Justice & Public Safety
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The City Council signed off on directing roughly $360,000 in state funds to the police department. Of that, more than $43,000 is earmarked for software that will let police “obtain and retain” digital evidence. -
County commissioners will consider spending more than $3.2 million over 10 years to replace body-worn and in-car sheriff’s office cameras. Software, data storage and accessories would be included.
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The local police department recently unveiled a new rooftop drone port at headquarters. The agency fielded approximately 10,000 drone flights in 2025 and expects about twice as many this year.
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The proposed agreement with Flock Safety would see a dozen automated license plate readers placed around the city at a cost of no more than $65,000, according to an agenda report.
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A set of eight license plate cameras will give police additional help locating wanted vehicles, officials say. Surrounding cities have also implemented the technology, which can share intelligence between departments.
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The Chula Vista Police Department has been leveraging a fleet of 29 unmanned aerial systems — also known as drones — to patrol the city 10 hours a day, seven days a week from four launch sites.
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The Boone County Prosecutor's Office raked in $328,000 in grants to offset the costs of increasing crime. The money will come from six grants and help with salaries and technology upgrades.
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Two years after the launch of Houston’s ShotSpotter program, critics say the benefits are outweighed by the $3.5 million price tag. To date, 99 arrests have been made as a result and 107 guns have been seized.
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Los Angeles Unified School District officials report that as many as 2,000 student records were posted on the dark web as a result of a recent cyber attack. Some of the exposed records were more than three decades old.
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The advanced drones used by the team in James City County can provide officers with a bird’s-eye view of everything from crime scenes and traffic pursuits to help searches for missing persons.
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National mapping efforts that compile environmental data offer a resource that can be used by government agencies of different levels to help them make data-informed planning and response decisions.
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The department is reviewing how officers store data and records after identifying 52,000 improperly stored digital records. This could mean some evidence wasn’t provided to lawyers as required by state law.
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Users who have a case in any of the six participating counties in the state can sign up for a free service that sends text message reminders in advance of court hearings and fine payment due dates.
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Though it drew little attention when it was first passed back in 1996, a law that has been called the rule that launched big tech is now seen as a pillar of the wide-open global Internet we know today.
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Police officials in High Point, N.C., told the city council there that a national ballistics database was one of the things that helped investigators bring charges in a gang-related shooting spree last fall.
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The technological improvements the department has made include adding a gunshot detection system that alerts dispatchers when shots are fired and adding more surveillance cameras to high-crime areas.
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A $2.28 million federal grant will allow the city to upgrade its 911 emergency dispatch center and implement new technology that will allow dispatchers to do their jobs more efficiently, officials say.
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A detective with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office Digital Forensics Lab was able to trace the funds lost in a spear phishing attack to a U.S. bank account and freeze it late last year. The funds have since been recovered.
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The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act aims to prevent malicious hacking but has long been accused of being overly broad and vague. Some states’ anti-hacking laws are tighter, but confusions can remain.
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Several balloons — two of which were shot down over North America — have certainly strained international relations, but you might not have guessed that there are a host of non-spy-related uses for the old-school tech.
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New software is allowing officers to listen to 911 calls and saving precious time when responding to emergencies or crime. The technology removes the delays associated with passing information from dispatchers to officers.
