Colorado law enforcement agencies sharing data

Seven law enforcement agencies in the northwest Denver metropolitan area will exchange data through the new Jefferson County Law Enforcement Sharing System, which uses a commercial analysis tool that is popular among other jurisdictions.

In the project’s first phase, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the cities of Arvada, Lakewood and Westminster will integrate data from their records management systems. Developers will expand that capability to the cities of Broomfield, Golden and Wheat Ridge during the second phase.

In the distributed system, agencies will not give up ownership of the data, and they will control the content and recipients of data sharing. In addition, the system will employ CopLink technology developed by Knowledge Computing, based in Tucson, Ariz. The technology helps investigators find and visually present links in vast quantities of structured and unstructured data.

“The Jefferson County Law Enforcement Sharing System will substantially increase the effectiveness of our collaborative law enforcement effort by rapidly generating qualified investigative leads, fostering greater information sharing across jurisdictions and allowing us to better utilize resources throughout our communities to address illegal activity,” Jefferson County Sheriff Ted Mink said in a statement.

Ron Sloan, chief of the Arvada Police Department, said in the statement that although the jurisdictions have a strong track record of information sharing, they sometimes need days or weeks to analyze data for complex criminal cases.

Other law enforcement agencies use CopLink, including ones in the Tampa metro area and Orange County, Calif. Massachusetts will integrate the technology in its intelligence fusion center. According to Knowledge Computing, about 130 jurisdictions currently use the technology.