Missouri deploys COPLINK

1/8/2008
By Rutrell Yasin

Missouri will deploy a software suite from Knowledge Computing Corp. that will foster better information sharing and collaboration among local and state law enforcement.

The state will use COPLINK crime analysis tools, which provide decision support for rapidly identifying criminal suspects, relationships and patterns to solve crimes and thwart terrorism. COPLINK allows vast quantities of structured and seemingly unrelated data – including data stored in incompatible databases and records management systems – to be securely organized, consolidated and quickly analyzed over a secure intranet-based platform.

The software includes sophisticated analytics and visualization tools to build institutional memory.

One search using known partial facts from an ongoing investigation could produce qualified leads that would otherwise be unapparent in seconds. Without COPLINK, this process could take days or weeks to accomplish, Missouri law enforcement officials said.

COPLINK can generate new investigative leads in rapes, murders, burglaries, robberies and other crimes, said Mick Covington, executive director at 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,” he said.

COPLINK will allow the Missouri Information Analysis Center and other agencies to instantly cross-reference and analyze law enforcement records systems statewide. MIAC, launched in 2005, collects, evaluates, analyzes and disseminates information to agencies tasked with Homeland Security responsibilities.

Authorized law enforcement officers, investigators, detectives, highway patrol troopers, and crime analysts statewide will have access to COPLINK. Missouri has 12,655 full-time sworn officers serving communities across 114 counties, the city of St. Louis, 535 municipalities and other state law enforcement entities.

Missouri-based Professional Services & Resources Inc. will serve as a subcontractor to Knowledge Computing Corp. Funding for the project, known as Missouri Data Exchange, was made possible through a partnership between state and local law enforcement, which pooled federal funding, state officials said.