When Congress heads to social media, can law enforcement and security be far behind? The question arises with the word from Nextgov that “about 80 percent of congressional lawmakers’ websites now link to the members’ Facebook and Twitter pages compared with just about 20 percent in 2009.” Congressmen are specially sensitive to where their audiences […]
Police and security officers would be well-advised to check out the Homeland Security Policy Institute’s lengthy post on “What Police Should Be Learning from the Occupy Protests.” The George Washington University institute reports on the roots (in Europe) of the Occupy tactics and how best to counter them. “Unlike many U.S. police forces who are […]
Remember those school essay contests? You were pretty good at them? Well, here’s an opportunity for security officers with writing talent to sharpen their skills and contribute to the nation’s security as well. The Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security is holding its annual essay competition. The topic: Identify a theory or […]
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is testing a “chat-based” form of passenger screening – known as “chat-downs” – in addition to the pre-screening program that Barrier Briefs reported on earlier this month. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County and Boston’s Logan Airport are the test sites for the program, in which specially trained “TSA employees briefly […]
From the Danger Room blog comes word on what’s confronting policemen, and no doubt security officers, too, in terms of social media. “Stop or I’ll Tweet,” is the heading on a post on last month’s SMILE conference (aka Social Media, the Internet and Law Enforcement) in Dallas. Consult the lengthy post its insights into “How […]
The FBI is getting ready to launch, by mid-January, a facial recognition system, Nextgov.com reports. We can envision such a system occasionally helping security officials to identify suspicious individuals who come within range of perimeter cameras. Here’s how the system will work, Nextgov advises: “Today, an agent would have to already know the name of […]
Hey, don’t worry about getting security cameras in the long-term! Apply for a sky blimp drone when they become surplus and you’ll be able to monitor 36 square miles at a pop. Yes, the Air Force is preparing to launch the new surveillance dirigible – in Afghanistan for now. How big is it? Well, the […]
Passenger security screening at airports is on the way to becoming “classier” – that is, with classes of passengers who are pre-screened and those who aren’t. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) this week launched a test pre-screening program at four airports – Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas/Forth Worth and Miami. Initially, the program will welcome passengers who […]
There always seem to be missing weapons in the aftermath of world political upheavals. But in security terms, that’s important to be mindful of, and if you’re an official responsible for tracking missing munitions, to keep after them. Right now, Libya seems the place to be, ABC News advises. The U.S. State Department has […]