Expert Witness : Technology – page 6

Police join forces with single firearms software package

Picture of armed police officer for your Expert Witness story Four police forces in the North of England are collaborating in their firearms training and information by using a single IT system.

The three forces based in Yorkshire plus the Humberside force – together known as Yorkshire and the Humber – believe that the Chronicle system will enable all four forces to have real-time information about each other’s capabilities.

In a briefing issued on 1 May, Policing Yorkshire and the Humber said: “The procurement of Chronicle was deemed essential for the four forces to achieve a single regional Firearms License from the College of Policing. An interim License was issued on 1 April 2013 and will now enable further collaboration, specifically around standards, policy and training, between the four forces as well as improving professional governance of Firearms across the region.

“The four forces will now work together to maximise the opportunities that Chronicle will bring, such as sharing a common training and records system, delivering the same training to the same standards in all four forces and sharing a common deployment records system, which will allow for consistent reporting and produce more accurate data.”

Satnav alerts lorry drivers to London cyclist hotspots

Picture of new satnav for Your Expert Witness story A new satnav system that alerts lorry drivers when they're approaching cyclist hotspots in London has been developed by software experts at Letchworth-based GPS company Navevo, based on official data provided by Transport for London (TfL). The device is programmed to flag up 100 different locations.

Ian Wainwright, Head of Freight and Fleet at TfL, said that the new system will increase the safety of cyclists on the capital's roads.

“For many years London has worked to lead the way in pushing for the adoption of safer lorries and safer lorry driving,” he said. “The creation of a specific cyclist alert for HGV drivers is another positive step forward and will help improve cycle safety across the capital.”

Navevo is said to be planning on expanding the service to include other cities in the future.

New partnership for government and industry to share intelligence on cyber security

Picture of Francis Maude for Your Expert Witness story On 27 March, Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office (pictured), launched the Government's new partnership to share information and intelligence on cyber security threats.

The Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership (CISP) has been described as "...delivering a key component of the UK's cyber security strategy in facilitating the sharing of information on cyber threats in order to make UK businesses more secure in cyberspace".

The partnership includes the introduction of a secure virtual 'collaboration environment', where government and industry partners can exchange information on threats and vulnerabilities in real time. The CISP will be complemented by a 'Fusion Cell', which will be supported on the government side by the Security Service, GCHQ and the National Crime Agency and by industry analysts from a variety of sectors. They will work together to produce an enhanced picture of cyber threats facing the UK for the benefit of all partners.

NSPCC warns of cyber-safety ‘timebomb’

Childline and NSPCC logos for Your Expert Witness story The NSPCC has urged people to talk to children about being 'net smart' and called for age appropriate lessons on internet safety to be held in all schools from primary age.
On 4 February the charity issued a warning that the latest research, coupled with calls to ChildLine and focus groups with young people, now show beyond doubt that one of the major child protection issues today is abuse via the internet and mobile phones.

ChildLine carried out 3,745 counselling sessions last year about the issue, with most callers aged between 12 and 15. A further 250 contacts were from children who actually said they were being 'groomed' online. And there was a sharp increase in contacts about exposure to online pornography, with 641 contacts representing a 70% increase for boys, with some callers as young as 11 years old.

Caught in the act: dieters deterred by electronic ‘guard-bird’

A picture of the PiFace interface on a RaspberryPi for Your Expert Witness story After a festive period of excess, a January diet is one of the most common New Year resolutions for many people. Sticking to it, however, is not so easy, with temptation around every corner and inside every cupboard.

Now, computer experts at the University of Manchester have come up with a unique deterrent – a talking, tweeting chicken guarding your cupboards to shame hungry dieters into abstaining.

The chicken not only barks out orders to sneaky snackers, but even tweets that person's Twitter account to 'name and shame' them if they stray. It uses a Raspberry Pi – a tiny, single-board computer – in conjunction with the PiFace interface, which has been developed by the University's Computer Science Department to power real-life applications.