New Technology Helps Westchester, Yonkers and White Plains Police Protect the Public

Thanks to a new high-tech investigative tool, Westchester County, N.Y., police are finding it easier than ever to track down criminal suspects and get them off the county's streets -- even when the clues are few and far between.

This month Yonkers police became the first local municipality to tap into the county's extensive "criminal justice data warehouse," a new software program able to quickly search through thousands of data entries from law enforcement agencies throughout the county. The database includes records from local and county police, the county jail and probation departments, as well as pistol permits and taxi and limousine records.

"We are doing everything we can to protect the public. Technology is something we've been putting to work for us for years and this is just our latest approach to keeping our communities safe and secure," said Westchester County Executive Andy Spano. "This shared database simplifies the whole process of police investigations and will help us coordinate our efforts better when it comes to tracking down criminals and preventing future incidents."

Spano noted that the system was built to federal criminal justice data standards so the county has the potential to exchange data with federal criminal justice agencies. In a related development, the county has begun notifying communities when someone in their community is released from county jail.

Police Commissioner Thomas Belfiore noted that the shared database was extremely helpful because it had so much information in one place. "Law enforcement agencies need to work together," he said, "and it's impossible to keep up on each other's activities on a daily basis. Having access to a shared database makes our jobs that much easier."

Police are able to enter whatever information they have into the database -- however limited it may be -- and search for a match. For example, county police recently had a slim lead on a suspect, including a nickname and a vague description of a tattoo. They put that information into a computer and found it matched up to a former inmate in the county jail, Belfiore said. After further investigation, the person was arrested for assault.
"This is just one example of the benefits now resulting from the county's investment in new technology," said Chief Information Officer Norm Jacknis, "and its willingness to tackle challenges that have been too much for other governments. Westchester is way ahead of other parts of the country in using sophisticated software techniques to protect the public."

The county began using the technology a few months ago. The city of Yonkers joined up more recently and the state police are beginning to use it as well.

The other new development involves the county sending reports to local police when someone in their community is released from county jail. That way, officers are aware of their presence and will be able to help them assimilate into the community as well as remain on alert for any future criminal activity. The White Plains police have also been checking the reports against orders of protection to make sure that there are no violations. So far they found three such violations and took appropriate steps to prevent serious problems from occurring.