• Pilot programs reduce texting while driving by at least one third

    Two pilot programs launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) aimed at minimizing texting while driving have reduced the practice by at least one third; the programs ran for one year starting in April 2010 and used a combination of stepped up law enforcement and public information campaigns in Syracuse, New York and Hartford, Connecticut

  • Peachtree City police win technology award for traffic enforcement

    The Peachtree City police department in Georgia recently won the annual National Law Enforcement Challenge’s Technology award for its innovative approach to traffic safety; with the use of a “data driven” approach to traffic safety, the Peachtree City excelled in occupant protection, deterring driving under the influence, and enforcing speed limits

  • Also Noted

    GPS tracking rules * License plate readers are “hot” * NC police get help online * 25 years for LoJack * PA police get patrol car web access

  • North Carolina jail investigated for immigration violations

    A jail in North Carolina is currently under federal investigation on charges that local law officers mistreated detainees held as part of an immigration enforcement program; the investigation comes at the request of the state’s American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) which requested that DHS officials investigate the Wake County jail based on fifty-seven complaints made by individuals detained there in 2009 and 2010; the complaints stem from the 287(g) program which allows local police officers to enforce federal immigration laws

  • Clip-on camera helps Mississippi police

    The small police force at Walls, Mississippi, has technology on its side: a $60 clip-on camera, the size of a pack of gum, which the officer attaches to the front pocket of his or her uniform; the cameras hold a small memory card, capable of recording hours of evidence; the cameras have never been challenged in court

  • Butte County police lobbies for armored vehicle

    For the second year in a row local law enforcement officials in Butte County, California are rallying to obtain grant money to help purchase an armored vehicle; if money from 2011 DHS grants is allocated to Butte County by the state, officials say it would be used to purchase an armored vehicle for the Butte County Sherriff’s Office and Chico

  • New Haven, Connecticut police begin installing security cameras

    New Haven police plan to install twenty-one surveillance cameras in the city’s hot spots for crime. The cameras will give officers a 360 degree view of an area’s streets and sidewalks; police hope that the cameras will help reduce New Haven’s rising violent crime rate; in the first half of 2011, more than eighteen people have been killed

  • Austin fights to keep federal money to battle cartels

    With federal lawmakers struggling to reduce spending and cut the deficit, Austin, Texas, could lose as much as $2 million in federal grant money that it uses to combat Mexican drug cartels; on Tuesday, Austin police chief Art Acevedo and Representative Michael McCaul (R-Texas) urged lawmakers not to cut their funding citing the fact that the city is a dangerous hub for drug cartels

  • U.S. spends $90 billion on border security, drugs keep pouring in

    A recent study found the United States has spent an estimated $90 billion over the past decade to secure the U.S - Mexico border with mixed results;annual border spending had tripled over the last decade; the increased spending has helped curb illegal immigration, but for Mexican drug cartels business is booming and they are smuggling more drugs than ever into the United States

  • SWAT Team in Washington acquires heavily armored vehicle

    The Tri-City Regional SWAT Team in Tacoma, Washington recently received a major boost to its arsenal of crime fighting tools;thanks to DHS grants, the Tri-City Regional Swat Team was able to purchase the BearCat, a $292,000 armored personnel carrier; the vehicle is heavily armored and is capable of stopping .30-caliber ammunition

  • Wireless fingerprint readers help police fight crime

    Using a new wireless device, police across the country are now able to quickly and accurately identify a suspect in the field; using RapID, a small handheld unit, officers can read a suspect’s fingerprint and check it against a database for any matches; if any matches are found the device will pull up the person’s real name, date of birth, gender, and race, making it more difficult for criminals to use a false identity

  • DHS urges greater vigilance for Independence Day, but no threats

    As Americans across the United States prepare to celebrate the nation’s birth on 4 July, DHS is urging law enforcement agencies and individuals to remain vigilant; in its latest Security Awareness bulletin, DHS is careful to note that there is no “specific or credible information” that al Qaeda is planning an attack, but did say that al Qaeda had aspired to execute attacks on the symbolic holiday

  • Documents reveal drug cartels' secret weapons, techniques

    The recent attack on Arizona’s Department of Public Safety by LulzSec has revealed that law enforcement officials in the Southwest are battling drug cartels that use a variety of sleek gadgets and hidden weapons; the sensitive documents published by LulzSec show that smugglers have become increasingly clever using a variety of methods to sneak drugs past border officials; the cartels have hollowed out cell phones to plant 180,000 volt stun guns or a .22 caliber pistol

  • New radar gun spots tailgaters

    Tailgating has long been a dangerous practice causing many fatal highway accidents, yet law enforcement agencies have struggled to effectively enforce the law as they lacked the proper equipment to document and prosecute violators;without definitive proof, cases involving tailgating were difficult to win in court, but a Colorado based company may have sold this problem; Laser Technology Inc. (LTI) has developed a device it calls Distance Between Cars (DBC)

  • Supreme Court to hear GPS tracking case

    The 220-year old Fourth Amendment to the Constitution offers protection against unreasonable searches; the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving the police secretly attaching a GPS device to a suspect’s car to monitor his movement; the question before the Court: does the secret placement of a GPS device on a suspect’s car in order to keep tabs on him for an extended period of time require a search warrant