Grant would help police catch criminals

By Ed Runyan

Several police departments in southeastern Trumbull County already use the technology.

WARREN — A $173,760 grant Trumbull County commissioners are expected to approve today will help police officers in 44 departments and sheriff’s departments in Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties to catch criminals.

Ernie Cook, Trumbull County’s chief deputy sheriff, said each county will contribute $19,397 to the Tri-County Regional Information Sharing System.

It will enable all 47 departments to see one another’s police reports, mugshots and other investigative information.

Cook, who is heading up the system, will meet with representatives from the 46 other departments in the coming weeks to reach agreements with them regarding the system.

Participation will be voluntary and free, and Cook believes all departments will want to take part.

Several Trumbull County departments already use this technology, including Howland Township, Brookfield Township, Hubbard city, Hubbard Township, and Liberty Township and Orwell in Ashtabula County.

Cook said the grant, from the U.S. Office of Criminal Justice Services, will also tie into the county’s new 911 mapping system and computer-aided dispatching system.

With those, the information-sharing system will allow a user to see a map showing the location of recently paroled people in relation to a certain type of crime, which could identify a suspect, he said.

Eventually the system might also provide an overlay showing where sex criminals live in relation to incidents that have been reported, he added. Cook hopes to get a company under contract in about three months to analyze the data collected and look for crime trends.

The system might be especially helpful for adjacent communities such as Liberty and Youngstown, where criminals might be working in both communities and escaping capture because of limited sharing of information.

“It’s an excellent tool. Right now [Trumbull County sheriff’s office] doesn’t know what Niles does, and they don’t know what we do,” he said.

One nice feature of the system is the types of searches it allows, he said. For example, an officer could ask for reports mentioning white minivans and be alerted to crimes committed involving a white mini- van all throughout the area.

Cook noted that using technology is a good way to stretch available law-enforcement dollars at a time of diminishing resources to employ police officers and deputies.

Most of the $173,760 will be used to purchase the hardware that connects each department to the database.

runyan@vindy.com