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bastropenterprise.com
Technology tool in solving thefts, other crimes
Website provides database for Bastrop businesses through MPSO
By Mark Rainwater
March 9, 2011
When representatives of LeadsOnline approached Morehouse Parish Sheriff Mike Tubbs about subscribing to the company's service, it wasn't a hard sell.
A string of residential burglaries that plagued the parish were solved when an item taken in the break-ins showed up at a pawn shop outside Dallas, Texas. The suspect was questioned and confessed to his role in the burglaries, and a large amount of the items taken were recovered.
"We had run out of leads trying to determine who might have been responsible and what happened to the merchandise," Tubbs said. "The pawn shop was able to determine the item had been reported stolen here in Morehouse Parish, and a man from Monroe was taken into custody."
LeadsOnline is a database that gives investigators and retailers the ability to look up serial numbers, descriptions and other information - including a suspect's name - to search for stolen or missing items. Searches that used to be complicated and time consuming can now be completed in seconds.
In purchasing the program, the MPSO makes it available to pawn shops, second-hand stores, scrap metal dealers and other retailers in the parish. Businesses install software on their computers and enter information about the items as they are received.
Tubbs said Rayville, Oak Grove, Monroe and other law enforcement agencies in communities throughout the region subscribe to the service.
"This is the largest online investigative system of its kind nationwide," Tubbs said. "Investigators can use it to solve crimes quickly by searching for missing items in transaction records from businesses across the area and country."
In addition to property crimes such as burglaries, the software has also been used to locate suspects wanted for violent crimes. Police in Corpus Christi, Texas solved a homicide case when items taken from the crime scene were pawned in San Antonio.
Pawn shops and other businesses that routinely purchase items for resale from the public for resale interested in installing the software at their businesses may contact Maj. Terry Wyatt with the MPSO at 281.4141.
Learn more about the services offered by the company at www.leadsonline.com.