PROGRAM ANALYSIS REPORT: LEADS 1

Tech Analysis Report

Program: What Sorts of Technology Are Used by Law Enforcement?

Subsystem: LEADS

I. Technology Application: Description

a. Describe the technology that your group has chosen and what is its use in this
subsystem? How does it ‘work’? Who is involved? What are the perceived benefits
to using this application? How many other agencies use this technology?

In 1967, the Federal Bureau of Investigation established a computerized criminal justice

information system known as the National Crime Information Center, (“NCIC”). This system

provided “…an automated filing system of documented criminal justice information available to

criminal justice agencies throughout the country.” (Woodard, 1986, p. 5). The information

included in the NCIC was “hot files”, U.S. Secret Service Protective File, an Unidentified

Persons File, and the Interstate Identification Index. (Woodard, 1986). This information was

maintained at the FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and connecting terminals were situated

in various law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the

U.S. Virgin Islands.

In 1968, the State of Illinois designed its own program similar to the FBI’s NCIC and

was maintained by the Illinois State Police. (Illinois State Police, n.d.). This program was named

the Illinois Law Enforcement Agencies Data System, (“LEADS”), and was designed to provide
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Illinois criminal justice agencies access to computerized hot files, (“CHF”), the LEADS

informational file, the NCIC, the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System

(“NLETS”), and the files from the Illinois Secretary of State. (Illinois Integrated Justice

Information System, 2014, para. 2).

The data that is entered into LEADS is received from all participating law enforcement

agencies in Illinois. “All participating agencies agree to enter records pertaining to stolen

property, warrants, officer safety, and missing/runaway persons into LEADS (and NCIC where

appropriate) as soon as sufficient information is available to establish a LEADS record.” (Illinois

Integrated Justice Information System, 2014, para. 3). To ensure accuracy and completeness of

the data entered, the participating agencies entered into a legal agreement, receive training, must

pass a certification, and participate in periodic audits. Id.

LEADS provide free access to approximately 800 participating Illinois criminal justice

agencies. Because agencies are able to access LEADS from their personal computers or wireless

mobile data computers, the only costs are making sure the computers are adequate for connection

to the State of Illinois frame relay network. (Illinois Integrated Justice Information System, 2014,

para. 4).These agencies include but are not limited to state and federal police departments,

federal and state courts, the Department of Corrections, and the Illinois Department of Children

and Family Services.

In order to gain access to LEADS, operators must pass the Illinois State Police’s

certification program. The certification program consists of two levels: less than full access

certification and full access certification. Less than full access certification is for LEADS

operators that have primarily inquiry or restricted use access. This certification course is for

users requesting inquiries, response interpretations, policies, procedures, and security awareness
PROGRAM ANALYSIS REPORT: LEADS 3

training. (Illinois State Police, n.d., p. 3). This course is approximately two hours and allows

either the learning management system or less than full access video certification course.

Full access certification is for LEADS operators that enter and maintain the

Computerized Hot File records and responses to requests for hit confirmation. This certification

course is for users requesting inquiries, response interpretations, policies, procedures, security

awareness training, and CHF maintenance. Id. This course is approximately four hours and

allows only the learning management system course.

After completion of the course, students are required to take and pass an examination

with a minimum score of 80 percent. Certification is required every two years from the date of

examination. The recertification courses are approximately one hour but the less than full access

video course is two hours. Students who fail the examination at any of the above levels will be

allowed to retake the exam one time. If the student fails the exam again, they will be required to

retake the complete certification course.

A benefit of being certified as a LEADS user is in the event of change of employment,

the user would be able to take the certification from one participating agency to another without

having to retake the certification course. But, the user would be required to take the advanced

course if the user’s new duties require higher level access.

LEADS underwent an infrastructure upgrade for creation of a virtual criminal justice

information system and has been renamed LEADS 2000. This transition was being presented in

two phases. LEADS agencies were required to transition to Phase One by March 31, 2002.

(Illinois State Police, n.d., p. 17).

Instantaneous access to this information allows law enforcement agents to perform their

duties efficiently. Also, while law enforcement agents are in the field it is imperative that they
PROGRAM ANALYSIS REPORT: LEADS 4

have access to this tool because it promotes safety and recovery. It allows agents’ access to

information that helps them determine any precautions that need to be taken while approaching

individuals; it helps agents recover missing people; it helps agents apprehend wanted persons; it

helps agents recover stolen property; it helps agents enforce court orders; agents are able to

assess any dangers that are being encountered; it allows agents to sustain homeland security; and

provides a mechanism for secure interagency communications.

Some surrounding states such as Indiana and Michigan use similar programs that allow

its law enforcement agencies to be effective and efficient in performing its duties. In addition,

use is restricted to law enforcement agencies and training and certification is required. Indiana

has a computerized system called the Indiana Data and Communications System (“IDACS”),

which provides computerized criminal justice information. This system also interfaces with the

NCIC and the International Justice and Public Safety Network. Michigan has a computerized

system that was established in 1967, and is called the Michigan Law Enforcement Information

Network (“LEIN”). LEIN connects to databases including but not limited to NCIC III,

International Justice and Public Safety Network, LEIN Hot Files, and International Police.

II. Research of Technology Effectiveness/Success

a. From an objective research-based perspective, explain the effectiveness of this

technology for its described use.
Has this agency conducted an evaluation of this technology and if so what were the
results? If no research has been conducted by this agency, then address the following:
What are the perceived success rates according to program administrators/workers,
AND what are results of studies conducted on similar programs.

There has not been any research into the effectiveness of LEADS. As such, an interview

was conducted to get the opinion of personnel on the perceived effectiveness.

Interview with Detective Mike O’Connor of the Forest Park Police Department.
PROGRAM ANALYSIS REPORT: LEADS 5

a) Is LEADS easily accessible whenever you need it?

LEADS is only accessible if you are by a computer that has the Leads software installed
on it. As a police officer, you are always connected to the LEADS because you have
access through your in-car computer, or you can radio dispatch and they can look up any
information you need.

b) Does LEADS improve interagency relationships?

LEADS improve interagency relationships by sharing information with other departments.

This information can be sent by a private message or just by uploading files to the system.
In a way it forces communication between different agencies by sharing information.

c) Does LEADS improve interoffice relationships?

Not really, all the information that is needed to inform officers in the department are
usually posted in roll call and officers are usually informed of any important interoffice
information by their commanding officer.

d) Does LEADS require a high degree of personal judgment?

Yes, because LEADS gives you access to a lot of sensitive personal information. It is
important you use LEADS only for Law Enforcement related tasks and not for your
personal use.

e) Does LEADS allow you to have free time for proactive, crime prevention strategies

Yes, because LEADS is easily accessible through your in-car computer, you are able to be
proactive and run people license plates and look for hits.

f) Are there any barriers to the LEADS program?

LEADS is a programs that runs on a server, so if the server is down LEADS is

inaccessible until the server or connection is back up.

g) Are there any impediments to the information sharing aspect of LEADS?

LEADS has a lot of different files and information that can be looked up, so there is a
little learning curve to learn how you use LEADS to its full potential. With that said, once
you learn how to use LEADS you can easily create and name a file and then upload it to
the system. This allows other departments to view the file.

h) Does LEADS improve means of detecting and categorizing threats?

When you run someone’s name, license plate and/or social, LEADS gives you all of that
person’s information. If they have any warrants it will tell you in bold capital letters. It
PROGRAM ANALYSIS REPORT: LEADS 6

also tells you a person’s criminal history, so if a person has a history of violence it gives
the officer an idea of the type of person they might be dealing with.

i) Is LEADS improving the capabilities for sharing information among local, state, and
federal agencies?

LEADS is a statewide used program and shares information with all other departments in
the state and shares information with federal agencies. Over 800 departments use LEADS
statewide. The information posted on LEADS helps share sensitive information to these
different agencies.

j) Is LEADS accomplishing the goal of secure communications? If so, how?

LEADS has the ability to send private messages to different departments and/or officers.
This is a secure way to communicate if one wishes to not talk about case-sensitive
information over the radio.

k) Do you think LEADS is as effective as administrators said it would be?

LEADS has proven to be very effective which is why it was adopted statewide. Without
LEADS, police work and communication between different departments would be very
difficult.

(M. O’Connor, personal communication, July 22, 2014).

In 1991, IBM created data sharing technology called COPLINK that can be accessed from a

desktop, laptop, mobile phone and even the computer in a law enforcement officer’s vehicle. In

COPLINK, police information is combined into one database making it easy for law enforcement

agencies to have a more precise investigative lead. COPLINK is a database that has a search, monitoring,

and alerting function. When law enforcement personnel conduct a search on cases, they have an option to

monitor their search inquiry and receive alerts if any other personnel are performing an identical search.

This alert function is effective because if personnel are working on the same case, it allows them to work

together because one may have information another does not. “COPLINK modules can help criminal

justice agencies accelerate the entire criminal justice process, providing information that was difficult, if
PROGRAM ANALYSIS REPORT: LEADS 7

not impossible, to secure in a timely fashion. In today‘s criminal justice environment the need to improve

efficiency and effectiveness has never been greater.” (Coplink Accelerating Law Enforcement, 2008,

p.1).

COPLINK SCREEN SHOTS:

PROGRAM ANALYSIS REPORT: LEADS 8

Researchers at the University of Arizona conducted an evaluation of COPLNK by evaluating 15

detectives from the Tuscan Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division (“CID”). The

researchers required the officers to assess the COPLINK System over a three-month period. The

assessment included questions about their overall reactions toward COPLINK, the screen layout,

terminology, system capabilities, collaboration functionality, monitoring functionality, alerting

functionality, and their experiences with learning to use the technology. For the alert functionality, the

researchers found that “[d]uring our 3-month testing period, a user, on average, received 5.5 alerts/month.

Out of those alerts received, approximately 32% of them were rated equal or above “somewhat useful”

on our scale. The user’s subjective ratings of the alerts also averaged 5.5 out of a 7-point scale (with 7

being the most useful), suggesting a relatively high user satisfaction.” (Zhao, et al., 2004, p. 629).

Overall, the results from the evaluation showed that there is a positive influence that COPLINK had on

the crime analysis process. COPLINK was useful for identifying and analyzing trends in crime and

ultimately helping detectives identify and arrest suspects.

b. How please are the clients with the level of service and program administration?
PROGRAM ANALYSIS REPORT: LEADS 9

Interview with Professor Norman Brown of Governors State University.

“As far as how pleased the clients are, by "clients", I must assume that you are
referring to not only the agencies that utilize leads, but the officers themselves as
well. I can tell you from personal experience, both as a uniformed street officer as
well as detective, LEADS is invaluable.

The information I can retrieve immediately on a simple traffic stop for something
as minor as a stop sign violation can be literally lifesaving. I am able to find out
not only who I am dealing with on the stop, but also any additional information
such as any outstanding warrants, or prior contacts and convictions. As a
detective, the amount of criminal history information I was able to retrieve was
more times than not very telling as far as the type of suspect with which I was
dealing.

Administratively, I can tell you that street officers and detectives have really no
interest in the administrative end. They (the officers) only want to know that when
they "run" a subject through LEADS that all the information returned back to them
is thorough and complete.”

(N. Brown, personal communication, July 9, 2014).

III. Administration/User Perspective

a. From a user perspective, examining the benefits and drawbacks of this technology.
How pleased are the administrators/workers with this application? Where do they
see room for improvement? What is or is not ‘working’? What are some of the
drawbacks associated with the implementation and use of this application?

1. Interview with Anna Kozak of the Chicago Police Department, 18th District- Near
North.

a) Are you pleased with the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System application?

“Yes, I am pleased with the system. The system allows us/peace officers to run license
plates, run criminal history, check for any warrants, and a number of other sensitive
information that the officers needs to safely carry out their duties. I like the fact that it
prompts me to get all of the information I need. There is so much information that can be
retrieved at the push of a button; I can’t imagine going back to our old system. I have
been using this system to go back and enter data from the last 10 years and am very
pleased with the program. The adaptation to the required steps was easy to adjust to and
the result gives the user a variety of reports to use for many purposes. The program will
PROGRAM ANALYSIS REPORT: LEADS 10

let you know if you forgot to enter something, which is a great help when you are pressed
for time.”

b) Where do you see room for improvement?

“The system works great. I highly recommend LEADS technology and they are worth
looking at if you are in need of a great program. I do not see much room for any
improvement.”

c) What is or is not working?

“It usually works very well. Sometimes it is a delay with getting the results, but those
times vary and usually are in the normal period of a few minutes. However, with any
technology it has its glitches. Yet, LEADS cannot provide criminal history record
information from other states unless the Office of Inspector is contacted for assistance
pursuant to subsection. This part should be fixing, because we need to wait for response
and sometimes this takes forever.”

d) What are some of the drawbacks associated with the implementation and use of this
application?

“There are not any drawbacks I can think of. To get LEADS certified you have to take a
class and pass the class. Which I think that should be required for every officer because
LEADS is a very important tool in law enforcement field.”

(A. Kozak, personal communication, June 24, 2014).

2. Interview with Dan Ciach of the Cook County Sheriff’s Department.

a) Are you pleased with the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System application?

“The LEADS is an acronym for Parole Law Enforcement Automated Data System, a web
based computer application, which provides local law enforcement agencies with photos
and information about parolees supervised by the Division of Adult Parole Operations of
the Cook County Department of Corrections. Accessible via the internet, LEADs can
access parolee information and query for selected parolees on a statewide basis. Photos
of parolees, including mug shots, scars, marks, and tattoos are available, as well as a
mapping tool are included. The Administrative Database is working great for us. It has
organized our office greatly and the information is retrievable instantly. We are very
pleased with the product.”

b) Has this technology made your job easier?

“Definitely, anytime new technologies are added, well usually, (laughing). If the
technology is not too hard to learn to use then yes, so either way it usually makes things
PROGRAM ANALYSIS REPORT: LEADS 11

easier, for all law enforcement. It helps to tie certain criminals to other crimes so of
course that is the big plus of the system. The system technology pretty much does all the
work.”

c) Is there anything you would do to improve the system?

“With any system sometimes it takes time to receive results, depending on, I guess, how
many other people are simultaneously using the system, so if it could be faster, I think that
would be cool. It is not a slow system, but everything is getting faster these days so I am
sure it will as well.”

(D. Ciach, personal communication, June 24, 2014).

PROGRAM ANALYSIS REPORT: LEADS

References

Coplink Accelerating Law Enforcement. (2008). White Paper. Tucson, AZ: Knowledge
Computing Corporation
Retrieved from https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/Content/getdoc/2a4aaeb2-8ef8-449b-
a274-2e9a4b2a52e3/COPLINK_Whitepaper11081.aspx

Illinois State Police. (n.d.). Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS) Operator
Certification Program (LOCP).
Retrieved from http://www.isp.state.il.us/leads/leadspub/locpplan.pdf

Illinois State Police. (n.d.). LEADS Law Enforcement Agencies Data System. The
Foundation for Integrated Justice in Illinois.
Retrieved from www.icjia.state.il.us/iijis/public/powerpoint/isp_leads2000.ppt

Illinois Integrated Justice Information System. (2014). Law Enforcement Agencies Data
System.
Retrieved from http://www.icjia.state.il.us/iijis/public/index.cfm?
metasection=strategicplan&metapage=sjis_leads

Michigan State Police. (2014). Michigan Law Enforcement Network.

Retrieved from http://www.michigan.gov/msp/0,1607,7-123-1589_3493_8224-
16248--,00.html

State of Indiana. (2014). Indiana Data & Communication System.

Retrieved from http://www.in.gov/idacs/

Woodard, P. (1986). Criminal Justice “Hot” Files. Criminal Justice Information Policy.

Zhao, et al. (2006). Process-driven collaboration support for intra-agency crime analysis.
Science Direct. 41(616-633).