As part of a series of laws to strengthen sanctions against negligent canine owners, Illinois has become the first state to restrict felons, such as drug dealers and violent criminals, from having dogs. The law prohibits felons from owning unsterilized dogs (which are statistically more likely to attack) or dogs that have been declared dangerous or vicious. The newly enacted legislation is not breed-specific, which shifts the focus to the owners of the problem animals. Officials cite gang members' use of dogs as weapons against law enforcement and the community as an impetus for the measure.

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston will begin to digitize over 48 million pages of documents, 400,000 photos, 1,200 hours of video, and 11,000 hours of audio recordings to secure the long-term preservation of these historical treasures and provide online accessibility to a worldwide audience. The project is expected to take a decade to complete. The National Archives and Records Administration foresee that the undertaking will serve as a pilot program for the other 11 presidential libraries it oversees.

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) methods help planners construct parks that help visitors relax by increasing their security. Through the collaboration of criminologists, planners, and educators, CPTED uses logical, inexpensive, and effective planning techniques to influence the behavior of potential offenders by manipulating the environment. This includes a layered use of the different aspects of lighting, natural surveillance control that allows people to see and be seen continuously, clear demarcations of public and private zones, landscape designs that provide surveillance at identified designated points of entry, and constant maintenance as a firm expression of public commitment to the green area.

Data analysis is helping more and more educators gauge student progress towards academic goals. Government education technology officials in Texas are enthused about the growing use of computer-driven analysis to instantly identify class-wide weaknesses and quickly discern specific skills in which students need tutoring. Officials predict that a comprehensive system would only cost about $18 per student.

In the past three years, the Lancaster County Prison in Pennsylvania credits its voluntary faith-based mental health treatment system with saving the county nearly $1 million. Under the program, the prison physician works with a network of ministries, pastors, counselors, and trained laypeople to offer mental health and substance-abuse treatment to inmates. Prison officials are seeking to extend the program to ex-offenders in danger of relapse as well as homeless individuals.

The Clark County Education Association in Nevada will give up to 125 willing high school juniors free college coursework and training in exchange for a four-year commitment to an education career. Although open to all aspiring teachers, the Student to Teacher Enlistment Project (STEP) aims to remedy the disparity between its largely minority student population and the dearth of minority role models in educational positions. Since the scholarships begin in high school and participants have the opportunity to complete their degrees in three years, STEP advocates believe the program will likely attract students who might never have considered college as an option.

In its battle to root out public corruption, the FBI has launched a website to attract more tips. With indictments up by 40% since 2004, the FBI asserts that its top priority is thwarting public corruption, a crime that erodes public confidence in governmental operations and weakens citizen resolve to take an ownership stake in their democracy. The site will make it easier for the victims of corruption--the public--to fill out a complaint form and receive follow-up contact from an FBI agent.

Northwestern Community Bank has opened a small branch in Connecticut's Northwestern Regional No. 7 High School to help the bank reach new customers while boosting students' financial literacy. Although other area schools house bank or credit union branches, this partnership will purposively link to financial literacy curriculum to teach skills, such as budgeting for homes, cars or retirement; managing a bank account; and investing. To encourage potential customers, the school branch will not require a minimum depost and will provide loan applications to any student or staff member over the age of 18. Student volunteers, overseen by a full-time employee, take turns staffing the branch.

Firefighters doing battle with blazes in Western states this year will be armed with satellites and digital technology. In Moreno Valley, California, teams will use handheld digital assistants to track movement of the fire and place firefighters on the scene based on those predictions. Other teams may take advantage of digital maps of vegetation and the use of high-definition infrared cameras on helicopters to gather real-time data of fire location and temperature.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, in partnership with schools and advocacy groups, is ramping up efforts to safeguard children as they increasingly go online to study, have fun, and communicate with others. Students are taught to recognize Internet dangers and encouraged to report incidences of victimization to a trusted adult. West Middle School in Maryland, for example, has showed its students how posting a seemingly innocuous piece of personal information, such as an e-mail address, on MySpace can lead a determined inquirer to more information, such as the potential victim's full name and address.


Newsletter produced by: Brendan St. Amant and Vanessa Ruget (researchers and writers); Joellen Secondo (editor).