Swine Influenza Outbreak
from Disaster Prep 101
The outbreak of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection is continuing to develop in the United States and internationally. Existing cases have been linked to the virus strain found in Mexico. The CDC has reported additional cases of confirmed swine influenza and a number of hospitalizations of swine flu patients. The National Sheriffs' Association will continue to monitor this outbreak of swine influenza. Further updates will be sent as the situation demands. More

House Vote Expands Clinton-era Police Program
from The Associated Press
The House approved money last week to help local police departments hire and retain 50,000 officers over the next five years, expanding a Clinton-era community policing program that struggled to survive under the Bush administration. The House legislation authorizes spending of $1.8 billion a year over the next five years for the Community Oriented Policing Services grant program, signed into law in 1994 in a drive by President Bill Clinton to put 100,000 new police officers on the streets of the nation's towns and cities. More

Video: Jails Out of Money
from FOX WFXT - Boston, Mass.
The Bristol County, Mass., Sheriff’s Department is running out of money. In fact, in two weeks, the department will be completely out of funds, leaving people in Bristol County wondering what it all means. More

Paralyzed Officer Stays Upbeat, Wants to Return
from the Contra Costa Times
Seven weeks after a crash that saw his patrol car go airborne, James Vincent is upbeat and determined to return to police work. In a wheelchair, secured by a brace around his torso, his elbows wrapped in bandages to protect damaged nerves in his elbows, Vincent said he has put the experience behind him and is looking toward opportunities that will require his mind more than his body. More

California Police Offers Homeowners Link to Police Surveillance System
from the San Mateo County Times via the Mercury News
Atherton, Calif., police are now offering residents a chance to link their home security cameras to the department, allowing officers to provide a "virtual response" to alarms. Residents who sign up will be added to the same Internet camera network police use to scan public areas. Dispatchers will have the ability to instantly tap into video footage when a residential alarm is tripped. More

Slaying Fuels Debate Over Speed Cameras in Arizona
from The Associated Press via AZCentral
The debate over the first statewide speed camera enforcement program in the nation has reached a boiling point following the fatal shooting of a camera operator. Critics of Arizona's program condemned the killing but vow they'll continue to fight what they call unfair and overly intrusive government. Supporters of the program say camera opponents have inflamed the public, and that the speed cameras have made highways safer. More

"America's Sheriff" Gets Stiff Sentence
from The Associated Press via the Los Angeles Times
Mike Carona's fall from "America's Sheriff" to convicted felon reached bottom Monday as a federal judge gave Orange County's former top law enforcement officer a half-hour lecture about honesty before sentencing him to 5 1/2 years in prison for attempting to obstruct a grand jury investigation. More

from the Chicago Tribune
Police departments in the north and northwest suburbs are feeling the strain of economic woes, with school anti-drug programs and purchases of squad cars taking a back seat to keeping officers on the streets. Feeling the squeeze from declines in sales-tax and other revenues, some communities also have opted not to fill police department vacancies or are cutting overtime. More

Experts Say Louisiana Doing Better than Most States in Controlling Contraband
from The Advocate
The walls of Lt. Joseph Russell’s security office at Louisiana State Penitentiary are covered with dozens of snapshots of illegal drugs, homemade knives and other prohibited items corrections officers have found on inmates, visitors and staff at the sprawling prison. The photos starkly illustrate a problem that prisons across the nation face— keeping contraband out and finding prohibited items that inmates try to hide from the correctional staff. More

FRONTLINE Investigates What Really Happens to Mentally Ill Offenders when They Leave Prison
from PBS
This year, hundreds of thousands of prisoners with serious mental illnesses will be released into communities across America, the largest exodus in the nation’s history. Typically, mentally ill offenders leave prison with a bus ticket, $75 and two weeks worth of medication. Within 18 months, nearly two-thirds are re-arrested. In this follow up to the groundbreaking film "The New Asylums," FRONTLINE examines what happens to the mentally ill when they leave prison and why they return at such alarming rates. More

Michigan Bills Offer Cost Savings for Prisons
from The Detroit News
Prison healthcare would be provided by medical students, and prisoners would have to meet benchmarks, such as clean drug tests, to get out of prison under a package of cost-saving bills unveiled by the state Senate today. The announcement at a press conference led by Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, didn't address which prisons could be shuttered Oct. 1 under Gov. Jennifer Granholm's plan to release more than 3,000 inmates to help close the expected $1.8 billion deficit in the 2010 budget year. Nor did it have an estimate of how much money would be saved by the proposed changes. More