Civil rights advocates flooded a City Council hearing to protest the Boston Police Department’s plan to buy $1.4 million in social media monitoring software. Advocates questioned police promises to respect citizen privacy, as well as whether the technology can actually detect threats.
Bob Zangrillo, a Silicon Valley investor and CEO of Dragon Global, and Tony Cho, a Miami real estate developer and CEO of Metro 1, are hoping to turn Miami’s Little Haiti into Magic City, a 15-acre mixed-use development.
The Boston Police Department is taking to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to fight crime, which raises privacy concerns.
A New Hampshire man is trying to end the scourge of dog owners leaving behind their dog’s waste–and he thinks technology is the answer. Jon Kelly, a high school English teacher, is proposing that cities use DNA testing to fine and discourage negligent dog owners.
The code for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation’s new tree map is publicly available for local governments and organizations looking to create a similar website.
The New Orleans Police Department plans to install automatic license plate readers throughout the city. Police consider the investment in the new technology, used elsewhere in Louisiana, as a “down payment” on public safety. The cameras will allow police to mine a large database of license plate images and identify and track suspects.
The Center for Digital Government announced the 2016 Digital Cities Survey winners. The annual survey, now in its 15th year, honors cities that use tech to improve citizen services, enhance transparency, and encourage citizen engagement.
Taser International, a maker of stun guns and body cameras, met with police officials last week at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in San Diego regarding a drone armed with a stun gun.
Seven weeks ago the Peoria (Ill.) Police Department and Peoria County Sheriff’s Office began testing the new Integrated Ballistics Identification Systems to help solve crime. The Federally funded IBIS equipment examines the unique characteristics of shell casings and compares the casings to others stored in the national database.
An app designed to help drivers avoid traffic proved helpful during a recent deadly flood. Traffic data from Waze helped government officials and first responders in Louisiana during Baton Rouge’s flooding in August. Esri announced a partnership with Waze and local governments on Oct. 12 to encourage more states and cities to use roadway data for similar projects.
