NCJ Number
216021
Date Published
June 2006
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article briefly describes five technologies in which the Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization is assisting in their development for use by public safety agencies.
Abstract
The Office of Law Enforcement Technology Commercialization (OLETC) assisted in the "bump switch" project by developing a commercialization plan and identifying a manufacturer willing to make a small item in small runs for a relatively small market. This was done for two veteran bomb technicians and members of the Birmingham, Alabama Police Department who designed and patented a "bump switch" to negate the need to keep a tool turned on, thereby conserving valuable battery power. The battery-powered tool could be used by a robot working on a package suspected of being a bomb. A company's applied-technology division in Virginia received commercialization assistance through OLETC's Commercialization Workshop and the use of experts and scientists in its development of the License Sanction Enforcement System (LSES). The LSES is system that can monitor drivers whose licenses have been restricted, suspended, or revoked. The University of Central Florida designed a statewide computer network known as the Florida Integrated Network of Data Exchange and Retrieval (FINDER). OLETC is providing assistance on marketing strategies. OLETC has provided assistance in commercialization planning and a technology review by the OLETC advisory council to a Minnesota company that developed a suite of software and hardware products that translates bi-directionally whatever is said, heard, or written. Lastly, the Trooper Special Intervention System (SIS) designed by an Austrian company and used by the Austrian Special Forces is a useful device as a less lethal weapon. The 1-liter blast of atomized water can be used for crowd-control purposes. However, its precise effect on people needs extensive research for which OLETC has provided assistance.