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Incidents of mass violence and terrorism – bombings, mass riots and shootings, hijackings, bioterrorism attacks, and other human-caused disasters – present unique challenges to the communities in which they occur. These incidents require a coordinated, cross-sector approach among federal, state, local, and tribal governments; private entities; and nonprofit organizations to drive an effective response. The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) has developed the “Helping Victims of Mass Violence & Terrorism: Planning, Response, Recovery, and Resources Toolkit” to help communities…

On June 7, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the U.S. Department of Justice’s first grants under the Student, Teachers and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018 (STOP School Violence Act of 2018) at the 24th Annual Joint Conference of the Montana Association of Chiefs of Police and the 88th Annual Montana Police Protective Association. The STOP School Violence Act of 2018 appropriated funds for both the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)…

A new desktop-friendly, fillable PDF version of “School Safe,” the Justice Technology Information Center’s Security and Safety Assessment App for Schools, is now available. Just like the iOS and Android versions, the new desktop version takes you step-by-step through your buildings and grounds to identify and address trouble spots. This free tool can be used to conduct a physical assessment of a school campus (inside and out) by answering a series of simple questions. Access to this information and/or app…

The Justice Technology Information Center’s school safety Web site is offering free best practices guides on security at both interscholastic and intercollegiate sporting events. Along with “NCS4 Offers Free Guidebooks on Sports Security,” found on the site, there are links to additional resources, an online calendar and more. For more information, visit www.schoolsafetyinfo.org.  

Edward Nowicki, the widely known police trainer and 33 year law enforcement veteran, has announced that he has begun writing a book which focuses on the liberal media and its coverage of police officers. Comprising approximately 50,000 words, this book will expose how the liberal news media distorts facts and selectively reports and twists the truth for the sake of profit and the pursuit of liberal ideology. Police officers’ lives and careers have been destroyed as a result of these…

The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center has released a report, Mass Attacks in Public Spaces – 2017. The study focused on 28 incidents carried out in public places in the United States in 2017 during which three or more persons were harmed. The report takes an in-depth look into the commonalities of the attackers which include location of attack, weapons used, gender, age, substance abuse, criminal history, mental health, motives, targeting, stressors, and communications. NTAC examined the incidents…

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, in partnership with the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Community Policing Services (COPS), has released, Making it Safer: An Analysis of U.S. Law Enforcement Fatalities Between 2010-2016, a report which contains data driven analysis of line of duty deaths across an array of circumstances. The primary purpose of this report is to provide an in-depth analysis of the types of calls for police service which resulted in a law enforcement fatality,…

The Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has launched a mobile Driver License (mDL) pilot study which will run for six months. The pilot, which includes approximately 200 state employees and stakeholders, is designed to test user acceptance and new innovative features which can only be achieved with an mDL. “Delaware is among the first states to test a mobile driver’s license, and we’re excited to help move this new technology forward,” said Governor John Carney. “This six month pilot will…

By Dave George FirstNet™ – The future of critical communications is riding on this network.  Traditionally, first responders are LMR users; however, it’s clear the transition to LTE cellular is on the horizon. A communications app developer recently described smartphones as a “shadow IP” which almost every employee in the U.S. has access to, yet not all businesses take advantage of (though PTT over cellular or PoC multi-functionality is fast replacing LMR in the commercial sector). Luckily for public safety, FirstNet’s…

Crime analysis can provide law enforcement agencies with critical tools and information to assist in crimefighting efforts. The Nationwide Crime Analysis Capability Building Project was initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), to identify and evaluate promising practices to assist jurisdictions in enhancing their crime analysis capacity. The Crime Analysis Toolkit provides findings and resources which can help advance criminal justice decision-making and enhance the impact of crime analysis. The toolkit was designed to enable…