Title: TechBeat Winter 2003 
Series: N/A 
Author: National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center
Published: January 2003 
Subject: Technology for Law Enforcement 
pages: 38 
bytes: 87K 

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------------------------------- 

National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center 
TechBeat Winter 2003 
Dedicated to Reporting Developments in Technology for Law
Enforcement, Corrections, and Forensic Sciences 

-------------------------------

Counting on Biometrics 

In November 1987, 1,400 exiled Cubans burned building after building at
the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. The riot was not the spontaneous
combustion of tensions among rivals, but a simmering anger sparked by a
Federal Government plan to return those who had arrived from Cuba 7
years earlier in the Mariel boatlift. It was the longest prison riot in U.S.
history, taking 11 days to resolve through negotiations. 

Reporters were frustrated in trying to cover the siege, primarily because
they were given only meager information about the more than 100
hostages. "Officials wouldn't tell us anything," one opined in a later story.
But there was a reason for this lack of information: Nobody knew who the
hostages were. 

"We were trying to identify the people who were in the facility at the time,
but it was based on a chit system where you turned in your chit and got
your keys when you came to work and returned the keys when you left,"
says Al Turner, a former warden with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons who was
sent to Atlanta to work alongside the facility's warden during the riot.
"Like every other similar system, it was subject to human error and people
forgetting to turn in their keys. So we had no accurate way of knowing
who was inside the penitentiary when the hostages were taken. It became a
difficult and time-consuming process of elimination. We called families to
locate staff, put pictures on boards to try to identify potential hostages, and
identified some through our negotiations with the Cubans." 

Fifteen years later, a project underway at the Prince George's County
Department of Corrections (DOC) in Maryland may help solve the
problem of tracking staff in correctional facilities. It uses facial recognition
technology for employee verification and access control. 

The system employs a camera and computer to create a mathematical
algorithm, or formula, of an employee's face. When each employee is
enrolled in the system, this unique formula is transferred to a chip that is
embedded in a proximity card the employee must carry. On arriving at or
leaving work, the employee places the card in a card reader and stands in
front of a camera. In seconds, the employee's picture pops up on a
computer screen. Although the employee's identity can be confirmed by an
attending officer, the computer scans the employee's face and compares
the resulting mathematical formula to the original. It takes only a few
seconds, says DOC Deputy Director Milton Crump. 

The project is the result of a coalition among the National Institute of
Justice (NIJ), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the
U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Counterdrug Technology
Development Program. It has been in place for a little more than a year.
Those months have been spent adapting to the new system and learning
the capabilities and limitations of facial recognition technology, Turner
says. For example, lighting is important. The Prince George's facility set
up the system in an area where natural light that shone in through side
windows created shadows on the subject's face. To remedy this problem,
the windows were covered with adjustable shades and track lighting was
installed to put light directly on the subject. 

Officials also discovered that using facial recognition technology may not
be appropriate for tracking or monitoring inmates. In a field test at the
Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, South Carolina, which houses
approximately 300 inmates, the goal was to monitor prisoners' movement
around the institution. Officials found, however, that the technology was
not yet mature enough to scan faces under less than optimal conditions and
search through a large database for a match. Turner says, "Enrolling
people in a controlled situation and doing a one-to-one match is one thing.
When you try to monitor people in halls or crowds, it is much more
complicated." 

Crump agrees, adding that other biometric technologies, such as iris scans,
hand geometry, or fingerprints, may be better for large institutions or jails
where inmates move constantly. 

"We move about 300 to 500 people per day," Crump says. "They're
coming in from booking centers or being released. Any morning we have
80 to 100 people going to court. We used to have a barcode system that
was supposed to monitor inmate movement, but we literally crashed it
daily. It just could not handle the high volume of movement." 

Overall, the facial recognition project so far has been successful; it has
been readily accepted by employees and runs relatively glitch free, with
few false positives. It is easy to use and takes only seconds for verification.

The system's success has sparked plans for the future. The Prince George's
County DOC will continue to test the system as long as DoD and NIJ ask,
Crump says. When the project is over, it will remain in the jail. Crump
adds that he and Prince George's County DOC Director Barry Stanton
hope one day to connect to the State's Department of Motor Vehicles
database so the DOC can log in the driver's license of every visitor and
simultaneously get a current picture, verify identity, and check for
warrants. The DOC would like to add an electronic fingerprint component
to ensure that the facility is releasing the right person. Finally, there are
plans for seamless access control, whereby a door opens or locks upon the
verification, or lack of it, of an employee-a task that currently must be
done manually. 

Turner, who is now an NIJ visiting scientist studying the Prince George's
County project, says his plans include an evaluation of the technology's
impact on institutional operations. "I'd like to know how it was accepted
by the staff, if it changed the daily routine, or if, in instances where they
had to account for staff, they were able to do it more quickly. We'd also
like to expand it to monitor visitors and to track visitors who go from one
institution to another carrying messages or contraband. 

"We know that we will always need the corrections officer, but we would
like to see biometrics and facial recognition technology become another
tool to help them do their jobs." For additional information about facial
recognition technology, contact Al Turner, 202-616-3509, or turnera@
ojp.usdoj.gov. 

-------------------------------

Making TraCS With Traffic Safety 

Time has become a precious resource. Everyone is looking for ways to
save it, and law enforcement is no exception. 

The State of Iowa has come up with a way to save time-not just minutes,
but hours, even days and weeks. 

It's an electronic reporting program known as TraCS (Traffic and Criminal
Software) that is available at no cost to law enforcement across the
country. 

In 1994, in an effort to cut down on paperwork, the Iowa Department of
Transportation (DOT) took the lead in developing TraCS. At that time it
took up to 24 months for data collected in paper reports to be received,
manually entered into a database, validated, and made available. By using
TraCS, agencies can now create their own local databases in addition to
transmitting reports electronically to the Iowa DOT, making the
information available the next day. Use of electronic reporting eliminates
duplicate data entry, cuts down on keying errors and problems caused by
poor handwriting, and reduces time spent on the scene. 

"When I first came in contact with the project in its infancy, I was able to
bring the time it took to make an accident report on the scene down from 2
hours to 10 minutes," says Rich Conner, Iowa DOT's agency training
specialist for TraCS. (From 1994 to 1997, Conner helped field test the
software as a member of the West Des Moines Police Department.) "It is
customized to be user friendly. In 25 years in law enforcement, I've never
seen anything else like it for ease of use." 

Conner explains that before TraCS, if a jurisdiction wanted a new traffic
safety device, such as a traffic light, staff could take months to compile the
data needed to justify it. Now, the Iowa DOT can quickly analyze the
electronic accident reports and the safety modification can be put into
effect much sooner. "There is potential to prevent accidents and even save
lives," he says. 

In addition to saving time and increasing safety, TraCS has the potential to
generate enormous savings for other departments. The State owns the
source code for the software, which eliminates vendor licensing fees and
enables Iowa to provide TraCS to other States and agencies within those
States at no charge. 

"If they developed electronic reporting systems on their own, it would be
very expensive," says Mary Jensen, TraCS program manager. "This is
literally saving millions of dollars." 

Although the software is free, agencies still must purchase the hardware
needed to run the program, which Jensen acknowledges is a struggle for
many departments. But, she adds, TraCS will run on laptops that agencies
may already be using for other purposes. 

More than 15 additional States are in the process of implementing TraCS
for some or all of their law enforcement agencies. TraCS' design allows it
to generate electronic forms identical to the paper forms an agency now
uses, so no department needs to change its forms or procedures. The only
change for officers is learning to input data electronically. Jensen says that
New York has progressed the farthest of any participating State, running a
successful pilot program using TraCS for traffic citations with plans to use
it statewide. 

"Most States start out with one form, and that is the way I would
recommend doing it," Jensen says, adding that although New York started
with citations, other States started with accident reports. States receive the
software free and may test it for a period of time before deciding to sign a
royalty-free licensing agreement. These steps are part of the precautions
that Iowa takes to keep the software from falling into the hands of
third-party vendors who might try to sell it. In addition to receiving
inquiries from other States throughout the country, Iowa recently signed an
agreement with the U.S. Virgin Islands, has been contacted by New
Zealand, and has received interest from the Canadian provinces of
Manitoba and Quebec. The licensing agreement allows States to pay for
any needed modifications; however, the resulting enhancements are made
available to all participating States. 

"For example, in Iowa, the traffic citation numbers are computer
generated," Jensen says. "New York found that they needed to be able to
assign blocks of numbers. Now, all States can choose which of these two
options they want to use. Another example is Georgia. We had three
different diagramming options for accident scene reports, and Georgia
wanted a fourth. They negotiated a contract for its development, and all
four are now available to everybody." 

Periodic steering committee meetings, in which representatives of all
participating States gather to discuss modifications, bring this cooperation
to the national level. According to Jensen, although Iowa developed the
software and owns it, future development priorities are decided by
consensus. At the four steering committee meetings held thus far, States'
needs have proven remarkably similar. A combination of funding from
various States (including Iowa) and Federal dollars pays for the
enhancements. For more information on this cooperative project, known as
the National Model, visit www.dot.state.ia.us/ natmodel. According to the
website, the National Model project seeks to "bridge the gap between
state-of-practice (paper forms) and state-of-the-art." 

At approximately the same time the National Model effort began, Conner
retired from his law enforcement job and joined the TraCS team. As part
of the Iowa DOT, this four-person team provides training and support to
users throughout Iowa. Conner adds that users from other States have
signed up for the discussion forum on the team's website
(www.iowatracs.org), and he has provided them technical assistance. The
website also contains extensive support documentation and software
upgrades that registered users can download. 

"This is our best means of support. We try to get an agency to become
pretty self-sufficient," Conner says. He also provides technical assistance
over the phone and via e-mail and gives both system administrator and
user training throughout the State. He adds, however, that the software is
so user friendly that a computer-literate person could figure it out without
training. Conner also points Iowa agencies toward potential resources for
grants, reduced-price hardware, or other forms of assistance. 

"It's kind of interesting to see the e-mails we get from hardware vendors
that refer to 'this TraCS that's sweeping the country,'" Conner says. Sharing
the software with other States has been Iowa's goal from the beginning,
Jensen adds. 

"It just makes sense and it's a good way to do business. We get more return
for our dollars than if everybody acted independently," Jensen says.
"Certainly the opportunity is out there for every State to use it that wants
it. Although some States have already developed similar programs on their
own, if at some point it's in all 50, that would be great." 

TraCS' combination of current technology and ease of use has earned it
several awards. These include the Federal Highway Safety Administrator's
Award in 1996, Vice President Al Gore's National Partnership for
Reinventing Government Hammer Award in 1999, and first place in the
Best Practices Competition sponsored by the Traffic Records Committee
of the National Safety Council in 2000. 

For more information about TraCS, log on to www.dot.state.ia.us/
natmodel; contact Program Manager Mary Jensen at 515-237-3235, e-mail
Mary.Jensen@dot.state.ia.us; or contact Rich Conner at 515-237-3051,
e-mail Rich.Conner@dot.state.ia.us. 

-------------------------------

SPECIAL REPORT 
Safe Schools: A Technology Primer 

Columbine has become synonymous with the Nation's most infamous
school shooting. But school resource officers (SROs) and other law
enforcement professionals know that in spite of the notoriety received by
the shootings at Columbine and other schools, they must deal daily with
such "lesser" crimes as knifings, beatings, fistfights, and bullying. 

Eight school shootings in 1998-a year before Columbine-prompted
Congress to create the Safe Schools Initiative. This initiative directs the
National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to "develop new, more effective safety
technologies such as less obtrusive weapons detection and surveillance
equipment and information systems that provide communities with quick
access to information they need to identify potentially violent youth." 

NIJ responded to this mandate by searching for ways that existing or
emerging technologies could make the Nation's schools safer and by
creating new applications for those technologies that target school safety.
Four years later, NIJ's School Safety Program continues to work with other
government agencies, oversees research and development projects, and
offers technology assistance as part of an effort to provide SROs and
others in the field with tools to help them deal with criminal activity. 

Ray Downs, past manager of NIJ's School Safety Program, says a more
peaceful school environment should reduce the probability of violent
crime. "You reduce motivation for weapons to get in. You shouldn't just
be looking at homicides alone, but at what can be done to make students
safer overall. You need to prevent students from being intimidated,
bullied, and insulted." 

NIJ is helping schools create more peaceful environments by developing,
testing, and evaluating technologies to ensure that they are safe, effective,
appropriate, and affordable. Downs notes, however, that schools and SROs
need to keep in mind that technology only complements the nontechnical
components of a comprehensive school safety program: planning, policy,
and procedures; committed and trained SROs and other school security
staff; information sharing; and crisis management planning and training.
The NIJ School Safety Program applies a three-pronged approach to
school safety, using needs assessment and partnership development;
technology research, development, and evaluation; and technology
assistance. 

When Congress called on NIJ in 1998, it also called on other government
departments and agencies, primarily the U.S. Department of Education, to
participate in the Safe Schools Initiative. Staff from the Department of
Education's Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program and NIJ's School Safety
Program routinely exchange information and jointly participate in safe
school meetings and conferences. 

In addition, NIJ formed a relationship with the U.S. Secret Service early in
the development of the safe schools program. Following Columbine and
other school shootings, the Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation received many calls from schools looking for advice and
technical assistance. NIJ provided funding for a report by the U.S. Secret
Service National Threat Assessment Center in collaboration with the
Department of Education. That report, An Interim Report on Prevention of
Targeted Violence in Schools, was published in October 2000. The Final
Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for
Prevention of School Attacks in the United States came out in 2002. This
work led to another joint publication of the Secret Service and the
Department of Education, Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to
Managing Threatening Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates. 

NIJ's School Safety Program also seeks input from the more than 100
local, State, Federal, and international criminal justice professionals who
make up the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology
Centers' (NLECTC's) Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology
Advisory Council (LECTAC). NIJ staff periodically brief LECTAC
members on school safety initiatives and ask for their ideas on technology
use, research needs, and school safety issues. NIJ then uses these ideas to
help identify and assess problems faced by SROs and others in the field.

The technology research, development, and evaluation component of the
NIJ School Safety Program also has three components: crime prevention,
information and communication, and incident management. Many of these
projects build on NIJ's established technology-related initiatives for law
enforcement, corrections, and the forensic sciences. 

NIJ is exploring and evaluating crime prevention technologies that include
concealed weapons detection, drug detection, and surveillance cameras.
Information and communication technologies include "swipe" and other
identification cards; language translation devices; school-police
information sharing networks; and software for incident reporting,
mapping and analysis, critical incident planning, and self-paced,
computer-based training. In the area of incident management, NIJ awards
have given private companies the chance to develop or enhance interactive
learning tools that simulate real-life events and train SROs and other
school safety personnel on how to handle them. 

NIJ is now in the early stages of feasibility testing for two new technology
applications that involve biometrics for access control. One uses iris scan
technology; the other, facial recognition technology. Biometrics may have
advantages over card systems. There is no chance of forgetting to bring
cards and staff monitoring requirements may be reduced. The technologies
being tested are noninvasive and present no health risks. 

New incident management tools in development include templates for
vulnerability assessments and incident planning that any school can use.
"This will give schools tools, put together by experts, that they can use to
customize a plan that will best fit their individual needs," Downs says. "If
they already have a plan, they can use this to evaluate or improve it."

Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is updating
the NIJ publication, The Appropriate and Effective Use of Security
Technologies in U.S. Schools. A planned second volume will cover drug
and alcohol detection, sensors and alarms, bomb threat awareness,
deterring false fire alarms, communications for crisis response, and
deterring crime. 

School bus security is an area of increasing public and parental concern.
Technology can now produce checklists of students who have boarded
buses and instantly transmit those checklists back to school offices.
Technologies that track the locations of buses and trains for public transit
systems also can be applied to school buses. 

NIJ recommends that school systems begin their efforts to improve school
safety by assessing the level of risk and deciding whether a small, focused
effort might be enough to make the schools safer. "If your patient isn't
bleeding to death, you don't need a tourniquet; that is, if your school
situation isn't that bad, you don't need x-ray machines and metal
detectors," Downs says. "Maybe you should consider an ID card system.
Some ID systems could also make it easier to take attendance and keep
truancy records. If the kids are bringing guns and knives and razors to
school, you need more." 

According to Downs, most schools already have conducted safety
assessments as part of crisis management planning for fires or natural
disasters. Also, the "No Child Left Behind" legislation requires that school
safety plans include a crisis management section. Because most school
districts have limited resources, they need guidelines on how to build the
most effective school safety and security plan. NIJ's School Safety
Program includes the following components that can provide detailed
technology assistance: 

o The School Security Technologies and Resource Center (SSTAR) at
Sandia National Laboratories serves as a national school safety and
security technology resource for schools and police agencies. SSTAR tests
and evaluates technology and provides technology assistance. 

o All NLECTC system facilities have a staff member designated as a
school safety resource. NLECTC- Southeast is the lead center for school
safety, but all centers provide technology assistance on school safety and
several have participated in specific efforts. 

o The NIJ School Safety Program cosponsored a School Safety
Conference in January 2002. Conference topics included current research,
existing commercial technologies, and case studies of successful
approaches used by schools. 

For more information about NIJ's School Safety Program initiatives, log
on to www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ nij/sciencetech/sst.htm. Or, contact Steve
Schuetz, NIJ program manager, 202-305-8697; e-mail
schuetzs@ojp.usdoj.gov. 

-------------------------------

Cause for Alarm 

At Washington Irving High School in New York City, a weapons
detection system detects a razor blade hidden inside a student's mouth.
Had the blade gone undetected, it might have been used in another student
slashing. To prevent more slashings, the New York City Police
Department (NYPD) and the city's school district teamed up with the
National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and its National Law Enforcement and
Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC)-Northeast in Rome, New
York, to identify equipment to detect razor blades and other small cutting
instruments and keep them out of schools. 

In 2000, NYPD began receiving weekly calls that reported slashing
incidents with possible connections to gang activities, says Osborne
Frazier, administrative manager of NYPD's School Safety Division. "My
team and I started to investigate the reported incidents." 

Twenty to 30 student slashings a month were occurring in schools
citywide. Razor blades, knives, and other weapons were sneaked into
schools, threatening safety. 

Early detection of these weapons was of primary importance. The School
Safety Division evaluated current technologies that could detect weapons
at a safe distance. Standard metal detectors used in high schools had high
sensory levels that led to false detection, requiring more hand searches.
Belt buckles, watches and other jewelry, and coins were being detected
instead of razor blades and other weapons. Because razor blades have a
small quantity of ferrous metal (metal that is attracted to a magnet),
students with razor blades often bypassed the metal detector. 

To help combat the rise in student slashings, NYPD asked NIJ if any of its
research and development projects would detect those weapons from a
safe distance, Frazier says. (NLECTC-Northeast has a Memorandum of
Understanding with the NYPD School Safety Division to facilitate transfer
of technologies to detect concealed weapons.) 

"NLECTC came to our aid in more ways than one: They served as our
consultants, helped with our concepts, and obtained what we needed-The
SecureScan 2000," Frazier says. The SecureScan 2000 looks only for
ferrous metals. Its computer interface shows the exact location of the metal
weapon, and it can be operated remotely. 

"After the first month of use, it already proved extremely beneficial,"
Frazier says. The device does not react to jewelry, has an increased
effectiveness, and does not give false alarms. Deployment of the
SecureScan 2000 helped to cut slashings in half. "The possibilities are
endless. NLECTC truly came through for us by pushing the device to its
full capabilities." 

"On one occasion, we were sending students through the SecureScan 2000
and suddenly the alarm sounded and the computer screen indicated that
there was something in a student's mouth," Frazier says. "We conducted a
thorough check and found that he had hidden a 4-inch razor blade in the
upper palate area of his jaw. This incident showed us what this
sophisticated device could really do." 

The technology behind SecureScan 2000 was developed by the U.S.
Department of Energy's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental
Laboratory, with funding provided by NIJ. It also has been evaluated in
other law enforcement settings. 

For more information about the SecureScan 2000 evaluation project,
contact Chris McAleavey, National Law Enforcement and Corrections
Technology Center-Northeast, at 888-338-0584 or
chris.mcaleavey@L-3com.com. 

-------------------------------

A "Normal" School Day 

Responses to past criminal acts committed by elementary, middle, and
high school students against classmates, faculty, and staff have taught law
enforcement that communication and early detection and intervention are
key in heading off future school shootings and other violent incidents.

"The National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center
(NLECTC)- Southeast and the National Institute of Justice approached the
issue with their sleeves rolled up," says Gary Speers, assistant chief of
police in Normal, Illinois. "They funded the School-Based Virtual Private
Network (VPN) and chose our department here as a test site." The network
is a secure, limited-access e-mail network that allows authorized users,
such as local schools, law enforcement, and other agencies that serve
young people, to share information. 

"NLECTC designed and engineered the software and provided advanced
technology to help support the system," Speers says. "Working alongside
NLECTC with the VPN has been a tremendous success. The network links
school to school and agency to agency, ensuring timely and secure sharing
of school safety information among designated school and agency staff." 

This system's effectiveness was shown in September 2000, when a Normal
student with access to weapons threatened other students, according to
Speers. The threats became known to a VPN participant and were
disseminated on the network to the pertinent agencies, which took
appropriate action. 

"The School-Based Virtual Private Network enables us to bring all players
to the table and do proper intervention," Speers says. "With the help of
technical experts, we have been able to link numerous pieces of existing
equipment (hardware and software systems), which has allowed for its
success. I believe that this type of [secure] e-mail system can be used to
decrease the escalating amount of school violence because it can be used
for early intervention and prevention of incidents." 

For more information about the School-Based Virtual Private Network
project, contact Bill Nettles, National Law Enforcement and Corrections
Technology Center-Southeast, at 800-292-4385 or bnettles@nlectc-se.org. 

-------------------------------

Making an SRO 

School-based policing is one of the fastest growing areas of law
enforcement. The key figure is the school resource officer (SRO), a police
officer assigned full-time to a school. SROs play three roles. They are
policemen whose beat is the school. They visit classrooms and make
presentations on school safety, traffic laws, general law, and crime
prevention. They confer with students, parents, and family members on
legal problems and crime prevention. According to NASRO's Executive
Director, Curtis Lavarello, a former SRO with 20 years' experience,
school-based policing is "the best example of community policing that
exists today." 

With more than 9,000 national and international members, the National
Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) is the Nation's first,
largest, and most recognized organization of school-based law
enforcement officers. Since its founding in 1989, NASRO has trained
SROs to do their jobs better. The organization offers basic and advanced
training for SROs and managers and specialized training in legal issues
affecting school safety. "We've trained well over 15,000 officers from
every 1 of the 50 States and from Canada," says Lavarello. "We assist
officers in making the transition from street police officer to school-based
officer. We teach them what school-based law is about, help them
understand what it's like to be in an educational setting, and provide them
with resources, including sample lesson plans that can be downloaded
from our website." 

For more information, including details on how to join NASRO or register
for the National SRO Conference, visit the NASRO website at
www.nasro.org or call 888-316-2776. 

-------------------------------

In the Camera's Eye 

When Patrick Fiel was hired as executive director of school security for
the Washington, D.C., public school system 5 years ago, he became
responsible for the safety of approximately 70,000 students and 11,000
teachers and administrators at 163 facilities. Almost all the school
buildings are old (the average building age is 60 years). In 2001, D.C. built
its first new school since the early 1970s. Add to this the district's
demographics-many inner city schools, residential neighborhoods and
businesses adjacent to school properties, heavy traffic, and a majority of
students who walk to school-and providing safety and security on school
grounds becomes a challenge. 

Over the past several years, Fiel and his staff have introduced new
procedures and technologies in the D.C. public schools to meet this
challenge. Fiel's first task was a needs assessment. He studied incidents in
and around schools to understand what was really happening in the schools
and their surrounding communities. He then used that information to
design a security program intended to provide every student with a safe
environment. 

"When manpower and resources are limited, you have to use other
measures-such as technology-to secure an area," Fiel says, and
technological innovations are precisely what he turned to. Budget
constraints meant that new technologies were installed in only a handful of
schools to start, but positive results have led to more schools receiving
those new technologies each year. "Wherever we've applied the
technologies, we have reduced incidents by almost 90 percent," Fiel says. 

One innovative security program has been a closed-circuit video
surveillance system started during the 1998-99 school year in eight high
schools. The system has been expanded every year since and is now used
in 85 schools. 

Digital video cameras placed in public places, such as school exteriors,
hallways, and stairways (never in classrooms or restrooms), provide
real-time, 24-hour surveillance. Security personnel and school
administrators monitor the video feed (onsite or offsite). They can respond
immediately to brewing incidents or forward the video instantly to police
or other law enforcement agencies that might need to see it. (Access to the
secure system is by key code; approved users can view the video feed on
their computer via a secure Internet link.) 

Video archives go back 14 days, so Fiel and his staff can backtrack as
needed to trace the origins of a disruption or event at a monitored school. 

Support from the community and the students has been key to the success
of these new technologies, Fiel says. "We are forming a partnership, not a
dictatorship. When you start putting in cameras, you have to have buy-in
[from the people who are affected: administrators, students, community
members]. We also have good rapport with the metropolitan police and
our city emergency management agency." 

By the end of this school year, all 163 district facilities will have digital
camera surveillance systems, upgraded alarm systems, and evaluations of
outside lighting and perimeter fencing needs. All secondary schools will
have walk-through metal detectors and x-ray machines. 

"You won't find many schools around the country with these
technologies," Fiel says, who adds that school administrators in other
school districts have called him to learn more about the security measures
in D.C. schools. Fiel welcomes such calls. 

For more information, contact the District of Columbia Public Schools
Division of School Security at 202-576-6962. 


-------------------------------

Finding the Pattern 

A Kansas school resource officer (SRO) notes that most incidents in his
school occur during the early morning. A Pennsylvania SRO identifies
traits of students who participate in specific types of incidents at certain
times during the school day. How do they do it? 

Both officers received a free copy of "School COP," a software program
that uses geographic information system (GIS) technology to map and
analyze incidents in or near schools. "School COP" allows users to enter
detailed information about school rule violations and crimes. It produces
maps that show where incidents have occurred, graphs those incidents in a
variety of ways, and stores the information in a database. The software
comes with a sample database, but schools can customize codes to
characterize incidents and the students or others involved. Users can
search for incidents that contain a specified value or code (such as all
incidents that occurred in the cafeteria) or a combination of values (such as
all incidents that took place in the hallways and resulted in a student's
suspension). 

Using this type of search, Deputy Scott Thirkell, SRO at Southeast of
Saline School District in Gypsum, Kansas, noted that most incidents in his
600-student, K-12 school occurred between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. He then
adopted a strategy to counter the problem. 

"While I may have a good idea where things happen, problem areas jump
off the screen when plotted on a map and highlighted in color
automatically. I can then concentrate on areas of the school that I may not
have before," Thirkell says. "I am quite sure it would have taken me a long
time to see that trend without the use of the "School COP" program.
Simply by making sure at least two staff members greet the students each
morning, the mood of the group can be gauged and many problems solved
before they get bigger. I believe "School COP" made that change
possible." 

Officer Terry M. Heydt of the Central Berks Regional Police in Reading,
Pennsylvania, also has used "School COP" to make his ears and eyes go
farther. "As the first and only school resource officer for both my
department and the school district, I was charged with the task of
developing policy and procedures for almost every aspect of my position,
including reporting practices," Heydt says. "Given a shoestring budget,
finding an acceptable reporting system was nearly impossible. I received a
copy of the "School COP" software at the Sacramento CIS [COPS In
Schools] training and, upon my return, installed and began to utilize the
program. The simple, straightforward instructions made installation and
data entry a breeze." 

Developed by a private company with National Institute of Justice
funding, more than 3,000 copies of "School COP" have been distributed to
SROs and school administrators at CIS conferences sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.
Conference attendees also received the Guide to Using School COP to
Address Student Discipline and Crime Problems and training on how to
use the software. Nearly 30 more conferences are planned through 2004. 

Copies of "School COP" can be downloaded at no cost from the "School
COP" website at www.schoolcopsoftware.com. The website also offers
information on features and new developments and a list of frequently
asked questions. "School COP" runs on PCs (but not on Macs) that use
Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, and XP and have at least 16 MB of RAM and
20 MB of available hard disk space. 

-------------------------------

A Secure Door To Education

Door-access technology has been around for years. Many businesses and
government agencies use it, as the access cards hanging around our necks
attest. But school systems have not implemented this technology until
recently. In 2001 the Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools launched a
pilot program to test variations and combinations of three types of
door-access systems-proximity access card readers, keypads, and video
intercom devices-at 18 facilities, including elementary schools,
administration buildings, and warehouses. 

According to Frederick E. Ellis, Director of the Office of Safety and
Security for Fairfax County Public Schools, door-access systems can be
based on what you have (a key or a card), what you know (the combination
to a keypad), or who you are (video intercom systems where a receptionist
has to recognize you). 

Ellis says door-access technology helps schools strike a balance between
convenience and security. The public recognizes the need to prevent
unauthorized persons from getting inside school property, especially
elementary schools. Yet teachers or students who participate in
extracurricular activities may need to enter the school building after hours
or through doors other than the main entrance. If no provision is made for
them, they may be tempted to prop doors open. 

Door-access technology solves these problems. Students who need to get
into the building through a back door can push a button on a video
intercom and the receptionist can let them in. Teachers or other staff use
proximity access cards. Workers who need to use side doors of the food
service warehouse can use a keypad. 

According to Ellis, the technology seems to be working well so far. "The
good news is that some of this stuff works and really works well. The bad
news is that some of these devices are very expensive." Keypads cost $400
to $600 apiece. Video intercom systems cost $3,000 to $4,000 per
application. Proximity access card systems are the most expensive.
Installing one at a normal-sized elementary school costs from $10,000 to
$20,000, including cards and readers. There also is the potential
administrative burden of lost cards and forgotten passwords.

Administration is an issue. Keypad or proximity access card systems can
be administered centrally or locally. For Fairfax County, which has 235
facilities, more than 20,000 employees, and 170,000 students, centralized
administration would be prohibitively expensive. Local administration, on
the other hand, requires a strong commitment to security at the local level.

A formal evaluation of the program is planned. The county's design and
construction staff will incorporate the most successful systems into new
construction and renovations. The technology could appear in new
construction as early as 2003 and in existing buildings, as needs arise, in
2004. 

Do these systems make schools more secure? People working in the test
sites seem to feel more secure, and the systems appear to be a deterrent,
according to Ellis. "These applications provide not just a sense of security
but a better, more secure environment. Common sense tells you that if you
can't walk up to a building and walk in the back door, that building is more
secure," he says. 

For more information about the door-access pilot program in Virginia's
Fairfax County Public Schools, contact Frederick Ellis at 703-658-3763 or
fred.ellis@fcps.edu. 

-------------------------------

Schools and the Fourth

The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects "[t]he right of
the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against
unreasonable searches and seizures . . . ." In Board of Education of
Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls, 122
S.Ct. 2559 (decided June 27, 2002), the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision,
upheld the Tecumseh, Oklahoma, school district's policy subjecting middle
and high school students who take part in extracurricular school activities
to random urine drug testing. The policy so far has been applied only to
high school students in competitive extracurricular activities. Id. at 2560. 

Justice Thomas, joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices Kennedy,
Breyer, and Scalia, held that such random drug testing does not violate the
students' Fourth Amendment rights to be protected against unreasonable
search and seizure. The Court concluded that the drug-testing policy is a
reasonable means of addressing the school district's interest in preventing,
deterring, and detecting drug use to protect student health and safety. Id. at
2559. 

The decision relies heavily on Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton, 515
U.S. 646 (1995), in which the Court used a fact-specific balancing test to
determine if students' Fourth Amendment rights were violated. The Court
decided that student athletes may be subjected to random urine drug
testing to detect illegal substances. Now, the Court has expanded Vernonia
to include all high school students who take part in extracurricular
activities. 

The Court emphasized that the drug tests were conducted not to punish the
students, but rather to deter drug use, promote intervention, and protect
students' safety and health. The only consequence of a positive test is
restriction of the student's participation in extracurricular activities. The
court also emphasized the minimal invasion of privacy required for urine
tests. Id. at 2561. 

-------------------------------

Spraying for Drugs 

School security personnel are always looking for a way to detect drugs
unobtrusively without the commotion and advance planning required to
bring drug-sniffing dogs into a facility. With funding help from the
National Institute of Justice, one company has formulated a series of
sprays that can detect trace amounts of marijuana, methamphetamine,
heroin, and cocaine. These sprays are being tested in one New Jersey
school district. 

According to Jon Gaspich, one of six substance awareness coordinators for
the school district, testing with these sprays is simple. "We take a piece of
paper about an inch and a half by 3 inches, and we swipe an area. Then we
spray the paper with a can that's coordinated for what we're looking to
detect. If the paper turns the color of the letter on the can-for example, the
can for cocaine has a big cobalt-blue C on it-you know you have traces of
cocaine on the paper." Administering these tests requires no special
training: "It's very easy. If you can read, if you can count to 10, if you can
breathe, if you have a pulse, you can do this." 

Virtually any flat surface can be tested. "We test lockers, we test books, we
test desk surfaces, we've even tested computer mice and come up with
positive hits," says Gaspich. 

The pilot program, which involves three high schools and two
intermediate schools, is still in the research stage. Results are sent to the
manufacturer's laboratory for verification. "We can't use the tests for
disciplinary reasons at this point," he says, "but we can use them for
information gathering, to give us an idea of where people who use drugs
may congregate." 

The sprays, Gaspich says, "are definitely more accurate, quieter, more
readily available, and more easily used" than drug-sniffing dogs. "You
don't have to do a big preparation to bring dogs in, and you don't have to
worry about pulling people out of classes and having them stand away
from the dogs when they come through." 

But, Gaspich says, dogs still have their place. 

"The dogs are a great show, don't get me wrong," says Gaspich. "The dogs
are great for the kids to see, because they know that we're doing
something, so it keeps the drugs out of the school. But this [a detection
spray] can be used in between. It's not a great commotion, and it can be
done covertly and quietly." 

Moreover, the tests are relatively inexpensive. The kits cost a few hundred
dollars. 

Perhaps the biggest benefit of these sprays, according to Gaspich, is that
they can offer help to families who suspect that their children may be
using drugs. Because of the accuracy, ease of use, and relatively low cost
of these sprays, parents can use them at home. 

For more information about this drug detection spray study, contact Jon
Gaspich by e-mail at jgaspich@cs.com. 

Editor's note: Prior to enacting any drug detection/testing program, seek
appropriate counsel. 


-------------------------------

RESOURCES

Because the content and organization of websites change often, the
addresses, or URLs, listed usually will take users to the top-level (home
page) of the site. In general, to find more specific information, users have
three options: explore the site using the navigation buttons available on the
home page, search the site using its search engine (usually located on the
home page), or look through the site map (a page that lists all pages on the
site). 

The majority of the listed publications are available on the Internet at the
listed addresses, in either PDF or HTML format. 

Please remember that web addresses change frequently; if a listed address
no longer works, try locating the site by using a search engine such as
Google(tm) or AltaVista(r). 

In addition to the following resource list, which should not be considered
all inclusive, numerous for-profit organizations offer consulting services,
security assessments, and school security and crisis preparedness training
for law enforcement professionals, school resource officers, public safety
professionals, educators, and administrators. Many of these organizations
have websites and can be located by using a search engine. 

If you need additional assistance in locating any of these resources, contact
the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center in
Rockville, Maryland, at 800-248-2742, or e-mail asknlectc@nlectc.org. 

Professional Associations 

o International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators
(IACLEA) targets colleges, universities, campus law enforcement
professionals, and municipal law enforcement professionals. IACLEA
advances public safety for educational institutions by providing
educational resources, advocacy, and professional development.
www.iaclea.org 

o National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) is a
nonprofit organization that offers basic and advanced training for
school-based law enforcement officers, school administrators, and school
security/safety professionals and specialized training in legal issues
affecting school safety. www.nasro.org 

o National Association of School Safety and Law Enforcement Officers
(NASSLEO) promotes appropriate legislation on school violence and the
safe school environment, offers safety and security planning and training,
and provides school districts and the public with accurate, authoritative
information on issues relating to school-based crime and violence.
NASSLEO members include school resource officers and police officers,
school security officers, and school security consultants.
http://www.nassleo.org 

Government Agencies 

o Center for the Prevention of School Violence (CPSV) has a section to
inform and assist school resource officers. www.ncsu.edu/cpsv 

o Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) has resources in its
school safety section that may be useful to all law enforcement and public
safety professionals. www2.state.ga.us/GEMA 

o Indiana School Safety Specialist Academy offers training and
information resources on school safety, security, and emergency
preparedness. http://ideanet.doe.state.in.us/isssa/welcome.html 

o National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) is a resource
provided by the National Institute of Justice and other U.S. Department of
Justice agencies and the Office of National Drug Control Policy that has a
large variety of research information, including materials on school safety
and other issues relevant to the criminal justice community. www.ncjrs.org 

o National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center
(NLECTC) system works directly with Federal, State, and local
government agencies; community leaders; and scientists to foster
technological innovations that result in new products, services, systems,
and strategies for the Nation's criminal justice professionals.
www.justnet.org 

o National Resource Center for Safe Schools (NRCSS) offers technical
assistance and training on violence prevention and school safety.
www.safetyzone.org 

o National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC), a program of the U.S.
Secret Service, provides threat assessment leadership and guidance.
www.ustreas. gov/usss/ntac.shtml 

o U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary
Education, Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program is the Federal
Government's vehicle for reducing school violence, as well as drug,
alcohol, and tobacco use, through education and prevention activities.
www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS/index.html 

o U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing
Services (COPS) offers grants and programs that serve the needs of school
resource officers and school safety programs. www.usdoj.gov/cops 

o U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National
Institute of Justice, Office of Science and Technology, School Safety
Program is profiled in this issue of TechBeat (page 3).
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/sciencetech/ ssi.htm 

o U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) offers grants,
funding, and resources for school safety programs and school resource
officers. http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org 

o White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) provides
publications, resources, and grant information on school safety and related
issues. www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov 

Nonprofit Organizations 

o Hamilton Fish National Institute on School and Community Violence
researches, develops, and evaluates school violence prevention strategies.
www.hamfish.org 

o National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) is a source of information
on crime prevention. Several educational materials deal with school safety
and related issues. www.ncpc.org 

o National School Safety Center provides training, technical assistance,
and school safety site assessments and targets both law enforcement
professionals and educators. www.nssc1.org 

Publications 

o 2000 Annual Report on School Safety, U.S. Department of Education
and U.S. Department of Justice, 2000, profiles grantees under the Safe
Schools/Healthy Students initiative and offers data on the nature and scope
of school crime. www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS/annrept00.pdf 

o Approaches to School Safety in America's Largest Cities, Vera Institute
of Justice, August 1999, profiles model programs and strategies.
www.vera.org/ publication_pdf/apprchs_school_safety.pdf 

o The Appropriate and Effective Use of Security Technologies in U.S.
Schools, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National
Institute of Justice; U.S. Department of Education Safe and Drug-Free
Schools Program; and Sandia National Laboratories, 1999, provides basic
guidelines and strategies on the use of school security technologies.
www.ncjrs.org/ school/178265.pdf 

o "As Real As It Gets," TechBeat, Fall 1999, National Law Enforcement
and Corrections Technology Center, discusses the Weapons Team
Engagement Trainer. Since the publishing of this article, a school safety
scenario has been added. www.justnet.org/pdffiles/tbfall1999. pdf or
www.justnet.org/txtfiles/TBFall1999.html 

o "An Attraction for Weapons," TechBeat, Fall 1999, National Law
Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center, presents information on
the development and testing of a walk-through weapons detector that was
the forerunner of the SecureScan 2000. www.justnet.org/
pdffiles/tbfall1999.pdf or www.justnet.org/txtfiles/ tbfall1999.html (Also
reference "Cause for Alarm" in this issue of TechBeat, page 4.) 

o Creating Safe and Drug-Free Schools: An Action Guide, U.S.
Department of Education, September 1996, offers action steps and
information on making schools safer. www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles/safescho.pdf 

o Cutting Edge of Technology: The Use of CCTV/Video Cameras in Law
Enforcement, Executive Brief, International Association of Chiefs of
Police, May 2001, assesses the current use of video cameras and their
impact on law enforcement issues, including school safety.
www.theiacp.org/documents/pdfs/Publications/ UseofCCTV.pdf 

o Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools, U.S.
Department of Education, 1998, presents a summary of research on
violence prevention, crisis intervention, and school safety.
http://cecp.air.org/ guide/guide.pdf 

o The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications
for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States, U.S. Secret
Service and U.S. Department of Education, May 2002, offers the results of
a detailed study of recent school shootings in the United States.
www.ed.gov/offices/ OESE/SDFS/preventingattacksreport.pdf (The
National Institute of Justice published a summary of the report, titled
"Preventing School Shootings: A Summary of a U.S. Secret Service Safe
Schools Initiative Report," in its March 2002 NIJ Journal.
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ nij/journals/jr000248.htm) 

o Guide for Preventing and Responding to School Violence, International
Association of Chiefs of Police, 1999, presents strategies for safer learning
environments. www.theiacp.org/pubinfo/pubs/pslc/ schoolviolence.pdf 

o Guide for the Selection of Drug Detectors for Law Enforcement
Applications, NIJ Guide 601-00, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of
Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, August 2000, discusses
various issues and technologies related to the detection of contraband
drugs. www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/ 183260.pdf 

o Guide to the Technologies of Concealed Weapon and Contraband
Imaging and Detection, NIJ Guide 602-00, U.S. Department of Justice,
Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, February 2001,
offers information on technologies to detect hidden weapons and
information on related issues. www.ncjrs. org/pdffiles1/nij/184432.pdf 

o Hand-Held Metal Detectors for Use in Concealed Weapon and
Contraband Detection, NIJ Standard- 0602.01, U.S. Department of Justice,
Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, September 2000,
specifies performance and other standards for using handheld detection
equipment in law enforcement settings. www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/
183470.htm 

o Indicators of School Crime and Safety, U.S. Department of Justice,
Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2001, presents
data on rates of school crime and school safety. www.ojp.usdoj.gov/
bjs/pub/pdf/iscs01.pdf 

o "Interoperability AGILE-ity," TechBeat, Fall 2002, National Law
Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center, focuses on
interoperability issues, which can affect school safety.
www.justnet.org/pdffiles/ tbfall2002.pdf or
www.justnet.org/txtfiles/tbfall2002. html 

o Newer Technologies for School Security, U.S. Department of Education,
ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, February 2001,
examines technology advances and issues related to their use in school
settings. www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ ed449550.html 

o Promoting Safety in Schools: International Experience and Action, U.S.
Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice
Assistance, August 2001, provides an international perspective on school
shootings and school safety issues.
www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/bja/186937.pdf 

o Report on State Implementation of the Gun-Free Schools Act, School
Year 1998-99, U.S. Department of Education, October 2000, summarizes
data on how States are implementing the government mandate to expel
students who bring guns to school. www.ed.gov/
offices/OESE/SDFS/GFSA 

o Safeguarding Our Children: An Action Guide, Implementing Early
Warning, Timely Response, U.S. Department of Education, April 2000,
helps schools develop and implement a violence prevention plan using the
principles of the guide, Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe
Schools. http://cecp.air.org/guide/aifr5_01.pdf 

o Safer Schools: Strategies for Educators and Law Enforcement to Prevent
Violence, National Crime Prevention Council, 1998, provides assistance
with violence prevention programs and strategies. www.
ncpc.org/eduleo.htm 

o School-Based Policing and SROs, National Resource Center for Safe
Schools, Fall 2000, looks at the role that school resource officers play in
maintaining safe schools. www.safetyzone.org/pdf/fact8.pdf 

o School Critical Incident Planning: An Internet Resource Directory, U.S.
Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of
Justice, is an online resource directory developed under a grant by Eastern
Kentucky University, Justice and Safety Center. It collects resources to
help with preparation, resolution, and response related to school critical
incident planning. www.justnet.org/assistance/ schoolsafety.html 

o School Resource Officer Training Program, U.S. Department of Justice,
Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention Fact Sheet, March 2001, provides information on the
Comprehensive School Safety Leadership Initiative to provide training and
technical assistance to SROs. www.ncjrs. org/pdffiles1/ojjdp/fs200105.pdf 

o School Resource Officers and School Administrators: "Talking and
Walking" Together to Make Safer Schools, Research Bulletin, Center for
the Prevention of School Violence, June 2002, provides information on
how to enhance the relationship between school administrators and SROs.
www.ncsu. edu/cpsv/Acrobatfiles/research_bulletin_sro_6_02.pdf 

o School Safety Emergency Procedures Guide, Delaware Emergency
Management Agency, outlines procedures for responding to school
emergencies, including situations that involve school violence.
www.state.de.us/dema/EmerProc.htm 

o "The School Shooter: One Community's Experience," FBI Law
Enforcement Bulletin, September 2001, details the results of a case study
of the school shooting in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma.
www.fbi.gov/publications/ leb/2001/september2001/sept01p9.html 

o The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective, FBI Academy,
National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, Critical Incident
Response Group, 1999, reports on key indicators that may help prevent a
school shooting incident. www.fbi.gov/publications/ school/school2.pdf 

o Surveillance Tools for Safer Schools-Final Report, Institute for Forensic
Imaging, January 2002, offers the findings of a study of surveillance
technology for use in schools. The study, funded by the National Institute
of Justice, was conducted by the Institute for Forensic Imaging, Naval
Surface Warfare Center, and Indiana University Purdue University of
Indianapolis (IUPUI), Schools of Informatics, Law, and Public and
Environmental Affairs. www.ifi-indy.org/security.htm 

o Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening
Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates, U.S. Secret Service and
U.S. Department of Education, May 2002, outlines a process for
identifying, assessing, and managing students who may present a threat of
school violence.
www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SDFS/threatassessmentguide.pdf 

o Violence and Discipline Problems in U.S. Public Schools: 1996-1997,
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,
March 1998, reports the results of a survey of U.S. schools about issues
related to crime, violence, and school safety.
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs98/98030.pdf 

o Walk-Through Metal Detectors for Use in Concealed Weapon and
Contraband Detection, NIJ Standard- 0601.01, U.S. Department of Justice,
Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, September 2000,
offers information on walk-through technologies to detect hidden weapons
and other forms of contraband, and information on related issues.
http://www.ojp. usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/183471.htm 

o What You Need to Know About Drug Testing in Schools, Office of
National Drug Control Policy, August 2002, is designed to assist
educators, parents, and community leaders in determining whether student
drug testing is appropriate for their schools. http://
www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/news/press02/ 082902.html 


-------------------------------

The NLECTC Center System

The National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center
(NLECTC) system, a program of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ),
offers no-cost assistance in helping agencies large and small implement
current and emerging technologies.

The NLECTC system was established in 1994 by NIJ's Office of Science
and Technology to deliver information and technology assistance to the
more than 18,000 police departments; 50 State correctional systems;
thousands of prisons, jails, and parole and probation departments; and
other public safety organizations.

With a network of regional centers and specialty offices located across the
country, the NLECTC system has been able to deliver expertise in a
number of technologies by forming partnerships with such host
organizations as the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Space and Naval
Warfare Systems Center, and The Aerospace Corporation. Through these
partnerships, NLECTC staff have access to the latest innovations in
research and development. 

The NLECTC system serves as an "honest broker" resource for technology
information, assistance, and expertise that includes the following services:

Technology Identification
The NLECTC system provides information and assistance to help agencies
determine the most appropriate and cost-effective technology to solve an
administrative or operational problem. We deliver information relating to
technology availability, performance, durability, reliability, safety, ease of
use, customization capabilities, and interoperability.

Technology Assistance
Our staff serve as proxy scientists and engineers. Areas of assistance
include unique evidence analysis (e.g., audio, video, computer, trace, and
explosives), systems engineering, and communications and information
systems support (e.g., interoperability, propagation studies, and
vulnerability assessments).

Technology Implementation
We develop technology guides, best practices, and other information
resources that are frequently leveraged from hands-on assistance projects
and made available to other agencies.

Property Acquisition
We help departments take advantage of surplus property programs that
make Federal excess and surplus property available to law enforcement
and corrections personnel at little or no cost.

Equipment Testing
In cooperation with the Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES), we
oversee the development of standards and a standards-based testing
program in which equipment such as ballistic- and stab-resistant body
armor, double-locking metallic handcuffs, and semiautomatic pistols is
tested on a pass/fail basis. NLECTC also conducts comparative
evaluations--testing equipment under field conditions--on patrol vehicles;
patrol vehicle tires and replacement brake pads; and cut-, puncture-, and
pathogen-resistant gloves. NLECTC also has evaluated emerging products
to verify manufacturers' claims. The primary focus of OLES is the
development of performance standards and testing methods to ensure that
public safety equipment is safe, dependable, and effective.

Technology Demonstration
We introduce and demonstrate new and emerging technologies through
such special events, conferences, and practical demonstrations as the
Mock Prison Riot (technologies for corrections), Operation America
(bomb detection technologies), and an annual public safety technology
conference. On a limited basis, NLECTC facilitates deployment of new
technologies to agencies for operational testing and evaluation.

Capacity Building
We provide hands-on demonstrations of the latest technology to address
such operational issues as crime and intelligence analysis, geographic
information systems, explosives detection and disablement, inmate
disturbances and riots, and computer crime investigation.

Technology Information
NLECTC disseminates information to the criminal justice community at
no cost through educational bulletins, equipment performance reports,
guides, consumer product lists, news summaries, meeting/conference
reports, videotapes, and CD-ROMs. NLECTC also publishes TechBeat, an
award-winning quarterly newsmagazine. Most publications are available
in electronic form through the Justice Technology Information Network
(JUSTNET) at www.justnet.org. Hard copies of all publications can be
ordered through NLECTC's toll-free number, 800-248-2742, or via e-mail
at asknlectc@nlectc.org.

Technology Commercialization
Our law enforcement and corrections professionals, product and
commercialization managers, engineers, and technical and market research
specialists work together to identify new technologies and product
concepts. They then work with innovators and industry to develop,
manufacture, and distribute these new, innovative products and
technologies.

Technology Needs Assessment
Our national body of criminal justice professionals--the Law Enforcement
and Corrections Technology Advisory Council (LECTAC)--ensures that
we are focusing on the real-world needs of public safety agencies.

Because most of the country's law enforcement and corrections services
are provided at the local level, the NLECTC system is composed of five
regional centers and is complemented by several specialty offices and a
national center. Most centers and offices are co-located with or supported
by federally funded technology partners so they can leverage unique
science and engineering expertise.

NLECTC-National
2277 Research Boulevard
Rockville, MD 20850
800-248-2742
asknlectc@nlectc.org

NLECTC-Northeast
26 Electronic Parkway
Rome, NY 13441-4514
888-338-0584
nlectc_ne@rl.af.mil

NLECTC-Southeast
5300 International Boulevard
North Charleston, SC 29418 
800-292-4385
nlectc-se@nlectc-se.org

NLECTC-Rocky Mountain
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-------------------------------

TechShorts 
Technology News Summary 

TechShorts is a sampling of article abstracts published weekly as part of
the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center's
(NLECTC's) online information service: the Law Enforcement and
Corrections Technology News Summary. 

Offered through JUSTNET, the website of NLECTC, this weekly news
summary provides synopses of recent articles relating to technology
developments and initiatives in law enforcement, corrections, and the
forensic sciences that have appeared in newspapers, newsmagazines, and
trade and professional journals. The summaries also are available through
an electronic e-mail list, JUSTNETNews. Each week, subscribers to
JUSTNETNews receive the summary directly via e-mail. 

To subscribe to the JUSTNETNews/Law Enforcement and Corrections
Technology News Summary, e-mail your request to asknlectc@nlectc.org
or call 800-248-2742. 

Note: Providing synopses of articles or mentioning specific manufacturers
or products does not constitute the endorsement of the U.S. Department of
Justice or NLECTC. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however,
copies may not be sold. The NLECTC Law Enforcement and Corrections
Technology News Summary should be cited as the source of the
information. Copyright 2003, Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland. 

Sounding the Alarm 
Sheriff 
Mike Milstead, the sheriff of Minnehaha County, South Dakota, came up
with a new task for the radio system traditionally used by the National
Weather Service to warn cities and counties of severe weather. Post
September 11, 2001, Milstead decided it was a good idea to use the radio
system for any type of threats to public safety, including terrorist attacks
and accidents. The idea caught on and South Dakota Gov. Bill Janklow,
the National Weather Service, other sheriff's departments, and the media
jumped on the bandwagon in what has now become a statewide campaign.
They mean to see that every home has a weather radio. To implement the
plan, the Governor negotiated a deal for the purchase of 10,000 weather
radios at half price. Five thousand or more radios will be donated to
schools, hospitals, nursing homes, day-care centers, and other
organizations and institutions, and the balance will be sold to private
citizens for a discounted price. The National Weather Service initiated the
infrastructure needed to operate this warning system throughout the State
in 1998, after a tornado nearly obliterated the town of Spencer. Prior to
that, only five transmitters existed in the State. Milstead's idea has sparked
national interest since a National Public Radio broadcast about the South
Dakota program aired last year. 

65.227.106.78 
St. Louis Post-Dispatch 
Alleged serial killer Maury Troy was apprehended after law enforcement
was able to track him through his computer. Troy had sent an Internet map
to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter indicating where the body of a slain
prostitute could be located. Microsoft told the FBI the Internet protocol
address of the only person who had mapped the area, while WorldCom
was able to pinpoint the physical location of the address. Civil libertarians
are worried about the ability of law enforcement to easily track people
through the Internet without the public knowing how simple the process is.
Officers are mandated by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of
1986 to present a subpoena or a court order for a search warrant before
being given information from Internet companies. WorldCom's Sudie
Nolan asserts that her company follows the proper legal channels when it
helps law enforcement agencies. Few court cases have tested the
applications of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. 

Teaching Machines To Hear Your Prose and Your Pain
New York Times
Speech recognition software's ability to detect prosody in human speech is
severely limited, and researchers around the world are working to make
programs more capable of interpreting pauses, timing, pitch, volume, and
other cues that can be translated into punctuation, jokes, and questions.
Some speech synthesis programs incorporate prosody to evoke a feeling of
friendliness to people who listen to electronic messages, but recognizing
prosody is a far more complicated matter, notes Mari Ostendorf of the
University of Washington. Psycholinguist Elizabeth Shriberg is leading
prosody detection initiatives, including one involving how changes in
pitch indicate sentence boundaries. Another project involves studying false
starts and disfluencies-"ums," "ands," and "oops"-that are common in
natural speech but may confuse speech recognition programs. The
applications for software that can identify prosody include intelligence
gathering, such as analysis and transcription of monitored broadcasts and
conversations, which could prove critical in espionage and security
initiatives. A more prosaic use for such technology is being looked into at
the University of Erlangen-Nurnberg in Germany, where a team is
developing programs that can detect cues that indicate frustration, or even
inebriation. Automated customer service and call centers could benefit
from such software. 

Will Thugs Be Scarred Straight?
San Diego Union-Tribune
Ocean Beach, California, grandmother Pat Robertson has invented a
personal safety device that will enable victims to collect their attacker's
DNA. The 911Jack, a handheld brush with metal bristles, could be used to
scratch an attacker and retain DNA for his identification and as evidence.
Robertson has spent $60,000 over 4 years to develop the 911Jack. She
began selling the personal safety device for $6 at the Ocean Beach and
Pacific Beach coffee kiosks she owns and at trade shows. Robertson says
she consulted forensics and liability experts while developing the 911Jack,
which she believes will be more effective during an attack than pepper
spray or alarm whistles. 

Putting Vision Systems Into Perspective 
CNet 
A California startup company is working to enable computers to see in 3D
by using stereo vision video cameras, which would merge two views to
gain depth perception, just as humans do. The company says its products
could be used by vehicles and robots to better navigate and perform tasks
that depend on visual sensory. Currently, computers equipped with visual
sensors have a difficult time separating important objects out from the
background, but stereo vision could help them focus. 

Stop That Cart 
CIO 
Shopping cart theft costs supermarkets in the United States more than
$800 million a year, not just in replacement costs, but in abandoned cart
liability, fines for nuisance complaints, and investments in carriage
retrieval services. Some retailers have taken matters into their own hands
with the acquisition of high-tech gadgets designed to prevent cart theft.
One San Diego-based company has developed a system that incorporates a
digital receiver, braking device, frequency transmitter, and antenna to
automatically cause a brake to be released when a cart nears a
predetermined perimeter. 

Small Fry Robots Becoming Big Law Enforcement Deal 
Law Enforcement Technology
Rescue teams at both the Pentagon and the World Trade Center used
remote control robots to search for victims immediately following the
September 11, 2001 attacks. Robots roughly the size of a shoebox
searched areas in the rubble where dogs or humans could not reach. Larger
robots were used later to investigate the structural status of walls damaged
during the attacks. Robin Murphy, a professor at the University of South
Florida, provided the smaller, tethered robots, while larger robots used a
wireless transmission system and an onboard computing system. The law
enforcement applications of robots, including vision-guided remote
helicopters, is enormous. Robots are unaffected by some of the difficulties
experienced by rescue teams, such as stress and the dangers of inhaling
smoke or toxic fumes. Robots can also greatly reduce the danger
experienced by bomb technicians who are attempting to disarm or handle
an explosive package or device. Robots could eventually be used to help
officers detect the presence of illegal drugs. 

Virtual Mobs, Terrorists for Troop, Police Training 
UniSci
Computer scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have created a
training system with computer-generated figures that copy behavior of
real-life enemies. Lead researcher Barry G. Silverman unveiled the project
at the annual Computer-Generated Forces and Behavioral Representation
Conference in Orlando, Florida. The goal of the system, he says, is to build
emotional and cultural factors into the computer-generated figures and to
make simulated training more realistic and more successful for troops
being sent overseas or police charged with maintaining order in the United
States. Silverman hopes the realistic simulations will teach trainees not to
make decisions that provoke crowd aggression. The project took 3 years
and a $1.4 million grant from the Pentagon's Defense Modeling and
Simulation Office to complete. 

-------------------------------

www.justnet.org 
Online News Summary includes article abstracts on law enforcement,
corrections, and forensics technologies that have appeared in major
newspapers, magazines, and periodicals and on national and international
wire services and websites. 

Publications from NIJ and NLECTC that you can view or download to
your system. 

Frequently Asked Questions that offer detailed information based on
thousands of calls to our information specialists. 

Calendar of Events that lists upcoming meetings, seminars, and training. 

Links that can take you to other important law enforcement and
corrections websites. 

For help in establishing an Internet connection, linking to JUSTNET, or
finding needed technology and product information, call the NLECTC
Information Hotline at 800-248-2742. 

-------------------------------

National Criminal Justice Reference Service 

In addition to funding the National Law Enforcement and Corrections
Technology Center, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) supports the
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), an international
clearinghouse on crime and justice information. NCJRS staff respond to
reference questions, provide referrals to other resources, distribute NIJ and
other Office of Justice Programs (OJP) documents, and maintain a mailing
list of more than 45,000 registered users. In addition, NCJRS sponsors a
calendar of events at www.eventcalendar.ncjrs.org, which lists conferences
and meetings of interest to the criminal justice community. If you are
interested in signing up for the NCJRS mailing list, you may request a
registration form using any of the following methods: 

Fax-on-Demand. Dial 800-851-3420, select option 1, then option 1 again.
The registration form is #1 on the document index. The form will be faxed
to you immediately. 

Fax. Fax your request for a registration form to 410-792-4358. You will
receive a form promptly in the mail. 

Online. Go to www.ncjrs.org/puborder and request registration form
BC640. It will be sent to you in the mail. Or register online at
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Write. Send a written request to NCJRS, P.O. Box 6000, Rockville, MD
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Call. Call an NCJRS information specialist at 800-851-3420 and request a
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As a registered user, you will receive the bimonthly NCJRS Catalog, the
NCJRS Users Guide, and news and announcements of new publications
and resources based on your criminal justice interests. 

For more information about NIJ and NCJRS, visit their websites:
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij and www.ncjrs.org. 

-------------------------------

The National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center is
supported by Cooperative Agreement #96-MU-MU- K011 awarded by the
U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice. Analyses of test
results do not represent product approval or endorsement by the National
Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice; the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce; or Aspen
Systems Corporation. Points of view or opinions contained within this
document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the
official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. 

The National Institute of Justice is a component of the Office of Justice
Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Bureau of
Justice Statistics, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention,
and Office for Victims of Crime. 

-------------------------------

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-------------------------------

New Publications 

The following publications are available from the National Law
Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center-National: 

Michigan State Police Tests 2003 Patrol Vehicles. This bulletin
summarizes the test results from the Michigan State Police 2003 model
year patrol vehicle evaluations. 

2003 Model Year Patrol Vehicle Testing. This report contains the
complete results of comprehensive tests conducted by the Michigan State
Police of 2003 model year police patrol vehicles. Vehicles were subjected
to major tests and evaluations, including vehicle dynamics testing,
acceleration and top-speed testing, brake testing, ergonomics and
communications evaluations, and fuel economy evaluations. 

To obtain any of the above publications, write NLECTC, 2277 Research
Boulevard, Mail Stop 8J, Rockville, MD 20850; telephone 800-248-2742;
or e-mail asknlectc@nlectc.org. Publications also can be downloaded from
JUSTNET at www.justnet.org. 

-------------------------------

Walk This Way--
to the 7th annual Mock Prison Riot
April 27-30, 2003
at the former penitentiary in Moundsville, West Virginia
For more information or to register online, log on to www.oletc.org or call
888-306-5382.

-------------------------------

Homeland Security: Protecting America's Future
Force Protection Equipment Demonstration IV
May 6-8, 2003
United States Marine Corps Base
Quantico, VA
www.fped4.org