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Database may be in place by June

JPD installing Internet-based computer system that lists, tracks stolen goods

By Camille C. Spencer
caspencer@jackson.gannett.com

May 13, 2005

 

An online database will become part of Jackson Police Department's investigative tools for retrieving stolen goods, possibly as early as June.

LEADS Online, or Law Enforcement Automated Database Search, should be running in about 30 days after paperwork is completed and a contract is signed, City Council President Leslie McLemore said. Council members unanimously approved use of the database last month.

"One of the questions raised before it was passed was to what extent will this help the police monitor what was received by pawn shop owners," McLemore said. "It lends accountability so at least police will be able to monitor what goes on a regular basis." The program allows pawn shop owners to go online, record serial numbers, makes and models of items brought into their shops. After an item is recorded law enforcement agencies sign onto LEADS Online and access the item for up to 60 days to determine its origin and track whether it's stolen.

 "It's going to be the most effective crime fighting tool in the metro area," Lt. Al

Joe Ellis/The Clarion-Ledger

Lt. Al LeDoux of the Jackson Police Department's pawn shop unit conducts a query on the Internet-based LEADS Online system on Wednesday while at his office at the Standard Life Building. The nationwide program allows law enforcement to track and recover stolen property.
 LeDoux of the pawn shop unit said. "My biggest problem is the public not having information on their property. They need to write down serial numbers." About 20 users at JPD can access the system, LeDoux said. The database will cost $15,000. General funds will be used to purchase it, McLemore said.
JPD made 10 arrests and 20 recoveries of stolen items during a three-month trial use of the system, LeDoux said.  The department's recovery rate on stolen goods increased from 1 to 10 percent, he said.

LeDoux said one example of the effectiveness  was use of the database to recover most of about $10,000 worth of jewelry stolen from USA Pawn on McDowell Road a few weeks ago. USA Pawn president Brian Smith, who uses LEADS Online, called LeDoux,
who traced the suspected thief on the database and found out he was a former USA Pawn employee pawning stolen items at E-Z Pawn in Jackson. About $7,000 of the jewelry has been recovered, LeDoux said.

 "The system is working, and thieves are getting caught," Smith said. "We had a real good idea he was taking it." Officials said price for the database, which has a one-year contract, depends on the number of users and size of the department.

 Pearl Police Chief Bill Slade said his department started using the program after it was approved by county supervisors April 19. Slade said the system has been effective. Money for the $2,748 database came from the department's drug seizure fund.

JPD was given a two-month extension to the company's usual 30-day trial period for LEADS Online after officials indicated interest in purchasing it, said company spokesman Cooper Smith.

"All they need to do is sign the contract and send the check," he said.

City Council President McLemore