Is there a consensus within the criminal justice community that we are doing a good job of electronically sharing information between agencies and jurisdictions?
My view is NO.
We can do a better job and we can be much more efficient at the task. Agencies can effectively leverage affordable technology to make reports, citations, field interviews, arrest information, etc…to be much more easily accessible to one another.
Now, the technology exists and platforms are available, but how do we as a profession advance broader cooperation?
A personal connection
I retired recently from a mid-sized Sheriff’s Office in Florida and my interest remains in the area of law enforcement intelligence and agency collaboration.
I know that knowledge is power, particularly when it helps keep officers and communities safer by preventing crime. Also, when it assists in preventing bad-guys from “flying under the radar”, and when it helps positively advance investigations by connecting dots. I also know that the communities we serve believe that the law enforcement profession, as a rule, should have the technical wherewithal to gather and share records that will keep them safe and solve cases. Our communities deserve more than having law enforcement personnel drive to the next event or tragedy. Fostering “real” data sharing is key.
I have found myself perplexed by the wide range of the capabilities of agencies to access records management systems information.
This Information should be commonly accessible to those with a need. From the investigator, to the analyst, to the officer working “real time” in our communities, information is vital. So my question is, What are we doing? Can we build a stronger community of interest that recognizes the multiple stakeholders of a true data sharing network?
A solution
Here is an example of a member of that “community of interest” which leveraged a coalition of willing agencies to solve this problem: FINDER.
FINDER is the Federated Integrated Network for Data Exchange and Retrieval. The FINDER system allows member agencies to share their records through a secure, vendor neutral application. FINDER’s distributed, federated design allows subscriber law enforcement agencies to retain control of their own data; the data never leaves the home agency’s control. FINDER is the primary program for data sharing developed by a 501c3 non-profit corporation, currently serving and linking many agencies in Florida and Alabama.
The non-profit, formed in 2007 and based in Florida, is the Center for Law Enforcement Technology, Training and Research, Inc. (see www.lettr.org ). FINDER has built its success on building accessibility for law enforcement to pawn, scrap and secondhand dealer data, in addition to agency RMS linking.
It is proven data sharing for any RMS. And because it is affordable and development is driven by the law enforcement users, their success continues. There are certainly other programs out there making connections. Share your program, share your success stories. Helping each other helps us all.
About the author:
Charlie Thorpe is a retired Captain from the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office and is currently an Agency Liaison for the Center for Law Enforcement Technology, Training & Research, Inc.
