Law Enforcement Technology

  • Law-enforcement technologySurveillance and evidence capture tool comes to U.S.

    Evidence collection, location data, surveillance, and illumination all rolled into one handheld torch is making its U.S. debut at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) and Exposition, Tampa Convention Centre, Florida, from 22 to 24 May 2012

  • UAVsFAA moves on integrating drones into U.S. airspace

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) now allows a government public safety agency and first responders to operate drones weighing 4.4 pounds or less in the U.S. air space, but under certain restrictions: these drones should be used for training and performance evaluation, they must be flown within the line of sight of the operator, less than 400 feet above the ground, during daylight conditions, inside Class G (uncontrolled) airspace, and more than five miles from any airport or other location with aviation activities; the FAA says that if safety agencies then apply for a waiver, the agency will allow the operation of drones weighing up to twenty-five pounds

  • Maps for first respondersOhio University students develop 3-D maps to help first responders

    A group of Ohio University students has created a 3-D building mapping program to help first responders in safely responding to emergencies ranging from fires to terrorist attacks

  • License-plate readersHigh-tech license plate readers effective, but raise ethical issues

    The use of license-plate readers by police is growing, raising privacy concerns; cameras mounted atop the cruiser capture thousands of images a day; a computer inside the car checks the license plates against various crime databases, including wanted suspects, stolen vehicles, and sex offenders

  • EavesdroppingFBI seeking wiretap-ready Web

    As communications have changed in recent years from the traditional telephone system to the Internet, the FBI has found itself facing greater difficulty in carrying out surveillance operations; the agency is asking Internet companies not to oppose a coming proposal which would require them to provide a surveillance backdoor

  • Emergency communicationLMR market to reach $16.2 billion by 2017

    Next generation mobile/wireless technologies continue to suffer from coverage and reliability issues, which are key considerations for law enforcement, emergency medical services, disaster recovery, and other public safety applications; as a result, a large number of critical services continue to remain committed to narrowband analog connectivity such as a Land Mobile Radio network; this is good news for the future of the LMR market.

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  • Law-enforcement technologyStun guns increase chances of citizen injury, but protect police officers

    Across the United States, some 260,000 electronic control devices, or stun guns, are in use in 11,500 law enforcement agencies; the use of these stun guns by police significantly increases the chances of citizen injury, yet also protects the officers more than other restraint methods, according to the most comprehensive research to date into the safety of stun guns in a law enforcement setting

  • Behavioral recognitionReason-based behavioral recognition system wins award

    A reason-based behavioral recognition system for video surveillance developed by Houston, Texas-based BRS Labs wins an award at London’s Counter Terror Expo

  • UAVsSeattle police takes steps to quell drone concerns

    The Seattle Police Department recently acquired a small camera-equipped drone, but it remains unused while city policymakers work to calm privacy concerns

  • Acoustic detectionKansas City to deploy ShotSpotter technology

    Kansas City police and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority have agreed jointly to deploy the Shot Spotter, an acoustic technology that provides detailed information on gunshots fired

  • DNA collectionMaryland police defy court decision, continue to collect arrestees DNA

    Police departments around Maryland will continue to collect arrestees DNA despite the state top court’s ruling by a five-to-two decision that such collection is a violation of Fourth Amendment rights to privacy

  • ResearchOklahoma University gets DHS research grant

    The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC)  was awarded a $490,000 grant from DHS for a 2-year study of how law enforcement officers utilize awareness of their surroundings to collect and then analyze intelligence related to potential terrorist threats

  • Law-enforcement technologyBaltimore police to videotape confessions

    More and more police departments are videotaping suspects’ confessions, and presenting these recordings as evidence during legal proceedings; the cost of recording equipment has declined, but all these recordings must be catalogued and stored, and must be accessible upon request, adding to the total cost of system ownership and operation

  • Law-enforcement technologyIdentifying ammunition, gun used to commit a crime

    New, Raman spectroscopy-based gun-shot residue (GSR) analysis technique would make it possible for forensic investigators to match minute amounts of GSR to the exact type of ammunition, and the caliber of the gun, used to commit a crime

  • Video clarification technologyThe technology behind the Zimmerman arrest video

    Van Nuys, California-based Forensic Protection was asked by ABC News to clarify the grainy video showing George Zimmerman being brought to the Sanford Police Department headquarters; the video clarification work was so good, other media outlets used it (even if they attributed the technical work to ABC News); Forensic Protection insists that its client not disclose what it is that they are seeking or looking for in the clarification process: this allows the results of the clarification to stand on their merit