With the click of a computer, area police officers can access hundreds of records, criminal histories and photographs of offenders.
On Monday, Horry County officials held a demonstration of the COPLINK technology that has been online for Horry County police investigators since April 2009. Other departments that have joined the software management records system since then include those in Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Conway, Aynor, Surfside Beach, Atlantic Beach, the 15th Circuit Drug Enforcement Unit and sheriff deputies in Horry and Georgetown counties.
The next departments to go online in the system are J. Reuben Long Detention Center and the Georgetown County Detention Center, which will help with facial recognition of suspects by searching through thousands of photos from the jails, Paul Whitten, Horry County assistant administrator director, said.
Other metropolitan areas across the country also use the system, which analyzes vast amounts of data to provide police with information about suspects and crimes that could be related in other jurisdictions, according to officials. The goal is to link police departments across the state, said Whitten.
"It's a common platform to be able to share information," Whitten saidBefore the software, "it was labor intensive" to search records at neighboring police agencies, Whitten said.
"The criminals don't pay attention to jurisdictional lines," said Mitch Derman with i2 Inc., which developed the software.
"It's easy to deploy and use by the police officers and detectives so it's easier for them to solve crimes faster."
The system was funded using a $300,000 Homeland Security grant and county officials pay a $40,000 annual maintenance fee for upkeep on the system, Whitten said. Grants are in the works to fund expansion in Marion County and police departments in the Charleston area.
The system was recommended to Whitten by Myrtle Beach Police Chief Warren Gall, Whitten said Monday.
After some research, Whitten said county officials applied for a grant to get the system.
"The more agencies inputting data, the more opportunities officers and investigators have to link crime patterns and identify offenders," Gall said. "This is a great concept and we're pleased to be a part of the program.
"I'm certainly glad that Director Whitten with the Horry County Department of Public Safety was able to find the funding to make this happen and incorporate local agencies into the program."
Horry County police have used the software to capture two bank robbery suspects by using records to piece together information about the suspects, Whitten said.
"We're going to get to a point where we can give them [patrol officers] all the information they need about someone's background when they stop them," Whitten said.
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