• Oklahoma police to get wearable cameras

    Police officers in Owasso, Oklahoma may soon all be wearing video cameras on their bodies; patrol cars already house cameras in their dash board to record a police officer’s actions, but the Owasso Police Department wants each of its thirty-nine agents to wear a camera at all times; the cameras are designed to increase transparency, accountability, and help stop “the constant litigation that police face on a basis, complaints, and false accusations” by providing undisputable video evidence of what occurred; the cameras will cost $900 per unit

  • High School students build Florida police a robot

    In Rockledge, Florida, the local police department just purchased a new remote controlled robot that is equipped with a video camera, night vision, a gas canister launcher; rather than spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase the robot from a defense company, the Rockledge police department turned to local high school students; the robot can handle any terrain, launch grenades, and is strong enough to drag a person; it is also outfitted with a speaker and a microphone to enable two way communications in addition to a police throw phone that can be deployed during hostage negotiations; the robot cost $6,000 whereas similar professionally made robot would have cost more than $100,000

  • Alabama proposes law enforcement technology fund

    The Alabama State Legislature is currently considering a bill that proposes adding a $10 technology fee to court costs in Chilton County; the fee is aimed at offset the rising technology costs of local law enforcement agencies; local police departments are struggling to comply with state mandates that require local agencies to electronically file tickets and other reports; the state has not provided funding to help departments pay for the operation and maintenance of computer systems; if the fee had been in place last year, it would have generated approximately $90,000