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“Buy American” rules at center of USAID contracting dispute
Rapiscan and Smiths Detection complain about losing an X-ray contract with Chemonics after deal goes to AS&E in partnership with a Chinese firm; deal is legal, but seems to violate spirit of “buy American rules”
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EFF challenges FBI’s ambitious IDW project
The FBI has launched an ambitious data-collection project — Investigative Data Warehouse, or IDW — which already has more than 560 million items of information in its possession, to which more than 12,000 law enforcement agents have access
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Enforsys, Svivot receive BIRD grant to develop law enforcement decision-making solution
Knowledge is power, and two companies, one American, one Israeli, with products aiming to assist law enforcement and antiterror authorities prevent nefarious activities — and, if not prevent, help solve them — are given a grant to merge their solution to create a more powerful decision-making tool
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Virginia asks emergency responders to use common language
Approach takes HSPD-5 and NIMS requirements seriously by asking agencies to abandon 10-codes; confusion often resulted during inter-agency responses due to different associated meanings
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Attensity announces new text analytics suite
Computational linguistics-based approach ideal for sorting through unstructured data to identify hidden patterns; applications range from managing insurance claims to detecting smuggling and counterfeiting; new product brings analytics and search together under a single label
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Fuel cells' promise for low power, long run-time devices
Two New Jersey companies demonstrate a fuel cell-powered wireless camera prototype system with infrared sensing and audio capability; the device is ideal for perimeter defense, border monitoring, batlefield observation, and more
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Cyclops Technology and Total Computer Group strike license plate imaging deal
Companies will package recognition software with automobile and criminal records databases
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SmartLink Radio Networks to provide San Francisco with interoperable radio networks
Award made under the Department of Justice’s High Risk Metropolitan Area Interoperability Assistance Project; Smartlink I-Network platform integrates existing radios into digital networks; unlike mobile radio patches, system is always on
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DHS relied on flawed information in extending visa waiver program
Contributing factors are understaffing and lack of information on lost or stolen passports; report comes as U.S. delays renewing program; Europe turns on the heat
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Cyclops Technologies offers inexpensive license plate recognition system
PlateSmart uses existing on-board cameras and computers; hands-free technology a plus
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ShotSpotter technology deployed to Minneapolis
Sensors immediately tell police the exact location of a fired shot; technology based on acoustic detection of muzzle blasts; data to aid criminal prosecutions
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Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International to hold conference in August
The Unmanned Vehicles 2006 Symposium and Exposition will present latest technology, offer technical sessions; Innova Robotics to demonstrate command and control system for mutiple unmanned vehicles
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DHS launches information-sharing program with states
More information should lead to more effective law enforcement, and DHS next month will begin to share some of the information in its files with the states; first will be the personal and biometric information collected from travelers in the US-VISIT program; DHS also said that the number of illegal aliens in the U.S. reached 11 million
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Pictometry, Integraph integrate 9-1-1 solution
It is one thing for a dispatcher to call a first response unit and tell them that there is an emergency situation developing at the corner of Main Street and First Avenue; it is another thing for the dispatcher to be able to view the scene, obtain measurements such as distance, height, elevation, and more — and provide that information to the units en route to the scene; two companies combine their emergency solutions to offer just that
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House panel reports bus and passenger rail security bill
Legislators complain that investments in bus and rail transportation security pale in comparison to investments in air transportation safety; a House panels is doing something about this imbalance
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The long view
How to verify a comprehensive Iran nuclear deal
With the negotiation between the P5+1(the United States, European Union, Britain, France, Russia, and China) and Iran resuming yesterday (Wednesday) about a set of parameters for an eventual Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the shape of a final deal about Iran’s nuclear program has emerged. Many important provisions of a final deal, however, remain to be negotiated in the coming months. David Albright, the president of the Institute for Science and International Security, says that a critical set of these provisions involves the adequacy of verification arrangements which would be in place to monitor Iran’s compliance with a deal. Tehran’s long history of violations, subterfuge, and non-cooperation requires extraordinary arrangements to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program is indeed peaceful.
Fusion centers, created to fight domestic terrorism, suffering from mission creep: Critics
Years before the 9/11 attacks, law enforcement agencies throughout the country, alarmed by the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, began to monitor and investigate signs of domestic terrorism. That increased monitoring, and the need for coordination among various law enforcement agencies, gave rise to the fusion centers. A new report, which is supported by current and former law enforcement and government officials, concludes that post-9/11, fusion centers and the FBI teams which work with them shifted their focus from domestic terrorism to global terrorism and other crimes, including drug trafficking.Experts say that at a time when the number of domestic terrorism threats, many of which are linked to right-wing extremist groups, is surging, law enforcement must refocus their attention on the threats from within.