• Liverpool police use thermal-imaging UAV to track and capture a car thief

    Police in Liverpool used thermal-imaging device housed in a UAV to track down and capture a car thief; the technology allowed the operator to use live images of the suspect’s body heat to guide other officers to the man’s hiding place

  • U.S. Navy SEALs receive new airlock mini-sub

    The U.S. Special Operations Command wants to replace the standard “wet” Swimmer Delivery Vehicles (SDVs) with a new and enlarged pocket submarine; a mini-sub with a proper pressure hull and an airlock would allow attacking frogmen to travel dry to their target

  • Revolutionary water treatment system may make coping with disaster easier

    Researchers develop a revolutionary waste-water treatment device which uses little energy, is transportable, scalable, simple to set-up, simple to operate, comes on-line in record time, and can be monitored remotely; new system cleans influent wastewater within twenty-four hours after set-up to discharge levels that exceed the standards established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for municipal wastewater

  • Soteria to replace U.K.’s search-and-rescue helicopters

    The U.K. government wants to harmonize search and rescue (SAR) in the United Kingdom and replace current helicopters in operation with a bespoke capability; the government has chosen a helicopter from the Soteria Group which consists of Sikorsky, Thales, CHC Helicopter Corporation, and the Royal Bank of Scotland

  • BAE Systems completes first flight test of persistent surveillance

    The ARGUS-IS offer a new real-time persistent surveillance capability for U.S. combat forces to detect, locate, track, and monitor events on battlefields and in urban areas — providing significantly greater video coverage over current airborne capabilities

  • U.S. losing ground in the global defense industry

    The U.S. global dominance of the defense industry is eroding; Russia and China encroach on formerly assured markets, while South Korea, Australia, Pakistan, and India will emerge as strong competitors in the industry

  • U.K. police looking for PC crime breathalyser

    U.K. e-crime cops turn to technology to boost frontline forensics; the Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU) is looking for “digital triage” tools that would give frontline police with little training in digital forensics the ability to search for anything from text in e-mails relating to stolen goods to illegal images

  • Aussie scientists make artificial silk

    Scientists have for decades tried to find a way artificially to produce insect silk; Aussie scientists report they have found a method to do so; the tough, lightweight textiles could be used in personal protection equipment such as bulletproof vests and helmets, and in many other applications

  • Homeland security challenges for the Washington D.C. police, II

    Cathy Lanier, the chief of the Washington, D.C. police, says the one thought that keeps her awake at night is the threat that has not occurred to anyone — the failure of imagination as to what may come next; “What is it that we haven’t thought of that could happen?…That still scares me because I know it is there”

  • Homeland security challenges for the Washington D.C. police, I

    Protecting the U.S. capital on a local level poses unique challenges, but it also offers advantages; the police department must accommodate both traditional local concerns and diverse needs related to the presence of multiple federal government and military organizations; yet, the department also can tap those myriad government agencies for vital resources and information that help it counter or respond to terrorist threats

  • Testing 4G technology for national public safety network

    A 4G mobile telecommunications technology would make a major contribution to the proposed nationwide public safety network on the 700 MHz radio band because it would give emergency responders access to advanced communications technologies and massive data files (video, mapping, and GPS applications, etc.) at faster speeds from anywhere in the country

  • How much is that armored Armani? Bogota taylor specialize in bulletproof fashion wear

    Talk about a fashion statement. The latest hot thing in Colombia: bulletproof fashion wear; Bogota tailor counts many South American leading politicians – and their wives – among his clients; the tailor, Miguel Caballero, says that he sees a receptive U.S. constituency for his ware: “the hip-hop people maybe will be a big market”; if you want to apply for a job with Caballero, be warned: after a garment is finished, a company employee puts it on and the company owner shoots the employee; if the employee survives, the garment is sold to the celebrity who placed the order for it

  • DARPA looking to edit soldiers’ DNA to boost performance

    DARPA has budgeted $7.5 million in hopes of “increas[ing] by several decades the speed with which we sequence, analyze and functionally edit cellular genomes”; the agency is also looking for a cybersecurity system which will not rely on technicians to patch security holes once they are found, but will instead have the instincts to go it alone

  • Super Bowl, Winter Olympics, soccer World Cup take extra security measures

    The organizers of three big sporting events – the Super Bowl, the Winter Olympics, and the soccer World Cup – are taking extra security measures to ensure the safety of participants and spectators; The Winter Olympics’ security budget initially projected at $175 million now tops $900 million, and the force for the games will include more than 15,000 people, a surveillance blimp hovering over Vancouver, and more than 900 surveillance cameras monitoring competition venues and crowd-attracting public areas; at the Super Bowl, nearly everyone entering the stadium will be subjected to a pat-down search; exceptions would be a police officer in uniform, a player in uniform, and the president of the United States

  • Next-generation gear: Digital revolvers, personal rubber bullets, triple-tasers

    The Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas offers many futuristic gadgets for law enforcement and security-minded citizens; Armatix shows a hand gun with a wireless safety residing in a wrist watch: if you do not wear the wrist watch, the gun will not operate; Burris has built one of the most sophisticated rifle scopes ever seen: it has a laser rangefinder that can automatically adjust your sights to compensate for the fall of each bullet over long distances; there is much more