The number of cars scanned for speeding in WA would increase from 14 million to almost 300 million a year under a police plan to have roof-mounted speed cameras on 48 traffic patrol vehicles.

Supt Lance Martin said police were developing the technology which they wanted to fit to the new vehicles, with a view to eventually installing the devices on dozens more cars.

He said the roof-mounted radars would work like roadside devices and would turn the cars into roaming speed cameras.

Police aimed to develop the technology to a point where it could measure the speed of each vehicle it passed, enabling each police car to monitor about 1200 vehicles an hour or 6 million a year.

The State's speed cameras monitored a total of 13.8 million cars last financial year, reaping more than $60 million in fines.

TASERS could soon be rolled out to Victoria Police.

The controversial devices, which administer an electric shock, have been trialled for more than a year although a single shot is yet to be fired in Victoria.

It came as Chief Commissioner Ken Lay announced the appointment of three new deputy commissioners who join him after a tumultuous 12 months for the force's brass.

Mr Lay said the force would make a formal announcement about the taser roll out in the "next week or so".

"We are very, very close to making a decision and an announcement about our next stage of the taser roll out," he said.

Science and Innovation Minister John Day and Regional Development Minister Brendon Grylls today announced Telstra had been awarded $39.2million in Royalties for Regions funding under the Regional Mobile Communications Project (RMCP).

Mr Day said RMCP would provide Western Australia’s regional, rural and remote communities and businesses with access to a self-sustainable and affordable mobile voice and wireless broadband service.

Under the project, the WA Government and Telstra will deliver about $106million in value to deploy new mobile communications infrastructure at 113 sites along major roads and highways across the State, and in several regional communities,” Mr Day said.

“This will increase mobile phone coverage in the State by up to 22 per cent while significantly boosting access to next generation broadband services.

WA Police want to buy 48 futuristic patrol cars which can scan six million numberplates a week to catch car thieves, unlicensed drivers, arsonists and even murderers.

Supt Lance Martin said police had asked the State Government to buy the cars, which were laden with technology including automatic numberplate recognition systems to scan an average 1200 plates an hour.

The system would immediately alert officers in the car if a vehicle was unregistered or stolen or if its owner was unlicensed or was wanted for outstanding warrants.

Supt Martin said police believed the cars could also be pivotal in catching bushfire arsonists and others who commit serious crimes.

They proposed to put up to 20 of the cars into streets around such crime scenes to log all numberplates in the area.

For the past 17 years, the Telstra Business Women’s Awards has celebrated some of Australia’s most amazing women. Their stories inspire us all. This year we want to hear your story.
There are five Award categories

1. Commonwealth Bank Business Owner Award
Owners with a 50 per cent share or more in a business with responsibility for key management decision-making.

2. Hudson Private and Corporate Sector Award
Employees in the private and corporate sectors, or owners with less than a 50 per cent share of a business.

3. White Pages Community and Government Award
Employees in government departments, statutory bodies or not-for-profit organisations.

All entrants in one of the three categories above are eligibile to win the Nokia Business Innovation Award and the marie claire Young Business Women's Award.

4. Nokia Business Innovation Award
This recognises successful innovation within a business or workplace.

Entrants in categories 1-3 can choose to be considered for the:

5. marie claire Young Business Women’s Award
Entrants are eligible for this Award if aged 34 years or younger as at 30 June 2011.

Fingerprints have been used to confirm or determine peoples' identities for over one hundred years now, but new technology is allowing them to be put to another use - drug testing. Intelligent Fingerprinting (a spin-off company affiliated with the UK's University of East Anglia) has just unveiled a prototype portable device that can detect the presence of illicit drugs or other substances in a person's system by analyzing the sweat in their fingerprints.

The device uses disposable cartridges, which reportedly do not require specialist handling or biohazard precautions. Also, because one person's drug results are tied to a visual record of their fingerprints, the technology is said to be almost impossible to cheat, or to dispute. The entire process only takes a few minutes.

Victoria Police utilised automated number plate scanning technology in Melbourne's inner suburbs yesterday in the hunt for dodgy drivers.

Operation Scud saw the number plates of 4227 vehicles scanned as they passed on Hoddle Street in Clifton Hill, leading to 26 penalty notices - mostly for unregistered vehicles and unlicensed driving.

One driver was also found to have a blood-alcohol content of .05 after being pulled over for other reasons.

"The mobile signs will provide high impact, visible fire safety messages to motorists, holidaymakers and visitors, many of whom may be unfamiliar with local fire risks," Mr Ryan said.

The trial will begin in December.

Article Courtesy of http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2011/11/09/289931_news.html

The computer voice inside WA Police's new state-of-the-art patrol vehicle could well be the busiest police officer in the State.

Nicknamed "Kate", she is the mouthpiece for the patrol car's four roof-mounted cameras, which automatically scan numberplates.

And she sounds like a broken record. "Unregistered vehicle . . . unlicensed driver . . . multiple violations . . . alert . . . unregistered vehicle."

_The West Australian _took a 30-minute ride in the front seat of the high-tech patrol vehicle, the only one in the State, and the results were staggering.

Of 1025 vehicles, "Kate" identified 74 for possible offences - a ratio which our chaperone, Acting Sgt Greg Robinson, said was about average.

Fears of another horror bushfire season in the West have prompted the Barnett government to spend nearly $4 million to lease a huge American water bomber to help protect homes over summer.

With the state still reeling from the impact of bushfires in February that destroyed 71 homes in the Perth hills and led to the sacking of the state's fire chief, there are growing fears that high grasses and other fuels resulting from record late rains could pose a major fire threat.

The new Skycrane, nicknamed Elvis, can drop 9500L of water in a single load - more than double the capacity of the state's two biggest water bombers and nine times the amount of its four smaller Helitacs.

The plan was hailed yesterday as a major boost to the state's fire-fighting capacity. Victorian Country Fire Authority chief Euan Ferguson said it would close a worrying gap in Western Australia's frontline capabilities.