• Minnesota becomes twenty-seventh state to fully join Secure Communities

    Last week Minnesota joined the controversial federal immigration program known as Secure Communities, while critics continue to blast the program; Minnesota is the twenty-seventh state fully to join the now mandatory program designed to share fingerprint information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

  • New Mexico considers ending immigrant licenses

    Lawmakers in New Mexico are considering a bill that would repeal a state law that permits undocumented immigrants to receive state driver’s licenses

  • Customizable crime alert map helps Louisville residents stay safe

    With the help of sophisticated online mapping tools, residents in Louisville, Kentucky can receive customized updates on crime that can be narrowed down to a particular beat

  • D.C. Homeland Security Director resigns amid scandal

    Washington D.C.’s homeland security director, Millicent D. West, abruptly resigned earlier this week amid the ongoing federal investigation of a former District Council member

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  • Washington to test police gun safety equipment

    Lawmakers in Washington are currently debating legislation that would require police departments to thoroughly test the gun locks and safes they issue to law enforcement officers for use in their homes

  • Real ID deadlines looms

    More and more states have adapted the driver’s licenses they issue to meet the requirements of the Real ID Act; several states have not – and they have until 15 January 2013 to do so, or receive an extension from DHS; if these states do not change their driver’s license or receive an extension, their residents will need to start getting passports in order to board commercial airlines

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  • Facial recognition tech helps California police nab two thieves

    With the help of facial recognition technology, police in Lancaster, California were able to apprehend two individuals thought to be behind a string of armed robberies

  • N.J. city augments surveillance cameras with spotlights

    Over the next three months, the East Orange police department will connect high-powered spotlights to their surveillance camera system, so that when camera operators spot suspicious activity they can turn on the bright lights of justice and deter would be criminals

  • Spike in violent incidents in hospitals

    Over the past decade, hospitals across the nation have been subject to an alarming increase in violent incidents; in the last five years alone, there has been nearly a 300 percent increase in the number of reported homicides, assaults, and rapes compared to the previous five years

  • DHS IG: Cook County communications program botched

    On Monday the DHS Inspector General blasted officials in Cook County, Illinois for mishandling a $45 million federally funded project to upgrade communications equipment for first responders; the Inspector General said the Cook County program, dubbed Project Shield, was fraught with trouble from the start, resulted in equipment that did not work, and potentially wasted millions of taxpayers’ dollars

  • LA sheriff department upgrading its 1980-era terminals

    The Los Angeles Sheriff Department is upgrading its 1980s-era terminals, for which it had become difficult for the largest sheriff’s agency in the United States to find parts; the upgrade – Raytheon’s Mobile Digital Computer System (MDCS); the MDCS project and major technology upgrade represents the largest-ever deployment of mobile digital computers to a sheriff’s department in the country

  • Emergency responders prepare for chaotic New Year’s Eve

    Emergency responders across the nation are gearing up for another busy New Year’s; each year the holiday sends overly enthusiastic revelers to the emergency room with alcohol-fueled deaths and injuries, but this New Year’s is expected to be particularly chaotic as it falls on a Saturday, giving party-goers all day to imbibe and a full day to recover

  • Buffalo – second best prepared city in U.S. for disasters

    Buffalo, New York was recently declared the second best prepared city in the United States for a major terrorist attack or disaster in terms of public health

  • NY counties receive money to prepare for emergencies

    The magnitude of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee posed serious communications challenges to the response and recovery efforts among many New York counties; these counties are now receiving $20 million in funding to help localities better respond to emergency situations

  • Underwater drones help NYPD secure harbor

    The New York Police Department (NYPD) has a new high-tech ally in its fight to keep the city safe from terrorists; to help sweep the city’s waterways and bridges of dangerous bombs, the NYPD’s Harbor Unit recently acquired six unmanned underwater drones that help sniff out explosives