France proposes EU reaction force for natural disasters
MATEJ HRUSKA French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for the EU to set up a joint rapid reaction force to handle natural disasters such as earthquakes, wildfires and floods. [euobserver.com] In a letter to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso published on Sunday (15 August), Mr Sarkozy addressed the issue of the EU’s ability to […]
Operation HERMES
During the Belgian presidency, the Belgian integrated police will take the initiative to organise a joint operation in a large number of Member States, aimed at mapping the flows of illegal immigration within the European Union. [police-eu2010.be] The Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985, and the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement, which was signed on […]
As demand for UAV grows, Army expands training opportunities in Europe
HOHENFELS, Germany — Rapid expansion of the Army’s unmanned aircraft fleet has prompted the service to begin offering initial training in Europe, instead of sending troops to the U.S. to learn, officials said. [democraticunderground.com] Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jonathan Daniels, a former Huey helicopter pilot who trains unmanned aerial system operators for U.S. Army Europe, […]
UAV comes in handy when raiding a suspected drug lord
[urgentcomm.com] Last week at the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials conference in Houston, Datron World Communications showcased the Scout unmanned aerial vehicle, which is manufactured by Aerion Labs of Waterloo, Ontario. A video that was shown illustrated the effectiveness of UAVs for surveillance operations. The U.S. government used the Scout over several days to […]
Hawaii: Security paramount for conference
Federal agencies will join city and state authorities in preparing for protesters By Gordon Y.K. Pang [staradvertiser.com] More than 600 protesters were arrested in June at the G-20 summit in Toronto, where clashes with police led to burning squad cars and shattered store windows — a situation local authorities are already working to avoid at […]
Minister of the Interior brings charges against two French websites
Brice Hortefeux, the Minister of the Interior, announced on Monday that he’d brought charges against two Internet sites that are hostile to the police. [news.infoshop.org] Hortefeux, who was away on business with his Spanish counterpart Alfredo at the police station at Dammarie-les-Lys, which was on 16 March the target of a gunman thought to be […]
France: Police brutality against African women and their babies
Shocking video of police brutality against immigrant African women and their babies emerged on news channels and the internet. The disturbing videos showed images of French riot police who savagely evicted around 60 women who had been living in the street after being evicted from their houses. Riot police were filmed dragging out women, infants […]
Security concerns for London 2012 Olympics
By STEPHEN WILSON LONDON — With less than two years to go until the opening of the London Olympics, the venues are nearing completion, the project remains on budget and the city is gearing up to welcome the world in 2012. Beyond the tangible progress, however, lies a lingering concern: Will London be safe from […]
Urban Security Work Spaces: Policing the Crisis – Policing in Crisis
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: Berlin, August 28th-30th, 2010 [policing-crowds.org] The 21st century is witnessing what has been called the "pluralization of policing" (Jones & Newburn, 2006): Private security companies have conquered urban spaces and are developing some expertise in public policing. Current studies claim that the private security industry will grow further and take over more tasks […]
Protecting VIPs costing police £310,000 a day
Scotland Yard is spending at least £310,000 every 24 hours protecting Royals, VIPs and diplomats. [google.com] The force racked up a £113,598,687 bill for armed bodyguards who shadow high-profile individuals and patrol at risk properties in 2009-10. The figure was less than the £127,784,028 spent in 2008-9, but similar to the £116,515,695 laid out in […]
South Korea: Human rights abuses behind a G20 smokescreen
The entire government is busy preparing for the G20 summit, which is 100 days away. Preparations are a natural part of the process of successfully holding a major international event, but that also depend on the degree of their severity. Human rights abuses, committed by the Lee Myung-bak administration under the pretext of preparing for […]
In Kandahar, U.S. tries the lessons of Baghdad
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — This city is starting to feel a lot like Baghdad. [washingtonpost.com] Tall concrete blast walls, like those that surround the Green Zone, are seemingly everywhere. Checkpoints supervised by U.S. soldiers have been erected on all major roads leading into the city. Residents are being urged to apply for new identification cards that […]
Olympic police could use cruise ship accommodation
Hundreds of police officers drafted in to protect the 2012 Olympic Games could be stationed on a cruise ship at Portland Harbour. [lynnnews.co.uk] Organisers are discussing plans to spend up to £6.6 million mooring a private boat at Portland Harbour for the sporting extravaganza.The 432-room vessel could be filled by around 800 officers working to […]
US, India sign Counterterrorism Cooperation Initiative
On July 23 United States Ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer signed the Counterterrorism Cooperation Initiative (CCI) Memorandum of Understanding along with Home Affairs Secretary G.K. Pillai, who signed on behalf of India. The signing is the latest evidence of the close and effective cooperative efforts between the United States and India on counterterrorism, information […]
Ex-cop says makers of data-mining software must recognize intel rules
Companies that make data-mining software for local intelligence fusion centers “don’t understand” police are required to observe decades-old federal rules that restrict how certain computer systems containing sensitive information can be used. That conclusion comes from a 25-year veteran of the state police in New Jersey who now works for a company that sells intelligence […]
White House proposal would ease FBI access to records of Internet activity
By Ellen Nakashima [washingtonpost.com] The Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies to turn over records of an individual’s Internet activity without a court order if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or intelligence investigation. (FBI access to e-mail and web records raises fears) The administration […]
First G-MOSAIC User Workshop
[gmes.info] The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission in Ispra, Italy, hosted the first G-MOSAIC User Workshop on 23-25 June 2010. The event gathered representatives from institutions and organisations involved in security-related activities, and aimed at encouraging interaction between relevant stakeholders in the field of security and G-MOSAIC consortium partners, as well as within […]
British Police Trials Crime Predicting Software
Computer program reveals where criminals are most likely to hit By Lucian Constantin [softpedia.com] British police forces are trialing computer software which is able to pinpoint potential criminal hot spots from data fed to it. The system leverages statistical history and evaluates patterns to predict the places where crime is most likely to occur. Known […]
Lockheed Martin Inks Deal with Finmeccanica and L-3 Communications Systems-West
[satellite.tmcnet.com] Lockheed Martin, a global security company with 30 years of experience in developing strategic ground, airborne and space ISR systems, has signed a new agreement with an Italian-based Finmeccanica and L-3 Communication Systems-West to pursue international airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance business.L-3 Communication Systems-West specializes in systems for high-performance intelligence collection, imagery processing and […]
German, Serbian police cooperation intensifies
Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić stated that an agreement on cooperation between the German and Serbian police is being prepared. [b92.net] He pointed out that the Interior Ministry (MUP) has had a very good relationship with the German Interior Ministry, federal police, and Bavarian police. Dačić thanked Germany for its support in reforms of the […]