Washington gun ban comes under fire 

By: Ed Brock

In the District of Columbia v. Heller, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the district's law banning handguns violates the Second Amendment's...

End of gun control? 

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering District of Columbia v. Heller, a challenge to the district's ban on handguns inside Washington. A group of residents...

Analyzing crime 

By: By Craig Chambers

Because of a growing demand for security technologies to improve public safety, many city and county governments have installed closed circuit television...

Just passing through? Drive safe, or pay up 

By: Ed Brock

Because the stretch of Interstate 71/75 that runs through Erlanger, Ky., on the main corridor from Michigan to Florida is one of the busiest in the country,...

Software computes disaster destruction 

Orange County, Calif., recently completed a pilot project to build a computer model to help estimate potential losses from disasters. Using GIS-based...

To the rescue 

By: By Robert Barkin

Sirens sounded, warning the residents of Utica, Ill., that a tornado was approaching. As they had many times before, 30 residents of the rural western...

ISO rating system comes under fire 

By: Annie Gentile

For decades, the Jersey City, N.J.-based Insurance Service Office (ISO) has been inspecting and ranking the nation's fire departments to help insurance...

Web site offers tips on disaster recovery 

The Oklahoma City National Memorial has created a Web site to help community leaders find information about disaster recovery. A Network of Hope - A Resource...

Furry friends for children in bad situations 

For the fifth consecutive year, the Greensboro, N.C., Police Department accepted more than 100 stuffed teddy bears from the kindergarteners at Claxton...

Nothing is for free 

Erlanger, Ky., officials plan to issue fees for police and emergency medical services to the insurance companies of out-of-town drivers who cause accidents...

County sends help, hope to wildfire victims 

When San Bernardino County, Calif., residents returned to survey the property damage from October wildfires that spread through mountain neighborhoods,...

Giving notice 

By: By Annie Gentile

A gasoline tanker crashes and bursts into flames. Prevailing winds carry the noxious smoke into a residential area. Within minutes, commuters in the vicinity...

NASCIO offers plan for pandemics 

The Lexington, Ky.-based National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) has created a guide for state CIOs to use during a pandemic...

What if ... ? 

By: By Annie Gentile

FEMA has sent state and local governments scrambling to answer that question to qualify for disaster mitigation funds....

Where did the buck stop? 

By: By Sibley Fleming

Billions of dollars were on the road to local governments for homeland security, but somewhere along the way, the funds were detoured....

Deadline nears for mitigation-plan OK 

By: Conni Kunzler

FEMA approval needed for some disaster funds....

911 centers call for action 

By: Lindsay Isaacs

Telephone messages warn residents of danger and give instructions in Arizona...

Cities say homeland security funds are MIA 

By: Stephen Ursery

Mayors push for changes in distribution system....

GIS/Addressing safety issues 

Emergency responders in Aston Township, Pa., are reaching their destinations more quickly as a result of the town's efforts to reorganize addresses in...

SECURITY/County improves facility safety with technology 

Westchester County, N.Y., has installed a comprehensive electronic security system to protect two of its buildings and an adjoining parking structure....

Cameras in police cars document traffic stops 

By: Lindsay Isaacs

The Bushkill Township (Pa.) Police Department has installed video cameras in half of its police cars to record traffic stops. The surveillance equipment...

Cameras at red lights curb traffic violations in D.C. 

By: Charles Ramsey, chief, Metropolitan Police Department, Washington, D.C.

The Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has installed red-light cameras and photo radar to reduce speeding and aggressive driving in...

Community evacuation: Ensuring safe passage 

By: Michael Fickes

Although they are designed to deliver people safely from danger, emergency evacuations can be just as harrowing as the events that trigger them. Most...

Crime maps improve patrols, analyses in Camden 

The Camden, N.J., Police Department has begun providing officers and personnel with access to crime mapping information via desktop computers and wireless...

PUBLIC SAFETY/Crews practice high-rise response techniques 

By: Misty Reagin

In April, specially trained firefighters with the Clayton (Mo.) Fire Department (CFD) spent two weeks training their co-workers on response procedures...