High-Tech Program Links Cops With Data

San Jose Mercury News (CA) – P. B1; Seyfer, Jessie

March 21, 2005 – San Carlos, Calif., has chosen Thinkstream of Oregon to provide software that will link its police information database with those of nine other Peninsula law enforcement agencies. The software will make it easier for Foster City, San Mateo, Belmont, East Palo Alto, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Carlos, and San Mateo County sheriff's offices to share information with officers on the street. Rather than contact a dispatcher for more detailed information on a suspect, officers will be able to use a secure Web interface from a squad-car laptop or a handheld device to gain information on state and local felony and misdemeanor arrest warrants, sex registrant status, gun ownership, domestic violence background, restraining orders, and previous contact with the police within seconds.

The software costs $101,150, and is being covered by federal Department of Homeland Security and state grants in its first year. The software will be rolled out over the next three months, and Thinkstream officials believe the cities will have no problem obtaining future federal grants because the technology supports the government's goal of stepping up communication and information-sharing for emergency workers. Thinkstream has linked police agencies in Louisiana, Texas, and Florida.