L.A. taps Memex intell system

The newly opened Los Angeles Joint Regional Intelligence Center has selected Memex to provide the facility’s intelligence management system.

The system will facilitate the management and sharing of intelligence information among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, according to the company. Memex specializes in intelligence management and analysis solutions. Based in Glasgow, Scotland, the company operates offices in the Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., areas.

Mike Himley, general manager for Memex’s western region, said about 60 to 70 analysts will use the Joint Regional Intelligence Center’s system. Memex’s New Scotland Yard implementation may involve more users, but the Los Angeles deployment involves more agencies, he said. The multiagency initiative brings together participants including the FBI, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles Police Department and the Homeland Security Department.

Himley called that level of interagency cooperation unprecedented.

“Historically, you ended up with different agencies operating up to the edge of their jurisdictions,” he said.

The software will let the Los Angeles center gather and track leads and tap other law enforcement data sources. Memex’s intelligence engine, a proprietary database, houses data. Analysts can run searches against the database for structured and unstructured information.

In addition to the Los Angeles deal, Memex has a number of state deployments. It announced in June that New Hampshire selected the company to provide a criminal-intelligence system to aid terrorism investigations. The company also provides intelligence systems to the Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey state police and the Ohio Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

At the federal level, the Defense Department’s Pathfinder program uses Memex’s search and analysis technology.