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A Publication Featuring The Information
Services Technology of Maine State Government
| Volume VII, Issue 4 | April 2004 |
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Maine Most Wanted.comBy Commander Rick Desjardins, Brunswick Police Department |
Will you help us solve a crime? You are the key to helping
Maine law enforcement identify one of Maine’s most wanted criminals. Maine law
enforcement has long struggled with the inability to quickly solve crimes
because vital information – such as mug shots - is not usually disseminated
broadly. Unidentified criminals are able to re-offend and are more likely to
elude capture. Take a look at
www.mainemostwanted.com. If you recognize a person, and alert police you are
making a real difference in your community!
Although the Internet has become an integral part of many of our lives, the
total extent of its potential uses has yet to be met. This new website will
allow us to use the Internet to make connections to potential witnesses, and
bring the law enforcement community to a place where they can jointly and more
efficiently solve crimes. Getting this site established here has taken the hard
work of many individuals and groups. The FBI National Academy Associates,
Brunswick Police and Maine Community Policing Institute were some of the many
organizations that made this site possible.
How does this all work? When a law enforcement agency has a particular case that
has an image or rendering of an unknown suspect, the investigator simply logs
onto the web site, completes a form, and electronically sends the information
for posting. Once the data is cleared through the site administrator, the case
(image and description) is placed on the site for all to see. If a person
reading the case has information believed to be helpful, s/he simply clicks on
“report a tip” and an instant connection to the investigator takes place. The
person reporting the tip can stay anonymous and give information without fear of
being identified.
Who will use the site? We are modeling this site after
www.massmostwanted.com, which has
seen a wide range of users including, federal, state and local law enforcement.
It has also been common for correction staff to review the site, and often they
recognize unknown suspects as inmates, which makes for an easy identification.
A key component of the site is the use by the public. Many cases solved to date
on the www.mainemostwanted.com site
have been solved with the help of Maine citizens. In one case, a family member
who noticed a relative on the site, called to report information about the
offender to police. In this case, it was clear that the offender was in dire
need of help, and needed to be caught before they got into more serious trouble.
Who will this benefit? Everyone except criminals! Clearly, law enforcement has a
huge potential to reap benefits from getting cases solved. In addition, the
public will also benefit from the ability to see what is going on, and track
cases in their community. This technology has a real potential for solving many
crimes that would otherwise go unsolved.
Moving forward with this type of innovation makes perfect sense for Maine. We
welcome any comments about the program and hope to see more of this type of
collaboration in the future of Maine’s law enforcement.
Questions? Contact either Brunswick Police Department’s Commander Rick
Desjardins, by calling 207-725-5521 X 102 or Crime Analyst Wendy Kierstead by
calling 207-725-5521 X 143. Both may also be contacted at the following address:
28 Federal Street, Brunswick ME 04011.
