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This
unit is responsible for the establishment, evaluation and maintenance
of all computer information systems, security, and software for
the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office. Some of their responsibilities
include analyzing and defining the computer needs of the Sheriff's
Office, coordinating efforts with Onondaga County's Department
of Information Technology and vendors for all computerized information
systems, and coordinating and providing the computer training
needs of all Sheriff's Office employees.
The
Sheriff's Information Technology Unit prides itself in providing
state-of-the-art law enforcement technology. Following are a few
examples:
Wireless
Networks:
Our 70 marked patrol cars utilize cost-efficient Dell PC's in
docking stations. In addition to the standard PC applications,
each laptop has wireless networked access from almost any location
in the county to each of the following within the patrol car:
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911 Dispatch Information
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New
York, nationwide, and Canadian DMV registration and driver's
license data
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Warrants
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New
York Statewide Police Information Network (NYSPIN)
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Onondaga
County's Criminal History Arrest/Incident Reporting System
(CHAIRS)
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Email
between the patrol car and other patrol cars, police substations,
and headquarters
Live-Scan:
The Sheriff's Custody Department utilizes computerized "live-scan"
fingerprint technology to identify individuals through their fingerprints
alone. Within minutes, the New York State Division of Criminal
Justice Services provides positive I.D. directly from the prints,
plus much more accurate arrest and warrant information directly
to the Sheriff's Office via electronic means. It utilizes inkless
digital fingerprint scanning technology and color digital mug
shots.
This
system takes all fingerprints, mug shots, signatures, and all arrest
information (charges, demographics, etc.) in electronic format and
submits them to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services
computer in Albany. This information is shared and accessed by thousands
of other police agencies, statewide, and in many cases, worldwide.
Every arrest put into this system is searched and added to statewide
and federal databases within minutes and is entirely paperless.
Mug
shots taken with this system now populate the New York State Division
of Criminal Justice Services' statewide mug shot database. In addition,
there is a portable booking system, which allows the Sheriff's Office
to take mug shots, arrest, and demographic information in the field.
Crime
View:
A Geographic Information System (G.I.S.) is used to track crime
on a computer-based pin map. Incidents can be searched by incident
type, location, suspect information, and many other criteria.
This system is even capable of producing maps displaying the most
likely areas for future crime to occur.
Pros
D-Cops: This computerized personnel and resource deployment
system is used to evaluate the effective placement of police deputies,
their patrol areas and shift assignments to enhance service and reduce
costs.
VIN-Check
Scanner: The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office is the
first agency in Central New York to issue these scanners. This
integrated scanner reads the bar code directly off of the windshield
registration or driver's license through the use of a handheld
PDA (Palm Pilot) and, within a second, identifies stolen cars,
revoked/suspended driver's licenses and registrations.
TRACs:
This new system enables a deputy to issue tickets more efficiently
by scanning the driver's license and registration in the patrol car,
and then transfer the data to Sheriff's Headquarters, the DMV, and
some courts electronically.
Networks:
The Sheriff's I.T. Staff routinely maintains networks and systems
in 10 different buildings and over 70 patrol cars, 24 hours per day.
The I.T. Unit also oversees
two units: CHAIRS and Crime Analysis.
CHAIRS
(Criminal History Arrest
Incident Reporting System):
A deputy ensures the data integrity of the countywide CHAIRS System
and provides essential maintenance and upgrades to transaction and
translation files.
Crime
Analysis: This unit compiles, analyzes and disseminates
information of local, state, federal, and international concerns
that affect day-to-day safety of the public and deputies. Crime
Analysis reports are run from intelligence gathered from numerous
sources such as CHAIRS, the Gang Task Force, the internet, the
Western Regional Association of Crime and Intelligence Analysts,
the New York State Terrorist Alert System, and NYSPIN
There is also crime mapping using the Crime View
computer program, which pin maps CHAIRS data.
This
unit works closely with the Onondaga County Department of Information
Technology and we are grateful for their support.
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