Thinkstream Poised to Take Statewide Information Integration Solution Across Nation

Patented Technology, Successful Implementation of Largest ICJIS Network Fuels Louisiana Company's Nationwide Outlook

Baton Rouge, LA, August 3, 2010 – After eight years of implementation, refinement and expansion, Thinkstream is prepared to take the patented technology platform that enables the Louisiana Civil and Criminal Information Exchange (LACCIE) nationwide.

What began in 2002 as a small information integration project for a handful of agencies in Baton Rouge is already the largest Integrated Criminal Justice Information System (ICJIS) in the nation, connecting 450 agencies in real time to 700 distinct criminal justice databases and involving over 13,000 users. LACCIE provides seamless access to critical information of all types at the local, state and federal levels while interconnecting Police Departments, Sheriff's Offices, the State Police, District Attorneys, Clerks of Court, Judicial Courts, Corrections and other justice entities in every corner of the state. From a mature set of LACCIE-connected applications, both in the field and in the office, personnel have real-time, integrated access to NCIC, NLETS, LEMS (the State message switch) and virtually every local law enforcement database in Louisiana. The types of information systems connected by LACCIE is just as diverse, including RMS, JMS, CMS, CAD, AFIS, mugshot databases, DMV photos, vehicle insurance registry and more.

And what is the result of all this integration? In thousands of cases, the new statewide information exchange has provided Louisiana's justice agencies with the tools they need to locate outstanding local warrants, bring fugitives to justice, provide prosecutors and judges in the courtroom with comprehensive record and rap sheets in real-time and most importantly equip the officer on the street with up-to-the-moment information drawn from disparate data sources around the country.

What is now a statewide success story began with the integration of a mere half-dozen local law enforcement agency information systems. But once officers and deputies began using the network, the benefits of instantly having a regional criminal profile of suspects quickly became apparent. Thinkstream was soon adding law enforcement agencies from surrounding parishes, responding to a chorus of demand from around the state. Today, LACCIE encompasses nearly every law enforcement agency in Louisiana.

A major hurdle was cleared in 2002 when Thinkstream secured the participation of the Louisiana State Police and the FBI, making hundreds of State and Federal criminal justice databases available and instantly extending the reach of local law enforcement across the entire nation. With access to the State Criminal History (CCH), NCIC, NLETS, all 50 state DMVs and more, if a particular suspect had a felony conviction or warrant out for their arrest anywhere in the United States, LACCIE-enabled officers in the field would know it on the spot–and be able to respond appropriately. This critical capability stems from the fact that the Thinkstream platform, starting with information as simple as a name or license plate, simultaneously searches hundreds of separate databases for relevant information and intelligently compiles the results into one coherent rap sheet in just seconds.

Jefferson Davis Parish Sheriff Ricky Edwards says the promise of the system has been fully realized. "Our overriding goal," recalls Sheriff Edwards, "was to put as much information as quickly as we could in the hands of deputies on the street so they could be better informed before approaching possible criminals. Thinkstream has given us that and much more".

Using Thinkstream's patented information integration technology platform, LACCIE seamlessly weaves together information from disparate law enforcement agencies' electronic records systems, allowing them to access information instantly, including arrests, incident reports, warrants, criminal histories, hot files and mug shots. From a wireless handheld device, a patrol car laptop, a desk in a police station or a dispatch command center, agency personnel can instantly determine that a suspect has had prior run-ins with police in another city, another region or even another state.

"The system has been everything they said it would be – and then some," says Sheriff's Detective Tom Myrick of Bossier Parish, "Officers are able to verify information on a suspect more quickly which, in turn, means they're able to solve more crimes and expedite arrests more efficiently. We're very pleased."

Working with only a name, a driver's license, a license plate or other common identifier, an officer in the field with a LACCIE-powered application can retrieve in seconds a complete criminal profile drawn from the hundreds of separate information systems at the local, State and Federal levels–all with a single search. What's more, LACCIE automatically combines all of these disparate pieces of information into a consolidated report that is easy to read and easy to share across departmental and organizational boundaries.

Agencies joining the LACCIE network have not had to wait long to see tangible results. "During our first week on the new system, while handling a suspicious vehicle/person call, officers were able to identify a wanted individual from South Louisiana, obtain his photo and access his misdemeanor and felony history, all from the confines of the police unit," marvels Rustin Police Chief Randal Hermes.

Chief Jimmy Sparacello, of Tickfaw, cites similar, rapid results. "Within a few days of learning to use the system, Thinkstream's tools brought success: a felony and drug-related arrest and a solved missing person's case. Thinkstream has taken a small town like Tickfaw and moved us into the 21st century. It's been nothing but good for us. We're loving it!"

Thinkstream Chief Executive Officer Barry Bellue attributes the success of LACCIE to the design of its patented justice network platform. "How is it possible," he asks, "that 64 sheriffs and a couple of hundred police chiefs, prosecutors, court clerks and judges, state police, corrections and other state agencies have been convinced to join LACCIE in a state known for its complex politics? "Because the Thinkstream justice platform addressed every single one of their concerns."

According to Bellue, agencies that want to share information tend to shy away from doing so for fear of these six consequences, each of which is addressed by the Thinkstream platform:

• Loss of control: With the Thinkstream platform, the issue of "governance" (a.k.a. politics) becomes a non-issue. All data remains under the complete control of its owner – the participating agency – because it never actually leaves the site of the agency. The extent to which data is shared (with whom and how much) is entirely up to the owner. The moment any user is suspected of misuse, their access is immediately blocked.
• Re-inventing the wheel: The new platform integrates smoothly with legacy applications – from ancient mainframes to the most modern database apps. So agencies don't have to throw away the things they are accustomed to using and laboriously retrain their personnel on a single new application standard in order to begin sharing information, eliminating redundancy and boosting overall productivity.
• Lost in translation: The platform introduces a national data dictionary for justice that seamlessly normalizes the disparate backend database schemas. This data dictionary allows agencies to introduce applications, business workflow and services to the network and execute them in a common network language.
• Growing pains: The platform is highly scalable – so flexible and efficient that it will readily connect a small number of sites and then just as easily expand to hundreds, even thousands of systems.
• One-off solutions: Thinkstream offers a full suite of COTS justice applications that make maximum use of the flexible connectivity provided by the platform, including ICJIS search for persons and vehicles, electronic citations, field reporting, CAD-to-CAD integration and justice document workflow handling within and between agencies.
• Expense: The Thinkstream platform and its various component applications are surprisingly affordable and designed to deploy smoothly and rapidly – minimizing the unproductive process of adjustment and implementation for agencies, departments and the personnel who work inside them.

With their fears and doubts put to rest, agencies across the state are finding a comfort level in securely sharing information – amongst their own disconnected systems and those of other agencies – for myriad purposes, from information search and the development of criminal profiles to virtual case management and improved workflow processing.

A typical agency might get its feet wet sharing warrants and incident reports with the regional law enforcement criminal history search network, then move on to integrate with the Clerk of Court in order to electronically reconcile citation fine payment in their RMS. From there, it's on to compiling and electronically submitting monthly crash reporting statistics to the State Police and the Federal Government. "This system puts us all on the same page," says Schuyler Marvin of Bossier Parish. "Now we are able to access all of the information on file in a given case in a matter of minutes. Without a doubt, this raises the effectiveness of our judicial process."

"The time has come to cease the endless studying of the problem of connecting the national justice system," Bellue maintains, "and to begin looking to companies with proven justice networks as the model to build out the national Homeland Security Network. At Thinkstream, we welcome that scrutiny. In fact, we can't wait. This is no pipe dream. Just ask the State of Louisiana."

About Thinkstream
Thinkstream Inc., a leading software development company based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, specializes in criminal justice applications that tie agencies together securely giving them the ability to rapidly share critical information across organizational, agency and geographic boundaries. The company has linked over 150 agencies in eight regions of the state of Louisiana, making it the largest civil and criminal information network in the nation. The company also operates systems in California, Florida and Texas.

CEO Barry Bellue, who also founded Fifth Generation Systems, a national top 20 software company acquired by Symantec, established Thinkstream over ten years ago. Mr. Bellue heads a team of engineers with over 60 years combined experience in designing Web-based integrated information networks for businesses and criminal justice agencies across the nation.

Thinkstream Inc. is an active member of the Internet Working Group for Justice Integration Committee. Established by the U.S. Department of Justice, committee members contribute their knowledge and experience to promote and implement integrated information systems (IJIS) throughout the country.