Operation FALCON 2009 Nets More Than 35,000 Fugitives
from PR Newswire
The U.S. Marshals Service, partnering with federal, state and local law enforcement, arrested 35,190 fugitives and cleared 47,418 warrants as part of Operation FALCON 2009 (Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally), U.S. Marshals Service Director John F. Clark announced today. Ranging from coast to coast, Operation FALCON 2009 brought together the resources of 42 federal agencies, 209 state agencies and 1,973 local sheriffs' and police departments, to again make the program a huge success. More

New Curbs Set on Arrests of Illegal Immigrants
from The Wall Street Journal
The Department of Homeland Security said it was revising a program that authorized local police to enforce federal immigration law – a controversial aspect of U.S. border policy. Opponents said the program, known as 287g, was intended to identify criminal aliens but instead has led to racial profiling; it allowed local police to identify and arrest illegal immigrants for such minor infractions as a broken tail light. Program supporters said it has been an effective tool for combating illegal immigration. More

FLIR Systems Introduces H-Series Hand-Held Law Enforcement Thermal Imager
from MSN Money
FLIR Systems' Commercial Vision Systems Division announced today the launch of its new H-Series line of hand-held law enforcement thermal imaging cameras. Purpose-built for the law enforcement community, H-Series cameras feature several powerful new tactical features and four times the resolution of competing systems. More

Snap-On in Customer Service Partnership with Carbon Motors
from Pro Security Zone
Carbon Motors and Snap-on announce a project to develop the service strategy for the Carbon E7, the world’s first purpose-built law enforcement patrol vehicle. “We have developed a world-class product for our country’s 840,000 law enforcement first responders and we will back it with world-class customer service. We are honored to welcome Snap-on to the team that will help deliver on that promise,” stated William Santana Li, chairman and chief executive officer, Carbon Motors Corporation. More

Police Cruise for Meter Cheaters Using New Camera Technology
from The Seattle Times
If you try to game the parking system in Seattle, your chances of getting a ticket are about to go up. Following the lead of several big cities, Seattle next month will become the first in Washington to roll out a new tool for finding overtime violators. More

Pasco Deputies Use New Technology to Identify Suspect
from Tampa Bay Online
John Doe met his match recently at the Pasco County, Fla. jail. Zephyrhills police had arrested a man on a series of charges including forgery. The problem was, however, police had no idea who they were arresting. When the suspect was still uncooperative about his identity at the Land O' Lakes Jail, detention deputies decided to take their new face recognition software for a spin. More

Program Helps Identify Violent Parolees
from the Philadelphia Inquirer
EAs part of an attempt to fight crime, Philadelphia is now the subject of an experiment never tried in another city: A computer is forecasting who among the city's 49,000 parolees is likeliest to rob, assault, or kill someone. Since March, the city's Adult Probation and Parole Department has been using the system to reshuffle the way it assigns cases. Each time someone new comes through intake, a clerk enters his or her name and the computer takes just seconds to fish through a database for relevant information and deliver a verdict of high, medium, or low risk. More

America’s Jail Crisis
from Forbes
An average of 10,000 inmates were held per day in the Harris County (Texas) Jail in 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, not including an additional 1,100 bused six hours to and from northern Louisiana. With an average stay of 45 days in three drab detention facilities, the jail is consistently overcrowded. "This really wasn't built for this," says John Dyess, chief administrative officer of the sheriff's office, which oversees the jail. "I don't know if we can build our way out of where we are today." More

States Seek to Jam Prison Cell Phone Signals
from The New York Times
South Carolina petitioned the Federal Communications Commission on Monday to protect the public safety by blocking signals from contraband cell phones emanating from prisons. Officials with two dozen other state corrections agencies also signed the petition, which was filed two days before the Senate commerce committee is scheduled to hold hearings on legislation that would waive a 1934 federal ban on telecommunications jamming for prisons and other exceptional cases. More

States Seek Less Costly Substitutes for Prison
from The Washington Post
Cash strapped states are increasingly turning to alternative sentencing methods and to streamlined probation and parole as a way to keep low level offenders out of prison and in their communities. The alternative sentencing methods have been in limited use for years, often with little funding and less publicity. However, they have recently gained in popularity across the country and have attracted interest from lawmakers. The measures include drug courts, which allow low level drug offenders to avoid prison time through treatment and intense, personal, weekly intervention by a judge, and at least 500 courts for people arrested for driving while intoxicated. More