Savannah Morning News Arek Sarkissian II | Friday, September 26, 2008 at 12:30 am
Just a few hours after a man robbed two convenience stores Wednesday, cops had surveillance photos in their cars.
The lightning-fast dissemination of intelligence was one example Savannah-Chatham police used during a Thursday morning summit attended by agencies from around the nation to explain how they're using technology to keep Savannah safe.
The two-day summit is hosted by metro police and the Raleigh, N.C., Police Department at the Riverfront Marriott.
Raleigh Police Chief Harry Dolan said one reason he and Savannah-Chatham police Chief Michael Berkow decided to bring other agencies together was to discuss "the judiciary use of technology."
"We thought, 'Let's get organizations in the same room and talk about the good things technology has done,' " Dolan said. "It's really enjoyable to see people coming together and sharing information."
The summit began with an introduction to the police department's Savannah Area Regional Intelligence Center, also known as SARIC.
Berkow said SARIC started simply as PowerPoint presentations but turned into an elaborate Web site that provides officers with information on suspects, vehicles and crime patterns.
The technology is a far cry from the old days, he said.
"If I were a sergeant, I would read off information about suspects (from a piece of paper) or to look (at it) for vehicles or trends," he said of a method of briefing officers. "Now, the sergeant can pull that information together, and it makes a PowerPoint presentation."
The PowerPoint presentation is played for officers in the precinct and also can run continuously on laptop computers, known among officers as mobile data terminals. The computers are installed in more than half of all local police cars, said spokeswoman Judy Pal.
Pal said SARIC also has a blog feature available for officers to post tips and other notes.
Metro police planning and research coordinator Brian Renner said SARIC allows an officer to add information cultivated from the streets. It also pulls statistics from other databases to create maps and charts that help identify problem areas, he said.
Officers on the street can also receive surveillance videos, mug shots or even pictures of cars, said Lt. Mike Wilkins.
A recent score for the system was the Monday arrest of Charles Thomas Wilber Weems, who allegedly held up a Days Inn hotel and a Subway restaurant last weekend.
Officers were given video footage of the incidents within two hours.
SARIC also aided officers in the two Wednesday robberies, Pal said.
In those incidents, witnesses at the Circle K on Quacco Road and the Parker's convenience store in the 1900 block of East Victory Drive told police a man reached over a counter, grabbed money from the register and took off.
The incident at Circle K occurred just after midnight. The incident at Parker's occurred about 8 p.m. Because SARIC is linked to all Parker's surveillance cameras, police had instant access to footage. Still shots from the video were given to officers within two hours.
Metro police investigators are still looking for the suspect, described as white, in his 30s and 6 feet to 6 feet 3 inches tall with a stocky build.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call robbery detectives at 651-6694 or CrimeStoppers at 234-2020.
"If I were a sergeant, I would read off information about suspects (from a piece of paper) or to look (at it) for vehicles or trends," he said of a method of briefing officers. "Now, the sergeant can pull that information together, and it makes a PowerPoint presentation."
The PowerPoint presentation is played for officers in the precinct and also can run continuously on laptop computers, known among officers as mobile data terminals. The computers are installed in more than half of all local police cars, said spokeswoman Judy Pal.
Pal said SARIC also has a blog feature available for officers to post tips and other notes.
Metro police planning and research coordinator Brian Renner said SARIC allows an officer to add information cultivated from the streets. It also pulls statistics from other databases to create maps and charts that help identify problem areas, he said.
Officers on the street can also receive surveillance videos, mug shots or even pictures of cars, said Lt. Mike Wilkins.
A recent score for the system was the Monday arrest of Charles Thomas Wilber Weems, who allegedly held up a Days Inn hotel and a Subway restaurant last weekend.
Officers were given video footage of the incidents within two hours.
SARIC also aided officers in the two Wednesday robberies, Pal said.
In those incidents, witnesses at the Circle K on Quacco Road and the Parker's convenience store in the 1900 block of East Victory Drive told police a man reached over a counter, grabbed money from the register and took off.
The incident at Circle K occurred just after midnight. The incident at Parker's occurred about 8 p.m. Because SARIC is linked to all Parker's surveillance cameras, police had instant access to footage. Still shots from the video were given to officers within two hours.
Metro police investigators are still looking for the suspect, described as white, in his 30s and 6 feet to 6 feet 3 inches tall with a stocky build.
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