• Handwriting analysis offers alternate lie detection method

    Israeli researchers discover that with the aid of a computerized tool, handwriting characteristics can be measured more effectively; they have found that these handwriting characteristics differ when an individual is in the process of writing deceptive sentences as opposed to truthful sentences

  • CCTVs do not help U.K. cut crime

    The United Kingdom has around four million CCTVs installed (one camera for every fourteen people); it takes 1,000 CCTV cameras to solve a single crime, London’s Metropolitan Police has admitted

  • Blocking emergency exits to boost evacuation rates

    Placing an obstacle in front of an emergency exit door accelerates the pace at which people evacuate a room; the reason: by blocking access to the door from one side, the obstacles prevents too many people from occupying the area right in front of the door

  • Mustard-gas leak detected in Denver Army base

    No emergency at Army Pueblo Chemical Depot; the depot has 780,000 mustard-gas-filled projectiles that are about 60 years old; the 2-foot-long artillery shells were brought to the Pueblo depot in 1952; crews investigate

  • Simulation to help in preparing for wildfires

    Increasingly complex systems which combine simulation and monitoring tools could help emergency services prevent future ecological disasters on the scale witnessed in Greece this week

  • U.K. considers Taser's latest device

    Taser’s new “eXtended Range Electronic Projectile” is, according to the company, “the most technologically advanced projectile ever deployed from a 12-gauge shotgun”; the Home Office considers equipping policemen with the device

  • The technology: Israeli scientists find way to combat forged DNA

    Forensic DNA profiling is today one of the most powerful tools applied on crime scenes, and is often used to convict or acquit suspects in rape and murder cases

  • The company: Nucleix fighting biological identity theft

    Its assay technology is in advanced stages of development. Several patents have already been granted; CEO Elon Ganor made his name mainly at VocalTec, a company that pioneered telephony over Internet

  • Police to use DNA "mugshots" as a predictive tool to narrow search

    Scientist say that rather than simply try to match DNA to individuals already in their database, DNA should be used to suggest what a suspect might look like

  • Pentagon asks Congress for funds for 30,000 bunker-busting bombs

    Intensifying the preparations for an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the Obama administration has asked Congress for funds to accelerate production of a 30,000-pound “ultra-large bunker-buster” bomb designed to destroy deeply buried installations

  • Justice sues bulletproof vest manufacturer for using faulty materials

    The Justice Department sues Massachusetts-based First Choice Armor for knowingly using faulty material in the bulletproof vests they sold the military and law enforcement; the company used Zylon, which degrades quickly, especially in hot and humid conditions

  • TeleContinuity, SRA to support national communication system

    TeleContinuity will help the National Communications System’s (NCS) national security and emergency preparedness programs in providing critical continuity of communications expertise, preserving the ability of federal agencies to maintain Continuity of Government (COG) when it is most vital - during disasters, emergencies, evacuations, or pandemics

  • Radiation safety

    A new book — Radiation Safety: Protection and Management for Homeland Security and Emergency Response — helps first responders, EMS, and medical personnel understand how to detect and cope with nuclear incidents

  • The cat did it: man blames cat for child porn downloads

    A Florida man who was arrested for possessing child pornography says his cat jumped onto his computer keyboard while he was in another room; according to the man, the cat’s walking back and forth on the keyboard resulted in 1,000 images of child porn being downloaded from the Web and stored on the PC’s hard drive

  • Pakistani jihadists attacked Pakistani nuclear sites three times since 2007

    When Pakistan was developing its nuclear weapons infrastructure in the 1970s and 1980s, its main concern was that India would overrun these nuclear weapons facilities in an armored offensive; Pakistan thus chose to locate much of its nuclear weapons infrastructure to the north and west of the country — but this decision means that most of Pakistan’s nuclear sites are close to or even within areas dominated by Pakistani Taliban militants and home to al-Qaeda