• Five years on: Israel-Hezbollah 2006 war

    Five years ago today, a war broke out between Israel and Hezbollah after Hezbollah fighters made a foray into Israel, killing several soldiers and carrying the bodies of two of them back into Lebanon; despite the uneven scale of death and damage — Israel has inflicted much more damage on Hezbollah and Lebanon — the war was initially perceived as an Israeli defeat because Israel was unable to stop Hezbollah from firing rockets into Israel during the entire conflict; more recently, though, this initial conclusion has been revised somewhat, with some analysts pointing out that the Israel-Lebanese border has been quiet during the past five years — the longest period it has been so quiet; a respected Israeli military analyst says that the 2006 war was an Israeli failure — and unless Israel changes its definition regarding who the real enemy is, the next Israel-Hezbollah war will be and Israeli failure as well

  • Divorce leads to approval of GPS tracking in New Jersey

    A divorce case in New Jersey has resulted in the first time a state court has approved the use of GPS devices to track individuals; last week a New Jersey appellate court ruled against a man who sued his ex-wife for placing a GPS device in the car she and her husband shared

  • Pilot programs reduce texting while driving by at least one third

    Two pilot programs launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) aimed at minimizing texting while driving have reduced the practice by at least one third; the programs ran for one year starting in April 2010 and used a combination of stepped up law enforcement and public information campaigns in Syracuse, New York and Hartford, Connecticut

  • Peachtree City police win technology award for traffic enforcement

    The Peachtree City police department in Georgia recently won the annual National Law Enforcement Challenge’s Technology award for its innovative approach to traffic safety; with the use of a “data driven” approach to traffic safety, the Peachtree City excelled in occupant protection, deterring driving under the influence, and enforcing speed limits

  • Also Noted

    GPS tracking rules * License plate readers are “hot” * NC police get help online * 25 years for LoJack * PA police get patrol car web access

  • Sensors printed on wetsuits detect explosives, other hazards

    UC Sand Diego researcher has successfully printed thick-film electrochemical sensors directly on flexible wetsuit material, paving the way for nano devices to detect underwater explosives or ocean contamination; UCSD has a full U.S. patent pending on the technology, and has begun talks on licensing the system to a Fortune 500 company

  • North Carolina jail investigated for immigration violations

    A jail in North Carolina is currently under federal investigation on charges that local law officers mistreated detainees held as part of an immigration enforcement program; the investigation comes at the request of the state’s American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) which requested that DHS officials investigate the Wake County jail based on fifty-seven complaints made by individuals detained there in 2009 and 2010; the complaints stem from the 287(g) program which allows local police officers to enforce federal immigration laws

  • New technology increase potency of beam weapons

    Laser scientists and engineers have long recognized that direct-diode lasers can offer significant advantages over other laser technologies due to their efficiency, reliability, compactness, and relatively low cost; applications for direct-diode lasers have been limited, however, owing to their low brightness — a combination of lower power and poorer beam quality relative to alternative laser technologies; a Massachusetts-based company, using wavelength beam combining (WBC) technology, is offering a way to solve this problem — allowing direct-diode lasers to be used in demanding industrial applications — and in effective beam weapons

  • Louisiana parish plans extreme weather alert system

    Emergency officials in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana are considering installing warning sirens that would alert residents of dangerous weather; officials hope to install sixty towers throughout the Parish; authorities are currently conducting feasibility studies to determine if installing the sirens is practical and a financial possibility

  • Roving robot can rescue people, detonate bombs

    Northeastern University student-researchers have created a roving robot that can locate and rescue victims of natural disasters or participate in military missions that are too dangerous for soldiers; students created a complex algorithm that would enable the robot to locate people — or even bombs that are detonated through mobile phones

  • Key to coping with disasters: neighbors

    A political scientist who had moved to New Orleans only weeks before Hurricane Katrina concluded that neighbors — and cooperation among neighbors — are more important for surviving, coping with, and recovering from disasters than ambulances and fire trucks and government aid; to make sure his observations were more than anecdotal, he visited disaster areas around the world, and his data show that his personal experiences reflect a larger truth

  • Clip-on camera helps Mississippi police

    The small police force at Walls, Mississippi, has technology on its side: a $60 clip-on camera, the size of a pack of gum, which the officer attaches to the front pocket of his or her uniform; the cameras hold a small memory card, capable of recording hours of evidence; the cameras have never been challenged in court

  • Butte County police lobbies for armored vehicle

    For the second year in a row local law enforcement officials in Butte County, California are rallying to obtain grant money to help purchase an armored vehicle; if money from 2011 DHS grants is allocated to Butte County by the state, officials say it would be used to purchase an armored vehicle for the Butte County Sherriff’s Office and Chico

  • FAA studies general aviation airports

    There are 368 primary airports in the United States — and 2,950 nonprimary, or general aviation, airports; the FAA is now studying the roles and functions of these general aviation airports; general aviation airports provide a variety of functions, ranging from access for emergency medical services, disaster relief, aerial firefighting, law enforcement, and border control to agricultural functions, flight training, charter passenger and time-sensitive air cargo services, among others