In the Age of Technology, Police Get Valuable Leads Online
LeadsOnline, used by more than 670 law enforcement agencies, makes it possible for detectives to search for criminals who may have disposed of stolen goods in pawn and secondhand stores across the country. Detectives may find a Rolex from Portland in a store in Las Vegas, or a gun from Seattle in a store in Boise.
Although most pawn customers are pledging their own property, real-time access to electronic records in a criminal investigation speeds up the process that used to be handled through a time-consuming collection of paper slips and store visits.
Police say the instant access to information gives citizens a better chance of having their stolen property recovered.
In Tacoma, WA, Detective Chris Taylor says, “It’s accessible 24 hours a day, and the more agencies that are online, the better chance citizens have of getting their stolen property back. It helps every department clear cases faster, and the retailers find it helpful to them in complying with their own reporting requirement.”
U.S. Marshals deputies and Corpus Christi Police investigators used LeadsOnline to identify two men who brutally murdered a man in his doorway and stole several items from his home. By searching transaction records within a radius of the crime scene, a description of the victim’s jewelry and the name of the person who sold the items were right there online, bringing the case to a speedy close.
The system is accessible only by authorized law enforcement investigators. Agencies that are not yet users can access the system through the leadsonline Website and receive a 30-day trial. To access the LeadsOnline Website, visit www.leadsonline.com.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) from Business Wire; 05/11/07.