• Afghan insurgents have found ways to destroy MRAPs

    The Pentagon has spent more than $26.8 billion to develop and build three versions of the largest Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles, or MRAPs, totaling some 16,000 vehicles, mostly for the Army and Marine Corps; another $5.4 billion is being spent to produce 5,244 M-ATVs, the smaller version that U.S. defense officials contend offers as much protection as the large models do, but is more maneuverable and better suited to Afghanistan’s dirt tracks and narrow mountain roads; insurgents in Afghanistan have found ways to cripple, and even destroy, the vehicle

  • Iraqis use "magic wand" at checkpoints to detect explosives; U.S. officer: this is "laughable"

    The Iraqi government has spent tens of millions of U.S. aid dollars to buy thousands of “magic wands” which are supposed to detect explosives at checkpoints; one American officer says the device works “on the same principle as a Ouija board”; another officer says that to believe the claims of the British company which is selling the device, and of the Iraqi authorities that swear by it, “would be laughable” — except that people are dying as a result; “[the company and Iraqi government have] crossed an insupportable line into moral depravity” he says

  • Gait-recognition biometric technology to help soldiers manning checkpoints

    SET Corporation is developing a technology which directs low-power radar beams at people — who can be 50 yards or more away; early research indicates that this method could one day be augmented with video-analysis software that spots bombers by discerning subtle differences in gait that occur when people carry heavy objects

  • Black-market cigarettes could fund terrorism, RCMP fear

    Canadian authorities worry that the booming black market trade in cigarettes could be used to finance terrorism; many Indian reservations are used as bases for the illicit trade

  • New communication system to help protect soldiers in the field

    The new technology will use arrays of highly specialized antennas that could be worn by combat troops to provide covert short-range person-to-person battleground communications; the technology will lead to advanced wireless systems that would enable small squads of soldiers to share real-time video, covert surveillance data and tactical information with each other via helmet-mounted visors

  • Critics of dog-scent lineups charge such lineups are "junk science"

    Law enforcement has relied on dogs for many years for scent tracking or sniffing out drugs or explosives; dogs have become more and more popular in what is called dog-scent lineups, in which dogs are supposed to determine whether the scent of anyone in a police lineup was present at the crime scene; critics say this not much more than junk science

  • No acoustic detection system for Indianapolis housing project

    The Indianapolis Housing Authority secured a $100,000 grant and the Department of Public Safety had awarded a contract ShotSpotter in July; the vendor backed out of the contract, the grant expired, and the deal fell apart

  • FBI says facial recognition not ready for prime time

    An FBI expert said that facial recognition does not figure in the FBI’s biometric strategy; he said facial recognition could have been a killer application — but it cannot; “The algorithms just do not exist to deliver the highly reliable verification required. This is even though the FBI has been evaluating facial recognition technology since 1963,” he said

  • DHS in trials of next generation multiband radio

    Emergency communication interoperability is getting closer as the day of the single-band radio is coming to an end; DHS’ S&T is testing a multiband radio for emergency services

  • New device to "smell" human fear

    City University London’s researchers launch a project aims to develop two sensor systems that can detect the unique chemical signature of the fear pheromone, assessing the stress of an individual and interpreting it in security-critical contexts

  • Awareness of DHS's NECP is low, but its promise is high

    CDW-G reports finds that just half of public-safety communications professionals were familiar with the NECP, yet when briefed, almost all believe it could address their communications challenges

  • Guarding the guardians in South Africa

    Criminals in South Africa found a new way to make money: they open security companies; there are two advantages to these ventures: they get paid for their “security” services, and they are able to learn all they need to know, for their own criminal purposes, about the organizations they are supposedly protecting

  • Humanoid robots to help people in hazardous environments

    Current calculations required for robots’ handling objects and avoiding collisions are based on movements in the XYZ coordinates, and are sensitive to any minor deformations in the environment, such as a flexible object that would cause the calculations to be invalid; researchers offer a new way to govern robots’ movement

  • Dallas cops cite drivers for "not speaking English"

    Is it a crime not to speak English? It is — in Dallas, Texas: half a dozen Dallas cops have given tickets to thirty-eight drivers for having an inadequate command of the English language

  • A-T Solutions acquires anti-terrorism firm

    Trancite software products help with crime and accident scene investigations; other products help with site inspections and surveys; the company also has tools for investigating and analyzing terrorist attacks; this is A-T Solutions’ second acquisition in four months