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New systems to help FBI
and L.A. analyze, share intel
10/19/07
By Wilson P. Dizard III
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Los Angeles
County have chosen different approaches to obtaining
systems for handling criminal, gang and terrorist data.
The bureau, following up on a concept of operations
issued in the spring about how to process and
disseminate gang information via the National Gang
Intelligence Center (NGIC), chose systems integrator SRA
International to develop a new system. SRA received a
contract valued at $16 million over five years if the
bureau exercises all options, the company said.
SRA plans to use commercial and newly developed software
to create an integrated system that the FBI has
specified in great detail via its acquisition
requirements.
Across the country from the bureau’s Washington
headquarters, Los Angeles County plans to deploy the
Coplink system from Knowledge Computing Corp. Coplink
comprises several modules that can be combined to meet
agencies’ varying needs, and hundreds of law enforcement
agencies nationwide have already fielded it to process
intelligence about crimes,.
The county’s contract calls for a total of $4.5 million
in payments to cover all modules of the analysis and
decision support system in addition to training and
support for three years.
Coplink complies with the Global Justice Data Exchange
Model. That format for data tagging and exchange — now
required for all new federally funded state and local
police IT systems — facilitates information sharing
among law enforcement agencies.
LA County’s Coplink implementation will be able to
seamlessly share information with other Coplink
implementations in San Diego and Orange County and many
other, smaller police departments statewide. KCC already
has fielded Coplink to more than 600 jurisdictions
nationwide, including four of the five largest cities in
the country, the company said.
SRA’s work will involve providing database support to
NGIC, states a detailed concept of operations the bureau
provided to vendors.
The NGIC case tracker database won’t function — as the
bureau’s ill-fated Virtual Case File was intended to —
as a full-fledged investigative case management system,
but it will include many unique features the bureau has
specified.
SRA will provide services including systems design,
development and integration; data collection and
management; Web development; and integration of
commercial and government products, the company said.
The resulting system is intended to integrate NGIC's
disparate components while improving connectivity,
knowledge management and information sharing of
gang-related intelligence, SRA said.
The procurement documents for the upgrades to NGIC
specified that the system include a capability to use
Gangnet, which is an SRA law enforcement intelligence
analysis tool. Gangnet traces its history back to a
relational database system initially called Cal/Gang,
which provided gang data analysis capabilities for
California police forces starting in the 1990s.
Coplink extracts knowledge embedded in multiple
databases with advanced analytical tools and
visualization methods to provide investigative leads to
its users.
Both Coplink and the FBI system allow law enforcement
officers to establish links among criminals and their
characteristic crimes, methods, associates, weapons,
drugs, vehicles and locales.
Los Angeles Country will field Coplink through Southern
California’s Regional Terrorism Information and
Integration System consortium.
Funding for the technology projects could vary with
fluctuations in the agencies’ budgets, among other
factors. |
