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| NEWS of the Day - October 27, 2011 |
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on some issues of interest to the community policing and neighborhood activist across the country
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following group of articles from local newspapers and other sources constitutes but a small percentage of the information available to the community policing and neighborhood activist public. It is by no means meant to cover every possible issue of interest, nor is it meant to convey any particular point of view ...
We present this simply as a convenience to our readership ... |
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From the Los Angeles Times
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Mexico City opens massive public-surveillance center
REPORTING FROM MEXICO CITY -- There are 13,000 surveillance cameras dispersed across this megalopolis, capturing everything in view, in real time and around the clock.
The cameras peek at streets and people from the tops of light poles, inside buses and over subway platforms, watching in the name of public safety.
The local government, headed by Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, this week unveiled an intelligence center where all these video feeds are monitored. It is a state-of-the-art "integrated" hub with a name that sounds like a futuristic space vessel: the C4I4.
Speaking inside the building's circular nerve center -- where 600 video screens carried scenes of residential streets and choked intersections -- Ebrard told reporters that the C4I4 is one of the largest and most advanced public-safety command centers in the world.
It would serve as a hub in case of a major earthquake, an eruption of one of the nearby volcanos or an outbreak of the kind of intense drug-war street violence that has been seen in other parts of the country.
All of the city's databases, such as vehicle records and home addresses, are at officials' fingertips inside the C4I4. Forty-seven public-safety agencies, from firefighters to the bank police, now have a single home base in case of a major emergency.
And every image captured by the center's cameras -- movement in the city's prison yards, commuters on the jam-packed Metrobus lines -- is stored for up to a week, making for a gigantic ongoing intelligence operation blanketing the urban obstacle course that is Mexico's capital. Hence the center's name, signifying four Cs (command, control, communications, computing) and four I's (intelligence, integration, information, investigation).
Ebrard said the center would help "guarantee safety in our city."
The opening of the center is the realization of a long-term goal for Ebrard, who is running for his leftist party's nomination in next year's presidential election. In 2002, as Mexico City's police chief, he brought the first surveillance cameras to the colonial downtown. Between 2003 and 2004, he said, there was a 35% drop in crime in the historic core.
Upon taking office as mayor in 2006, Ebrard sought to put video surveillance cameras in as much of the city as possible.
He visited 12 foreign cities, including London and New York, to look at their public surveillance systems. The municipal government then put a reported $460 million (link in Spanish) into a plan called "Safe City," in which Carlos Slim's flagship phone company Telmex was contracted to supply the network and the French electronics corporation Thales was hired to supply the camera technology.
The city added 8,000 cameras to 5,000 in place in the subways.
The cameras, officials said, are designed to automatically spot anomalies on the streets of the D.F., as this city is called for short. Cameras would alert staff at the C4I4, for instance, if a car was going the wrong way down a major avenue, or if a group of people was detected suddenly moving or running at once.
Fausto Lugo Garcia, one of Ebrard's top emergency-response officials, said the C4I4 allows authorities to have "one vision of the city," and added that the threat of drug-war violence creeping into Mexico City is "without a doubt a worry that we work on and keep working on."
So far, the drug war has largely been absent in Mexico City, a place once notorious for out-of-control crime and now seen as a haven from drug violence. Earlier this month, Ebrard's government announced a 12.5% drop in crime in the capital between 2010 and 2011, a decline attributed in part this week to the use of public surveillance cameras.
"In having security cameras, there's a natural effect of dissolution" of potential criminal activity, Lugo said.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2011/10/mexico-city-security-intelligence-emergency-center-c4i4-ebrard.html
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Gallup poll: Record 43% of U.S. women say household has a gun
The number of U.S. women who say their household possesses a gun is at a record high.
A Gallup Poll released Wednesday says 43% of American women report a gun in their home or somewhere on their property. That number is up seven percentage points, from 36% in 2010.
Men were even more likely to say their household has a gun. This year 52% of men reported a gun in their house or on their property -- also seven points higher than in 2010, when 45% said so.
The gender gap is more pronounced when people are asked who owns the gun. Twice as many men as women say they own a gun -- 46% of men, 23% of women.
These results come from Gallup's Oct. 6-9 crime poll, which also found that public support for Americans' right to bear arms has hit an all time high. When asked whether there should be a law banning possession of handguns, nearly three-quarters said they opposed such a law. A little more than a quarter supported such a law.
It's unclear, however, whether more households actually have guns. Perhaps more people feel comfortable admitting that they do.
Some other interesting details from the report:
- 47% of Americans report they have a gun in their home or elsewhere on their property. That's the highest number Gallup has recorded since 1993, when 54% said so.
- 55% of Republicans admit having a gun on their property, compared with 40% of Democrats. But that gap is shrinking. Last year, 52% of Republicans said they had a gun on the property, compared with 32% of Democrats.
- Education level plays a role in whether someone owns a gun. According to Gallup, 29% of college graduates say they personally own a gun, compared with 40% of those without a college degree.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/
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From Google News
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Red-light traffic camera deals under scrutiny
by Larry Copeland
Local governments hungry for revenue are signing contracts with red-light camera companies that put profit over traffic safety, according to a new study by a national public interest advocacy group.
Some contracts restrict police from doing things like lengthening the yellow signal and leave taxpayers holding the bag if the contracts are terminated early, says the report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, the federation of state public interest research groups.
"The most problematic contracts require cities to share revenue with the camera vendor on a per-ticket basis or through other formulas as a percentage of revenue," the group says. "In other words, the more tickets a camera system issues, the more profit the vendor collects."
"It just creates this really broad incentive to fine as many people as you can," says Phineas Baxandall, a co-author of the report. "That's not a good safety model."
About 700 communities in about half the states have deals with for-profit companies to install camera systems. The trend has been accelerated during the recession as local governments seek revenue that can help them avert laying off teachers, firefighters and police officers, the report says.
The deals "sometimes prevent local governments from acting in the best interests of their citizens, especially when the terms of the deal prioritize delivering profits for the shareholders or owners of the private firm," the report says. When local governments privatize traffic enforcement, they usually retain some role. Some contracts, though, limit government powers to set and enforce traffic regulations.
Yellow-light duration, for example, has long been a contentious point in the red-light camera debate.
Lengthening a yellow signal gives drivers more time to react to a signal change, thus reducing the number of red-light violations.
"However, some contracts potentially impose financial penalties on the city if traffic engineers extend the length of the yellow light at intersections, which would reduce the number of tickets the systems can issue," the report says.
Anne McCartt, senior vice president for research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and a proponent of automated enforcement, says cameras "are a highly effective way to reduce red-light running and reduce crashes, especially serious crashes, at intersections. … The most effective program would be one where no tickets would be issued because no one is running a red light."
The privatized traffic law enforcement industry "has amassed significant political clout that it uses to shape traffic safety nationwide," according to the report, which says vendors aggressively lobby to expand camera use. "In 2011, camera vendors employed nearly 40 lobbyists in Florida, whose agenda included killing a bill that would have required municipalities to adopt longer yellow-light times to increase intersection safety," the report says.
"This report is going to open a whole new, robust dialogue about how we should both provide public safety by using photo enforcement and about how it should be managed to protect the public interest," says Leslie Blakey, executive director of the National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running, an advocacy group initially funded by the photo enforcement industry.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-10-26/red-light-camera-deals/50943554/1
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From the Department of Justice
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Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole Speaks at the Anti-Violence Initiative Press Conference
Denver ~ Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Thank you John [Walsh]. It is an honor to be here today in support of the success of this Metro Denver summer anti-violence enforcement initiative. As John mentioned, during this past spring Metro Denver had an increase in the number of violent firearm related shootings and homicides. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the ATF, in partnership with the Aurora, Denver and Lakewood Police Departments, and the local District Attorneys, stepped up, focusing on locations where violent gun crime was most likely to occur. They combined their resources, created a task force, and initiated investigations into gang violence.
To see the results of this law enforcement initiative – arresting 80 defendants with firearms, most of whom have gang affiliations – is impressive. Agents and officers also seized over 100 firearms of all types, including machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, handguns, silencers, and destructive devices. It is clear that this partnership has made the streets of Metro Denver safer.
This initiative is consistent with the Department of Justice anti-violence strategy. In 2010 Attorney General Eric Holder tasked U.S. Attorney's Offices to be proactive, identifying violent crime hot spots, and develop law enforcement strategies to address the violent crime. That is exactly what was done here.
Prosecutors working as neighborhood problem solvers were responsible for recognizing that there was going to be a problem, in this case a summer of violence. Their response was to remove violent offenders with firearms from the streets. This was only possible by forming partnerships between federal prosecutors, the ATF and local law enforcement. These types of partnerships, involving multiple jurisdictions, prevent gang members from using city boundaries to get away with the violent crime.
While it is important to fight violent crime through the prosecution of those offenders we arrest, it is not enough. We must also be proactive in seeking to identify and address the issues which drive the problem of violence in our communities, and do what we can to keep these crimes from happening in the first place. Both are essential tools in our battle against violent crime. Yesterday I saw what steps Denver and Aurora are taking to reduce gang affiliation and the dangers to our communities caused by gangs. The proactive approach these two cities are taking is a critical component in our battle against violent crime.
Colorado must be recognized for the approach taken here. Its law enforcement community is taking dangerous offenders off the streets, and it is working to prevent gang involvement from starting in the first place. Because of this, the Metro Denver area is a safer place. I applaud those I stand with today. And I thank them for their hard work in protecting their community from violent gun crime.
http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/dag/speeches/2011/dag-speech-111026.html
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From the FBI
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FBI Child ID App Updated with New Features
In response to user feedback, the FBI Child ID App has been updated with new features, including password protection and additional photo capabilities. To download the update, go to the iTunes store and click on the Apps button.
The iPhone mobile application, which enables users to electronically store photos and vital information about their children so that it's handy if they need it, was launched on August 5 and has been downloaded more than 80,000 times.
Updates released last week include the following:
Passwords: You now have the option of password-protecting the application. To activate it, go to the Checklist screen, click on the Password icon in the upper right hand of the page, and select Enable Password Protection. If you use this feature, remember to update your password often and make it something you will remember if you need it. The passwords rely on the iPhone's built-in keychain and encryption features.
Photos: You can now add any pictures from your iPhone's image library (before, you needed to take a picture with your iPhone to add it to the app). You can also zoom in and crop images prior to saving.
Other additions include new icons and styles, smarter keypad input fields, and data protection that prevents you from losing unsaved data should the application be closed before saving.
With the Child ID App, you can quickly share pictures and physical identifiers such as height and weight with security or police officers. And using a special tab on the app, you can quickly and easily e-mail the information to authorities with a few clicks.
The app also includes tips on keeping children safe as well as specific guidance on what to do in those first few crucial hours after a child goes missing.
Read more about the Child ID App
http://www.fbi.gov/news/news_blog/fbi-child-id-app-updated-with-new-features
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From the Department of Homeland Security
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Supporting Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Who Keep Our Nation Safe
by Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary Janet Napolitano
Keeping our nation safe from evolving terrorist threats requires strong partnerships at all levels. Nowhere are those partnerships more important than with our federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officers who work on the frontlines every day to keep our cities and communities safe.
These courageous men and women, who put their lives on the line to protect others, must have the tools, training, and resources they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.
This week at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) General Assembly in Chicago, we each had an opportunity to reiterate our support for police officers and first responders across our country, many of whom are struggling to hire or retain personnel in the face of tough economic challenges.
As part of ongoing work to better understand and overcome current fiscal challenges, this week, the Justice Department's Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) office released a new report on how the economic downturn has impacted police departments nationwide. According to the Department's research, we expect that, by the end of this year, nearly 12,000 police officers and sheriff's deputies will have been laid off. Already, law enforcement agencies nationwide currently have nearly 30,000 unfilled vacancies. And an estimated 28,000 more officers and deputies experienced week-long furloughs last year. In 25 years of collecting data, this is the first national decrease in law enforcement positions ever recorded.
There is great demand for existing federal fire fighter hiring funding.In FY10 alone there were $1.8 billion in applications for $420 million in SAFER funds.
Especially in these difficult economic times, the tough choices we are all facing should not come at the expense of public safety and national security. And, fortunately, they don't have to.
The American Jobs Act would provide $5 billion in assistance to states and local communities to create and save thousands of police and first responder jobs across the country. These funds would not only help to safeguard our national security and bolster public safety - they would strengthen our economy.
Passage of the American Jobs Act also would ensure that many of the critical partnerships we have established with local law enforcement can continue - and improve our ability to share information, to train frontline officers to recognize indicators of terrorism and crime, and to encouraging the public to be vigilant in reporting suspicious activity to appropriate authorities.
These steps provide a strong foundation for law enforcement at all levels to protect communities from terrorism and other threats. They also help us better understand the risks confronting the homeland while protecting the privacy rights and civil liberties of all Americans, and foster a strong relationship with the international community.
When it comes to advancing our public safety efforts, we simply can't afford to wait. We must take action now to combat the economic conditions that have affected - and, in some communities, devastated - law enforcement agencies nationwide. We urge Congress to pass the American Jobs Act so that we can protect the men and women on the frontlines who protect us and contribute to our nation's safety and security every day.
http://blog.dhs.gov/2011/10/supporting-law-enforcement-officers-and.html
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Supporting Our BioDefense System to Meet Evolving Threats
by Dr. Tara O'Toole, Under Secretary for Science and Technology
Ten years ago, five people were killed and seventeen others became ill when letters containing anthrax were delivered through the mail. These incidents caused panic, confusion, and an avalanche of reports about suspicious packages and speculation about bio-terror attacks. In the decade since, the federal government has made significant gains in the country's ability to detect, respond to, and recover from a deliberate biological incident. The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has played an important role in these advancements in collaboration with with Federal agencies, national laboratories, state and local governments, first responders, the medical and public health communities and the private sector.
S&T has made significant progress in keeping the nation safe from biological threats through the development of technologies, technical tools, and standards to improve the nation's biological detection, mitigation, and response capabilities. Specifically, we have focused on deepening our understanding of the biological agents, protecting agriculture, and developing ways to conduct forensic bioattack investigations. We have also developed programs, such as BioWatch, which provide detection and early warning of a pathogen release, and standards, which enhance the capabilities of first responders and public health professionals.
In supporting first responders, S&T is leading the development of a strategy to build a mission capability for biothreats that is consistent with the National Strategy for CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives) Standards recently published by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. We have also crafted a standard field protocol for rapid resolution of suspicious powders as well as developing training curricula for first responders.
While challenges remain, these extensive efforts by DHS and its partners have resulted in a government and citizens considerably more prepared to respond to and recover from a biological attack.
http://blog.dhs.gov/2011/10/s-supporting-our-biodefense-system-to.html |
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