NCJ Number
216335
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 33 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2006 Pages: 166,168,171
Date Published
October 2006
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article describes the features of Thinkstream, an information-sharing technology, and how it has been used by the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office (Louisiana).
Abstract
Thinkstream users can type information into a computer and execute a search that queries all connected databases and returns results. It is similar to an Internet search engine such as Google. Using Thinkstream, an officer sitting in his/her patrol vehicle can key into a computer a specific information request that searches Federal, State, and local databases in order to retrieve the information requested. Among the information that can be provided through Thinkstream is criminal histories, outstanding warrants, jail records, jail status, probation status, and dispositions of past cases. In addition, Thinkstream can move records from one agency to another or collect electronic reports from the field and integrate them into a database. Thinkstream allows users to keep their own systems and control their own separate databases. Thinkstream is not in itself a database but rather a technology that allows a department to access other databases and share its own. Thinkstream has been the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office's primary search tool for the past 2 1/2 years. Currently, Lafourche Parish is connected to 25 agencies in its region. Every patrol officer in the parish has at his/her fingertips a wealth of information that may be pertinent to individuals with whom they are interacting and vehicles they observe or have stopped.