Justice and Public Safety

The state is the latest to pilot driver alcohol detection technology. Here, a steering wheel-mounted sensor can prevent a vehicle from being started when it detects elevated carbon dioxide and ethanol levels in a person in the driver's seat.

Soon, the department will take an enormous step in implementing a whole slew of new technology with the full launch of its Real-Time Information Center — which officials hope will come by spring of next year.

The Maryland State Police’s model policy is intended as a template for other law enforcement. It largely mirrors state law but lacks extra guardrails sought by the state's ACLU. Local agencies can opt not to use it, or to add their own requirements.

A City Council committee will consider next week a new contract with the company that provides the gunshot-detecting tech. Chicago and Seattle have moved away from it, and Houston's mayor has indicated he wants the city to drop it.

Hundreds of police officers, firefighters and emergency workers from North Carolina’s Triangle area are packing in food and supplies for their emotionally fatigued counterparts in the state’s western mountains.

The result of a legislative overhaul, the move by the state transportation department impacts many, but not all, local traffic cameras. A new law requires the cameras be permitted.

Cook County, Ill., has launched an innovative dashboard mapping certain deaths by cause — gun violence, opioids and extreme weather — to reveal hidden patterns and direct resources where they're most needed.

If Ohio enacts Alyssa’s Law, the state would spend $25 million to purchase silent alarm systems for public and private schools, including wearable panic buttons and automatic alerts for staff.

Power line crews, fire departments, public works departments and even sheriffs' deputies with chainsaws were out in Southwest Virginia clearing fallen trees and working to bring electricity back to thousands of people.

The Fresno City Council has approved a 10-year lease-purchase deal to buy a brand-new H125 jet turbine helicopter — the same model used by the California Highway Patrol, among others.

A law passed this year requires the state police to create a model policy for other Maryland departments, a guideline that some advocates hope will further limit facial recognition’s use as a policing tool.

During a public hearing before his approval, Raheem L. Mullins predicted a future in which jurors have notebook computers and all courthouses have Wi-Fi that visitors access through handheld devices.

Agencies in Southern Maine have tried using software with artificial intelligence to draft police reports. Officers who have tried it have said it produces an accurate summary, but observers are worried it may impact narratives and fairness.

An increase in violent crime in downtown Dallas has spurred a call from city officials and local businesses to increase police officer presence for the area.

Customers of Midwest Public Safety will now have access to products from Veritone. The public safety tech supplier sells digital evidence management and other tools powered by AI and used by some 3,500 clients.

The ability of artificial intelligence to create deceptive photos, videos and audio creates a potential threat to the reputations and mental well-being of students and staff. It can also lead to teachable moments.

With 140 mph winds and stronger gusts, the landfall of Hurricane Helene this week marked the most powerful hurricane to hit the region among storms tracked since the 1850s.

The City Council is signaling once more its commitment to keeping acoustic gunshot detection technology in Chicago, even if that effort continues to pit aldermen against Mayor Brandon Johnson.