Collaboration, as defined in Webster’s dictionary, is the act of working with someone to produce or create something. When it comes to law enforcement agencies, we are looking to produce results to solve crime. In an even bigger scope, we are working to create safer communities. 

Often, information sharing between departments comes after a violent incident has occurred, or is reactive to a specific situation. Inter-agency collaboration, on the other hand, tends to be much more proactive. Different agencies meet and plan for potential situations, share information, discuss potential issues, and may share resources as well as personnel. Federal agencies realize they can’t do it all without local contacts and cooperation, and most Federal agencies like DHS, FBI, and the U.S. Marshals have task forces or combined local partners. It is sometimes difficult to share information because every agency has its own way of doing things. With that said, what is most important when collaborating with others is respect, clear communication, and maybe, the setting of boundaries, so each person or agency knows their important role.

Not long ago, the Jacksonville, FL Sheriff’s Office joined ATF and their State’s Attorney’s Office to form the Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC). Jacksonville, FL has 32 different documented gangs and has a serious issue with retaliation shootings between gangs. The CGIC takes a proactive approach and identifies and watches known gang members even before they commit a homicide or violent felony. They use several databases and analytics to determine the location of known gang members, help monitor them, and execute outstanding warrants to aid in gaining information.

CGIC has also used probation officers, pastors, or social workers to make contact with the younger members of a gang. These community officials know that the younger gang members are going to find themselves in the middle of violent gang activity, arrests, or even becoming a victim of senseless homicide. They attempt to persuade the youth out of gang life and turn their lives around by helping them with school or finding a job.

If you are not already a part of a formal collaboration, you can be the start for your agency. Begin by forming relationships with other officers, building trust, and communicating often. Work with your agency officials to go over regulations and develop a plan.  If the technology and data portion is a roadblock, you can reach out to companies like GangScope that provide gang database solutions for a number of use cases with Federal 28CFR compliance.  

The GangScope Team

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GangScope™ is an intelligence database that helps capture, analyze, search and share intelligence on criminals, gangs, and more. GangScope acts as a first-tier, internal database that manages data on known and suspected criminals and gang members. Intelligence is collected per incident and can include qualifiers, associates, acquaintances (points of contact), witnesses, images, and documents. GangScope’s collection of detailed information aids in investigations, analysis and ultimately solving crime. The software complies with standards outlined by federal (28 CFR) policies. While complying with standards, GangScope™ boasts usability through simple yet extensive data mining via search, reports, profiles, and watches.

The overall goal of GangScope™ is to provide law enforcement personnel/ crime analysts/ correctional officers/prosecutors with maximum data through a friendly user interface while remaining cost-effective.  

A non-gang version – IntelScope is also available if needed.

To learn more or to schedule a full demo of our system – request a demo here. We would welcome the opportunity to show you how Gangscope can help your department organize and store your data in a secure and compliant way.