TECHBeat, November/December 2015

• NCJ Number: 249563
• Journal: Techbeat Dated: November/December 2015 Pages: 1-19
• Date Published: December 2015
• Length: 19 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2014-IJ-CX-K004
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Technical); Report (Technical Assistance); Report (Grant Sponsored)

Annotation

This issue features stories on a phone app that enhances school security; a national criminal investigative information-sharing system; an app that increases safety when walking alone; and a mapping app that provides scene information for first responders.

Abstract

"Protect Your School With the Launch of an App" describes the uses of "School Safe," a new phone app from the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center. This app is intended for use by school administrators, school resource officers, and other first responders. The app helps users summarize a school's demographics and security assessment history and then guides them through an assessment of a school's security features. A companion article, "An App Beta Tester Says 'Thumbs Up,'" reports on the successful results of a security expert's testing of the app. Another article, "Information Sharing in the 21st Century," describes the characteristics and uses of the FBI's National Data Exchange (N-DEx). N-DEx is a response to the 911 Commission's call for better information sharing among local, State, and Federal criminal justice agencies. Created by the FBI in 2008, this system provides a wealth of continually updated information that includes incident reports, arrest records, booking and incarceration data, probation and parole records, and even traffic warnings or citations. Examples are provided of how N-DEx information has been used to facilitate successful outcomes in criminal investigations. Another article, "A 'Companion' to See You Safely Home," describes a ;phone app that connects the user to a selected friend's phone, which then tracks the route/location of the initiating person who is walking or running alone. The concluding article, "Mapping App Can Provide Detailed Scene Information for First Responders," describes a mapping app that provides detailed location information that can improve first responders' safety and facilitate field operations.