Law Enforcement

EnCase Portable helps to dig up white-collar crime

By David Greig

19:10 May 20, 2009 PDT

The Encase Portable has simplified the task of searching a corporate computers and databases for incriminating or illegal material. Unlike existing computer forensics solutions, EnCase Portable runs on a USB drive rather than a notebook, making it easier and quicker investigators to boot a target computer to the USB drive and run a pre-configured data search and retrieval. Read More

The highly-desirable 1000 watt Limited Edition TidalForce M-750 x2.0 electric fold-up bike

By Mike Hanlon

18:11 May 12, 2009 PDT

Military-funded projects often pave the way for a much better consumer product, and although the original DARPA funding of the development of the Tactical Electric No Signature (TENS) Mountain bike for Marines and paratroopers is now over a decade old, hold onto your hats folks, because the design has been upgraded and will be sold in limited quantities with a 1000 watt propulsion system. The TidalForce M-750 x2.0 is based around the commercially available (and ingenious) Montague Paratrooper folding bike but has a top speed of over 30 mph and range on a single charge is 25 - 28 miles, using the electric power only. The E+ advanced propulsion system features nine forward power modes, nine resistance (exercise) modes, cruise control and anti-theft. It folds to 3 x 3 ft, so it fits in the boot, and the componentry is first class with RockShox Tora 302 Forks, Shimano XTR brakes, FSA Gossamer 30/38/52 tooth crank set, Crane Creek Thudbuster ST seat suspension and a WTB Speed-V Seat. Like we said - highly-desirable. Read More

Forensics toolkit cracks open the Xbox gaming console

By Darren Quick

21:58 May 5, 2009 PDT

Those who think the Xbox game console may be the perfect place to hide illicit material from prying eyes – principally because it isn't seen as a regular-joe PC – had better think again. Computer scientist David Collins has developed a toolkit that allows police and other law-enforcement agencies to recover criminal data more easily from hard drives like the Xbox Read More

Taser AXON wearable surveillance kit – to protect, serve and record

By Darren Quick

22:33 March 24, 2009 PDT

Dashboard cameras mounted on police vehicles have proven their worth in backing up courtroom testimony by providing a video record of incidents – as well as giving reality cop shows a veritable wealth of real life footage. Now a new product from Taser International, the company responsible for the electroshock weapon that bears that name, takes the idea one step further by capturing video and audio of incidents from the visual perspective of the responding officer. Read More

Panasonic Toughbooks get upgrade

By Darren Quick

02:14 February 2, 2009 PST

Pansonic’s Toughbook 30 clamshell rugged laptop and its Toughbook 19 rugged convertible tablet computer have both received upgrades that include 1,000 nit LCDs, circular polarization technology and anti-glare (AG) plus anti-reflective (AR) screen treatments to enhance screen viewability as well as improved security and remote management thanks to Intel Centrino 2 with vPro technology, expanded memory capabilities, 40% longer battery lives, larger capacity hard drives, and optional SSDs. Read More

GETAC's ruggedized PC incorporates anti-glare technology

By Kyle Sherer

00:32 September 12, 2008 PDT

GETAC’s ruggedized notebooks are not deterred by rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night, (not to mention dust, debris, and shock), making them highly reliable for fieldwork. The newly enhanced V100 Notebook/Tablet PC now includes additional protection against glare from the sun - a super-bright 1200 NITS display said to offer six times the screen viewablility of competing products, without affecting battery life or affordability. Read More

ArmoRight: buoyancy vest meets lightweight body armor

By Kyle Sherer

18:35 March 24, 2008 PDT

March 25, 2008 Designed and engineered by a retired Navy SEAL, ArmoRight™ is a lightweight body armor system for use in marine environments that combines protection from from handgun, rifle and shrapnel threats with neutral or positive buoyancy capabilities. Read More

HawkEye drug-recognition tool aids law enforcement

By Kyle Sherer

19:21 January 4, 2008 PST

January 5, 2008 The AcuNetx HawkEye law enforcement system, which magnifies and records tell-tale signs of drug intoxication in a suspect’s pupils, has been awarded two separate patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The tool is now being used by highway patrol officers and at sobriety checkpoints across the U.S.A. Read More

Communications “Gizmo” to aid emergency response

By Jude Garvey

17:46 December 18, 2007 PST

December 19, 2007 It may look like just another remote-controlled toy truck, but this "Gizmo" has the potential to save lives in disaster response situations. Javier Rodriguez Molina, a 24 year old electrical engineering graduate student and programmer analyst at the UC San Diego's California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), is designing an advanced mobile, wireless communications machine that can venture into environments too dangerous for humans and collect and transmit critical information to emergency personnel. It is hoped that the design platform - which is will not be limited to its current toy-truck guise - can provide real-time assistance in emergency situations such as terrorist attacks, building collapses or hurricanes. Read More

Lotus Exige S Police Car boosts road safety

By Noel McKeegan

20:47 November 1, 2007 PDT

November 2, 2007 Police in East Sussex have added a Lotus Exige S to their arsenal as part of a campaign to promote road safety. The fully liveried Lotus police car has proved an ideal ice-breaker in opening up lines of communication and educating drivers in the high-risk group 17-25 age group. Read More

Rolls Royce open new outdoor jet engine testing facility

By Kyle Sherer

18:00 October 14, 2007 PDT

October 15, 2007 Rolls-Royce has opened a $42 million outdoor jet engine testing facility in Mississipi. One of only three of its kind in the world, the site at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center will be used to test development and prototype jet engines for performance and noise, as well as validate their safety systems. Read More

Gunshot location system boosts city surveillance

By Kyle Sherer

17:10 October 11, 2007 PDT

October 12, 2007 When battling gun related crime, police are often faced with the problem of being unable to pinpoint the direction or proximity of overheard gunfire. In order to combat this issue over a wide area, the ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System uses acoustical triangulation to accurately detect incidences of gunfire and combines this with an integrated camera network to provide law enforcement with instant situation reports. After its celebrated role in capturing the Columbus sniper of 2003/2004, 20 major US cities, most recently Baton Rouge, Louisiana, have adopted the ShotSpotter GLS as a tool to combat gun related crime and as a deterrent against future crimes. Read More

Project-a-Phone image capture and display system for handheld devices

By Kyle Sherer

17:06 October 10, 2007 PDT

October 11, 2007 Project-a-Phone has launched the ICD-1300, an image capture and display system which allows users to screen a live display of their mobile device onto a computer via a USB cable, where content can then be recorded, projected on a screen, or uploaded to the Internet. Read More

Intellivid Video intelligence software streamlines in-store security

By Darren Quick

00:29 September 19, 2007 PDT

September 19, 2007 We’ve all seen the seemingly ubiquitous eye in the sky cameras watching us from store ceilings and most of us have probably wondered if anyone actually monitors those things. In an effort to improve the efficiency of such surveillance, Intellivid has developed a Computer Aided Tracking (CAT) tool that incorporates a newly patented adjacency algorithm. The technology uses sophisticated video analytics to streamline video surveillance, giving the ability to seamlessly track in-store movements and create complete end-to-end footage. Read More

LED Incapacitator is enough to make you sick

By Shaun McKeegan

21:09 August 9, 2007 PDT

August 10, 2007 A real life “light saber” that can subdue anyone in its path? This new type of non-lethal weapon comes in the form of a flashlight that totally incapacitates whoever looks into it. The LED (Light Emitting Diode) Incapacitator emits bright pulses of light at rapidly changing wavelengths that cause disorientation, temporary blindness, nausea, and even vomiting. Read More

TASER-armed robots keep police out of harm's way

By Loz Blain

June 3, 2007 Love them or hate them, TASER stun guns have become an essential and effective part of law enforcement armory. Perhaps their main drawback has been that even the long-range wireless shotgun-mounted TASER XREP puts a police officer within 30 feet of a potentially dangerous suspect before they're in range. Now, a new partnership between TASER and iRobot will see the construction of TASER-wielding robots that can be sent in to incapacitate violent suspects without ever exposing police officers to the risk of harm. What's more, TASER has released their Remote Area Denial (TRAD) system, an unmanned device that operates in a network to identify and incapacitate intruders in secured areas. It all points towards an interesting future with embedded moral implications; how long will it be until suspects are told "you have 15 seconds to comply?" Read More

New study examines physiological impacts of taser use

By Loz Blain

May 18, 2007 The taser: a convenient, effective non-lethal way of incapacitating a person, or a potential killer? Amidst claims of misuse, abuse and taser-related deaths, a new study has been undertaken to document the short and medium term physiological effects this painful and common law enforcement tool can have on subjects. Kudos to those who volunteered to be shocked; those five seconds would have felt like an eternity. Read More