NCJ Number
203188
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 30 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2003 Pages: 142-149
Date Published
October 2003
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article describes LEADS Software’s Occurrence/Records Management System, a records management system designed for missing children cases.
Abstract
LEADS Software, based in Alberta, Canada, created the program for Child Find agencies across Canada. Although there are many records management systems on the market, the LEADS software package, known as Occurrence/Records Management System, was developed specifically with police functions in mind. Helping to develop the software were police officers with more than 30 years of experience, making the LEADS software expertly functional for managing records in missing child cases. The article explains that children should be recorded in the system before there is any problem with them. Then, in the terrible event that they are abducted, most of the information about the child is already in the LEADS software. Once in the system, information about children can be shared with hundreds of officers and Child Find agencies across the country through the Internet. In this way, redundant paperwork is eliminated and officers can concentrate on finding children, rather than on entering data. Another bonus is that as cases progress, evidence is cataloged on the LEADS software so that all officers and agencies assisting in the search have all evidence at their fingertips. In addition to statistical and descriptive information, the LEADS software allows the recording of still photographs, video images, audio recordings, and three-dimensional images. LEADS Software donated the Occurrence/Records Management System to all non-profit Child Find agencies in Canada and plans to introduce LEADS software to the United States by October, 2003. Although the system was designed to help find missing children, it may be used for any number of records management applications.