| |
COPLINKŪ To Be Deployed to Fight
Crime and Improve Community Safety Across Hennepin County,
Minnesota and the
Minneapolis Region
9/9/04 --- Tucson, AZ
BACK...
|
|
|
Two of the
biggest barriers to solving crimes - timely information sharing and tactical
lead generation - will be virtually eliminated in Hennepin County, Minnesota and
the Minneapolis region. Knowledge Computing Corporation today announced that its
critically acclaimed crime fighting solution COPLINKŪ will be used to support a
major crime fighting initiative for Hennepin County which is home to over one
million residents in Minneapolis and 45 surrounding cities.
"Hennepin County's deployment provides COPLINK with a highly visible, strategic
presence in the northern United States as we continue executing on our goal to
build the first nationwide crime-fighting network," said Bob Griffin, CEO of
Knowledge Computing Corporation. "Unlike other approaches, the unique
architecture of COPLINK respects the autonomy and preferences of local and state
government while providing a highly scaleable solution with the proper tactical
toolset to meet regional and national crime fighting objectives."
"Criminals in Hennepin County are becoming increasingly sophisticated, but
COPLINK's powerful lead generation, analytic and visualization software clearly
puts the advantage in our court when it comes to identifying and apprehending
them," said Hennepin County Sheriff Patrick D. McGowan. "COPLINK is a trusted,
secure and proven solution that will help us solve crimes that might otherwise
remain unsolved and enhance the safety of our community."
COPLINK provides unparalleled analysis and decision support for rapidly
identifying criminal suspects, relationships and patterns that can help solve
and prevent crime. The solution is also promising for use in homeland security
applications to thwart terrorism.
COPLINK works by allowing vast quantities of structured and seemingly unrelated
data, currently housed in various incompatible databases and record management
systems (RMS), to be securely organized, consolidated and rapidly analyzed over
a highly secure intranet-based platform. One search using known or partial facts
from an ongoing investigation can produce qualified leads in seconds - a process
that prior to COPLINK wasn't possible or often took days or weeks. Through
sophisticated analytics, COPLINK builds 'institutional memory,' reduces
knowledge gaps, and prevents criminals from falling through the cracks.
The two largest law enforcement agencies within Hennepin County will initially
have access to the system. Access to data will be restricted based on individual
user security clearance levels, and the sensitivity of the data itself. COPLINK
also creates a detailed audit trail for every search conducted. This serves two
purposes. Officers seeking to question or obtain a warrant on suspects
identified through COPLINK are able to clearly demonstrate with hard facts how
that person fits the criminal profile and how others were excluded. Each
participating agency's Systems Administrator is also able to monitor use for
audit purposes to identify any abuse that would result in suspension of a user's
access privileges under the privacy and use protocols established by Hennepin
County in accordance with local, state and federal laws.
The Hennepin County project will provide connectivity between six law
enforcement databases including the Sheriff's Office record management system,
the Sheriff's Office Adult Detention Division, mugshots and the City of
Minneapolis Police Department criminal database. It will be used for law
enforcement purposes only. The first phase of the project was funded through a
local bond initiative earmarked for data integration and communications. Future
phases will include additional public data sources currently available to law
enforcement and access by additional city police agencies in the county.
When COPLINK is used to create regional, multi-state or interagency networks,
each participating agency has real-time control over what data is shared, with
whom and when. In addition, data continues to reside and be updated at its
existing source. These safeguards help protect the integrity of the data and
sensitive information while allowing for the creation of ad hoc regional task
forces to address specific criminal activity.
COPLINK is deployed in over 100 jurisdictions nationwide from Boston to San
Diego to support police officers in fighting crime and improving community
safety. The solution was recently recognized by the International Association of
Chiefs of Police as a finalist for the prestigious Webber Seavey Award for
quality in law enforcement for the Tucson, Arizona deployment. The Center for
Digital Government also recognized COPLINK as one of the best of breed and most
innovative IT projects undertaken by cities in the nation.
Designed by current and former law enforcement officials, COPLINK is tactically
sophisticated yet user-friendly. Even the most non-technical law enforcement
officials can master it in less than a day. The solution is available in the
United Kingdom through Orbitron Technologies.
About Knowledge Computing Corporation
Knowledge Computing Corporation provides technology-based crime fighting
solutions to leading-edge law enforcement agencies nationwide. Its
critically acclaimed product, COPLINKŪ, in use since 1998, is based on
knowledge management technology first prototyped by top-ranked researchers
in the Artificial Intelligence Lab at the University of Arizona in Tucson
through a grant by the National Institute of Justice. The technologies
developed at Knowledge Computing Corporation have been tested and proven
by law enforcement agencies around the country. For more information:
www.knowledgecc.com or
www.coplink.net.
BACK...
|
|
