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Public Safety Technology in the News
April 02, 2013 posted by Steve Brownstein
High-Tech NYPD Unit Tracks Criminals Through Facebook and Instagram Photos
DNAInfo.com, (03/25/2013), Murray Weiss
The New York Police Department has a new Facial Recognition Unit, which uses technology to compare mug shots of known criminals with images drawn from social media and surveillance cameras to help NYPD detectives solve crimes. NYPD officers can search for photos on sources such as Instagram and Facebook, then submit them to the Unit for research.
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FAA grants Arlington Police Department Permission to Fly UAVs
GizMag, (03/19/2013), Francis X. Govers III
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently granted the Arlington (Texas) Police Department permission to use two small helicopter unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) under certain conditions. The aircraft must fly under 400 feet, only in the daytime, remain in sight of the operator and a safety observer, and maintain contact with the control tower at Dallas-Fort Worth airport. The UAVs measure approximately five feet in length and fly for about an hour on one battery charge. A department representative said the UAVs will not be used for pursuit or traffic enforcement, but rather for uses such as taking crime scene photos or looking for missing persons.
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Edgartown Police Demonstrate High Tech Equipment
MVTimes.com, (03/20/2013), Steve Myrick
Edgartown, Mass., recently allowed the town’s selectmen to use their new training simulator, which uses actual video footage from local schools and public buildings in emergency role-play scenarios. Officers use simulated weapons and flashlights to train in various realistic scenarios, such as an active shooter in a school, and selectmen got their chance to see how the training actually works.
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Police Clicking Into Crimes Using New Software
Boston Globe, (03/18/2013), Aaron Lester
Nucleik, a software developed by three Harvard University engineering students as a class project, is being tested by a special unit combatting gang violence in Springfield, Mass. Nucleik helps police organize all the information they have gathered during surveillance of gangs. It can be used as either a mobile app or a desktop tool.
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As Social Media Evolves, Police Keep Up
HispanicBusiness.com, (03/25/2013), Allison M. Roberts
Using social media as a law enforcement tool also requires agencies to keep up with changing technology. Police agencies can mine social media for information, use it to communicate with and gather information from the public, and monitor criminal activity - all of which both prove extremely helpful tools and create more work.
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Council OKS Interact 9-1-1 Software Package
Equities.com, Reprinted from The Lebanon, Ind., Reporter, (03/15/2013), Rod Rose
A decades-old system in Boone County, Ind., will be replaced by a new software system that combines 911 dispatch, computer-aided dispatch, record keeping, crime mapping, jail management and reporting, each previously a separate system. The new “master system” will be accessible to all county courts, prosecutors, firefighters, police officers and emergency responders, and will be based in the Cloud.
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Crims Outed by Vic Cops’ Facial Recognition System
CRN, (03/20/2013), Darren Pauli
The police department in Victoria, Australia, has been using an internally developed facial recognition system since 2010 that to date has registered no false positive alerts, and even distinguished between identical twins who were trying to swap identities. Photos must adhere to strict positioning criteria to be deemed useful, however.
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Virtual Crimes Yield Real-life Experience
Daily Comet.com, (03/25/2013), Katie Urbaszewski
Officers with the Thibodaux Police Department recently participated in video simulation training previously used only by cadets enrolled at the Laforce Parish, La., training academy, thanks to the efforts of the department’s new full-time training officer. The training officer is re-recertifying officers in police driving, CPR and Taser use as well.
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