Southwest Life - The Durango Herald

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No new measles cases reported in fading U.S. outbreak

NEW YORK – The nation’s worst measles epidemic in 27 years could be in its final stages as a week went by with no new reported cases. “To get to zero is tremendously encouraging,”...

DATE: Sep 16, 2019 | CATEGORY: Health

La Plata County Farm Bureau to celebrate 100th anniversary

The La Plata County Farm Bureau will celebrate the Farm Bureau Federation’s 100th anniversary with a “Boots and Blossoms” celebration of agriculture at 6 p.m. Friday at Sky Ute Casino. ...

DATE: Sep 16, 2019 | CATEGORY: Southwest Life

Photo: The Chief

DATE: Sep 15, 2019 | CATEGORY: And the West is History

Discover authors’ favorite haunts on London Literary Pub Crawl

LONDON A bartender asks Gavin Smith whether he fancies a citrus pale ale or Kolsch-style lager at the Newman Arms – a London pub dating back to 1730. The 47-year-old Liphook, Engl...

DATE: Sep 15, 2019 | CATEGORY: Travel

Mountain Studies Institute to host Falls Creek site tour

Mountain Studies Institute invites the public to tour what the Animas River Community Forum has done to reduce risks from flood and fire in the Falls Creek subdivision. A carpool ...

DATE: Sep 14, 2019 | CATEGORY: Southwest Life

U.S. officials revise vaping illness count to 380 in 36 states

NEW YORK – The U.S. government has refined how it is measuring an outbreak of breathing illnesses in people who vape, now counting only cases that are most closely linked to electronic cigar...

DATE: Sep 14, 2019 | CATEGORY: Health

A gene-editing first: Scientists tried CRISPR to fight HIV

Scientists are reporting the first use of the gene-editing tool CRISPR to try to cure a patient’s HIV infection by providing blood cells that were altered to resist the AIDS virus. ...

DATE: Sep 13, 2019 | CATEGORY: Health

Report says airlines’ carbon emissions are growing fast

U.S. airlines are increasing their emissions of climate-changing gases much faster than they are boosting fuel efficiency, according to an environmental group’s report. The Intern...

DATE: Sep 13, 2019 | CATEGORY: Travel

50 years ago, they thought an atomic bomb would lead to a natural gas boom

On Sept. 10, 1969, 6½ miles south of Rulison, a 40-kiloton nuclear bomb exploded in the subterranean depths of the Piceance Basin. The device, more than twice as powerful as the w...

DATE: Sep 13, 2019 | CATEGORY: Southwest Life

High Noon Rotary to meet

High Noon Rotary will meet at 11:45 a.m. Thursday at DoubleTree Hotel, 501 Camino del Rio. Dr. Don May will discuss the Fort Lewis College Village Aid Project in Nicaragua. ...

DATE: Sep 13, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Four Corners Back Country Horsemen to meet

The Four Corners Back Country Horsemen will hold their monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at Florida Grange, 656 Highway 172, across from the Cowboy Church. Dr. Ben Hufnagel will ...

DATE: Sep 13, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Durango Photography Club to host astro-landscape photography with Matt Payne

Durango Photography Club will host an “astro-landscape photography” presentation by fine art photographer Matt Payne at 7 p.m. Thursday at the TBK Bank Community Room, 259 W. Ninth St. ...

DATE: Sep 13, 2019 | CATEGORY: Community

Photos: Battle of the Animas

Photos: Animas River Days

Photos: Iron Horse Bicycle Classic mountain bike racesPlenty of spectators packed Steamworks Brewing Company on Sunday

Plenty of spectators packed Steamworks Brewing Company on Sunday

Photos: Iron Horse Bicycle Classic pro road racesCyclists had beautiful day to ride into Silverton on Saturday

Cyclists had beautiful day to ride into Silverton on Saturday

Photos: Durango High School graduation ceremony

Photos: Durango Big Picture High School graduates receive diplomas

Durango police chief says technology name of game in modern policingAI bodycams, first responder drones and more in store for DPD

Artificial intelligence, drone first responders and body cameras that can translate 50 languages aren’t far-flung concepts of some opaque Hollywood future anymore. Even in Durango, they are becoming staples of modern policing.Durango Police Department is embracing technological advancements in what Police Chief Brice Current described to city councilors earlier this year as a “cautious” yet “progressive” approach.Since at least April, Current has stressed how DPD’s top priority with new technology is reinforcing public safety. Since at least April, Current has attended various community meetings about new technology the police department is adopting, where he’s stressed how DPD’s top priority with new technology is to reinforce public safety. He has also addressed residents’ concerns about how powerful some new technologies, including Flock Safety and other automated license plate reader cameras, have become – an ongoing conversation between DPD, the city and advocates for tighter automated license plate reader regulations in Durango.At a Kiwanis Club of Durango meeting last month, for example, Current addressed Flock cameras and drones, and also the importance of trust and accountability for law enforcement.“It is healthy for the public – if we’re going to be one Durango and we’re going to work together – to question government. I question government,” he said.

Current said accountability for officers and third-party technology services is necessary, and that requires education and transparency.Evoking laughter, Current showed a video clip of a drone launching a net at a person.“It requires no training, no policy, and there’s no way we’re ever going to use this,” he said. “There’s lots of other technology out there that is really cool, but just doesn’t fit in Durango right now.”Grappler systems that cast nets to trap a car’s tires are no longer gadgets used only by Batman in films and comic books. Current said Castle Rock uses just such a system. But they aren’t a good fit for Durango.“Those are great tools, don’t get me wrong, but there’s some – like facial recognition, some other things – that just aren’t going to fit in this community and shouldn’t fit here for a long time,” he said.New technologies at DPDDraft One AI Reporting by Axon is an audio transcription service that can identify multiple people in a body camera recording and produce a police report based on what is captured.Current said he held off on trying a demo of Draft One for a long time, because although DPD has used transcription services for years, he didn’t feel comfortable bringing an AI-generated police report to court.But AI transcription technology has come a long way, he said.“This system can take five different people or more at a time and assign who they are and transcribe what they’re saying in the report,” he said.Another benefit, he said, is it trains officers to speak into their body cameras more regularly to record what they are thinking and observing. That helps the veracity of officers’ testimony in court.“When you’re pulling a vehicle over, you used to say in court, ‘(The suspect is) reaching under the seat. I saw him doing some stuff that made me feel nervous.’ And the jury’s like, ‘Hmm, you’re saying that now because you found 2 pounds of dope in his car. But is that really what you’re thinking?’” Current said.Now, officers speak directly into their body cameras to capture not just what the body camera sees but what they are thinking and how they are processing a situation as it unfolds.“‘I’m feeling pretty nervous right now. He keeps reaching under his car (seat).’ They’re talking to their camera. ‘He’s waited two blocks to turn to pull over. That’s odd,’ ... It’s teaching the officer to talk more about what they’re feeling in the reports,” he said.DPD is using Draft One transcripts in misdemeanor cases, although it hasn’t begun using them in felony cases, Current said. But he is confident it will start using them in felony cases soon.The police department’s body cameras are now able to livestream video to the police station and 911 dispatchers at the Durango Emergency Communications Center, allowing first responder agencies to monitor situations in real time.Current said DPD is looking into getting language translation capabilities in 50 different languages for body cameras, but that feature comes with a higher price tag and the police department is waiting on grant funding to make a move.DPD is also implementing AI software into its internal systems to quickly search statutes to determine what charges might best match a situation, to flag internal affairs reviews if officer misconduct is detected in video footage, and more.

By now, residents may have noticed one or both of the drone first responders DPD deployed this year to survey incidents faster than officers can reasonably be expected to arrive on scene.Police used a drone last month to locate a missing boy near the Animas River. The drone deployed from Durango Fire Protection District Station No. 1 downtown and arrived in the general area the boy was last seen – behind the Durango Mall – in just a few minutes.Police also deployed a drone last week to the scene of a fatal shooting near Durango Skate Park.Within two minutes of the shooting, police launched a drone and got an aerial view of the scene “within seconds” of it being launched, according to a DPD news release.A second drone was launched a minute later.“The Durango Police Department’s Drone as First Responder system arrived above the scene before officers,” the release said. “The drone operator was able to see that there was no further gunfire taking place as officers approached the area. This technology provided officers with real-time information and helped them arrive with a stronger understanding of what was happening on scene.”The two drones operate on about a 2-mile radius with flight times of about 40 minutes.

‘We’ve learned to vet them’DPD and the city began to face harsher scrutiny from residents last year after members of DeFlock Durango performed records requests for Flock audits that revealed vehicle and license plate data was appearing in searches by law enforcement agencies across the country that have 287(g) cooperation agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Flock Safety has faced pushback from communities around the country for what some opponents of ALPRs call a mass surveillance system of Orwellian proportions. Critics have bashed Flock for providing data to federal law enforcement, for questionable privacy policies when it comes to captured data and for a lack of oversight on how police departments use data.

Current has repeatedly insisted Flock cameras do not constitute “mass surveillance,” although he has acknowledged privacy and abuse of power concerns.He said things are changing for the better with Flock after it faced backlash for working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.He said DPD has always dealt with third-party technology services, and over time it’s leaned to vet companies it partners with.When legislation required police to start wearing bodycams, police had issues with camera companies not storing data as required by law.“Do we trust these groups? Well, we've learned to vet them,” he said.cburney@durangoherald.com

AI bodycams, first responder drones and more in store for DPD

Photos: Fort Lewis College commencement ceremony

Photos: Ron Keller Invitational track meetDemons win home meet against local schools on Saturday

Demons win home meet against local schools on Saturday

No new measles cases reported in fading U.S. outbreak

La Plata County Farm Bureau to celebrate 100th anniversary

Photo: The Chief

Discover authors’ favorite haunts on London Literary Pub Crawl

Mountain Studies Institute to host Falls Creek site tour

U.S. officials revise vaping illness count to 380 in 36 states

A gene-editing first: Scientists tried CRISPR to fight HIV

Report says airlines’ carbon emissions are growing fast

50 years ago, they thought an atomic bomb would lead to a natural gas boom

High Noon Rotary to meet

Four Corners Back Country Horsemen to meet

Durango Photography Club to host astro-landscape photography with Matt Payne

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