From BIO-key.com
Missouri Police Launch Multi-Jurisdictional Data Sharing Initiative
Jul 9, 2009, 11:27
Missouri Police Launch Multi-Jurisdictional Data Sharing Initiative
BIO-key’s InfoExchange® Links Officers in the Field to Local Law Enforcement Systems
Wall, NJ, July 13, 2009 – BIO-key International Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BKYI), a leader in finger-based biometric identification and wireless public safety solutions, today announced an add-on award from the Columbia, MO Police Department for InfoExchange, the company’s information access solution. InfoExchange puts police records management system (RMS) and other local data directly and automatically in the hands of officers on the street. RMS databases store detailed information on individuals arrested or involved in incidents in the community, which is often not available from federal and state sources.
The department’s patrol officers have used MobileCop®, BIO-key’s in-vehicle, laptop-based mobile data solution, to query federal and state databases since 1998. Today the department supports more than 100 MobileCop-enabled vehicles, including deputies in the Boone County Sheriff’s Department and patrol units of the nearby Hallsville and Sturgeon Police Departments. With InfoExchange mobile users in all four departments are linking to both the Columbia Police Department RMS and the County Sheriff’s RMS directly through MobileCop.
The Columbia Police Department had previously provided separate mobile access to its own RMS for its officers in the field, but found that they often weren’t doing the extra data entry needed to initiate a query. “You can put a lot of good data out there but if it isn’t easy to get at, people won’t use it,” noted Skip Jenkins, Computer Operations Supervisor for the Department and Chairman of the Central Missouri Regional Justice Information System Technical Committee. “Because InfoExchange is fully integrated with MobileCop, officers can get local information, as well as national and state data, from a single request – without additional data entry.”
In addition to enhancing officer safety by flagging any history of violent behavior, for example, RMS data helps officers use their discretion to make more informed decisions. “We expect to see a real payback from InfoExchange in reducing the number of outstanding arrest warrants,” said Skip Jenkins. “The officer on scene will know immediately if there’s an outstanding warrant that requires that the person be placed in custody. And even if there isn’t, an individual’s warrant history may tell us we should take bond on even a minor offense – and avoid the risk of an outstanding warrant in the future.”
Jenkins also sees the quality of the data improving over time: “As more officers benefit from the additional information they get through InfoExchange, they’ll be more willing to add caution notes and other detail to an incident report that might help the next officer who confronts that individual.”
“By including other departments and providing access to both city and county data, the Columbia Police Department has demonstrated that InfoExchange can be an effective multi-jurisdictional data sharing tool that makes everyone safer and smarter,” added Ken Souza, Senior Vice President and General Manager of BIO-key’s Law Enforcement Division.
About BIO-key
BIO-key International, Inc., headquartered in Wall, New Jersey, develops and delivers advanced identification solutions and information services to law enforcement departments, public safety agencies, government and private sector customers. BIO-key's mobile wireless technology provides first responders with critical, reliable, real-time data and images from local, state and national databases. BIO-key's high performance, scalable, cost-effective and easy-to-deploy biometric finger identification technology accurately identifies and authenticates users of wireless and enterprise data to improve security, convenience and privacy and to reduce identity theft. Over 1,000 police departments in North America use BIO-key solutions, making BIO-key the leading supplier of mobile and wireless solutions for law enforcement. (http://www.bio-key.com)
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