New technology simplifies information gathering for law enforcementApril 2007
New technology simplifies information gathering for law enforcement
New law enforcement technology -- the Possible Criminal History and Case and Criminal History (PCH/CACH) computer application -- designed by the Washington State Department of Information Services, provides authorized law enforcement professionals with quick and seamless access to a person's complete criminal and court case history.
With PCH/CACH, information from multiple criminal justice organizations can be received through a single query -- simplifying the research responsibilities of law enforcement professionals like police officers and prosecuting attorneys.
PCH/CACH provides efficient access to criminal history information contained by the Washington State Patrol and court case information contained by the Administrative Office of the Courts. The application is being used by local agencies in King and Yakima counties.
PCH/CACH will be available to other local agencies in July, 2007 and will continue to expand over the next biennium. DIS recognizes that budgetary constraints of local law enforcement agencies often do not include technological improvements. PCH/CACH will be implemented at no cost to these agencies.
Prior to the development of PCH/CACH, law enforcement personnel had difficulty getting comprehensive criminal background information about an individual, and were required to search through multiple sources. The information would come in a variety of formats and then have to be manually translated and consolidated by the individual law enforcement agencies.
Such a cumbersome process is costly for taxpayers, and it hampers public safety by consuming the time of law enforcement personnel.
"PCH/CACH eases this tedious information gathering process by automatically collecting the information from multiple electronic sources, translating it into the organization's preferred format, and returning it to users in seconds," says Mo West of DIS.
"This increases public safety by providing more complete information to officers as they deal with enforcement situations," adds West.
An additional, and significant, benefit of PCH/CACH is that it lets agencies share information without changing the way their own familiar computer applications operate -- and without adding more functions that staff must learn to use.
Simplicity is key.
For more information about PCH, CACH, contact Mo West by phone at 360-902-9881, or by e-mail at mow@dis.wa.gov.
Update: Possible Criminal History and Case and Criminal History (PCH/CACH) was selected as a finalist for one of the 2007 Intergovernmental Solutions Awards, presented each year by the American Council Technology at its annual Management of Change Conference.