Atlanta Task Force Selects Communication Software

Info-Cop announces that the Georgia State Patrol Nighthawk Task Force (a metropolitan Atlanta DUI task force) has selected Info-Cop's advanced wireless NCIC software for mobile communications and information sharing critical to officer safety. With Info-Cop, the task force can instantly connect to a communications system that provides officers with faster, independent access to critical information from national, state, federal, and local crime databases.

The Nighthawk Task Force, funded entirely by a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety, has deployed Info-Cop on laptop computers in 10 patrol cars. With Info-Cop, officers will have the ability to run multiple plates with one query, gaining instant access to vital information from multiple crime databases.

In addition to serving the Nighthawk Task Force, Info-Cop can become a valuable tool for other law enforcement agencies across the state of Georgia. If other agencies in the state deploy Info-Cop, comprehensive interoperability across agencies could become a reality. A statewide deployment would allow officers in the field to communicate and share information such as warnings issued, citations and flags in the system in real time.

Benefits of Info-Cop over competitive offerings include nationwide information sharing, no codes to remember, no formatting required, support for multiple CAD interfaces, parsing and summarizing of response data for quick, on-the-spot assessments, and multiple queries with one submission.

For more information, click here, and insert number 106 in the box on the Reader Service Number response service.

Washington Police Department Builds a New Facility
The DLR Group announces it designed and built a new building for the 26-officer police department in Mukilteo, Washington. The 13,990-square-foot building was built at a cost of $2,576,545.

The structure's design succeeds through a modest articulation of warm civic presence and the balance it achieves between invitation and security. The design scheme of the low-profile building exudes an approachable, neighborly northwest essence. The station's approachability was increased with additional landscaping, with primary attention given to the public entry.

Planned as a single-story facility, the station is oriented to nestle into the site's natural slope. Modestly sized plantings provide a garden-like feel to the entry while maintaining a secure, visible environment. Low concrete planters protect the entry from a vehicle intrusion. Vehicular circulation and parking sweep around and behind the slope in graceful tandem with the natural curvature of the site, thereby reducing the amount of asphalt visible from the main public entry.

The interior is divided into two primary components: a semipublic space at the main entry, and operational space beyond. The public space includes its own entry, a small lobby, and an adjacent interview/conference room featuring a glass-block wall, allowing both privacy and light. The continuation of pressed concrete flooring from the entrance into the lobby, and the large entry windows blur the boundaries between exterior and interior, but secure electronic entry control systems and ballistics-proof materials provide a safe environment.

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Minnesota Awards New Secure Driver's License Contract
Digimarc Corporation announces that the Minnesota Department of Public Safety has awarded Digimarc a new, five-year driver's license contract at an estimated value of $10.3 million, with an option to renew for another five-year period. This will usher in the next generation in ID security for Minnesota, which is one of 32 U.S. states and several foreign countries that rely upon Digimarc's innovation and leadership for secure driver license design and issuance.

Governor Tim Pawlenty unveiled the new design and state-of-the art security measures for the Minnesota driver's license, saying, "These new cards make Minnesota a national leader in the area of identity protection."

Digimarc will be responsible for providing Minnesota with a new, enhanced card design that will include advanced, interlocking security features designed to thwart duplication or alteration of the state's cards. Minnesota will also become the 11th state in the United States to adopt Digimarc IDMarc covert digital watermarking security features as a means to verify the authenticity of driver licenses at point of inspection. In addition, the new license will incorporate a new, custom security laminate and other Digimarc design features that will make it extremely difficult to counterfeit or alter the cards without obvious detection.

The new licenses will be issued from one of Digimarc's high-security, central production facilities, offering a centralized control over materials and the secure issuance process.
"Providing the residents of Minnesota with a very advanced and secure driver's license underscores our commitment to reducing identity theft and fraud and fighting counterfeiting," said Michael Campion, Minnesota commissioner of Public Safety. "We look forward to rolling out a new, high-security Minnesota license later this month."

For more information, click here, and insert number 108 in the box on the Reader Service Number response service.

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