• Mexico: descent into chaosMexico Federal Police Take Delivery of UH-60M BLACK HAWK Helicopters

    The United States has delivered three UH-60M BLACK HAWK helicopters to the government of Mexico’s Federal Police; the aircraft are the first of six advanced helicopters designed to support Mexico’s law enforcement operations as part of the Merida Initiative, a security cooperation agreement between the two countries

  • Remote controlled police dogs

    Researchers at Auburn University are testing a new system that can help law enforcement and military personnel guide dogs remotely; the system relies on a non-invasive harness that contains a GPS unit, radio device, and sensors that can all be remotely controlled by a computer; vibrations and audio commands guide the dog; possible uses include dangerous surveillance situations where dogs are less suspicious, delivery of medical aid in hard to access places, and having a single handler direct multiple dogs; unlike unmanned drones or robots, dogs can easily avoid obstacles and harm

  • In Illinois, you could go to prison for using your Blackberry

    Illinois is one of twelve states with “two-party consent” eavesdropping laws on the books; audio recording a civilian in Illinois is a felony with up to three years in prison the first time you do it and up to five years if you do it again; the penalties are much stiffer, though, if you record certain people: audio-recording a law-enforcement officer, state’s attorney, assistant state’s attorney, attorney general, assistant attorney general, or judge in the performance of his or her duties is a Class 1 felony, punishable by up to fifteen years in prison

  • New meth database helps fight crime

    States are increasingly passing laws to establish electronic databases to track pseudoephedrine purchases to crack down on meth drug labs; Virginia, Indiana, Missouri, and Alabama have already implemented such databases, while large retail chains like Walmart, CVS, and Rite Aid maintain their own electronic databases; in 2008, 850,000 Americans were found to abuse meth; in 2009, the DEA discovered more than 10,000 meth labs, down from a high of more than 19,000 in 2004