High-Priority Technology Needs: Protecting the Public
Through collaboration and consultation with practitioners, NIJ has identified high-priority technology needs for the criminal justice field, including the following aimed at protecting the public:
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Assured means to continuously and accurately monitor the location and status of offenders under supervision in the community, including:
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A noninvasive, assured method to continuously monitor an offender’s substance abuse.
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Within structures and outside in urban and rural environments.
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Smaller, less obtrusive, more reliable and secure monitoring devices.
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Safer, more cost-effective aerial surveillance solutions to identify, locate and track illicit activities and to locate missing persons, particularly for application with small and rural agencies. Solutions must consider regulatory requirements.
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Improved, unobtrusive means to accurately detect a broad spectrum of contraband to preclude its introduction into public venues, including:
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Academic institutions, including schools.
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Mass transit.
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“Intelligent” surveillance solutions providing automated incident awareness and warnings
in public venues, including:-
Academic institutions, including schools.
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Mass transit.
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Sporting venues.
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Shopping areas.
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Improved means to detect and respond to weapons concealed on an individual’s body at a safe distance, including person-borne improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
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Improved, assured means to detect and effectively respond to vehicle-borne IEDs, which:
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Are easily transportable.
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Are rapidly and remotely deployable.
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Cause minimal collateral effects.
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A means to remotely locate and track cooperative and uncooperative individuals
inside buildings in hostage rescue and search situations. -
Improved characterization of currently available less-lethal devices and their health and safety effects, particularly on at-risk populations, leading to improved use-of-force protocols and to safer, more effective devices.
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New, safer, more effective less-lethal devices that:
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Can better deter individuals from taking a prohibited action.
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Can instantly incapacitate individuals for a specified period of time.
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Are suitable for use on at-risk populations.
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Rapidly deployable, effective devices that can safely and remotely stop all types of vehicles under a variety of circumstances.
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Improved emergency-response solutions, minimally including:
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Accurate location of the incident.
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Timely, optimized response.
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Date Modified: September 3, 2010