Case Study Examines Law Enforcement Information Sharing in Los Angeles County

A new SEARCH publication examines the strategies used by law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles County, California, to acquire, assess, analyze, and share information about crimes and criminals.

Such information sharing is critical in large metropolitan areas like Los Angeles where criminals do not respect jurisdictional boundaries and where crime trends are a regional problem.

The case study focuses on the partnership, governance, business goals, features, and overall technical approach of the cross-jurisdictional, collaborative solution undertaken by the County to combat crime and terrorism.

SEARCH developed the Information Sharing Case Study under funding from the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance.

"The goal of the case study is to provide other law enforcement agencies and consortia with the background on this successful information sharing effort, with the hope that the techniques, technologies, and lessons learned in Los Angeles County will assist and accelerate similar efforts elsewhere," noted SEARCH Systems and Technology Director Scott Came.

Mr. Came and his staff based the case study on interviews and analysis they conducted with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD). The LASD, along with the Los Angeles Police Department, and the county Police Chiefs' Association, established a Regional Terrorism Integrated Information System (RTIIS) that has grown to include information from 45 independent municipal police agencies in the county. The system includes record management system data from each participating municipal police agency and leverages common technology to tie the individual cities' information with the LAPD and LASD data warehouses.

The case study includes real-world examples of how the county's information sharing strategies have helped solve crimes and nab suspects.

Through support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, SEARCH assists the law enforcement community with planning, designing, implementing, and governing information sharing solutions. Contact us at sgi@search.org for more information.

Benefits of information sharing

Improved situational awareness
Improved investigative capabilities
Better understanding of crime trends and other factors
Leveraging information in operational systems

"Combining advanced technology and information sharing techniques with dedicated policing gets results."

Sheriff Leroy D. Baca
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department