| |
Blunt Announces
Cooperative Partnership, New Technology to Improve Safety
Department of
Public Safety
State of Missouri
Jefferson City, MO
12/19/07
BACK...
|
|
|
JEFFERSON CITY, December 19, 2007- Gov. Matt
Blunt today announced a cooperative law enforcement partnership to
purchase a new software tool that will improve information sharing in
investigating crimes to help prevent criminals from falling through the
cracks. In a unique partnership, state and local law enforcement have
joined forces to pool federal dollars to support the software purchase.
"Government has a fundamental duty to keep our streets, our schools, and
our neighborhoods safe, so that Missourians can reach their full
potential," Blunt said. " We have already seen the tremendous benefits
of information sharing through the Missouri Information Analysis Center,
and I commend local law enforcement for their vision and foresight to
bring this software to Missouri. By working together they will be able
to provide a tremendous asset to build on MIAC's success and strengthen
and protect our communities."
"I know from my own experience in law enforcement that access to
accurate and timely information and intelligence will help save lives,"
said Mark James, Director of the Department of Public Safety. "This data
sharing program will give law enforcement the advantage against
criminals by identifying relationships, associations and patterns that
will help us solve more crimes and increase public safety across
Missouri by getting offenders off the street more quickly."
The state has signed a contract estimated at $1.1 million with Knowledge
Computing Corporation for their COPLINK software, which allows local,
state and federal law enforcement agencies to collect, consolidate and
share information across all boundaries.
Law enforcement officials will be able to sift through a database of
various types of police records, from traffic stops to murder
investigations, to deliver a list of leads in just seconds. The same
kind of process now takes hours or even days of a detective's time, if
it is possible at all.
Missouri's version, MoDex will be accessible to authorized law
enforcement officers, investigators, detectives, highway patrol
troopers, and crime analysts throughout the state and will be used for
law enforcement purposes only beginning this summer. COPLINK databases
contain information provided by police that is not generally released to
the public, such as gang-intelligence databases and officers' field
notes.
"Another benefit of the program is its power to generate new
investigative leads in rapes, murders, burglaries, robberies and other
crimes," said Mick Covington, Executive Director of the Missouri
Sheriff's Association. "Vague physical descriptions and bits of
information given by crime victims or witnesses, such as tattoos, car
colors, and nicknames, take on new life when they are researched in a
regional database."
"Across our state, policing agencies face tough challenges when trying
to share information. This software will enable law enforcement to
compile data in one central repository and give every police officer
access to that critical information," said Sheldon Lineback, Executive
Director of the Missouri Police Chiefs Association.
Many law enforcement agencies have worked together to bring this
initiative to Missouri including, the Missouri Department of Public
Safety, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri Police Chiefs
Association, Missouri Sheriff's Association, Cole County Sheriff's
Office, and the Missouri Department of Corrections.
The new technology will also allow MIAC and other agencies to
cross-reference or query law enforcement records systems, significantly
improving operations and results. Gov. Blunt opened MIAC in December
2005 to provide a public safety partnership consisting of local, state
and federal agencies, as well as the public sector and private partners.
It collects, evaluates, analyzes, and disseminates information to
agencies tasked with Homeland Security responsibilities in a timely,
secure manner. MIAC collects incident reports of suspicious activities
to be evaluated and analyzed in an effort to identify potential trends
or patterns of terrorist or criminal operations within the state. MIAC
also facilitates two-way communication between federal, state and local
law enforcement communities within the region.
BACK...
|
|
