COPLINK® Crime Fighting and Terrorism Prevention Initiative Goes Live in Orange County, California

08/09/05
Tucson, AZ/Orange County, CA

Knowledge Computing Corporation announced today that Phase I of the Orange County Integrated Law and Justice (OCILJ) Project powered by its critically acclaimed crime fighting solution COPLINK® is fully operational. The technology will play a significant role in helping law enforcement in one of the most populous areas of the United States fight crime and thwart terrorism by allowing agencies across multiple jurisdictions to immediately share, analyze and act on information critical to ongoing investigations. The project was delivered on time and on budget and was funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant program.

"This initiative further demonstrates how proven, commercial off-the-shelf crime fighting and homeland security solutions like COPLINK can be deployed reliably, rapidly, cost effectively and less intrusively to dramatically improve our nation's safety today," said Robert Griffin, CEO of Knowledge Computing Corporation.

As the prime contractor, Knowledge Computing Corporation leads a team that includes Unisys, which provided the hardware platform and professional services as a subcontractor to Knowledge Computing Corporation. Phase I deployed the full COPLINK Solution Suite, which includes COPLINK Mobile, COPLINK Detect, COPLINK Visualizer, COPLINK Active Agent, and COPLINK Incident Analyzer search and analysis tools.

In the first phase of the project, data was integrated from five police agency records management systems and the Orange County Superior Court's citation database. Phase II is underway and provides for the addition of all other police agencies in the County by the end of 2006 or sooner, with the timing only limited by the agencies' ability to provide the required access to their systems' data. Included in this program are other criminal justice agencies in Orange County, such as the Probation Department and the District Attorney's Office.

Since the OCILJ Project went live, officers in participating agencies have identified several suspects in active investigations that would otherwise have gone unnoticed. These leads are now being further developed and it is anticipated that some will lead to arrest warrants. Officers using the system have noted that the COPLINK technology is not only a powerful analytical tool but easy to use. For example, being able to immediately search for persons or vehicles based upon partial descriptions within minutes of a crime occurring is a huge advantage in reducing the time between offenses and the apprehension of criminals.

"With COPLINK, law enforcement agencies across Orange County are able to continuously share, analyze and act on information that contributes to making well-informed decisions on how to deploy resources to prevent, prepare for and respond to crime and terrorism," said Newport Beach Chief of Police Bob McDonell, Chairman of the Steering Committee for the OCILJ Project. "It's a powerful tool that instantly puts significant information at the fingertips of our investigators that would otherwise be next to impossible to assemble or analyze, and that will help solve and thwart illegal activity across Orange County." Chief McDonell further commented; "We have been very pleased with the responsiveness of Knowledge Computing, Unisys, Deloitte Consulting (part of the OCILJ Team), and all of the involved agencies. The spirit of cooperation and anticipation of the power of the COPLINK product delivered to law enforcement in this County has been outstanding."

COPLINK provides unparalleled analysis and decision support for rapidly identifying criminal suspects, relationships and crime patterns. It works by allowing vast quantities of structured and seemingly unrelated data, currently housed in various incompatible databases and Records 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 that would otherwise be unapparent in seconds - a process that prior to COPLINK wasn't possible at all or often took days or weeks to accomplish. Through sophisticated analytics, COPLINK builds 'institutional memory,' reduces knowledge gaps and prevents criminals from falling through the cracks.

COPLINK first catapulted into the national spotlight for its proof of concept role following the Montgomery County, Maryland sniper investigation. Today, the solution is in use in over 130 jurisdictions nationwide from Boston to San Diego helping police officers fight crime and improve community safety.

Winner of numerous awards, COPLINK was recognized twice by the International Association of Chiefs of Police for deployments in Tucson, Arizona and across the State of Alaska. 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.

About Knowledge Computing Corporation
Knowledge Computing Corporation provides technology-based crime fighting solutions to leading edge law enforcement agencies nationwide. Its critically-acclaimed product, COPLINK®, 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.