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Public safety

Law enforcement

News and Updates

Two men participating in a tech demo at 5x5 Chicago

Technology Demonstrations at 5x5

Do you have an innovative, cutting-edge, or emerging technology that has the potential to advance public safety communications? NIST Public Safety

Blog Posts

Four men are protected by a net structure as they look away from the camera toward a drone flying in a large high-ceilinged room with street signs on the walls.

Drones in Disaster Zones: How Advanced 3D Mapping Technology Can Help First Responders Save Lives

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Briana Capistran wears safety glasses as she poses smiling in the lab with computers and other equipment in the background.

Speeding Up the Wheels of Justice: How NIST Resources Can Help Crime Labs Work Faster

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Side-by-side photos show Mei Lee Ngan disguised with a wig, moustache and makeup (left) and as her normal, smiling self (right).

Facing the Facts to Keep Our Biometrics Secure

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Events

Projects and Programs

Breathalyzer

Standards Development to Ensure Reliable Breath Analysis in the Field

Ongoing
Numerous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been identified in human breath. These compounds can be produced by the body or by organisms in the body (e.g., bacteria or viruses) and provide a non-invasive window into human health. Inexpensive point-of-care devices are being developed to diagnose
Photograph of a dog sniffing luggage.

Metrology and Standards for Canine Olfactory Detection of Explosives

Completed
Effective and accepted by the public, trained dogs are the most frequently deployed detection systems for identification of explosives threats in mobile applications. In addition to being highly sensitive, dogs can rapidly discriminate the unique profile of an explosive in a presence of a large

Trace Contraband Detection

Ongoing
Screening of people and their belongings including luggage, vehicles, and packages for the presence of trace residues of explosives and narcotics (trace contraband detection) is widely used in aviation security and law enforcement. In common screening scenarios, trace contraband residues in the form
STG

Safety and Security Technologies

Ongoing
The safety and security of citizens is enhanced when law enforcement and criminal justice agencies and the military use the appropriate and properly performing equipment and technologies. To ensure these entities have the necessary equipment, the STG conducts and performs research to advance these

Publications

Field-Deployable Devices

Author(s)
Thomas P. Forbes, Raychelle Burks
Reductions in instrument size, weight, and power continue to facilitate the development and application of field-deployable devices for investigative purposes

Tools and Instruments

Large Aperture Scanner

Large Aperture Scanner

The Large Aperture Scanner (LAS) scans a radar transceiver over a 5 meter by 20 meter aperture. Image reconstruction techniques enable a three-dimensional
Smiths Detection_6046si

Cabinet x-ray system

The Smiths Detection 6046si cabinet x-ray system was designed for security screening of bags, parcels and other objects of similar size. The system runs at 160
X-ray backscatter systems

X-ray Backscatter Systems

X-ray backscatter systems are used for the screening of personnel for hidden weapons and other contraband. Unlike conventional radiographic x-ray systems
Reference Ballistic Chronograph Figure 1

Reference Ballistic Chronograph

The NIST-developed reference ballistic chronograph (RBC) provides repeatable measurements of the speed of a bullet that will impact a test article, such as