Blunt Announces Cooperative Partnership,
New Technology to Improve Safety

Department of Public Safety
State of Missouri
Jefferson City, MO

JEFFERSON CITY, December 19, 2007- Gov. Matt Blunt today announced a cooperative law enforcement partnership to purchase a new software tool that will improve information sharing in investigating crimes to help prevent criminals from falling through the cracks. In a unique partnership, state and local law enforcement have joined forces to pool federal dollars to support the software purchase.

"Government has a fundamental duty to keep our streets, our schools, and our neighborhoods safe, so that Missourians can reach their full potential," Blunt said. " We have already seen the tremendous benefits of information sharing through the Missouri Information Analysis Center, and I commend local law enforcement for their vision and foresight to bring this software to Missouri . By working together they will be able to provide a tremendous asset to build on MIAC's success and strengthen and protect our communities."

"I know from my own experience in law enforcement that access to accurate and timely information and intelligence will help save lives," said Mark James, Director of the Department of Public Safety. "This data sharing program will give law enforcement the advantage against criminals by identifying relationships, associations and patterns that will help us solve more crimes and increase public safety across Missouri by getting offenders off the street more quickly."

The state has signed a contract estimated at $1.1 million with Knowledge Computing Corporation for their COPLINK software, which allows local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to collect, consolidate and share information across all boundaries.

Law enforcement officials will be able to sift through a database of various types of police records, from traffic stops to murder investigations, to deliver a list of leads in just seconds. The same kind of process now takes hours or even days of a detective's time, if it is possible at all.

Missouri's version, MoDex will be accessible to authorized law enforcement officers, investigators, detectives, highway patrol troopers, and crime analysts throughout the state and will be used for law enforcement purposes only beginning this summer. COPLINK databases contain information provided by police that is not generally released to the public, such as gang-intelligence databases and officers' field notes.

"Another benefit of the program is its power to generate new investigative leads in rapes, murders, burglaries, robberies and other crimes," said Mick Covington, Executive Director of the Missouri Sheriff's Association. "Vague physical descriptions and bits of information given by crime victims or witnesses, such as tattoos, car colors, and nicknames, take on new life when they are researched in a regional database."

"Across our state, policing agencies face tough challenges when trying to share information. This software will enable law enforcement to compile data in one central repository and give every police officer access to that critical information," said Sheldon Lineback, Executive Director of the Missouri Police Chiefs Association.

Many law enforcement agencies have worked together to bring this initiative to Missouri including, the Missouri Department of Public Safety, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Missouri Police Chiefs Association, Missouri Sheriff's Association, Cole County Sheriff's Office, and the Missouri Department of Corrections.

The new technology will also allow MIAC and other agencies to cross-reference or query law enforcement records systems, significantly improving operations and results. Gov. Blunt opened MIAC in December 2005 to provide a public safety partnership consisting of local, state and federal agencies, as well as the public sector and private partners. It collects, evaluates, analyzes, and disseminates information to agencies tasked with Homeland Security responsibilities in a timely, secure manner. MIAC collects incident reports of suspicious activities to be evaluated and analyzed in an effort to identify potential trends or patterns of terrorist or criminal operations within the state. MIAC also facilitates two-way communication between federal, state and local law enforcement communities within the region.