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New Jersey towns warm up to electronic traffic ticketing
Officers will be able electronically to issue summonses and tickets for moving and nonmoving violations in a fraction of the time it takes to write them by hand; the efficiency should free officers to do more police work — a benefit as departments deal with reduced manpower, said officers and advocates of the technology
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Strongest-ever nano-material developed
Israeli scientists develop a revolutionary new ball-shaped nanostructure — fully derived from very simple organic elements yet strong as steel; potential uses of the nanotechnology include bullet-proof vests, medical implants, space, and aviation applications
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Sector Report for Tuesday, 2 November 2010: Emergency / Police / Mil.
This report contains the following stories.
Plus 1 additional story.
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ISC Solutions 2010, II: Highlighting practices, technologies that work
In keeping with the mission of ISC Solutions, speakers on a variety of panels will demonstrate and discuss practical solutions to security problems and practices that have proven successful; practitioners from law enforcement and first response communities will share their experiences in the field
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Ford shows stealth version of its custom Interceptor police car
Ford is showing the stealth version of its new police Interceptor sedan; the black concept car with tinted windows and disguised lights — until they start blazing in a driver’s rearview mirror — has been lowered an inch and appears wider to give it a more sinister look
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Accessing, sharing critical crime information across the county
Yuma County, Arizona, deploys multi-agency, interoperable data-sharing solutions which allow first response, law enforcement, and public safety agencies in the county to access and share critical crime and safety information county wide
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HTS has 50 percent of the cargo container monitoring system market
In addition to monitoring cars on the road and in parking lots by reading these cars’ license plates, HTS’s systems are also in use at ports to track containers entering and exiting the facility by land and by sea; mounted on cranes and port gates, the system enables the identification of hundreds of thousands of cargo containers, and crosschecks them with their manifests to make sure they are being offloaded at the correct location and contain the right cargo
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Canada introduces legislation to fight crime in today's high-tech world
The Canadian government has reintroduced two bills that would provide law enforcement and national security agencies with up-to-date tools to fight crimes such as gang- and terrorism-related offences and child sexual exploitation; the proposed legislation would provide law enforcement agencies with new, specialized investigative powers to help them take action against Internet child sexual exploitation, disrupt on-line organized crime activity and prevent terrorism
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Bombs in flight -- Friday's false alarm not false
Friday’s emergency activity concerned with finding explosive devices initially reported as a false alarm — early reports indicated no explosives were found; this proved to be wrong in subsequent reports, live devices containing PETN were found in the U.K. and Dubai; in the instance of the Dubai device, the bomb package had been flown on two passenger flights; U.S. intelligence analysis identify bombmaker; Yemeni authorities arrest and later release female student on suspicion of complicity
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New cotton fabric stays waterproof through 250 washes
Most waterproofed fabrics lose their super-hydrophobic properties after only one or two washes, and they become uncomfortable to wear because they do not allow air flow through the material. In contrast, the new fabric, which according to the researchers looks almost identical to ordinary cotton fabric, is completely impermeable and breathable, and retains its properties even after being laundered many times
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False alarm at U.S., U.K. airports
Several United Parcel Service flights arriving at U.S and U.K. were moved to areas isolated from other aircraft, and searched for explosive devices; to this point no explosives have been found
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Boeing shows a plane-helicopter combo
The DARPA-funded, Boeing-developed DiscRotor combines the hovering ability and landing control of a helicopter with the high-speed, high-altitude flight capabilities of a plane, something that could be of use especially in military situations
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Four vans go from Italy to China -- without driver or map
Four vans, equipped with four solar-powered laser scanners and seven video cameras that work together to detect and avoid obstacles, successfully ended an 8,000-mile test drive from Italy to China; the sensors on the vehicles enabled them to navigate through wide extremes in road, traffic, and weather conditions
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U.S. Army tests robot batteries-and-bandwidth war-mules
The U.S. army remains determined to kit out all its ground troops with portable, wearable networking gear which will provide them with communications as well as an accurate idea of where everyone is; trouble is, when you have to generate your own wireless coverage as you go from the same kit, this means a lot of power — and this, in turn, means a crippling load of batteries; Lockheed Martin has a solution
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Unease grows as Chinese telecom behemoth gains foothold in U.S.
China’s Huawei Technologies — a company linked to the People’s Liberation Army, and which has been repeatedly accused of stealing software designs and infringing on patents — is now the world’s second-largest telecom equipment supplier behind Ericsson of Sweden, and with Chinese government backing, it has sewn up major deals in Asia, Africa, and Latin America; a $3 billion in advanced wireless equipment deal with Sprint Nextel will give entry into the U.S. communication market — and this has lawmakers and security experts worried
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More headlines
The long view
How Quickly Could Iran Make Nuclear Weapons Today?
By David Albright
For Iran, two of the three poles in the tent of building nuclear weapons – fissile material and delivery vehicles — are essentially complete. It will take them one week to enrich enough uranium to 90 percent for one bomb (and one month to enrich enough uranium for six bombs). Iran also has a variety of delivery systems, including nuclear-capable missiles: the delivery pole is ready. Weaponization is the pole that needs more work. The accelerated weaponization program can be accomplished in a matter of six months.
Fifty-Five Hours of Risk: The Dangerous Implications of Slow Attack Attribution
By J. D. Maddox
Assuming that its foreign adversaries’ recent violent threats are to be taken seriously, and that the likelihood of a direct attack against the United States is, if not on the rise, at least significant enough to warrant serious attention, the United States has an urgent mandate to prepare effective cognitive defenses. Foremost among these is the ability to quickly and accurately attribute attacks to their originators, and to deliver that information to the public through a trustworthy vehicle.
What Can We Learn from the Nation’s Historic Decline in Murders?
By Champe Barton
The U.S. endured a spike in gun violence during the pandemic, but it’s subsiding in many places. A researcher puts the latest homicide statistics into context — and warns lawmakers not to become complacent.
Is Left-Wing Terrorism Making a Comeback in Germany? Analyzing the “Engel – Guntermann Network”
By Christian Jokinen
For Germany, the reemergence of more violence orientated left-wing extremist actors has diversified the threat posed by non-state actors even further. Violent left-wing extremism is also of growing concern across Europe. While left-wing violent extremism does not currently represent as acute a threat as currently manifested by jihadist and right-wing terrorist attacks, the recent concerning trend among German left-wing extremists is toward greater violence and transnationalism.
Saving Seconds, Saving Lives: NIST-Funded Challenge Crowns Winners in 3D Tracking Technology
NIST has awarded $1.9 million to six teams for innovative 3D tracking solutions in the final phase of a competition. The winning designs combine localization and biometric monitoring, using sensors affixed to first responders’ equipment. This competition is part of an $8 million NIST-funded initiative to address first responders’ need for improved tracking in emergency settings where GPS falls short.
For First Responders, Communication with Their Teams is Essential
When a first responder enters a building during an emergency, they count on being able to communicate with their team at all times. Their safety and their ability to carry out the mission relies on knowing they can reach help and support anywhere that they need to go within a structure.