Computer Law Sheriff’s Department Puts Home Page On The Internet

Time to tune in, turn on and plug in to the future of law enforcement.

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department has hit the Internet.

This week, the agency became the first North Idaho police department to carve out a home - a home page, that is - on the World Wide Web.

“It’s not just an investigative tool, it’s an information tool for the public,” said Kootenai County Sheriff Pierce Clegg.

Folks can travel to the sheriff department’s home page via computer. Once there, they will find crime statistics, a message from the sheriff, and information about the marine division and district deputies.

The page still is under construction, but when it’s completed viewers also will find names and photographs of the county’s most wanted criminals along with crime prevention tips, job opening information and current news releases.

Internet users can send detectives crime tips via their computers. Clegg said he hopes Internet users also will be able to help officers apprehend criminals by viewing the names and photographs of wanted criminals.

For those who don’t know what the Internet is, don’t despair. It’s just a fancy name for a place where computers from around the globe exchange ideas and information.

Anyone with a computer and a telephone line can get to the Internet. A home page is a place on the Internet dedicated to a certain topic.

DMI computers provided the home page to the sheriff’s department free of charge - saving them about $600, said Mark Jerome, the employee who designed the page.

“We felt it was important that the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department have a presence on the Internet,” Jerome said. “The more presence they can get in the community, the more they can get the community to help them.”

The Internet home page is just the latest technological advance at the sheriff’s department.

A video imaging system went on line last month at the Kootenai County Jail.

Video photographs of every inmate booked into the jail are now put into a computer system, along with information about the inmate’s physical characteristics, Clegg said.

That means if a victim comes in and describes a criminal, investigators can try to find that criminal by bringing up photographs matching the description.

In the past, booking pictures were stored as regular photographs. There are so many, they fill an entire room at the sheriff’s department.

Fingerprints also are now scanned straight into a computer. This already has helped solve several crimes, said Capt. Ben Wolfinger.

For example, if a fingerprint is found at the site of a burglary, the detectives can take that print and compare it to those stored in the computer and computers in seven Western states.

If they find a match, then they may have found their criminal, Wolfinger said.

The photo and fingerprint systems were purchased over two years for a total of $109,819. The city of Hayden pitched in $40,000.

Sheriff’s officials say the system will save thousands of dollars in film, storage, space and personnel costs.

“I think people expect our law enforcement to be on top of everything, they expect the police department to be on the cutting edge,” Jerome said.

Wolfinger agrees, “Technology is the future of law enforcement.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Where The address of the new homepage is http://www.dmi.net/kcsd/