Technology

Stephenie Slahor, Ph.D. This year’s report highlights traffic safety challenges including rising pedestrian deaths and poor infrastructure, along with the GHSA urging better designs and stronger community involvement. The year 2020 saw a 40 year high in pedestrian fatalities. While, for the past two years, pedestrian deaths were down by about four percent overall, the situation still sees alarming upward trends in hit-and-run incidents, particularly at sites where sidewalks and/or night lighting are scant or nonexistent. The Governors Highway Safety…

Carl Mazzanti Ransomware remains a persistent threat, but proactive prevention, continuous monitoring and tested response plans can keep your agency prepared. In 2024, ransomware continued to impact US local governments, with the average recovery cost for affected municipalities reaching $2.83 million. Nearly all attacks – 98 – resulted in data encryption, forcing many cities to adopt multifaceted recovery strategies, including both backup restoration and ransom payment. Ransomware is a type of malware which locks a victim’s data and the cybercriminals…

Carl Mazzanti After a deadly school shooting in November 2021 at Oxford High School in Oakland County, Michigan, AI tools were vital to the investigation and subsequent conviction of the shooter’s parents, who had provided their son with the weapon used in the crime. “It was clear to me very quickly that there was this mountain of evidence that may or may not be relevant on the phones that we were not finding…,” said Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald. “…There’s…

Jake Ganor What cutting-edge developments are shaping the future of ballistic protection for police? Last year’s article, “2024 Innovations in Body Armor and Ballistic Materials,” explored three intersecting storylines. First, it chronicled how UHMWPE (Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene) composites displaced aramid across vests, plates and helmets, measuring the jump from legacy SK76 fiber to Dyneema® SK99 “Force Multiplier” laminates and attendant weight cuts (e.g., Level  III plates falling from 3.3  pounds to 2.4  pounds). Second, it signaled Dyneema’s unnamed post‑SK99 fiber…

John G. Peters, Jr., Ph.D., and John Black, D.B.A. ©2024. A.R.R. The growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is advancing at such an accelerated rate that it’s becoming increasingly challenging to stay up to date. AI is the simulation of human intelligence in machines using algorithms which is designed to perform complex tasks which, historically, only humans could do using human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning and problem-solving. Like any technology, it can be, and has been, deliberately misused (e.g., Deepfakes,…

Stephenie Slahor, Ph.D. Recent advancements in traffic safety and enforcement focus on integrating a combination of new methods, practices, equipment, and strategies for improving road safety through data-driven insights and automated enforcement measures. Traffic safety encompasses a wide range of methods, practices, equipment, and strategies aimed at ensuring smooth traffic flow; vigilant drivers; and safer conditions for drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and school zones. A wide variety of ideas; technology; imagination; and, yes, jurisdictional restrictions are all part of traffic safety….

Eugene Nielsen In response to the ever-changing landscape of threats faced by law enforcement, the NIJ has recently released an updated body armor standard designed to keep pace with evolving weapons and to improve the safety of female officers. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the research, development and evaluation arm of the US Department of Justice (DOJ), has a long-standing history of publishing performance standards for ballistic-resistant police body armor. For over 50 years, these standards have been the…

John G. Peters, Jr., PSDS, CTC, Ph.D. ©2024. A.R.R. Most people are familiar with Artificial Intelligence (AI) through tools like Alexa, Siri or ChatGPT, but many still feel apprehensive. It is vital that public safety trainers and educators understand AI and how to use it to enhance training, making it more creative, efficient, effective, and productive. Like immigrants arriving in a new country or culture, we, too, are immigrants to the AI culture and need to assimilate its cultural norms…

Michael Brown Officers currently use various databases for narcotics intelligence, including information on trafficking groups, their distributors, movements, and communications. However, a centralized database which can track and share the identification of existing and new illicit substances in real time as officers discover them could revolutionize their work. The collaboration and coordination among law enforcement departments across America play a pivotal role in addressing the pervasive opioid crisis gripping the nation. Despite concerted efforts to work together, coordinate activities and…

Carl Mazzanti Image courtesy of Easy-Peasy.AI Cybercriminals are getting smarter and their use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making their tactics more sophisticated and complex. Bad actors are leveraging AI technologies to develop innovative tactics, techniques and procedures which pose significant challenges for cybersecurity professionals and organizations worldwide. However, law enforcement and other security organizations can create the opportunity to work together with cybersecurity professionals to stop attacks. This collaboration can help reduce the impact of attacks on operations and…