The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) recommends $1 billion in new federal spending on information technology (IT) research. The PCAST released a 104-page Report on Designing a Digital Future calling for shifts in U.S. spending from building the fastest computer to more forward-looking computing research on novel system architectures, high-bandwidth and low-latency interconnections, and reliability in massively parallel systems.  Additional research areas called out in the report include health IT, cyber security, energy- and transportation- related IT, and large database data analytics coupled with privacy protections, social computing, and computer-enhanced interaction with the physical world.  

The Nationwide Suspicious Activity Report Initiative (NSI) is widening the national capacity for gathering, documenting, processing, analyzing, and sharing information about suspicious activities.  Managed by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) with leadership from DHS and the FBI, the NSI is launching their next program phase by identifying additional NSI sites.  Since criminal behavior is often detected at the local level, frontline criminal justice providers play an integral role in observing suspicious activity.  Through an operational pilot the NSI has been working with multiple agencies to establish processes that help detect and prevent terrorism-related criminal activity.  A BJA Report details the positive impact these local efforts have had in combating  terrorism while protecting privacy and civil liberties and a large array of resources are now available to help providers integrate suspicious activity reporting into their operations.

On February 6–8, 2011, the National Association for Court Management will host its mid-year conference in Baltimore, Maryland. The event will focus on case-flow management improvements, promoting improved court leadership and governance, and preparing for and responding to trends. Online registration is now open. Please visit the registration Web site to submit your registration form.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) is working on several initiatives related to Web 2.0 technology.  Specifically, in September 2010, the IACP conducted a survey to understand law enforcement’s use of social media. Of the 728 law enforcement agencies that responded (representing 48 states and the District of Columbia), 81.1% say they use social media and of those not using social media 61.6% are considering adoption.  To explore the survey results or get further information from the IACP Center for Social Media, visit www.IACPsocialmedia.org or e-mail socialmedia@theiacp.org.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Chief Information Officer has signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for HHS to join the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the third primary sponsor of the NIEM program. The MOA outlines a cooperative effort to commit resources to support development and implementation of NIEM, as well as adds HHS as a member of the Executive Steering Council. NIEM’s growth into Health and Human Services expands the model beyond justice and homeland security to enable a broader community to leverage its mature framework. HHS is currently building NIEM into the Federal Health Architecture.

Nlets, a member of the U.S. Department of Justice's Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global) Advisory Committee (GAC), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are working together to provide access to federal data never before available at the state and local levels. The DHS Law Enforcement Information Sharing Initiative (LEISI) is a new service for members of the law enforcement community made available via a set of queries over the Nlets network.

State and local governments are closer than ever to having a single view of the cyber-attacks and security vulnerabilities thanks to groundbreaking work by a cross-sector organization that’s bringing them together. The not-for-profit Multi-State Information and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) is on the cusp of significant growth, said the organization’s chair, Will Pelgrin, and new participants are able to utilize a new threat monitoring center recently launched by MS-ISAC giving state and local governments better security intelligence in near real-time.  Source:  Government Technology Web site

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program, which collects and publishes crime statistics, has developed an online database tool to make it easier to search crime data going back to 1960. The publisher of the annual Crime in the United States report has rolled out this new UCR Data Tool, which lets users perform queries on custom variables such as year, agency, and type of offense. Until now, making comparisons of crime data required searching annual reports and then manually crunching the numbers. The new tool aims to make it easier for users—including our law enforcement partners who supply the data—to make use of the raw numbers.  Another step in enabling evidence-based decision making.  Source:  FBI Web site

The National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) Executive Steering Council (ESC) is currently seeking candidates to co-chair two of its committees: the NIEM Business Architecture Committee (NBAC) and NIEM Technical Architecture Committee (NTAC). These two committees help govern NIEM activities by ensuring the program is guided by the day-to-day needs of participating disciplines and agencies who wish to share information across organizational, system, and geographic boundaries. Interested parties can apply, or nominate another, by sending a nomination letter and résumé to IEMPMO@niem.gov.  Please limit each nomination to a single individual, but feel free to submit multiple nomination emails.  Source:  NIEM Web site

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ran its third cyber-war simulation the week of September 27, 2010, linking thousands of participants from the state, federal, and private sectors in a weeklong exercise to test how well governments and corporations could handle an actual cyber-attack. The federal government is currently reviewing the results, and the completion of the after-action report is scheduled for 2011.  Source: Government Technology Web site

December 15, 2010 marks the opening of the first Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Nomination Period. Enacted in 2008, the Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Act honors federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officers for exceptional acts of bravery while in the line of duty. Law enforcement agency heads looking to recognize an officer must submit a nomination between December 15, 2010, and February 15, 2011, through the online system, available at www.ojp.gov/BJA/CBOB.  Source: Bureau of Justice Assistance Web site

The Electronic Crime Technology Center of Excellence, a program of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), has collaborated with the University of Rhode Island to catalog available training on digital evidence and electronic crime.  The materials will be available via a newly created Web site; accessible through JUSTNET, the Web site of the NLECTC System (http://www.justnet.org), and the CyberCop Portal (http://www.nc4.us/cybercop.php). Law enforcement officers and agencies will now have a searchable resource to identify training targeted to their areas of interest.  Additional information about the Electronic Crime Technology Center can be found here.  Source: Justice Technology Information Network Web site

Funding is available from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), for Sensor, Surveillance, and Biometric Technologies for Criminal Justice Applications. This solicitation will provide funding to conduct research, technology development, and evaluation of sensor, surveillance, and biometrics technologies for law enforcement applications in the following areas: remote detection of concealed handguns, integrated sensor systems, crime scene evidence identification, and biometric technologies. The application deadline for this solicitation is February 14, 2011.  Source: National Criminal Justice Reference Service Web site

To mature and strengthen the management capabilities of fusion center leaders through academic homeland security coursework, the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) provides an executive-level educational program for fusion center directors. About 20 intelligence professionals across all levels of government participate in each session, each of which addresses the critical questions facing state and major urban area fusion center leaders and their roles in homeland security.  Source:  Police Chief Magazine

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), in partnership with the Commercial Motor Vehicle Alliance (CMV) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), offers state, county and local law enforcement with free online training.  The training provides officers with safety and enforcement information to support traffic accidents and stops that involve foreign-based commercial vehicles and drivers.  To find out more or register for the 90-minute Foreign Commercial Motor Vehicle Alliance (CMV) Awareness session visit www.theiacp.org/CMV.  Source:  IACP Web site

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), strives to make science an integral part of criminal justice practices.  AAG Robinson has made it a top priority to encourage the use of evidence-based approaches in criminal and juvenile justice.  In response, OJP launched the Evidence Integration Initiative (E2I) with the goal of helping justice practitioners and policy makers better understand what's been demonstrated to work based on the latest science and research.  E2I coordinates activities across OJP offices and bureaus to fulfill three objectives; (1) improve the quantity and quality of evidence, (2) better integrate evidence into program and policy decisions, and (3) improve the translation of evidence into practice.  Source: Office of Justice Programs Web Site

Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway announced implementation of the electronic warrant management system (eWarrants) in counties served by the 18th Judicial Circuit - bringing the number up to 14 counties. In partnership with the Judicial Circuit Courts, Administration Office of the Courts, Kentucky State Police and Kentucky Office of Homeland Security, the Office of the Attorney General is using Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to expand their successful pilot efforts; already proven to reduce backlog and significantly improve service rates of bench warrants. Source: State of Kentucky Web site.

The University of Arkansas’ Criminal Justice Institute (CJI), in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), has released a new Web site to better support tribal information sharing and crime reporting. The Tribal Justice Information Sharing System (TJISS) can be found at http://www.tjiss.net/ and serves as a gateway to several resources for tribes. These include technology self-assessments, videos and guidelines on crime reporting (UCR and NIBRS), and a mechanism to request hands-on technical assistance. This site will continue to be updated as new services become available and will serve as a trusted vehicle for coordination of tribal technology enhancement efforts in the criminal justice space.  Source: Tribal Justice Information Sharing System Web site.  

With funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), SEARCH has released version 5.0 of JIEM® - the Justice Information Exchange Model.  Since the tool's creation 12 years ago, JIEM has evolved from its original Web-based format to a robust requirements and data modeling tool. This new JIEM version incorporates community best practices and supports the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) and Global Justice Reference Architecture (JRA) with revolutionary features such as automated development of technical Information Exchange Package Dcoument (IEPD) artifacts.  Source: SEARCH Group, Inc. Web site

The U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Global Advisory Committee (GAC) - directly supported by the Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) - met on October 7, 2010, to discuss the latest initiatives in justice information sharing and to add new resources to the Global suite of information sharing solutions. This edition of Global Highlights provides summaries of the recent GAC recommendations as well as a recap of the Global/Office of Justice Programs 10-year Partnership ceremony.

The Role of Information Sharing in Counter-Terrorism Investigation and Prevention is part of a series of podcasts produced by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) which are designed to bring users the latest information in justice innovations, practices, and perspectives from the field of criminal justice. In this particular podcast, we hear from Richard A. Marquise, Director of the State and Local Anti-Terrorism (SLATT) Program and former FBI agent, about his experience with counter-terrorism prevention and investigation.  Source: BJA Web site.

The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International and the IJIS Institute announce award of a Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) grant to support the development of Public Safety Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Functional Specifications.  This project will use a multidisciplinary workgroup to expand the current Law Enforcement CAD Specifications to add support of Fire and EMS community responses.  It is anticipated local efforts to consolidate operations and reduce costs will be better supported by this integration of CAD specifications across the wider public safety community since all three first responder disciplines (law enforcement, fire, and ems) are often supported by the same communication centers.

The IACP LEIM Section has opened a Call for Presentations inviting law enforcement professionals to submit proposals for workshop presentations at the 2011 Annual LEIM Conference in San Diego, CA June 13th - 15th. Concurrent workshop sessions (one hour duration) will be held throughout the conference, together with plenary sessions addressing universal topics. Workshops are designed to enhance the skills, expand the knowledge, broaden the perspective, and support the professional development of conference attendees. To submit a proposal please complete the 2011 LEIM Call for Presentations form online.

On November 17, 2010, beginning at 2:00 p.m. (EST), NCJA, in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), will host The New Normal: Advanced Information Sharing, a Webinar that will focus on national trends in technology and moving from data aggregation and warehousing to analysis and predictive capabilities. The New Normal: Advanced Information Sharing Webinar will be a high-level overview of the exciting and dynamic ways in which we can use technology, the Internet, and advanced management strategies to enhance the work of criminal justice professionals throughout the nation. Register here.  Source: National Criminal Justice Association Web site.

The IACP Research Center, with funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), recently introduced the Leading by Legacy Program.  This training program is now accepting scholarship applications for upcoming events in 2011. Participants will learn how to enhance ethical leadership within themselves and their colleagues, plan for the future success of their agency, and translate leadership to a lasting legacy in their community. To determine eligibility and apply, please visit www.theiacp.org/leadingbylegacy.

The Obama administration revealed in a November 4, 2010, Executive Order, a new government wide approach to marking government documents that require some protection but fall below the level of classified data. The new category is "Controlled Unclassified Information," and it should take the place of other agency-specific designations such as "for official use only," or "sensitive but unclassified." A 2008 Executive Order from George W. Bush introduced the CUI designation which was originally intended for to distribution of terrorism-related information.

The IJIS Institute, a nonprofit organization that focuses on mission-critical information sharing for justice, public safety, and homeland security, has announced receipt of several grants from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).   In addition to the continued funding to support critical information sharing programs, the IJIS Institute received new funding to facilitate the identification of critical issues for sharing data between justice and the health and human services community to help mitigate the problems associated with re-entry. Source: The IJIS Institute

California Chief Information Officer (CIO) Teri Takai will become CIO of the Department of Defense (DoD). Takai became CIO of California in late 2007. For the past three years, she has led a massive reorganization and consolidation of California’s IT organization — an effort that’s reforming procurement, governance and strategy, and numerous other functions — and has required the cooperation and collaboration of all state agencies and approximately 130 agency-level CIOs.

In fiscal year 2010, the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) made more than 5,000 grant awards to criminal, juvenile justice, and victim service providers at the national, state, local, and tribal levels.  These awards include a total of $2.6 billion to support public safety and justice initiatives across the United States. President Obama’s fiscal year 2011 budget emphasizes a continued commitment to improving public safety, with a request of almost $3.1 billion for OJP efforts. The OJP request includes funding for research, evaluation, and statistical functions; training and technical assistance; and direct grants to state and local agenices.  Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs Web site

The U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) will hold its 2010 National Conference, titled Advancing Justice through Evidence and Innovation, on December 6–8 in Washington, DC, at the Washington Hilton Hotel. The conference will emphasize how evidence and innovation can be leveraged to improve the nation's justice systems and to ensure community safety, and how BJA funding is supporting this approach across the nation. Please visit the conference Web site today and register online!  Source: Bureau of Justice Assistance Web site

OJP's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) recently announced that the Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) system is working toward initial operating capability on AMTRAK's Northeast corridor between Boston and New York City and is mostly implemented on other AMTRAK lines throughout New York state, the New England states, and on lines between Washington, DC, and Richmond, Virginia. The Nationwide SAR Initiative (NSI) provides a standardized process and training for local law enforcement across the United States to identify suspicious behaviors linked to terrorist pre-incident planning and to share these suspicious activity reports with law enforcement agencies across the United States without harming privacy and civil liberties.  Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs Web site

The Office of Justice Programs’ (OJP) fiscal year 2009 Annual Report is now available online. The report titled Forward Momentum showcases OJP’s strong commitment to the safety of the nation's communities. The report features sections on outreach, collaboration, innovation, evidence, and stewardship. Other highlights include Recovery Act outcomes and success stories from the field. The full report is viewable online.  Source: Office of Justice Programs Web site

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) in the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has awarded NASCIO a National Justice Information Sharing Initiative grant to advance justice information sharing at the state government level. The award continues the 12-year NASCIO and BJA partnership formed to advance enterprise architecture and information sharing in the states. The award focuses on three major objectives; (1) advance information sharing through broader adoption of NIEM; (2) evaluate state government information; sharing capabilities and develop calls to action to further those capabilities; and (3) maintain an expertise center for states in enterprise architecture-providing management guidance and consultation focused on data architecture and governance.

After the successful partnership between the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and Global Advisory Committee (GAC) was recently recognized for reaching its 10th year anniversary, the Program Manager of the Information Sharing Environment (ISE), Kshemendra Paul, congratulates the men and women who make up the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global).  Mr. Paul praised their commitment to working through the substantial challenges with enabling critical information sharing and further suggests Global’s support on ISE initiatives such as NIEM, NSI, and Fusion Centers has been critical to their success.  The GAC is the Federal Advisory Committee (FAC) that advises the U.S. Attorney General on justice information sharing and integration initiatives. Global is a collaborative "group of groups" with 30 independent organizations spanning the spectrum of law enforcement, judicial, correctional, and related bodies, working together to advance public safety and the administration of justice.
 

With funding from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and Department of Homeland Security, Science & Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), the International Justice and Public Safety Network (Nlets) demonstrates the viability and value of exchanging correction photos and images with law enforcement.  In past years, law enforcement and probation officers have been unable to systematically share real-time information.  Sharing critical corrections data such as images, probation status, and past violations improves public safety and this article provides examples that illustrate the value of such a connection.    

The United States Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Department of the Navy, Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center Atlantic have developed a free software application for local agencies - named Project TIPLINE - to provide for entry, management, and analysis of citizen tips.  The Project TIPLINE application was specifically designed to expedite the process of converting tips to actionable information in a multijurisdictional environment. As a federally funded initiative, the Project TIPLINE software is a free, Web-based application.

With support from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center has released the Information Sharing in Criminal Justice-Mental Health Collaborations: Working with HIPAA and Other Privacy Laws publication. This guide helps criminal justice and behavioral health professionals understand how they can collaborate and share information within the federal legal framework defined by HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2 (privacy regulations related to substance abuse treatment). 

The September issue of "Justice Today" highlights a new crime-fighting strategy being implemented by the Philadelphia Police Department. This issue also includes a link to a tribal correctional facility map, announcement about the launch of BJA's Calendar of Events and information about BJA's monthly Criminal justice Webinar Series.

A first-of-its-kind nationwide survey on new media and the courts shows that state judges and court staff recognize the potential impact of social media on the administration of justice and are taking a close look at both the ramifications and opportunities. The complete project report, New Media and the Courts: The Current Status and A Look at the Future, is available on the Conference of Court Public Information Officers (CCPIO) Web site at www.ccpio.org.

Hundreds of American Indian and Alaskan Native communities are recieving almost $127 million from the Office of Justice Programs to enhance law enforcement, bolster justice systems, prevent youth substance abuse, serve sexual assault and elder victims, and support other efforts to combat crime. These grants are the first under the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS); a new effort that combines ten different U.S. Department of Justice grant programs into a single solicitation.  

Citations are high‐volume, labor‐intensive, low-risk transactions. This recent NCSC (National Center for State Courts) case study provides a synopsis of how Missouri, Iowa, and Utah courts developed uniform practices for traffic citations, reengineered citation procedures and processes, decided whether to build new systems in‐house or with a vendor, and provided training to court staff and judges. This study specifically examines key findings and lessons learned in the three electronic citation (e-citation) implementations.

The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center has compiled descriptions of reentry programs and initiatives from across the country in a searchable database. These examples highlight promising efforts that may provide valuable ideas for policymakers to consider or build upon as they develop their own initiatives.

Mary Lou Leary, the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP), announced more than $18.8 million in FY 2010 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program funding is available to Illinois to prevent and control crime. "This funding is critical in supporting a wide range of crime control and prevention activities, such as law enforcement operations, prosecution and court programs, community corrections activities, education, and technology enhancements that are essential in fighting crime in our communities," said Leary.

The Center for Court Innovation and the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) will be hosting the first-ever International Conference of Community Courts, on October 19–20, 2010, in Dallas, Texas. Conference registration is free. The 2010 International Conference of Community Courts will provide an opportunity for judges, lawyers, court administrators, clinical staff, and others to get training on community court fundamentals, hear about cutting edge developments, meet colleagues, and discuss the future of the community court movement.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security Economic Crimes Investigation Department recently signed a letter of intent that will strengthen investigative cooperation between both countries. Both nations believe cooperation in fighting intellectual property rights crimes will benefit both the United States and Chinese law enforcement agencies.

Why can't law enforcement officers use cell phones instead of radios? Cell phones are undoubtedly cheaper, but public safety officials need their own dedicated networks for reasons such as priority access and reliability. This article elaborates on these and other reasons why dedicated networks are so critical to law enforcement officers.

“We have made progress building a culture of preparedness and resilience across the country,” U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano said in her remarks before a gathering of New York City First Responders commemorating the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. To support the “culture of preparedness,” DHS is prioritizing fusion centers in FY2011 grants and looking for ways to support them through additional technology and personnel, including the deployment of highly-trained experts in critical infrastructure.

The Wisconsin State Patrol, as detailed in a recent NIJ "In Short" publication, ran a four-site pilot program that created Project 25 (P25) capabilities across the network. For this pilot, the agency tested a P25 channel controller, a new product that converts conventional analog repeaters into P25 repeaters across multiple sites and in support of multiple frequencies. The Wisconsin State Patrol and other participants ran into various glitches related to programming. However, the pilot experience showed the extent of the cooperation needed between the vendor and law enforcement communities to achieve the best and most cost-effective solution.

The advance of public safety interoperable communications requires not just an investment in technology but also in the talents of key stakeholders throughout the state. By fostering champions for interoperable communications through stakeholder outreach, education, and coordination, governors can secure buy-in from local and regional partners and, more importantly, a better functioning, more reliable tool to help public safety professionals respond to emergencies and save lives.

Part II in NASCIO's series on analytics describes how government investments in business intelligence (BI) and analytics (BA) should be managed at the enterprise level - built upon and driven by a state enterprise architecture.  Proper leverage of analytics starts with a clear understanding of the outcomes government wishes to achieve.  This issue brief presents the rationale for analytics using the NASCIO Enterprise Architecture Value Chain as a framework and provides specific candidate principles for defining and articulating a clear vision for any BI/BA initiative as well as calls to action" for CIOs launching such an initiatives.
 

In the midst of two major wars and international counterterrorism operations, it may be difficult to recall that the September 11, 2001, attacks had roots not only in Afghanistan but also in Florida and Minnesota. That is a point stressed by developers of the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative, or the NSI. The NSI is a partnership that allows federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials to share information on terrorism-related criminal activity.

Secretary Janet Napolitano (DHS) addressed several thousand fire chiefs and emergency service leaders from around the world at the recent Fire Rescue International (FRI) 2010 Annual Conference. Napolitano focused on two DHS campaigns designed to improve homeland (and hometown) security - one called “If you see something, say something”.  Napolitano also touted the “Suspicious Activity Reporting” (SAR) campaign.  This article summarizes her remarks and details some of DHS’s plans to aid first responders in their mission to protect their hometowns.

High-Priority Criminal Justice Technology Needs (2010) provides an overview of NIJ’s mission and organization; describes how the agency sets its technology research agenda; outlines the agency’s research, development, testing, and evaluation process; describes its standards and compliance testing program; and discusses strategic partnerships with other agencies. It further summarizes the high priority needs for the criminal justice field in the area of technology.

When a crime is committed at a business, video surveillance systems on the premises can provide detectives with vital clues and quickly lead to an arrest. But too often the resulting images are of low quality and therefore of limited use to investigators. To address this issue, law enforcement officers in Montgomery County, Maryland, have implemented an education program to help business owners improve the quality of their video surveillance by upgrading their systems and paying attention to the placement of their cameras.

California; Boston, Massachusetts; and Chesterfield County, Virginia; took top honors from the Center for Digital Government's Best of the Web awards program in an announcement on Wednesday, September 1, 2010. Best of the Web highlights the top ten state, county, and city portals in the nation that show the highest levels of innovation, functionality, and efficiency.

No business or government leader today can ignore cloud computing. It will affect how computing strategies are developed and managed, how information is controlled, and how the economics of business technology are applied. This article poses some essential questions government decision-makers should be asking about this still-new phenomenon.

While the development of citizen-facing applications like podcasts and RSS feeds sometimes get lots of attention, the 2010 Digital Counties Survey announced in July found that more practical projects really are the ones dominating county IT departments' efforts. The survey measures trends in county IT deployments, priorities, and challenges. This year's survey found large increases in what have long been considered government IT best practices: joint service deliveries, data center consolidations, and mergers of redundant agencies.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance’s National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) invites you to participate in September’s Webinar on grant writing, as a part of our "Second Tuesdays at 2" Webinar series. The September 14, 2010 session will explore the components of the solicitation process; including skills for creating an effective business plan, operational and funding management, and strategic planning. This Webinar will also offer how-to information on competing for grants and resources in a highly competitive environment.  Register here.

Crime prevention and court-treatment programs were featured as the winners of the National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) Outstanding Criminal Justice Program Award.  The honors were announced at the National Forum for Criminal Justice & Public Policy - an annual event sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, NCJA, and the IJIS Institute.  Honorees from the four regions were; Maryland’s Violence Prevention Initiative, Michigan's State Police Teaching Educating and Mentoring program (TEAM), West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle Treatment Courts, and the south Los Angeles-based African American Unity Center Youth Development Program.

The National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) Program Management Office (PMO), in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance and its partners, is pleased to announce a train-the-trainer class for current and potential trainers of the newly redesigned NIEM Training Curriculum. This two-day event (on September 29th and 30th in Ashburn, Virginia) provides NIEM trainers with instruction on how to help implementers adopt NIEM in their information sharing efforts. Click here to register or obtain more information.  Space is limited so don't delay.

Settling issues or making overarching decisions that affect international cybersecurity is by no means an easy task. This week in a report that was critical about how the United States will face global cybersecurity events, the Government Accountability Office identified 19 global organizations "whose international activities significantly influence the security and governance of cyberspace."

The August edition of Global Highlights spotlights Bart R. Johnson, a long-standing member of Global, who was recently presented with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Medal of Distinguished Service. In addition, the “top justice and public safety issues for the next year,” as voted on by attendees at the National Criminal Justice Association’s (NCJA) National Forum on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, are shared for widespread review.

The National Native American Law Enforcement Association (NNALEA) will hold its Annual Training Conference on September 14–16, 2010, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The focus of this year’s training is on the key role of Indian Country professionals in law enforcement, public safety, emergency services, homeland security, and community policing as well as the protection and preservation of the environment, natural resources, and ancestral artifacts. Registration information is available online.

The National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) recently published Juvenile Court Statistics, 2006–2007. The report describes trends in delinquency cases that more than 2,100 juvenile courts processed between 1985 and 2007, as well as status offense cases they handled between 1995 and 2007. To increase the report's utility for practitioners, NCJJ and the OJJDP have developed three Web-based data analysis and dissemination applications. These tools provide access to the data in the report, making it easier for researchers to perform independent analyses without software, view additional preformatted tables, and view results by state and county.

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) invites you to join an All States Innovations Forum Conference Call on August 24, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. (EST). You will hear how New York City's HHS-Connect program has broken down stove piped organizational boundaries and more. This session will show how information exchange standards have provided strategic capabilities that are making New York City a connected city. Note, this teleconference call is restricted to government only.

The Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI) builds on what law enforcement and other agencies have been doing for years—gathering information regarding behaviors and incidents associated with criminal activity—and establishes a standardized process whereby SAR information can be shared among agencies to help detect and prevent terrorism-related criminal activity. [Read more about the NSI].

Maryland will become the first state in the country to create a statewide network for data collected from license plate readers. An existing network that makes data available to state law enforcement agencies will be expanded to include Maryland's localities. The single database will be housed in the state's fusion center, and the state's license plate readers, according to the state of Maryland, "will be networked to ensure seamless coordination and consistent information sharing during critical incidents."

According to a new annual report from the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment (PM-ISE), since late 2009 the federal government has utilized a National Information Exchange Model (NIEM)-compliant XML schema standard to distribute airplane passenger screening information to the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) Secure Flight program on a daily basis. The XML schema used to distribute No Fly and Known or Suspected Terrorists information from the Justice Department's Terrorist Screening Center to TSA for the screening of airline passengers is called the "Terrorist Watchlist Person Data Exchange Standard."

Just as information technology undergirds every aspect of doing business in the corporate sector, so is it now a mainstay of state government. This survey of state and territory CIOs, or their equivalents, focused on their most challenging issues—from tight budgets to the continual flow of new technologies. Results are based on the responses of 40 participants, or about three-fourths of eligible jurisdictions. The 39-question survey covered a range of topics including IT governance, IT investments and budgets, statewide IT business models and sourcing strategies, procurement and procurement reform, and emerging technologies.

The National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices has selected five states—Alabama, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia—among many applicants to participate in a Policy Academy on Interagency Standardization of Justice Information Sharing Systems. In particular, these states will use the Global Justice Reference Architecture, a framework developed and supported by the U.S. Department of Justice's Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative, to facilitate building standardized information sharing capabilities while minimizing investment in system upgrades.

For the past year, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has been urging Congress to pass legislation to remove the auction requirements for the D-Block spectrum. The IACP continues to push for critical legislation to allocate the D-Block spectrum to public safety for the development of a national, interoperable public safety broadband network. The legislation, H.R. 5081, Broadband for First Responders Act of 2010, currently has 21 bipartisan cosponsors. Further information on H.R. 5081 can be accessed through the IACP Legislative Action Center.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is sponsoring a law enforcement technology project management Webinar on Thursday, August 19, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. (EST). The practitioner-to-practitioner focused webinar will explain how small, medium, and large agencies can effectively manage legacy and new information technology projects. The presenters will discuss methods that address the needs of all stakeholders to include end-users, administrators, and technologists. Attendance is limited to the first 150 registered participants.

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) 2010 Annual Conference, Innovation and Opportunity: Transforming Government Through IT, will provide a unique opportunity for state government and corporate members to discuss the issues facing the information technology field in the public and private sectors. By bringing together interested parties, association members can map strategies, develop positions, and act responsibly for the benefit of all involved. The conference takes place in Miami, Florida, September 26-29, 2010. Register now to secure your participation.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP) announced more than $195,000 in grant funding to 11 additional local governments under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. A total of 3,416 units of local government are eligible for a direct JAG Recovery Act award. Funding is used to prevent and control crime and improve the criminal justice system.

In this edition of Global Highlights, readers will learn about two new resources that offer insight to the future of information sharing and describe the critical elements necessary to keep related programs and initiatives thriving. BJA’s Justice Information Sharing: Strategic Action Plan (2010–2012) and the new Global White Paper offer key examples of resourceful nationwide partnerships and effective collaboration that have experienced measured success and collectively identify strategic priorities for the next three years.

Operational since March 2008, the Law Enforcement National Data Exchange (N-DEx) System was developed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division and is an investigative tool to exchange criminal justice information across disparate local, state, tribal, and federal justice systems. This informational podcast is the sixth in SEARCH's series, and it focuses on the benefits and services that N-DEx offers among other interesting N-DEx-related topics.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano marked the sixth anniversary of the issuance of the 9/11 Commission Report by releasing a 2010 progress report outlining advancements in the Department’s capabilities to protect against and respond to acts of terrorism and other threats—including a series of unprecedented steps to bolster aviation security in the United States and around the world.

Six years ago, the Memphis, Tennessee, Police Department (MPD) decided to use technology to look into the future. With the local crime rate soaring, software that could forecast where criminal activity would take place seemed like a promising idea, packed with potential. But crime analysts never predicted such explosive results.

With the understanding that those charged with protecting the nation need to be on the same page and have appropriate access to each other’s information, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), along with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State, have worked very hard to establish interoperability between the nations two premier fingerprint/biometric information databases—IAFIS and IDENT. This article details their phased approach and current success.

The Center for Digital Government announced the winners of its 2010 Digital Counties Survey Awards earlier this month. The top winners in each of the four population categories came from Virginia and Maryland: Montgomery County, Maryland; Chesterfield County, Virginia; Hanover County, Virginia; and Charles County, Maryland. For 2010, the program's judging approach changed. This year, the counties had to submit numerous explanatory narratives on why technologies deployed actually improved life for government employees, citizens, or both.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will create an information sharing architecture to consolidate and streamline access to departmentwide intelligence, enabling the continuous vetting of individuals. As new information becomes available, department officials will be able to reassess whether an individual requires a change in immigration status or poses a criminal or terrorist threat. According to the report, the architecture also will be capable of automatically flagging those participating in suspicious activity, based on collected intelligence.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has announced the launch of the Smart Policing Initiative Web site. The Web site provides innovative and evidence-based law enforcement resources to the BJA Smart Policing community and to the nation's law enforcement community at large.

The evaluation and adjustment of court operations to improve processes and save money while increasing efficiency and maintaining service levels to the public—a process known as court reengineering—is the central theme of Future Trends in State Courts 2010, the latest edition of the National Center for State Courts’ (NCSC) annual “Report on Trends in State Courts” series. This is the 22nd edition of the series, which is dedicated to making courts aware of key trends that affect not only court operations, but also the role of courts in society.

An ongoing priority of the Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center (IIFC) is to imbed the protection of individual civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy interests throughout the state’s intelligence fusion process. To support the understanding and implementation of the IIFC privacy policy, the center has also developed a training program to explain the roles and responsibilities associated with it. The IIFC has placed its policy and training program on the center’s Web site. Fusion centers are encouraged to visit the IIFC Web site and view the training program, as it provides a great example for all fusion centers in their ongoing efforts to demonstrate diligent privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties protection efforts.

Spreading Global’s “good news” can be accomplished in many ways: recent and imminent outreach efforts include conference presentation to rural law enforcement, focused training for industry partners on the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI), and new intelligence-related recommendations for the field.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Global Privacy and Information Quality Working Group (GPIQWG) has published an information quality (IQ) series that provides practical guidance on how to develop and implement an agencywide information quality program. Using a progressive “step” approach, this series provides agencies with resources from beginning to end—from raising awareness of IQ to the evaluation of the agency’s information, ending with the implementation of an agencywide program. For more information on the IQ series, please see the overview flyer.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will form a new partnership with the Major City Chiefs Association, representing more than 50 of the nation's largest cities, to create a Southwest Border Law Enforcement Compact, which would enable localities to work together to surge police officers into border towns from interior towns to boost their forces in times of need. For information on the additional new security steps see the full article.

The June 2010 issue of "Geography and Public Safety" discusses the initial results of a new operational initiative that uses modern statistical analysis and geographic software to help law enforcement executives deploy resources effectively and efficiently. Other articles discuss results of the Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety initiative in various locations.

In recent years, Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been one of the key cities working to get its residents connected to free Internet. Now as part of that ongoing effort, the city has announced 117 "Wireless Minneapolis" hot spots for residents and visitors to access the Internet for no charge. "These new hot spots are another benchmark in our work to bridge the digital divide and create economic and educational opportunity for everyone," said Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) announced that ICE is using a new biometric information sharing capability in every Florida county to help federal immigration officials identify aliens, both lawfully and unlawfully present in the United States, who are booked into local law enforcement's custody for a crime.

"Information sharing among federal, state, and local governments requires standards and parameters but not so many rules that entities can't collaborate," said Donna Roy, Executive Director of the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM). Roy offered advice on how to identify what information should be shared and which key stakeholders should have access to that information.

The second Fusion Center Technology Workshop was held on June 8–9, 2010, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The one-and-a-half day event provided participants with information on a variety of technology topics and initiatives relevant to fusion center business needs. The Fusion Center Technology Workshop was sponsored by Global and hosted by fusion center program representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Office of the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment (PM-ISE).

This practitioner-to-practitioner focused Webinar will cover effective strategies about managing law enforcement technology programs. It will also explain how small, medium, and large agencies can manage aging infrastructure, plan for the implementation of new systems, and balance the integration of new and old systems. This is the third in a series of SPAWAR Atlantic- and NIJ-sponsored, no-cost law enforcement technology webinars. The deadline for registration is July 22, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. (EST).

School systems and police departments are community partners, and ensuring student, faculty, and officer safety is a high priority for both entities. In Pennsylvania, police departments are being both innovative and proactive by using wireless technology to handle school safety. If there is an emergency, local police departments can increase situational awareness by directly linking to Pennsylvania schools' live video camera feeds.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano launched the first phase of DHS's nationwide "See Something, Say Something" campaign and announced a new national information sharing partnership with Amtrak as part of DHS's Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI). Built into the NSI program are rigorous privacy and civil liberties safeguards, including a requirement that privacy protections are met before access to information is granted.

Catching up to the recent swell of government users, Twitter will expand its West Coast office and tap into America's political hub -- by creating a Washington, D.C.-based public policy department. The wildly popular micro-blogging site, founded in 2006, announced in early June it would hire its first government liaison to better engage its numerous government agency users.

This article details the impressive collaboration that occurred between different domains that had a desire to exchange information across boundaries. It describes how the defense, justice, and homeland security domains worked together to bridge gaps between two information exchange standards (NIEM and UCORE) and found a way to interoperate. The ability for these domains to put the mission first and agree to put aside being “king of the hill” was remarkable in this one-of-a-kind collaboration effort.

The Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada, has taken significant steps to ensure that law enforcement and first responders have access to critical information at each of its 360 schools, including blueprints, evacuation maps, crisis plans, and even live video from surveillance cameras. However, providing police with this much information required a massive amount of bandwidth and network strength, much more than the school had available. So, the district decided to get creative. [Full article]

As of June, all 911 emergency calls in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, MI, will be routed to the same place. In a consolidation strategy to streamline services and save money, the emergency dispatch staffs in the city and county now work out of one central downtown dispatch center. The so-called "co-location" project was prompted by a new countywide digital radio system set to go live late June. The system required the city and county to make improvements on three dispatch centers, so instead the two decided to join forces to share overhead costs by moving the two operations under one roof.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) sponsors a variety of courses (both online and in a classroom) for criminal justice professionals. Topics include crime scene investigation, firearms examination, and law enforcement communications technology. The full list of available courses can be viewed on NIJ's training page.

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) will hold its annual national conference on July 18–21, 2010, in San Diego, California. Conference participants will explore innovations in programming, discuss new opportunities for courts and communities, and assess the future of juvenile and family justice.

U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Global Advisory Committee (GAC) member Sheriff Mike Milstead, representative from the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA), highlights NSA’s information sharing priorities as well as recent meetings with Federal officials on improving the Information Sharing Environment.

The National Forensic Science Technology Center (NFSTC) received the 7th Annual International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)-iXP Excellence in Technology Award. The IACP- iXP Excellence in Technology Award Program recognizes law enforcement agencies’ superior achievement and innovation in the field of communication and information technology. NFSTC’s Forensic Information Data Exchange (FIDEX) was selected for the award. FIDEX is a Web-based data exchange developed by NFSTC and key strategic partners that facilitates the sharing of information among forensic investigators, prosecutors, law enforcement agencies, crime laboratories, and the courts. [Related article]

The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global) Advisory Committee (GAC), in support of enhanced information sharing for the entire justice community, offers a four-part series providing agencies with practical guidance on how to develop and implement an agencywide Information Quality (IQ) program. View Global's privacy policy and IQ page to learn more.

This article focuses on the decision of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Domestic Nuclear Detection Office to adopt and implement the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM). It emphasizes how important it is for DHS’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office to share information quickly and how NIEM has helped achieve that goal.

U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the success and further expansion of ICE’s Secure Communities strategy to south Texas. Secure Communities utilizes a biometric information sharing capability to enable ICE to better identify aliens at the time they are fingerprinted and booked on criminal charges. Secure Communities, which was launched in Laredo (Webb County) last June, has led to the removal of more than 20,000 convicted criminal aliens from the country.

It’s common knowledge that in case of emergency, you call 911. But what if you can’t call out? What if you’re in a hostage situation or hiding from a burglar in a closet at home? Such questions have floated around local law enforcement agencies for years as wireless phones continue to flood the market. Taking advantage of the latest trends in technology, Marion County, Florida, has become the latest in the country to accept distress calls via text message.

The need for standards to ensure the successful transmission of vital data—wherever it is needed—is of paramount importance. The growing threats of terrorism and natural catastrophes have punctuated this need among public safety and security agencies. This article elaborates on today’s standards and the vital role they play in addressing today’s challenges and provides some implementation examples, such as the City of Richmond's work with the IJIS Institute to modernize the passing of alarm calls from a central station monitoring company to a public safety answering point (PSAP) using the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM).

Lafourche Parish, La., is one of seven test sites nationwide implementing a paradigm known as Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS), with support from the U.S. Department of Transportation. DDACTS puts forward a simple proposition: look at the times and places where major crashes and crimes occur; map the two together; look at where the circles overlap; and then boost deployment of law enforcement resources in those areas. In 2009, the number of severe traffic accidents in the parish dropped to just 10, down from an average of 24 annually in previous years. Major crimes also declined, while drunken driving arrests increased from 154 in 2008 to 297 the following year.

A huge majority of voters believe technology should be used to deliver governments from their stifling deficits and also boost efficiency, according to a new study conducted by Google and Clarus Research Group. From a representative, nationwide sample of 1,000 U.S. registered voters via live telephone interviews, the study found that 92 percent of voters believe “public agencies should make better use of new technologies to cut government spending and improve efficiency.”

The CONNECT Project has brought together four states, leveraging each of their existing systems and the technology standards created by the U.S. DOJ’s Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global), to implement a new approach to interstate information sharing. Read more in this issue of Global Highlights.

The 11th Annual Innovative Technologies for Corrections Conference will be held on June 21–23, 2010, at the Westin Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This conference will spotlight the innovative use of existing correctional technologies as well as technologies on the horizon, and is sponsored by DOJ's National Institute of Justice (NIJ) through the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC). Participants can register online through the event’s Web site. For more information, please contact Jennifer Dunne, at jdunne@du.edu.

The IJIS Institute, a nonprofit organization established by a shared private-public vision to improve mission-critical information sharing in justice, public safety, and homeland security, announces that after seven years of distinguished service as the Executive Director of the IJIS Institute, Mr. Paul Wormeli will be retiring from the position in January 2011. Mr. Wormeli’s long-standing contributions to the IJIS Institute will continue after his retirement as he will serve as Director Emeritus of the Institute, serving at the pleasure of the Executive Director. The IJIS Board of Directors and staff wish to recognize Mr. Wormeli for his outstanding service and his contributions to true and valuable progress in the field of justice and public safety information sharing.

The Acting Director of the Office of Standards and Interoperability at the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health IT has confirmed that ONC has selected vendors for 8 of its 11 contracts to develop a new health information exchange framework. According to ONC officials, the new data exchange framework will be based on the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), which the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) developed for cross-domain information exchange. The 11 contracts will direct the vendors to develop data exchange definitions and standards within the NIEM framework and create use cases to test transactions. [Related Article]

Iowa Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge formally congratulated the Iowa Intelligence Fusion Center on receiving the 2010 Law Enforcement Partnership Award from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Operation of Iowa. “This award demonstrates the collaboration, communication, and networking that have placed the state of Iowa in the national spotlight for the Iowa Intelligence Fusion Center’s importance to the national security stage.”

The Justice Information Sharing Practitioners Network, or JISPnet, is a network of state and local justice information sharing practitioners interested in best practices, standards, and resources for solving the issues of information sharing within criminal and juvenile justice at local, state, and national levels. JISPnet exists today as a group of committed justice information systems practitioners from various projects and jurisdictions across the nation who work together to help facilitate communication and assistance among project and program managers.

In today’s environment, successful law enforcement requires more than just a willingness to work together. It requires the ability to effectively share data, information, and intelligence across multiple jurisdictional boundaries in a secure and efficient manner. This article highlights the importance of local, state, and federal agencies increasing efforts to work together and build upon a common, standards-based infrastructure rather than continue the development of separate systems.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Conference 2010 will be held on June 14–16, 2010, in Arlington, Virginia. For more than a decade, NIJ’s annual conference has brought together criminal justice scholars, policymakers, and practitioners at the local, state, and federal levels to share the most recent findings from research and technology. Of particular note, is a collaborative presentation titled, “From Paper to Practice: The Global Initiative Delivering Solutions for Information Sharing,” which will include guest speakers from BJA, Global, and local law enforcement and will provide real world information sharing case studies that have impacted the criminal justice field.

In an announcement late last week, the White House named Kshemendra Paul as the new Program Manager of the Information Sharing Environment (PM-ISE). Paul moves to the new position after spending the last three years as Chief Architect at the Office of Management and Budget. At PM-ISE, Paul will work in the Office of the Director for National Intelligence and will be the co-chairman of interagency meetings with the National Security staff to better align and integrate the office of PM-ISE with the White House. Paul will be responsible for developing standards, policies, and processes to improve how the federal government shares terrorism-related information with state and local law enforcement agencies.

Cybercrime has many faces, from child exploitation, to fraud, to identity theft and more. But from a federal perspective, it only seems to have one—protecting the nation's digital borders. Todd Shipley, president of the High Technology Crime Investigation Association (HTCIA), stresses infrastructure protection in terms of securing the online presence of the nation's power grids, communications networks, air and ground transportation, and financial transactions reigns incredibly important to national security. But he suggests it's just as important to examine how the average law enforcement agency will investigate cybercrimes.

A hallmark of the U.S. DOJ’s Global Advisory Committee (GAC) – and key reason behind the Initiative’s success – is the strength of its representatives and member organizations. In this issue, learn more about GAC member agency Nlets – The International Justice & Public Safety Network, the ways the network leverages Global resources for the benefit of practitioners across the nation, and the reason Executive Director Steve Correll feels “the guidance and leadership of the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative is invaluable.”

The General Services Administration (GSA) has restructured its offices in an effort to focus more on technology innovation as part of its Open Government Directive activities. The GSA has renamed its previous Office of Citizen Services and Communications to the Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies. The idea to form a separate office to promote innovative technologies stemmed from a free, Web-based public dialogue tool the GSA began offering federal agencies in January. The tool allows agencies to create public forums for citizens to share ideas, provide feedback, and foster discussion with the agencies.

The FCC took a significant step toward building a nationwide public safety network last week by clearing the way for 21 cities, counties and states to begin building their own fourth-generation wireless networks. The commission gave conditional approval to waiver requests from New Jersey, Los Angeles County, Boston and 18 others to start creating 4G networks known as Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks. These networks could begin to form a nationwide interoperable wireless network that has been sought by public safety officials since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S.

This one-hour webcast takes an in-depth look at the issues surrounding Gov 2.0 – what it is, where the opportunities lie, and how you can get involved. The topics covered in this discussion include government efficiency and transparency, government as a platform, and how technologists can play key roles in this important transformation.

If necessity is the mother of invention, it may also be the secret to the success of Palmetto 800 (PAL 800), South Carolina's statewide emergency communications radio system. Founded in the early 1990s, the 800 MHz trunked network has grown into one of the nation's largest statewide systems, providing interoperable communications for more than 450 state, county and municipal agencies.

Research into the human genome could eventually lead to a police-style sketch of an unknown suspect based on his genetic code. Using a few tufts of hair preserved in permafrost, Danish scientists used DNA from an ancient Greenlander from the Stone Age to determine his blood type and hair, eye and skin color. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is funding research into genetic markers for forensic use. Using genetic markers, Daniele Podini of George Washington University is developing a forensic kit to determine a suspect's eye and hair color, sex and probable ancestry. If successful, the anticipated result is another investigative tool that can reduce the number of suspects or corroborate witness testimony.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has marked its 10-year anniversary. The center serves as a central referral system for complaints involving Internet-related crimes. IC3 was established as a partnership between the National White Collar Crime Center and the FBI. During its existence, the center has handled 1.5 million cybercrime complaints that cover online fraud, computer intrusion, economic espionage, money laundering and child pornography. The Web-based Internet Complaint Search and Investigation System used by the center enables users to search the IC3 complaint database, analyze data and share case information with investigators from other jurisdictions. The center also offers analytical support, training and research.

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) is hosting an “All States Innovations Forum: Successfully Implementing Business Intelligence and Analytics for Effective Use — What To Do Before You Do All That Technical Stuff.” The objective of this forum is to provide a case study on the organizational critical success factors for implementing business intelligence in state government. This teleconference has been planned specifically for government employees and officials.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is testing a 360-degree video surveillance technology that provides high resolution detail and multiple views. The Imaging System for Immersive Surveillance (ISIS) is being pilot tested at Logan International Airport in Boston. Traditional surveillance cameras are useful but have limitations, for example, once they zoom in on a specific point of interest, they lose visual contact with the rest of the scene. ISIS has a unique interface that allows the user the ability to maintain a full field of view while magnifying the point of interest.

Learn more about key Global initiatives (and corresponding real-world case studies) during “From Paper to Practice: The Global Initiative Delivering Solutions for Information Sharing,” a break-out session at this year’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Annual Conference. The conference will be held June 14-16 in Arlington, Virginia; the Global break-out session is currently slated for June 15 at 3:00 p.m.

The City of Alvin, Texas, has implemented a resident notification system that is able to deliver important messages to its residents in the event of an emergency. In addition to notifications sent during emergencies, the city uses the system to inform residents of public hearings, street closures, city events and missing children. The city can send up to 30,000 messages to approximately 7,000 households depending on the desired scope of the notification.

In order to enhance partnership and information sharing, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Abu Dhabi Customs Administration of the United Arab Emirates signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on Monday. These agreements formalize parameters for the exchange of information in support of customs investigations and provide ICE's technical assistance in establishing a Customs Academy in Abu Dhabi.

Vivek Kundra, the Federal Chief Information Officer, spoke to the state CIOs on April 28, 2010, in Baltimore, Maryland, at the 2010 NASCIO Midyear Conference. Kundra challenged NASCIO members to find ways to revamp outdated technologies and information systems that undermine our efficiency and threaten our security and to eliminate inefficiencies that squander hard-earned savings in the federal government. He issued the same challenge to state CIOs to identify ideas using technology that the state and federal government could use to become efficient, deliver services, and save taxpayer dollars at all levels of government.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will coordinate a nationwide cybersecurity education program recently started by the Obama administration. NIST, part of the Commerce Department, will coordinate the administration’s National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE). In that role, the institute will work with agencies to lead programs to bolster cybersecurity awareness, education, and training.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police, in partnership with the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), has released the report, Enhancing the Law Enforcement Intelligence Capacity. The report presents the findings and recommendations of a strategic planning session on intelligence gathering and information sharing at the state, local, and tribal law enforcement level. Over the course of this planning session, participants discussed a variety of topics that have challenged both the law enforcement and intelligence communities on how to share information more effectively.

Florida has launched its Children and Youth Cabinet Information Sharing System (CYCISS)—an initiative involving eight state agencies that will bridge communication gaps and decrease time delays in delivering social services to some of the state's most vulnerable residents. This role-based, query system allows agencies to maintain control and security over their data, as opposed to keeping it stored in a data warehouse. Furthermore, according to Chief Child Advocate Jim Kallinger, depending on the person's clearance level, data from multiple other sources like DJJ, DOC, and DHSMV, can be accessed through the JIS information portal.

This brief examines the strategy developed by the Wisconsin State Patrol for adopting Project 25 radio interoperability standards for digital, two-way wireless communications products into its communications network. Project 25 refers to a suite of standards for digital, two-way wireless communications products. It examines the lesson learned through the migration process and notes the benefits received.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials announced on April 27 the successful implementation of a new information sharing capability by the Palm Beach County, Florida, Sheriff's Office that will help identify and remove criminal aliens from the United States. Palm Beach joins 23 other Florida counties, adding to the growing list of law enforcement agencies to receive biometrics-based immigration history information about inmates via the Secure Communities initiative.

Currently in California, there is no official standard for equipment configurations or the technology that public safety answering points (PSAPs) use for data gathering, making it difficult to compare emergency call statistics. To address this challenge, California is deploying a solution that could cut the time it takes to gather the state's 911 call data from months to a matter of minutes. This secure, Web-based management tool can report on all 911 PSAPs in an entire county, jurisdiction, or state, giving clients quick access to key stats—call volume, frequency, type, geographical trends, and more.

The Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council (CICC) and Global Intelligence Working Group (GIWG) recently conducted their spring 2010 meeting. Read about the items that were discussed and the issues that were prioritized during the recent gathering of these two very productive working groups in this edition of Global Highlights (April 2010, vol. 3).

The White House is requiring federal agencies to evaluate the adoption and use of the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), an information sharing standard developed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global), and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Office of Management and Budget is working jointly with the NIEM Program Management Office to provide the guidance and tools necessary to help federal agencies meet this requirement.

The U.S. Department of Justice is expanding a pilot program nationwide to implement federated identity management capabilities for popular databases such as the Law Enforcement Online (LEO), the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN), and the Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS). The federation would let different agencies access these databases after logging in with only one of them, seeing only what is authorized based on their roles and responsibilities.

Despite the increasing popularity of smartphones, many states continue to forbid their use in the government workplace or haven't developed enterprisewide security policies for them, according to a new study from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). One of the major concerns state agency officials have is employee phone loss or theft and the potential for remote corruption of data on state networks.

In Florida, more than 85,000 kids flood the state's juvenile justice system every year. But this year, officials hope to shrink that number using new technology that examines key historical data to forecast the future. The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice announced that it has implemented IBM SPSS predictive analytics software to analyze predictors such as past offense history, demographics, gang affiliation, peer association and home life environment to find out which kids have a higher chance of recidivism.

As budgets shrink, addressing chronic problems facing communities is more challenging. Leaders at all levels of government are relying on evidence-based policies and practices to establish funding priorities. The 2010 National Forum on Criminal Justice & Public Safety will convene leaders from state, tribal, and local governments and the private sector to work collaboratively in navigating the choppy waters of improving community safety and find the most effective course of evidence-based policies and practices on which they can sail towards success. Register today!

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) announced the launch of their latest podcast, The National Intelligence Model and Strategies From Great Britain. This podcast is designed to provide the latest information on justice innovations and best practices, providing listeners with an opportunity to garner new insights on issues that are critical to our communities and our nation.

U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Robert Gates announced on April 15, 2010, that he has directed the Defense Department to use a law enforcement database to identify military personnel who could pose a threat to troops and civilian workers as a way to avoid violent outbursts such as the slayings at Fort Hood, Texas.

This case study highlights the successful utilization of the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) as part of the MassGangs project to support the exchange of information obtained by local, regional, and state criminal justice agencies regarding members of criminal gangs and illegal organizations in Massachusetts.

The curiosity of a clerk at a Denver, Colorado beauty supply store as to why Najibullah Zazi bought large amounts of products containing hydrogen peroxide, one of the ingredients of the explosive triacetone triperoxide, helped authorities track him down and prevent an attack on the New York City subway. “That’s an example of the kind of suspicious activity Los Angeles’ iWatch program encourages residents to report to police,” said Mary Grady, of the Los Angeles Police Department. “That’s not something that’s related to a crime. . . .but it’s something that clearly raises suspicion.” The iWatch program was launched in October 2009 as a Neighborhood Watch-style program to educate residents about suspicious behaviors that could be connected to terrorism and gives them a place to report them.

The U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Global Advisory Committee met last week to discuss the latest initiatives in justice information sharing and to add new resources to the Global suite of information sharing recommendations. This edition of Global Highlights provides detailed information on the new resources and summaries updates from each of the Global working groups.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) holds an annual technology institute for law enforcement officers to learn about and discuss technology initiatives and issues affecting the law enforcement community. NIJ encourages institute participants to share their needs and to present creative solutions to the technology issues they face. By sharing their experiences, practitioners are able to help each other with technology challenges. The Technology Institute for Law Enforcement will be held on August 15–20, 2010, in Annapolis, Maryland. The application deadline for participants is June 18, 2010.

Local court systems across the country have been digitizing legal filings for the past few years to reduce paper management and cut costs. Typically, however, each court deploys its own electronic document system, and it often does not connect to the systems of the other courts in the state. Things will work differently in Arizona when the Arizona Supreme Court (ASC) connects all the state's court document systems. The forthcoming system will let a citizen, who is filing a document at any courthouse, retrieve all relevant case material from other courts in the same transaction.

Creative problem solvers are beginning to find ways to mitigate the issue of reaching a diverse population whose communication preferences are vastly different. Rather than depending on specific modes of communication, they are looking toward a system-of-systems approach with flexibility built in to adjust to change. They are also figuring out that technology is not the only answer but rather a piece that can fall dangerously short without smart management.

Over the past 10 years, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has provided 52,000 funding awards to the criminal justice community totaling more than $26 billion. Most of OJP's funding programs are highly competitive. This is evident in the hundreds of grant proposals OJP's receives for the same funding opportunities. OJP's Grants 101 site will help potential grantees navigate the grants process, including information on the life of a grant and different types of funding. Check it out at http://www.ojp.gov/grants101/.

As part of the ongoing efforts being made by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to integrate the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) into its enterprise, the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list data is being converted to a format that uses NIEM data elements. OFAC’s completion of its NIEM-SDN pilot project has revealed the utility of a scalable, universal exchange format, and the hope is that future exchange relationships with other agencies will consume fewer resources and will be completed in shorter periods of time.

Federal CIO Vivek Kundra launched the government-sponsored cloud computing services website Apps.Gov six months ago to showcase cloud and Software as a Service options preapproved for use by federal agencies. The site is just part of an effort by Kundra and President Barack Obama to slash the $75 billion federal government IT budget -- and local, state and federal CIOs are listening.

A California Congressman plans to introduce legislation to fund a nationwide broadband network for public safety agencies. Representative Henry Waxman said he will introduce a bill to implement the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) recommendations for a nationwide wireless broadband network for police and fire departments. The FCC's national broadband plan recommends that Congress allocate $12 billion to $14 billion over the next 10 years to build the national network.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says its eGuardian system is proving to be a powerful tool for tracking terrorist threats. The system, which was launched in January 2009, contains 3,400 suspicious activity reports (SARS), which have generated 56 investigations. Law enforcement either generate their own SARs or field a tip from the public. The reports describe legal behaviors that may be terrorist precursors, such as photographing critical infrastructure or inquiring about the type and level of security at a site. The SARs are simultaneously analyzed regionally and nationally to spot patterns.

Every hour, thousands of law enforcement officers across the country encounter violators who cannot produce verifiable identification. This presents significant problems for law enforcement officers in curbing criminal activity through everyday encounters. This case study highlights the success of Washington State, with the assistance of the National Governors Association and the Bureau of Justice Assistance, in developing a NIEM Information Exchange Package Document (IEPD) to provide access to driver’s license photos.

The National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) is poised for greater government adoption, and not just within the homeland security and justice communities. A March 17, 2010, presentation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the IJIS Institute to the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) envisions a future for the XML data sharing framework in the health, cyber, and financial reporting domains.

Michael DeBenedetto is the City of Phoenix’s emergency management coordinator, a post that he has held in the city’s Office of Emergency Management since 2007. This interview with Mr. DeBenedetto explores the city’s emergency management challenges, successes, and its valuable partnerships, which have further flourished following the implementation of the area’s fusion center (the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center).

Global Privacy and Information Quality Working Group (GPIQWG) experts met in late March to discuss related issues surrounding cutting edge biometrics, appropriate sharing of juvenile justice information, promoting important Global information quality resources available to the field, and—as always—advancing the imperative of privacy consideration in justice data exchange.

Through funding from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Irion County Sheriff's Office, Sterling County Sheriff's Office, City of Eden Police Department and the City of Junction Police Department, each in the State of Texas, are improving their information sharing capabilities by implementing real time information sharing technology.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is pleased to announce that it is seeking applications for funding to support justice information sharing through BJA’s national policy initiatives. These initiatives are intended to further information sharing capacity in the field by contributing to the development of policies and practices, training and technical assistance, and field implementations of information exchange.

An evolving federal credentialing program is providing the capability to rapidly identify law enforcement and other responders during an emergency situation involving multiple jurisdictions. The technology used in the credentials, known as First Responder Authentication Credentials (FRACs), provides trusted and electronically validated identification that is interoperable across federal, state and local jurisdictions.

The Office of the Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment (PM-ISE) has prepared and published NSI Technical Implementation Options Version 1. This document provides a high level description of the technology implementation options available to potential participants in the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative and is available via the ISE Web site.

Searching for ways to improve community relations and expedite information to the public, law enforcement agencies are turning to social networking sites. Police departments use the sites to rapidly communicate directly to citizens, providing such information as suspect descriptions, crime alerts, road closings, missing child and person alerts, dangerous weather conditions and traffic accidents.

For the second straight year, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) personally presented the Community Leadership Award to more than 50 individuals and organizations that went above and beyond to make their communities safer and stronger. Each of the FBI’s field offices has the opportunity to select one winner annually, recognizing achievements in preventing and/or educating the public on crimes like terrorism, cyber fraud, illegal drugs, gangs, and violence. The award was launched in 1990.

Utah CIO Steve Fletcher and assistant general manager of Los Angeles' Information Technology Agency, Kevin Crawford, answered questions from the public and private sector related to cloud-hosted e-mail and Web applications at a recent Managing Technology conference. Fletcher and Crawford shared their experiences and gave advice on implementation and challenges faced.

Using initial funding provided through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), Pinellas County has adapted a facial recognition system that has grown from a replacement for the county jail’s mug shot database into a partnership system that encompasses 14 of the state’s 67 counties and could well serve as a model for similar systems in other states.

Through funding from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), SEARCH has published the latest issue in its Technical Brief series, "Web Services and NIEM: Realizing the Value of Available Tools." The brief demonstrates that a wide selection of no-cost tools is available to support implementation of NIEM-conformant information exchanges with web services. These tools allow justice practitioners and private industry partners to implement the Global Justice Reference Architecture (JRA) and align with industry best practices.

The U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Program Manager for the Information Sharing Environment are advancing efforts to standardize “suspicious activity reports” (SAR) nationwide. Training will be offered to all U.S. law enforcement agencies on how police officers can recognize and report signs of possible terrorist activity.

Boston, Massachusetts, Mayor Thomas Menino and Police Commissioner Edward Davis have announced Boston's latest crime fighting tool, the Real Time Crime Center. The new technology is part of the Boston Regional Intelligence Center and allows crime analysts to assist officers with more timely information immediately following an incident.

In this article, Chief Michael J. Carroll, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) discusses the requirements of fighting terrorism effectively. He mentions that “protecting potential targets will not stop terrorism; it will only force the terrorists to find other, less-protected targets. The keys to success in this battle are cooperation, communication, and intelligence sharing.”

Through funding from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), a new SEARCH publication was created that examines the strategies used by law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles County, California, to acquire, assess, analyze, and share information about crimes and criminals. The case study focuses on the partnership, governance, business goals, features, and overall technical approach of the cross-jurisdictional, collaborative solution undertaken by the County to combat crime and terrorism.

Through the use of Field Search (a suite of software products developed by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center designed to allow criminal justice personnel to quickly search a target computer and create a detailed report of findings) the FBI and Marietta, Ohio, Police Department were recently able to collaborate and produce critical information that assisted in the investigation of a man charged with child pornography, rape, and kidnapping. He was convicted and received a sentence of 70 years in prison.

The State of California, Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), has released the Information Policy Letter (ITPL) 10-03 for state agencies to implement secure, robust telework and remote access arrangements for state employees.

NIJ is seeking applications for the Information Technologies: Improved Delivery of Information to the Officer at the Scene solicitation. This grant provides funding to develop solutions that will improve the ability of mobile (handheld) computing devices to deliver information to officers at crime scenes. The deadline for all applications is April 5, 2010.

In the summer of 2010 the Seminole Tribe of Florida will join the Florida Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System (SLERS), a 700/800 MHz, single, all digital radio network that covers 60,000 square miles of the state. Joining SLERS will allow the tribe to communicate better among its six reservations located around the state and will also enable the reservations to communicate more easily with the Florida Highway Patrol, the Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies that may require contact with the tribe.

Technology has had a significant impact in streamlining the work of Washington, DC’s, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Chief Cathy Lanier notes that the police department is now almost completely paperless and that all police cruisers are equipped with computers allowing officers to electronically fill out and submit reports from a crime scene, thus improving the department’s efficiency. The MPD also uses new technology such as imagery from close-circuit television cameras set up around the city, automated license plate readers, and shot-spotter devices that detect and report gunfire.

The Colorado Information and Analysis Center (CIAC) was recognized as the Fusion Center of the Year for exemplifying every aspect of a robust and mature fusion center. CIAC leadership has been a strong advocate of fusion centers, organizing and supporting the national build-out of the network. They were specifically recognized for their recent support to the Najibullah Zazi terrorism investigation as well as their leadership during the 2008 National Democratic Convention.

Government Technology’s March issue selects its top 25 “Doers, Dreamers and Drivers”– people from government, academia, and industry finding innovative answers to long-standing issues. Global leader Chief Harlin McEwen is honored on this list for his tireless advocacy for a national broadband public safety network.

Increased efficiency and better management are critical to building government information technology in fiscal 2011, said federal IT officials at an event in McLean, Virginia, on Friday, February 26, 2010. Citing information sharing and streamlined technology solutions as key spending priorities for the President's $79.4 billion fiscal 2011 IT budget request, panelists highlighted several initiatives to increase transparency and security, lower operational costs, and build interoperability across government.

The Office of the Coordinator for Health IT is planning to make the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) a test bed for exchanging information using the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), a long-established model that has enabled data sharing between justice, public safety, and other agencies at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels.

A free webinar on U.S. DOJ’s Global Justice Reference Architecture (JRA) is now available through the efforts of the National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA), the Justice Information Sharing Practitioners (JISP) Network, and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Topics are presented by Thomas Clarke, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Technology at the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and Chair of the Global Infrastructure/Standards Working Group.

On February 23, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder addressed a crowd of nearly 1,000 justice professionals at the fourth annual National Fusion Center Conference. "Our fusion centers are on the frontline of America's best and most effective efforts to fight back [against terrorism]," said Attorney General Holder. This effectiveness is enabled by efforts of DOJ’s Global and others in ensuring a consistent approach to information sharing through the Fusion Center Guidelines and Baseline Capabilities.

A public training course on the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) is being offerd March 23 – 25, 2010 at the Virginia campus of The George Washington University. This course will provide practical implementation strategies for data exchanges and methodologies for using NIEM. To register for this class please contact the IJIS Institute at training@ijis.org.

The Massachusetts Data Breach Law, passed in 2007, goes into effect March 1 and requires personal information in networked systems to be protected with strong encryption, firewalls, antivirus and access controls. Security experts are categorizing the requirements contained in this law as some of the toughest data security requirements in the nation.

IJIS Institute, Global’s longstanding industry partner, presented its 2010 Member Appreciation Award to Analysts International Corporation (AIC). AIC professionals exemplify the Global tenet of collaboration by contributing talents to a number of Global-related Working Groups and task teams. Congratulations to AIC, and thanks to Global volunteers Tim Galante and Iveta Topalova for their invaluable support.

Los Angeles harbor police are deploying mobile video as a new tool for securing the nation's busiest cargo port. The project is part of a $4.2 million integrated command console system designed to improve security responsiveness in the Los Angeles port. Increasing surveillance of the port area is the goal for the L.A. Harbor Department Port Police, one of the few law enforcement agencies charged with 24/7 port protection.

Law enforcement officials say gangs are making greater use of Twitter and Facebook, where they sometimes post information that helps agents identify gang associates and learn more about their organizations. ''You find out about people you never would have known about before,'' said Dean Johnston with the California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement.

The National Association of State CIOs is pleased to announce the release of its latest issue brief Do You Think? Or Do You Know? Improving State Government Operations Through Business Analytics. The report serves as an introductory brief on business analytics, providing a survey of the subject and examples of effective implementations, available here: www.nascio.org/publications.

The federal government's top technology executive has developed a grand plan to centralize information technology services for all non-Defense Department agencies. The consolidation plan, as outlined in the budget in a section titled ''Special Topics,'' envisions the selection of central IT service providers in civilian agencies, strongly backs remote or cloud computing, calls for consolidation of the 1,100 data centers throughout government, and pushes the use of so-called federal eMalls to purchase computer hardware.

The National Retail Federation announced on January 27, 2010, that it has teamed with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to integrate its Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Network (LERPnet) so that law enforcement has immediate and direct access to information about retail crimes. ‘‘The goal of the system,’’ said Joe LaRocca, senior asset protection advisor with the NRF, ‘‘is to improve the way retailers and law enforcement share information and prevent and detect major crimes.’’

In 2009, the IJIS Institute’s Public Safety Data Interoperability Project, with funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), identified the need to expand the original Standard Functional Specifications for Law Enforcement Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Systems document (created in 2003) to include fire service and emergency medical service (EMS) CAD functional specifications. Through a series of meetings and collaborative efforts, a Revision Assessment for the Incorporation of Fire and EMS Functions into the Law Enforcement CAD Functional Specifications was created and is now available online.

Razing Expectations, a product of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Homeland Security Committee, outlines the view that across the nation, fusion centers should: Act as principal intelligence enterprise nodes to network state and local law enforcement, homeland security, and public safety entities to each other and the federal government; Harness and apply the collective knowledge of their constituents to address issues related to threat and risk; and Assume the leading role in information sharing initiatives related to law enforcement, homeland security, and public safety issues.

What is the NIEM 100 Challenge? “The National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) program is looking to hear from 100 fresh voices to help guide the future direction of NIEM—Are you one of them?” If so, come help guide the future of NIEM and join the current NIEM community of state, local, federal, and private sector IT partners at a town hall session. The event will consist of a keynote speaker (Alexander Falk, President, CEO, and Cofounder of Altova) and an open forum on the challenges and future priorities of information sharing and exchange. A complete agenda will be finalized shortly. Seating is limited, so please email your request to be included in the NIEM 100 to: NIEMPMO@niem.gov.

The 2010 National Forum on Criminal Justice and Public Safety will take place August 1-3, 2010, at the Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa, in Ft. Myers, Florida. Sponsored by the National Criminal Justice Association, the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the IJIS Institute, the 2010 National Forum on Criminal Justice and Public Safety is the only national conference that brings together justice and public safety practitioners with leaders from federal, state, tribal and local governments and the private sector in a neutral venue to share real life solutions that are working across the country.

Digital Communities Law Enforcement Information Technology Task Force (LEITTF) members believe that a case has been made for multi-jurisdictional information sharing and that the fundamental building blocks of data and technical interoperability standards are now in place. Still, local government needs to better understand what already exists so that it can be leveraged in all future plans and acquisitions. The LEITTF has constructed this technical reference containing overview information from just a few of the most common and widely accepted standards, systems, programs and organizations available to support local officials as they seek to improve their information-sharing capabilities.

Perhaps the most well-known variant of the fusion center in the United States is the JTTF—the Joint Terrorism Task Force. But there are many other multiagency, multijurisdictional information sharing organizations in America where counterterrorism is not the primary focus. These fusion centers are in place to prevent and respond to every sort of criminal activity, and they are springing up all over the country. The fusion center concept continues to evolve, and the technology supporting that concept is hurtling light years forward.

Social networking technologies are creating potential challenges for government transparency. As more agency employees use Twitter, Facebook and similar external sites, some state and local IT officials are asking whether those communications should be archived for public viewing. The problem is that agencies don't know how to archive communications made on third-party social networks.

This article talks about proactive tasks (such as threat assessments, topoff exercises, and scenario based training) that can be accomplished by local law enforcement officers at the “shift level” to prepare them and the jurisdiction they serve for terrorism or other disaster related events.

The National Crime Prevention Council, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), is hosting a campus crime prevention webinar on February 11, 2010. This webinar will discuss the importance of risk assessments and the role of campus officials in responding to events and maintaining security.

New Zealand and the United States have agreed to enhance cooperation in science and technology research to improve the shared capabilities of both nations to protect against acts of terrorism and other threats to domestic and external security.

The financial impact of cargo theft can range anywhere from $15 to $30 billion a year. At the end of January, 2010, those charged with protecting cargo will see the launch of CargoNet, a national database and information sharing system designed to deter and recover stolen cargo. A significant purpose of this database is to improve the communication between law enforcement, retailers and manufacturers.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is sponsoring a Rural Law Enforcement Technology Institute. This technology institute will be held May 2-7, 2010, in Coronado (San Diego), California, and is designed for the command staff/supervisory personnel of rural and small law enforcement agencies containing fewer than 50 sworn officers. The deadline for submitting an application is February 8, 2010.

New York City’s Times Square, often referred to as the “Crossroads of the World,” is famous for its eye-popping display of electronic billboards. Starting Friday January 15, 2010, one of them will be featuring fugitives wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Penton’s American City & County magazine announced that 11 cities have been selected as 2009 “America’s Crown Communities.” American City & County presents the awards annually in recognition of outstanding leadership in local government. Richmond and York County (Virginia) won with the external alarm interface exchange project, which uses NIEM 2.0.

The quest for security continues in 2010 as the United States faces persistent, as well as emerging, threats and risks. These include increasingly sophisticated and difficult-to-detect cyber attacks and new vulnerabilities and challenges related to the growth of social networking sites and the use of cloud computing environments. This article takes a look at six important security trends that are expected to emerge as government agencies work to protect data and strengthen identification methods.

This article describes the benefits and challenges of using Web 2.0 technology as a tool in government. Some experts say that the use of this technology is unavoidable and encourage agencies to promote using it responsibly, while others have strong concerns over managing the risk accompanied by the inclusion of social media in the workplace.

"Essential Skills for New Supervisors," a new 36-hour DVD training program offered by the National Institute of Corrections, highlights core competencies for supervisors. These competencies include developing personal and professional goals, demonstrating leadership, solving problems, thinking critically, making decisions, managing conflict, coaching, counseling, providing discipline, and encouraging staff performance.

This article takes a look at the progress the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) made over the last year. It also speaks to the goals and priorities that the NIEM Program Management Office (NIEM PMO) has set for 2010.

In the December 2009 issue of IACP’s Police Chief magazine, BJA Acting Director James H. Burch II highlights the Department’s Global Initiative. The importance of the “Global process” – the Initiative’s open, transparent, and collaborative method of operation – and resulting invaluable partnerships are discussed. An overview of the National Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI) illustrates this collaborative principle and leveraging of Global-facilitated resources.

The National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA), in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), is developing an online Resource Center on Intergovernmental Contract Law Enforcement Services. Anywhere in the United States, law enforcement executives and small town municipal officials will be able to access this database, which will offer a repository of information on how-to materials, checklists, model forms, and contact information. Visit the resource center while it is still under development.

SEARCH Group, Inc. has completed the Survey of State Criminal History Information Systems, 2008, now available online. The survey report provides lawmakers, policymakers, academia, and other agencies and individuals with the most comprehensive data available on the quantity and completeness of state criminal history record systems, as well as procedures used by these repositories to collect and maintain information.