document Resources
In order to support its mission, the RDPC maintains this online library of resources related to the needs of rural first responders.
Thermal Imaging is a Useful Tool for Police
New thermal imaging systems have allowed police officers in the US to apprehend criminals and locate car crash victims in the darkness. The thermal units have been particularly helpful in search and rescue missions, identifying recently driven vehicles, tracking suspects, locating dropped evidences, surveillance, and vehicle crash investigations. Read more »
Louisville Residents Stay Safe with Customizable Crime Alert Map
Residents in Louisville, Kentucky are now able to receive customized updates on crime that can be narrowed down to a particular beat with the help of sophisticated online mapping tools. The Louisville Metro Police Department has created an online Google crime map, in conjunction with QuickFind that allows users to receive updates based on which of the county’s eight police divisions they live in. Users can also get information on which beats they are interested in and can receive alerts via text or email with the help of GovDelivery. Read more »
DoJ Grant Seeks to Gauge Impact of Police Technologies
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) is seeking to study the impact that advanced technologies such as mobile communications, sensor networks and Web-based applications have had on law enforcement, the extended law enforcement community, and crime. The DoJ is offering a grant to conduct the research, which is valued at $1 million. The DoJ cites scholars James Byrne and Gary Marx, who recently questioned whether or not technologies have had a positive impact on crime prevention and police performance. Read more »
Highlighting Terrorism Hot-spots in the U.S.
From 1970 to 2008 nearly a third of all terrorist attacks occurred in just five metropolitan U.S. counties, however, terrorist events continue to occur in rural areas as well. Researchers have found that 65 of the 3,143 counties in the nation are hot-spots for terrorism. A hot-spot is defined as a county that experienced a greater than average number of terrorist attacks between 1970 and 2008.
Researchers in the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism found that the greatest number of attacks clustered around five major cities: Read more »
Critical Infrastructure Largely Unharmed by Massive Solar Storm
Last week, as a result of a colossal solar storm, critical infrastructure only experienced minimum disruptions to the world’s transportation system and energy grid. Critical infrastructure operators expected much worse from the storm that sent a flood of highly-charged protons at the Earth. The storm was more intense than any other in the past seven years and was cause by a coronal mass ejection that sent balls of gas consisting of charged particles and magnetic field from the sun’s outer atmosphere. Read more »
