Police Could Get Some L.E.A.D.S.

posted by Eli Ross on 01-17-2005 6:01

The Wichita Falls Police Department could soon be getting some help in their search for stolen property.

The Wichita Falls City Council will vote tomorrow on whether or not to purchase a one-year subscription to Law Enforcement Automated Database Search.

L.E.A.D.S. Online is a web-based service that acts as a clearinghouse for Pawn Shop Transactions.

"The system we are using now is kind of antiquated and is kind of a hit or miss thing." said SGT. Cindy Walker, Wichita Falls Police Department.

Currently, Pawn Shops manually write down all transactions.

"We have an officer that goes around 2 times a week and picks up all those tickets. He has to enter all those tickets and then try and cross reference everything that has been recovered and found." said Walker.

Under the new system, Pawn Shop Owners would upload their transaction data to L.E.A.D.S. Online which would make the information available to Police Agencies.

"Through this system, Wichita Falls would have access not only to transactions that occur in Wichita Falls, but across City boundaries, County Boundaries, and even State boundaries. Any of these places will be able to identify criminals and property that have been involved in property crime." said Dave Finley, President and CEO of L.E.A.D.S. Online.

Pawn Shop Owner Michael Morrison says he supports any move to cut down on stolen items.

"I don't want something here that is not supposed to be here. A lot of times it’s repeat offenders that are burglarizing homes. The quicker we can get these people busted, the better for me." said Morrison.