• Ogden, Utah police first-in-nation to use surveillance blimp

    A patrol car fitted with all of the police extras cost $40,000; a surveillance blimp will cost well below that — possibly as low as $15,000; after that, it is $100 a week to keep it filled with helium and charge its electric batteries; the police in Ogden, Utah, decides this is a good deal

  • Challenging conventional wisdom on border security

    Two new papers say that if the United States is serious about border security, then instead of building bigger walls or throwing more resources at empty enforcement efforts, the United States should adopt strategies that address real threats to U.S. border security — drug cartels

  • Can citizens legally -- and secretly -- record police officers in action?

    Technological advances have raised questions concerning the constitutionality of new police methods (for example, attaching a GPS device to a suspect car without the police first obtaining a warrant to do so); there are legal issues on the other side of the equation — that is, whether or not citizens are constitutionally protected when doing video or audio recording of police officers in action

  • New vest offers GPS tacking and other information

    Canadian company Laipac Technology is showing its S911 GPS Vest which the company describes as “a high coverage assault protection designed for military, tactical law enforcement and VIP personnel that demand the highest protection.”

  • Detroit police disarm IED found in restaurant

    On Sunday, an improvised explosive device was found in the restroom of a Detroit restaurant; police confirmed that it was a bomb and successfully disarmed it

  • Expert questions DHS grants for rural communities following 9/11

    In the decade since 9/11, the U.S. government has poured more than $1.3 million into the rural community of Ross County, Ohio, which some argue is a waste of federal resources; the funds were ostensibly designed to prevent terrorism, but much of the money has been spent to bolster emergency response capabilities in the event of a major disaster whether it be natural or manmade

  • Researchers show facial-reading lie-detector

    New lie detecting system records subtle clues that people give off when lying, such as increased blood flow around the eyes, tiny lip movements, or nose twitching; one of the major selling points of such technology would be its use in situations where the person being targeted does not know they are being tested

  • NYPD remains on high-alert following 9/11

    Officials in New York remain on high-alert following the warning issued by DHS that terrorists might be plotting an attack on the city for the ten-year anniversary of 9/11; NYPD have pulled back the additional security measures put in place for the ten-year anniversary like checkpoints at ports of entry and bridges, but remain on vigilant for a potential bomb attack

  • Supreme Court to rule on age of "Big Brother" surveillance

    This November the Supreme Court is gearing up to hear a landmark case which will decide how far law enforcement agencies can pry into an individual’s private life; federal judges argue that the use of GPS surveillance by law enforcement is an “Orwellian intrusion” into private life and violate the Fourth Amendment; meanwhile police say GPS tracking is simply a more efficient way to tail a suspect’s car or track their movements, things they can currently do without a warrant

  • $1.1 million order for Implant Sciences' portable explosives detectors

    Implant Sciences Corporation, a developer of explosives detection technology, recently announced that it had received a $1.1 million order for its portable explosives detection systems; with the latest purchase, Implant Sciences will supply its Quantum Sniffer QS H-150 portable devices to the Middle East for use by critical infrastructure operators

  • Counter-terrorism expert: Domestic radicalization "blown out of proportion"

    David Schanzer, the director of the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security and an associate professor in Public Policy at Duke University, discusses the over inflation of the threat from domestic radicalization, ways to prevent young Muslim Americans from becoming radicalized, and the opportunity that the Arab Spring has presented the United States

  • Immigration offenses make Latinos new majority in prisons

    A new government report found that Latinos now account for more than half of all felony offenders sentenced this year as a result of immigration offenses; the report released on Tuesday by the U.S. Sentencing Commission revealed that Latinos comprised 50.3 percent of all people sentenced in the first nine months of this fiscal year

  • Gait biometrics shows promise

    A new biometric technology may soon join retinal scans, voice recognition, and fingerprints as a means to identify individuals: gait pattern biometrics; a method of identifying individuals by the way they walk, saunter, swagger, or sashay has achieved accuracy of about 90 percent in early trials

  • Taser-related fatalities raise safety concerns

    As police across the United States increasingly turn to Taser guns as a non-lethal weapon, the device’s safety has come under scrutiny following several recent deaths involving Tasers; last week the Fayetteville police department in North Carolina recalled all of its Taser M26 units following the death of a fifty-six year old political activist who died after being stunned by police

  • NYPD works with suburban police to stop terrorism

    In the ten years since 9/11, the New York City police department (NYPD) has worked to forge closer ties with local police departments in an effort to stop terrorist attacks; “The idea is to add rings of security,” explained chief inspector John Hodges of the Westchester County police; “What’s changed since 9/11 is New York City has learned that people who might want to bring something into New York City will have to infiltrate from somewhere outside,” he said