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NYPD to receive stimulus money -- after Justice funds were denied
New York City officials were livid earlier this week after the Justice Department excluded NYC from law enforcement grants it gave cities that “needed it most” (among these cities: Caribou, Maine; Greybull, Wyoming; and Bayou La Batre, Alabama); DHS will now give NYPD $35 million in federal stimulus money
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Soldiers, first responders will self-power their gear
Soldiers and first responders will soon power electronic devices such as personal radios using just their own movements
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Taser shows multi-shot stun gun
The new device is capable of shocking three people without having to reload
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Cops tasered three kids, threatened one with sodomy
Police officers use tasers repeatedly on three youth in Illinois; a girl who tried to intervene is choked and locked in a closet
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The business aspects of get-tough immigration policy
The post-9/11 get-tough policy toward immigration has meant booming business for private prison-management companies; the building of prisons and detention centers is now a much-needed source of income for cash-strapped rural communities
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Houston computer forensics lab accredited
Newly accredited Houston lab expands Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory Network (RCFL), a national network of sixteen FBI-sponsored digital forensics laboratories and training centers devoted entirely to the scientific examination of digital evidence in support of criminal investigations
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U.S. secret service forms three new task forces
New task forces will deal with electronic crimes, and the agency says the partnerships will bring together law enforcement, academia, and private sector
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Senate moves to tighten federal buildings security
The GAO reported that undercover investigators were able to smuggle explosives-making materials into federal buildings, then assemble explosive devices — all without security guards being aware of what was taking place under their noses; the Congress is unhappy
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U.K. government: Best cyber defense is cyber offense
New National Security Strategy document includes, for the first time, a public cyber security strategy; unnamed high government source: “We don’t want to engage in cyber war but we can’t remain a target for criminals to take a pop at”
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Lockheed Martin in management contract continuation of FBI database
Lockheed martin wins $47 million, five-year contract to continue to manage the FBI’s criminal justice database; the contract calls for converting paper fingerprint, palm print, and photo records into high-quality electronic records for the FBI
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Drug smuggling becomes more sophisticated, II
Drug smugglers now use semi-submersibles which are 60 foot long and 12 feet wide fiberglass boats powered by a diesel engine, with a very low freeboard and a small “conning tower” providing the crew (usually of four) and engine with fresh air, and permitting the crew to navigate the boat
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U.S. cybersecurity chief says there is a lucrative market in malware
Philip Reitinger: “There is an entire community of people who are involved, organized crime is involved” in cybercrime underground market economy
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Knives: Rescue tools or edged weapons?
Few agencies have written policies regarding the use of knives as weapons; they need such policies, and they need training, because deploying a knife and cutting or stabbing another human being have significant ramifications to the officer; there are physical, psychological, and legal issues to consider
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Texas cop uses Taser gun on 72-year old combative granny
Kathryn Winkfein, 72, was stopped for doing 60 mph in a 45 mph zone; when she began to argue with the cop, he tased her
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Technology to prevent police friendly-fire accidents "nonviable"
Following a recent killing of a plain clothes policeman by fellow officers, the NYPD asked the Pacific Northwestern Laboratory to look into the possibility of developing a technology which would prevent such accidents in the future; PNL says such technology is currently nonviable
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The long view
Remotely Coerced Violence: 764, The Com Network, and the Hybridization of Threats
Nihilistic violent extremism is best understood as a victim-driven, youth-centered online ecosystem in which status, belonging, and identity are earned through the production, circulation, and escalation of harm. It combine sadistic online exploitation, cybercrime, self-directed violence, animal abuse, school-violence threats, and terrorist or violent-extremist conduct.
The U.S. Murder Rate Fell to Historic Lows in 2025 – Here’s Why
The murder rate in 2025 was the lowest in modern American history. Homicide rates have closely followed three trends over the past decade: alcohol consumption, drug abuse and firearm purchases. Now that the drug and alcohol crises are waning and gun purchases are falling, so too is the murder rate.