Last month, Federal News Radio reported that budget cuts to the Defense Department meant choosing between high-tech firepower, and the troops who would become “irrelevant” during a war that implemented it. Could high tech make police irrelevant? The Memphis Daily News’ article about information and intelligence sharing among Tennessee law enforcement officers shows the ways…
Author Archives: Christa Miller
Political pressure? Refer to your values
It’s been said that social media “amplifies” whatever an organization’s values are. If a company is all about pushy sales, so will be its social efforts. If it seeks long-term customer loyalty based on relationships, its social efforts will reflect that too. Likewise among police departments. An agency that respects its citizens enough to communicate…
Danger! Zombies ahead… and other security issues
Web-based traffic signs seem like the perfect solution for agencies that have speed enforcement problems. With the ability to change the sign’s message online — as well as receive alerts and data from the sign — no longer do supervisors need to send precious units to the signs to perform these functions manually. But in…
5 free resources for high tech crimes investigators
Last week I wrote about the need to become better informed on high tech crimes, the better to help victims of identity theft, cyberstalking, and other complex crimes. Fortunately, free resources exist. TLO Designed for agencies that can’t afford a subscription to Lexis-Nexis’ Accurint or ChoicePoint, TLO is rapidly becoming a strong competitor for both…
What does high tech crime preparedness mean to you?
When someone calls or emails your agency to make a report about a high tech crime… what do you do? Some reports, like child pornography, are easy. Internet Crimes Against Children task forces exist in every state — some states have multiple task forces — and even if your agency isn’t affiliated, there’s always the…
Illinois Agency Issues Video Game to Teach Kids
Today’s guest post comes courtesy of Ari Herzog, a social media marketer who serves on the Newburyport (Mass.) city council. A longtime Cops 2.0 reader, Ari is a proponent of open government — government agencies using technology to make the public part of what they do. Today’s post is about how one of them is…