, and John Selleck, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.

            Thomas McCormick, aka fubar, 26, of Washington state, in the United States; Matjaz Skorjanc, aka iserdo aka serdo, 32, of Maribor, Slovenia; Florencio Carro Ruiz, aka NeTK aka Netkairo, 40, of Vizcaya, Spain; and Mentor Leniqi, aka Iceman, 35, of Gurisnica, Slovenia, are each charged with racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.  The racketeering conspiracy charge includes conspiracy to commit bank, wire, and access device fraud, identity theft, hacking, and extortion.  McCormick is also charged with five counts of Aggravated Identity Theft.  The indictment was filed under seal on Dec. 4, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  McCormick was arrested on Dec. 10, 2018, at the FBI’s Washington Field Office in Washington, D.C.  Skorjanc, Leniqi, and Ruiz remain fugitives.

            As alleged in the charging documents, Darkode was a criminal organization centered around an online, password-protected criminal forum where high-level international hackers and other cyber-criminals convened to develop, buy, sell, trade, and share hacking tools, information, and ideas.  Before becoming a member of Darkode, prospective members were vetted through a process in which an existing member invited a prospective member to the forum to present the skills or products that he or she could bring to the group.  Darkode members allegedly used each other’s skills and products to infect computers and electronic devices of victims around the world with malware and, thereby gain access to, and control over, those devices. 

            The charges are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  The maximum penalty for a racketeering conspiracy to commit bank fraud is 20 years of incarceration.  The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud is 30 years of incarceration.  The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted of any offense, a defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            The investigation into this matter was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office with assistance from Europol and their European Cyber Crime Center (EC3).

            Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. Dominguez and Peter V. Roman of the Cyber Crime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case. The Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Organized Crime and Gangs Section, and the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division provided significant assistance.

Criminal Justice Technology in the News

Law Enforcement News

Kansas Bureau of Investigation to Staff $1M Cybercrime Unit
The Topeka Capital-Journal, (05/23/2019), Tim Carpenter
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation will create a new investigation unit to focus on cybercrimes targeting the state and citizens. Officials say the agency will assign eight personnel to the unit. The FBI's internet crime center reported losses by Kansas victims of cybercrime rose from $3.9 million in 2015 to $17 million in 2018.
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Chicago Police Turn to Virtual Reality Technology to Train Officers in How to Deal With the Mentally Ill
Chicago Tribune, (05/22/2019), Jeremy Gorner
The Chicago Police Department will use virtual reality technology to help in training police officers on how to deal with people experiencing mental health episodes. The technology allows users to view computer-simulated scenarios through special headgear. The training covers how officers should react to people with schizophrenia or autism.
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Virginia District Equips Schools With Trauma Kits, Emergency Response App
Campus Security & Life Safety, (05/24/2019), Jessica Davis
Gloucester County Public Schools is equipping its campuses with trauma kits and an accompanying emergency response app. The GCPS Safety Committee decided to purchase the Mobilize Public Access Rescue station for all campuses, along with the Mobilize Rescue App. In an emergency, a civilian can use one of the Rescue Station's Individual Public Access Kits, open the Mobilize Rescue App on a smartphone and follow the app's instructions to manage cardiac arrest, seizures and other medical problems while emergency responders head to campus.
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Southern California Police, Deputies Being Issued Antidote for Opioid Overdoses
The Press-Enterprise, (05/26/2019), Brian Rokos
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department in California is among the latest law enforcement agencies to provide its deputies with Narcan, which is used to reverse opioid overdoses. Already this month, the department said, deputies revived an unresponsive woman who had overdosed on heroin and methamphetamine. There were 140 opioid overdose deaths in Riverside County in 2017, the most recent year for which such data is available, the California Department of Public Health said.
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As Rural Police Departments Struggle to Attract Officers, a New Utah-Based Program Offers a Potential Solution
Deseret News, (05/27/2019), Gretel Kauffman
A Utah State University program allows aspiring law enforcement officers in rural Utah to earn their Peace Officer Standards and Training certification through online night classes. The program, which also incorporates hands-on training with local law enforcement, is aimed at helping small, isolated departments hire more people who already live and work in their communities.
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Corrections News

How an HVAC Program is Reducing Recidivism and Saving Energy in Virginia
CorrectionsOne.com, (05/23/2019), Phillip Lowery
The Virginia Department of Corrections has a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) vocational program to provide inmates with marketable skills as well as optimize its building performance and reduce energy costs. The Green HVAC Vocational Program teaches inmates technician training in learning labs equipped with HVAC equipment and controls.
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SC Prisons Changing the Way Inmates Are Classified and Housed
The Post and Courier, (05/28/2019), Andrew Brown
South Carolina prison officials are rolling out a sweeping policy change that will give the state more discretion in deciding where to locate inmates in the state's 21 correctional institutions. Agency officials say the change is to encourage good behavior and better ensure the safety of prisoners. Under the current system, prison officials classify each inmate based largely on the severity of the crime and the length of the sentence, and the classification determines which prison will house an inmate. The new rules weigh other considerations such as prisoners' age, medical situation, criminal history and gang affiliations when deciding where to place them.
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