Sheriff's Detectives Can Search Online for Stolen Goods
Posted
Staff Report-
In an effort to further combat crime in Kosciusko County, the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department is now using LeadsOnline.
LeadsOnline is an investigative system that enables detectives to search for suspects and stolen property across secondhand stores, scrap metal dealers, pawnshops and Internet drop-off stores, both locally and nationwide.
The system equips criminal investigators with the ability to instantly solve crimes and return goods to their rightful owners. Property can be searched using serial numbers, suspect name, item descriptions or other information. Most searches are completed within seconds. Often, these property crimes are associated with larger crimes such as homicides, arson and fraud.
“This is the largest online investigative system of its kind nationwide. Our investigators are using it to solve crimes ranging from burglaries to homicides by instantly searching for missing items in the transaction records of businesses across the area and the country. We appreciate the support of our local businesses as they work with us to serve our community,” said Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Dept. Captain Aaron Rovenstine.
Without LeadsOnline, investigators had to undertake a time-consuming process of visiting all the stores in the area, collecting paper tickets and computer diskettes, and manually filing the tickets into a database. Keeping up with the volume of information was costly and overwhelming, and detectives were limited to searching for stolen property within the city. With LeadsOnline, information is automatically collected from businesses each day.
Kosciusko County businesses that accept merchandise from the public throughout the area are now reporting electronically via LeadsOnline.
“More than 2,000 law enforcement agencies and businesses across the country are using the system to the benefit of countless victims of crime. We’re excited about the opportunity to serve Kosciusko County and are expecting great results,” said Dave Finley, CEO of LeadsOnline.
