The Police Chief keeps you on the cutting edge of law enforcement technology with monthly product announcements.
Items about new or improved products are based on news releases supplied by manufacturers and distributors; IACP endorsement is in no way implied.

Fingerprint detection workstation

Foster + Freeman Ltd. announces the launch of DCS 5, designed to be the world’s most advanced fingerprint detection, capture, and enhancement workstation. Combining high-resolution imaging technology with a selection of powerful LED and halogen forensic light sources, DCS 5 is capable of visualizing and improving the appearance of almost any type of fingerprint on almost any surface or background. Once an image has been captured, advanced software, applied using simple controls, enhances print detail to further improve the value of evidence. Key to DCS 5’s effectiveness is the system’s custom-modified digital SLR camera. Used in combination with the relevant light sources and viewing filters, it allows users to detect and examine finger marks using reflected long-wave UV imaging (R-UV) at one end of the spectrum and IR fluorescent powders, such as the newly developed fpNatural 1 powder, at the other.

For more information, visit www.fosterfreeman.com/dcs.5.

Web-enabled software platform

Vidsys, a global provider of enterprise Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) software, announced the next stage of evolution of its award-winning, web-enabled software platform, to include the convergence of physical and cyber security with information management solutions. Enhancements in the next release of the software will include a graphical user interface (GUI) refresh; enterprise data visualization (EDV), including external vulnerability and threat assessment; enterprise business intelligence (EBI) dynamic trending and reporting in real time; improved map display modules, including 3D support and improved performance and diagnostics tools; and continued internationalization (i18n). Vidsys provides a transformational software platform that is used to run operations centers for leading enterprise organizations and public sector agencies globally. The rapidly deployable, browser-based platform collects, correlates, and converts vast amounts of data into meaningful and actionable information, based on the organization’s risk policy, standards, and compliance requirements.

For more information, visit www.vidsys.com.

Online crash reports

Carfax offers one online source for crash reports—Crashdocs.org. Crash reports from virtually any police department in the United States are easily accessible and, now, available instantly from a rapidly growing number of agencies. Insurers, lawyers, and other interested parties can quickly order the reports they need and view some of them immediately without added convenience fees. Industry professionals no longer have to contact individual police departments or pay high convenience fees to obtain crash reports. Crashdocs.org is the single source for information about a specific crash from law enforcement agencies across the United States, eliminating the need for individual agencies to mail out reports, a significant cost savings for agencies and those requesting the reports.

For more information, visit www.crashdocs.org.

Extrication tactics course

The Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) offers the Field Force Extrication Tactics course. The three-day course provides emergency responders with the knowledge, tools, and skills necessary to recognize the purpose of protestor devices, as well as identifying the various types of locking protestor devices used in civil actions. The course also covers legal issues as they relate to the use of and the extrication of individuals from protestor devices and the safe operation of tools used to extricate individuals from protestor devices. All Center for Domestic Preparedness training courses are fully funded by the Department of Homeland Security for state, local, and tribal responders, including travel, lodging, and meals.

For more information, visit http://cdp.dhs.gov/training/program/l/#ffe.

Cloud-based software platform for school administrators and public safety agencies

Haystax Technology, Inc., announces it will bolster school safety for the McAllen Independent School District (MISD), which spans 33 campuses and includes more than 30,000 students, teachers, and employees in Rio Grande Valley, Texas. MISD will launch the Haystax School Safety Center, a cloud-based software platform that gives school administrators and public safety agencies a common operational picture of the school security environment, helping them better anticipate and respond to threats. The Haystax School Safety Center will integrate MISD’s critical threat and school facility information into a single alerting and monitoring tool—available any time, any place, and on any device. This will give the MISD Police Department and school district leaders a 360-degree view of their area of operations, while allowing MISD to maintain critical campus data and imagery, conduct safety audits, report and monitor incidents, and identify and continuously analyze potential school-related threats.

For more information, visit www.haystax.com.

Social media campaign

The #WhyIWearTheBadge campaign is designed to highlight the diversity and commitment of law enforcement officers, and a quick search of the hashtag on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube will reveal just that. The badge is a symbol of courage, strength, and integrity. With the display of the badge comes great responsibility, so why do hundreds of thousands of men and women wear the badge each day? Agencies from around the world are sharing photos, videos, and stories that show how unique the field of law enforcement is and how dedicated officers are to their profession. #WhyIWearTheBadge showcases the wonderful and courageous work law enforcement officers are doing to create safer, healthier, and friendlier communities.

For more information, visit www.theiacp.org/whyiwearthebadge.

Text-to-9-1-1 rollout

TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS), announces that it now supports more than 500 public safety answering points (PSAPs) with production service in 33 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. TCS simplifies deployment for PSAPs interested in receiving text-to-9-1-1 messages by leading interoperability work with legacy providers, text service providers that use proprietary protocols, and next generation providers that use the standards-based Message Session Relay Protocol (MSRP). TCS is working with more than 300 additional PSAPs to implement text-to-9-1-1.

For more information, visit www.telecomsys.com.

In-car ballistic shield

Unprovoked attacks on police officers are rising. According to the FBI statistics, more than half of officers killed by firearms annually were not wearing body armor when they were slain. Of those who wore vests, most died from either head or neck wounds or were struck in areas not protected by their vests. Riggs developed and manufactures Riggs Shield, engineered to be the fastest deployable ballistic shield from inside a patrol car. It is a UL Level III (NIJ level IIIa) ballistic shield that mounts to the door panel of a patrol vehicle, giving instant access to the shield to protect the head and neck while seated in the vehicle. The shield is rated to stop up to .44 Magnum, 240 grain, pistol rounds. ♦

For more information, visit www.policeballisticshield.com.