Subject: [NEXTEL-1] [justnetnews] November 6, 2003 - NLECTC News Summary

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 11:42:19 -0500

NLECTC Law Enforcement & Corrections Technology News Summary
Thursday, November 6, 2003
             
***************************HEADLINES************************

"Putting the Clamp on Boozers" 

"Intelligence Guide Updated" 

"Purdue to Help the U.S. Improve Internet Security" 

"As Courts Move Into Wired World, New Legal Problems Arise" 

"New Tasers Hit Target for Police" 

"Growing Use of Private Police Network Raises Concerns" 

"Panhandle Law Enforcement Agencies Get New Technology" 

"Fortifying the Syracuse PD" 

"Intelligent Transportation" 

"Gov't Launches Bomb, Arson Tracking Plan" 

"Getting the Most From Your Agency's Web Site" 

"How to Start an Air Support Unit" 

"Digital Video in a Cigarette Pack" 

"Safety by Satellite" 

"Sharing Works Wonders" 

"DNA Analysts Help Build Database of Convicted Felons" 

"High-Tech Access" 

***************************ARTICLES*************************

"Putting the Clamp on Boozers" 
Rocky Mountain News (10/27/03) P. 1B; Fillion, Roger 

The Secure, Continuous, Remote, Alcohol Monitoring (SCRAM)
device is undergoing a pilot test to see if it will live up
to expectations. It is an ankle bracelet that can provide
24-hour monitoring for the presence of alcohol and can track
a subject's drinking pattern by measuring alcohol vapors
leaving the body. The device, made by Alcohol Monitoring
Systems, sends the data to a secure Web site using wireless
technology, and a probation officer can download the
information. "This is almost off the charts in terms of
what's out there," says corrections program manager Joe
Russo of the University of Denver's National Law Enforcement
and Corrections Technology Center. One expert predicts that
the device could keep alcohol abusers sober, put problem
drinkers in treatment and keep them off the street, and
reduce corrections costs for local governments. SCRAM has an
anti-tampering alarm as well, and Hennepin County, Minn.,
officials say that the 25 units they have deployed so far
are performing as advertised; they are used on people
charged with felony DWI. When the device detects alcohol
consumption, officials get a court order to jail the
offender until they can go before a judge to answer
questions about their alleged infraction. SCRAM can test as
often as every 30 minutes.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/technology/article/0,1299,DRMN_49_2378881,00.html 

"Intelligence Guide Updated" 
Washington Post (11/05/03) P. A6; Schmidt, Susan 

State and local law enforcement officials would be given
access to national-security intelligence information
gathered by the FBI under terms of new data-sharing
guidelines. The FBI would be empowered to share some
national-security intelligence with state and local
officials "for the purpose of preventing or responding to a
threat to national security or public safety," according to
the new guidelines. The information shared could include
warnings about specific groups or individuals, but
classified information would be available only to those with
the proper credentials. The guidelines will be a boon to
local authorities, who have complained in the past that the
FBI's threat information is not helpful because it is vague.
In addition, the guidelines also broaden the FBI's ability
to gather intelligence by ruling that the FBI may use all
legally permitted "authorities and investigative
techniques," meaning that the FBI will be allowed to use the
same investigative tools during a preliminary investigation
as it normally would in a full investigation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A495-2003Nov4.html 

"Purdue to Help the U.S. Improve Internet Security" 
Indianapolis Star (11/03/03); Berggoetz, Barb 

The National Science Foundation, along with the federal
Department of Homeland Security, has financed Purdue
University, the University of California at Davis, and
Pennsylvania State University, with a combined three-year,
$10.8-million grant to create a national system that will
let businesses and researches test new ways of fighting
cyber attacks.
http://www.indystar.com/articles/3/089099-1943-009.html 

"As Courts Move Into Wired World, New Legal Problems Arise" 
Associated Press (10/31/03); Fields, Dana 

At the recent National Center for State Courts' eighth
annual Court Technology Conference in Kansas City, Mo.,
participants discussed the complications surrounding the
implementation of court technology, including whether or not
divorce records should be posted on the Internet, or whether
a crime victim's testimony by way of a live video connection
would violate the defendant's constitutional right to face
his or her accuser. Certain of these issues must be dealt
with by each state as the situation arises, while other
issues mandate states to make policy decisions as they place
their trial court records online. To help them, judicial
experts from around the United States have created model
guidelines on what to post, what to retain just on paper,
and what should continue to be regarded by court employees,
attorneys, and other parties such as law enforcement
officials. The model's suggestions include keeping Social
Security numbers offline, making certain records available
only at a courthouse via the Internet, and keeping the
addresses of domestic violence victims out of Internet
records. http://www.ap.org 

"New Tasers Hit Target for Police" 
Fort Myers News-Press (10/30/03) P. 12L; Runnells, Charles 

Since implementing 100 new M26 Advanced Air Tasers in July
2003, the officers from the Florida-based Cape police
department have used the non-lethal weapons in 13 separate
incidents. Previously, officers would be forced to subdue
fleeing or unruly suspects with a baton, risking injury to
the suspect and the officer. The Taser, which is shaped like
a handgun, sends two needles to the suspect's body at a
range of 21 feet. The needles send 26 watts of electricity
into the suspect, which results in cramped muscles and a
timeframe where officers can take control of the situation.
The growing popularity of Tasers, with 3,500 police
departments and sheriff's offices using them, points to the
product's unique ability to allow officers to gain control
without causing harm or risking injury. Amnesty
International opposes the use of Tasers, and the non-lethal
weapon is potentially linked to a few heart attack deaths. A
study is currently being conducted to study whether drugs or
the Taser were responsible for the deaths. Law enforcement
students who were shocked by a Taser as part of their
training admit that it hurts, but believe the method is the
safest last resort way to control suspects.
http://www.news-press.com 

"Growing Use of Private Police Network Raises Concerns" 
Associated Press (10/30/03); Howe, Patrick 

The Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association has for the past
two years connected the case files of law enforcement groups
throughout the state to construct a searchable system police
can access to share data on individuals that their officers
have contact with--the Multiple Jurisdictional Network
Organization (MJNO). Recently, however, people who have come
under scrutiny due to the network are contesting its
existence, including Scott Chapman, a Minnesota citizen who
was stopped by police at a political rally where he was
carrying a protest sign, and had his bag searched. Chapman
later discovered that the police were suspicious of him
because they searched the MJNO and found Chapman had asked
for, but not given permission for, a concealed carry permit
needed to sport signs at political rallies. Chapman's
attorney, David Gross, contests the accuracy of the data and
the security of the network, and feels the system should be
turned off because it was never approved by the Minnesota
Legislature and does not comply with parts of the state's
Data Practices Act; Chapman's case had caused legislators to
start questioning the validity of the MJNO.
http://www.ap.org 

"Panhandle Law Enforcement Agencies Get New Technology" 
Associated Press (10/30/03) 

New computers, scanners, and poster printers have been
acquired by the Alliance Police Department and the Box Butte
County Sheriff's Office in the panhandle of Nebraska. The
two jurisdictions can also link to the nationwide Lost Child
Alert network with new software. The advantages of the
network over an Amber alert is that information can be sent
faster and the requirements for posting a case are not as
strict, as it can be used to find a missing person of any
age. Alliance Police Chief John Kiss stresses that Amber
alerts will still be utilized when warranted.
http://www.ap.org 

"Fortifying the Syracuse PD" 
Wi-Fi Planet (10/28/03); Stone, Adam 

Tampa, Fla.-based Fortress Technologies is supplying its
AirFortress Wi-Fi network security tool to the Syracuse,
N.Y., police department. Pat Phelps, the police department's
IT specialist, says that the decision to use AirFortress was
based partially on the fact that AirFortress has received
the federal government's FIPS 140-1 certification.
AirFortress is considered secure enough for use by the U.S.
military. Phelps says the police department's technology
specialists have been unable to find a weakness in the
AirFortress system. The police department also plans to hire
white-hat hackers to see if they can uncover a weakness. Ken
Evans, vice president of marketing at Fortress Technologies,
says that AirFortress differentiates itself from other
products by incorporating access control, encryption, and
mutual authentication into "a single, centralized security
platform." Evans says that users have testified that
AirFortress is simple to use. The Syracuse police department
will use AirFortress to provide security for wireless access
in interview rooms and at various police department hotspots
around the city, where police will be able to access
sensitive data.
http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/columns/article.php/3099971 

"Intelligent Transportation" 
Washington Technology (10/13/03) Vol. 18, No. 14, P. 34;
Welsh, William 

State highway authorities believe an increasing number of
state and local agencies will turn to smart transportation
systems to enhance existing infrastructure, improve traffic
patterns, and reduce bottlenecks. Intelligent transportation
systems (ITS) also have potential applications for safety
and homeland security. To this end, the Bush administration
has proposed the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient
Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA), which includes a
request of approximately $1.7 billion for ITS. Smart systems
can gather information on accidents, for example, and convey
findings to transportation officials for construction
projects, according to H.T. Vaught, managing director of
transportation solutions for state and local government at
BearingPoint, based in McLean, Va. In the area of homeland
security, ITS can help improve response times during
emergencies, says Ray Bjorklund, vice president of market
intelligence with McLean-based market research firm Federal
Sources. ITS can also help agencies cooperate on
decision-making since data sharing would be facilitated. The
merging of transportation and security needs is evident in
the $24 million emergency command center in Austin-Travis
County, Texas, designed by Northrop Grumman, says Bruce
Bauer, manager of transportation systems for Northrop
Grumman. The center contains both the area's 911 emergency
dispatch system as well as the transportation operations
hub.
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/18_14/cover-stories/21872-1.html 

"Gov't Launches Bomb, Arson Tracking Plan" 
Newsday (11/04/03) 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has
established a new $500,000 Internet-based data system that
will provide all U.S. law enforcement agencies with
information about arson and bombing cases throughout the
United States. Qualified agencies will be able to use the
system for free to keep tabs on arson and bombing cases
anywhere in the country. The aim of the system is to provide
law enforcement agencies the ability to quickly access data
about arson or bombing crimes in their jurisdictions. The
system offers maps of the crime locations and other
information about the bombings or arsons, including the
materials used to set off an explosion or fire, the dollar
amount of damage caused, and information on any casualties.
http://www.newsday.com 

"Getting the Most From Your Agency's Web Site" 
Police and Security News (10/03) Vol. 19, No. 5, P. 35;
Onder, James 

The Internet and other advanced communication technologies
give law enforcement agencies more avenues to address public
concerns. Newer technologies allow law enforcement officials
to raise awareness about crime or safety concerns, and
provide the latest updates to the community. Law-enforcement
Web sites also provide citizens with another means to
contact law enforcement by sending emails. Police Web sites
can offer newspaper articles assessing their performance to
site visitors, in addition to conducting public opinion
polls, providing budgetary figures, and posting information
concerning complaints against the police department. Police
departments can also use their Web sites as a recruitment
tool to attract interest from qualified candidates for law
enforcement positions and cut the administrative costs
associated with forging a relationship with local
communities. Web sites can educate visitors about the most
common crimes in their communities, intersections where
accidents commonly occur, and provide search options for the
National Center for Missing and Abused Children.
http://www.policeandsecuritynews.com 

"How to Start an Air Support Unit" 
Police (10/03) Vol. 27, No. 10, P. 24; Means, Kevin P. 

Police aviation units can greatly enhance fire, SWAT,
patrol, investigative or other missions. But several issues
must be addressed prior to creating such a support unit,
such as an agency's long-term dedication and its
availability of funds. Since air support units are typically
managed at an airport and unseen by officials at the main
office, the aviation unit should continually promote itself
to the rest of the organization. Another important question
is selecting types of aircraft, based on what functions the
agency wants the aircraft to perform in what environment.
Agencies should contact existing units to get advice and ask
them what they would do differently if they had to create
the unit again. Acquiring only fixed-wing airplanes might be
appropriate for units that plan to operate over expansive,
thinly populated areas, since they are less expensive to
obtain and maintain, are usually faster than helicopters,
and can be outfitted with infrared systems and other gear;
helicopters are more suited to flying over large cities,
making unplanned landings, and hovering. Other important
issues that agencies need to tackle include regular
training, contract maintenance versus agency maintenance,
and who performs management duties. With regards to pilot
selection, insurance companies have been satisfied when
agencies hire civilian pilots as pilots in command (PICs)
and sworn pilots as Tactical Flight Officers (observers),
who are also being concurrently trained to fly the aircraft.
http://www.policemag.com 

"Digital Video in a Cigarette Pack" 
Law Enforcement Technology (10/03) Vol. 30, No. 10, P. 150;
Kanable, Rebecca 

Tactical Surveillance, based in Chippewa Falls, Wis., has
developed a new surveillance device called Tardis that
incorporates several features into a single tool. Tardis
functions as a digital video recorder as well as a wireless,
two-channel FM audio/video receiver. Bureau of Technical
Services CEO and private investigator James Greenwold says
he conceived of Tardis to decrease the amount of gear needed
by law enforcement, such as a MiniDV recorder. The device
also eliminates the need to upload tape to a computer hard
drive to edit or zoom. "Tardis records everything on a hard
drive in the first place," he says; the user simply takes
the drive out of Tardis and places it into the PCMCIA slot
on a notebook computer. The cigarette pack-sized Tardis
allows 110 minutes of recording time at high resolution, and
provides longer recording times at lower resolutions. Tardis
is currently offered in three versions: Radio frequency
(RF); RF with a docking port; and Tardis SPI, which permits
on-the-body recording with wired components (the latter is
available only through Security Products International in
Pottstown, Penn.) These versions can operate as a regular
camcorder, event recorder, delayed start recorder, and a
time lapse model based on user settings, and also come with
their own cases resembling Marlboro cigarette packs.
http://www.law-enforcement.com 

"Safety by Satellite" 
Government Technology (10/03) Vol. 16, No. 13, P. 58; Brown,
Justine 

School systems are emerging as one of the newest markets for
Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. Schools have
turned to the technology due to increasing concerns about
school violence, school bus hijackings, terrorist attacks,
and kidnapping. GPS technology allows parents and school
officials to keep track of students' whereabouts, even if
the student happens to be on a field trip 3,000 miles away.
California-based Wherify Wireless produces wireless
location-detection products and services, including a GPS
locator that a child can wear like a wristwatch. The locator
can pinpoint a child's location to within 30 meters. Parents
can track their child's location by logging onto the Wherify
Wireless Web site and entering a security code; the site
gives parents tracking options, including viewing their
child's location on a street map similar to the kind found
on MapQuest. If parents determine there is an emergency with
their child, they can use the site to declare an emergency
or call Wherify and the company will call 911. Some schools
are using GPS technology to track students' movements as
they arrive and depart from campus, while other schools have
tested the technology on school buses.
http://www.govtech.net/magazine/story.php?id=72717&issue=10:2003 

"Sharing Works Wonders" 
Government Technology (10/03) Vol. 16, No. 13, P. 18;
Harris, Blake 

As in many other small communities across the country,
police departments in Stearns County, Minn., were unable to
share information resources among themselves due to a lack
of technical coordination. The county's Information Services
(IS) Department teamed up with then-Stearns County Sheriff
Jim Kostreba in 1998 to link up the county's 15 police
departments via a system dubbed Automated Public Safety
(APS). The biggest obstacle was trying to win the
endorsement of police chiefs accustomed to acting
independently and convince them to work jointly with county
sheriffs, says George McClure, director of Stearns County's
IS department. Originally valued at $1.5 million, the APS
system was based on several modular applications from
VisionAir, including a computer-assisted 911 dispatch
system, a mobile computing system, a collaborative records
management system, a unified prison management system, and
secure email. Local police departments would only be
responsible for purchasing computers for police vehicles and
department offices and paying for licenses; all other
functions would be carried out by the county, including
technical support, implementation wiring, and design
consulting. Today, the system allows county-wide sharing of
dispatches, criminal backgrounds, investigation data, jail
records, and National Crime Information Center data, even
from a police vehicle's notebook PC. And because the system
operates via a wireless IP network with countywide servers,
people cannot overhear radio-based communications through
scanners, says McClure. The APS also features mapping
capabilities and the ability to show the location of any
officer in real time.
http://www.govtech.net/magazine/story.print.php?id=73182 

"DNA Analysts Help Build Database of Convicted Felons" 
Associated Press (10/29/03); Saxton, Michelle 

West Virginia-based Marshall University master's
degree-level graduates in the school's forensic science
program are analyzing DNA of convicted, violent offenders by
using the FBI's Combined DNA Index System, also known as
CODIS. Using CODIS, which allows national law enforcement
officers to share DNA information, researchers are
attempting to solve active and cold crime cases. CODIS has
almost 1.5 million DNA profiles that helped investigators in
more than 9,800 investigations, including two cases in West
Virginia. The entire process is confidential with only
specific CODIS officials aware of offenders' identities. The
process begins when the state Division of Corrections
collects blood samples from offenders and sends them to the
State Police Lab in South Charleston, where information
pertaining to each offender is entered into a computer and
samples are assigned a bar code to maintain anonymity; blood
stains are then furnished by the lab and sent to the CODIS
lab, where analysts extract and replicate DNA samples and
analyze them via capillary electrophoresis. Once this is
reviewed by a second analyst, the DNA information is sent to
State Police CODIS administrator Lt. Brent Myers for a third
assessment, and then about 5 percent of the samples are
re-tested at the State Police Lab for quality control. The
data is loaded into the CODIS software, and fed into the
National DNA Index System. http://www.ap.org 

"High-Tech Access" 
Security Products (09/03) Vol. 7, No. 9, P. 32; Luciani,
Doug 

The threat of terrorism has made vehicle-access control a
priority in many places, including critical infrastructure
facilities like water-treatment plants. A new breed of
vehicle-access security devices has emerged to replace the
more traditional approach of security guards and telephone
entry systems, which are limited in the scope of security
they can provide. The new wave of vehicle-access control
technology consists of separate elements--security cameras,
database management, Internet communication, and video
conferencing technology--that are integrated and interact as
one system. Hidden Eyes Guard Service produces a
patent-protected vehicle-access control system that not only
provides or denies access to vehicles, but also takes
time-and-date-stamped pictures that include the rear part of
the vehicle and the driver's face. These images are stored
in a database along with other identifying information that
can be accessed easily or sent to law enforcement personnel
in the event of a security breach. The Hidden Eyes Guard
Service features computer-equipped kiosks that are placed at
entry locations; the computer system comes replete with
high-speed secure Internet access, cameras, video
conferencing software, a monitor, and speaker and
microphone. Terry Wenzel, the developer behind the Hidden
Eyes Guard Service, notes that telephone entry systems do
not provide a means for recording the name of the guest, the
name of the person who authorized the guest's entry, or
information about the vehicle. Technologies such as the
Hidden Eyes Guard Service are easy to use and
cost-effective, the latter of which is very important in
today's economy. http://www.secprodonline.com

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