Puget crime agencies to share data

Northrop Grumman Corp. officials today announced the company won a contract to design and implement the Law Enforcement Information Exchange (LInX) system for state, local and federal agencies in the Puget Sound region.

LInX will allow investigators from multiple agencies to share information among their existing databases, thereby potentially making connections among cases in different jurisdictions. All of the information in the data warehouse will be securely accessible through a standard Web browser.

The 18-month contract starts with a $1.25 million investment, but the value could expand to $10 million over several years, according to Northrop Grumman. Once the system is in place, the company will be training personnel from all of the agencies at the NCIS headquarters in Washington, D.C. and in Seattle.

Law enforcement and criminal justice agencies nationwide are developing data exchange networks. Agencies and communities involved in the Puget Sound initiative include the city of Seattle; Kitsap, Snohomish and King counties; the Washington State Patrol; and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.