NCJ Number
223774
Journal
Law and Order: The Magazine for Police Management Volume: 56 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2008 Pages: 44-48
Date Published
July 2008
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the success of the Law Enforcement Information Exchange, or LInX, a regional information sharing system supported by the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).
Abstract
The Law Enforcement Information Exchange or LInX is a proven operational capability in those regions where it has been deployed. LInX and similar information sharing initiatives must be encouraged by executive law enforcement leadership and institutionalized in the same way that law enforcement has become dependent upon fingerprinting and DNA analysis. Funded primarily by the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), LInX breaks down artificial jurisdictional and technical barriers between municipal, county, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies. LInX is a state-of-the-art collaborative information sharing program currently operating in seven regional locations around the United States: Washington/Oregon; Hawaii; New Mexico; Gulf Coast, Texas; Florida/Georgia; Hampton Roads and Richmond, VA; and the Washington, DC region. Factors contributing to the success of LInX include: (1) a federally funded and regulated program, with complete ownership by the participating agencies; (2) ease of access and retrieval of the data making it an officer-friendly information tool; and (3) that bad guys are identified and ultimately go to jail more quickly after a crime is reported. This article discusses why LInX and similar information-sharing initiatives must be encouraged by executive law enforcement leadership and institutionalized, such as fingerprinting and DNA analysis.