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Florida Integrated Network for Data Exchange and Retrieval

Written by Susan Geoghegan

After the 2001 terrorist attacks, the 9/11 Commission was formed to assess the government’s preparedness for and response to the attacks and recommend strategies to guard against future acts of terrorism. A direct result of the commission’s findings was the creation of a national data-sharing system that would allow law enforcement agencies throughout the country to exchange information crucial to apprehending suspects.

The National Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 cited the lack of information sharing between intelligence agencies as a key contributor to the tragedy. It called for the creation of a national database to process, analyze, and share information on all three government levels: local, state and federal. Not only would this require organizational effort and technical expertise, it would demand a spirit of cooperation between agencies.

In response to the commission’s findings, the Florida Information Network for Data Exchange and Retrieval (FINDER) was formed in 2002. FINDER allows police chiefs and sheriffs throughout the state to electronically monitor information regarding suspects, suspicious vehicles, and stolen property. It is an offshoot of the Florida Law Enforcement Data Sharing Consortium (LEDSC), which was created in 2000, and it consists of numerous sheriff’s offices, municipal police departments, and state agencies. The University of Central Florida’s Public Safety Technology Center collaborated with the consortium to develop the FINDER system, which currently consists of 121 law enforcement agencies throughout Florida.

Membership in the LEDSC is offered to law enforcement agencies at a fairly modest annual fee. The contribution schedule is based on the number of sworn officers within the agency and range from $2,500 (for 99 or less) to $10,000 (for 500 or more). The funds are managed by the consortium’s steering committee and are allocated to program development, personnel support, and ongoing technical enhancements. Full membership in the LEDSC entitles the agency to representation within the consortium through a seat on the steering committee and access to all data-sharing resources.

Development of FINDER

Michael Reynolds is an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Central Florida (UCF) who played a prominent role in the development of the FINDER system. A former law enforcement officer, Reynolds realized the first priority was to find a software system that would standardize the shared data for easy retrieval. Up to this point, law enforcement agencies throughout the state were using varying methods of data collection and storage. This, in conjunction with differing terminologies pertaining to crime (i.e., auto theft vs. vehicle theft), required software that would act as a translator to extract the shared information.

The system allowed instant electronic access to low-level information and was a key component in effectively investigating criminal activity. Information that previously took a detective days or weeks to gather could now be accessed within minutes. Not only did it save taxpayer dollars, it also served to stop career criminals in their tracks and prevent costly property crime.

FINDER’s software application is available to all law enforcement agencies that agree to host a FINDER “node.” These nodes allow multiple agencies to access information by aggregating the shared data and making it available through a Web interface. An officer’s request for information is sent to a FINDER node and then passed on to the other nodes within the network.

After each node responds to the request, the original node compiles the results, which are then presented to the officer. The officer can then access a simple analysis of the information or expand the search to include more detailed information on a suspect. Unlike traditional modes of data sharing that use a single remote server, the FINDER system allows law enforcement records to remain secure within each agency.

Working in conjunction with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s CJNet network, all data is transferred over a secure connection. A highly impressive and compatible software system, it has been endorsed and funded by the Florida Legislature, the National Institute of Justice, and the United States Congress.

Effectiveness

To effectively prevent crime and terrorism, the importance of information sharing cannot be overstated. The challenge in implementing a data-sharing system, such as FINDER, is twofold. First, it must be user friendly and cost effective. An officer making a query should be able to navigate smoothly through the process without being frustrated by an overly complicated system. And if we consider that 60% of independent police agencies are manned with fewer than 25 officers, cost is a major factor.

The second challenge lies in promoting the program through the encouragement of voluntary participation. Traditionally, agencies reluctantly share information they think might compromise the security of their data. However, these challenges can be met by acknowledging the benefits and successes of the program to date.

Because FINDER is a distributed system, determining its success rate poses some problems. Lacking a central warehouse that stores data, the only way to determine how often the system is accessed is by downloading the daily logs of each participating agency. This indicates how many times officers logged onto the system on any particular day, but it does not reveal whether the accessed information produced positive results.

While the system includes a “success” button that users can click to report a positive outcome, most officers do not take the time to fill out these online forms. Hard statistics as to its effectiveness remain elusive, but officer response to FINDER has been extremely positive.

The user-friendly aspect of the system, in conjunction with the technological support offered by UCF has drawn high marks from the members of LEDSC. Supporters of FINDER acknowledge the program’s success by citing the more than 400 cases that have been solved to date, primarily burglaries, armed robberies, and home invasions. In one incident, detectives in Hillsborough County recovered more than $120,000 worth of cell phone equipment found in pawn shops.

In Osceola County, $11,000 worth of jewelry was stolen from a tourist staying at a local hotel. With a single query request, the detective assigned to the case was able to immediately recover the jewelry from a pawn shop in another jurisdiction. In another incident, stolen property that had been pawned in a Polk County pawn shop was retrieved by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, while investigators in Seminole County used FINDER to solve open cases involving pawn shops in Orange County.

Because FINDER is still a relatively new program, judging its effectiveness within the criminal justice system is somewhat premature. Obviously, having access to instant information is an invaluable tool in police investigations. Data sharing increases public safety at not only the state and national level, but perhaps more important, at the regional level.

As we inevitably trend toward information sharing in the criminal justice system, constitutional issues will have to be considered. In 2002, Florida became one of eight states to initiate the Multi-State Antiterrorism Information Exchange (MATRIX). Funded by grants from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, its purpose was to improve information sharing as a means to more effective policing and the prevention of terrorist acts. Privacy is not a concern. Law enforcement systems such as FINDER deal strictly with already existing police records. The technology is only used to expedite investigations, not to infringe upon the rights of law-abiding citizens.

In 2005, FINDER had the distinction of earning a Homeland Security Award from the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation. Created by Congress, the foundation’s purpose is “to encourage and support research, study, and labor designed to produce new discoveries in all fields of endeavor for the benefit of mankind.”

A strong advocate of the FINDER system, Sheriff Kevin Beary of Orange County may have summed it up best by stating,“In my 27 years of law enforcement, it is one of the most exciting advances in public safety that I have ever seen.”

Susan Geoghegan graduated summa cum laude in the criminal justice program at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers. She can be reached at sgeofl@earthlink.net.

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