Degree of Security: New tech keeps officers in the know

SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) - It's new technology hoping to change the way police communicate across the country and it is being created in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Two Former FBI Violent Task Force agents said they noticed a flaw in the current system used to share information with other police officers, the information wasn't readily available making it difficult to easily keep tabs on suspects. So they created LENSS or Law Enforcement Network Sharing Solution. Like a virtual index card, LENSS creates more cohesiveness among police departments across the country. The system would prove to not only be useful for police officers in the community, but police departments on college campuses, putting parents at ease that their children have another added degree of security.

The new high tech system was created by Perceptive Intelligence, a start up formed by former FBI Violent Crimes Task Force agent Robert Fortune and former Shreveport Police officer Russell Sarpy.

"One of the things we found out is that we couldn't share information with our own local patrol officers," says Fortune. "We created a virtual index card, an electronic index card. That just tells the officer just what they need to know so they can do their job. It allows them to protect themselves and allows them to better utilize what they're doing."

The information sharing system changes the way law enforcement communicates with one another, allowing multiple users to view existing information about the person they have in custody instantly. In a demonstration on the Northwestern State University campus in Natchitoches, LA, campus police entered a man's information after he was caught attempting to break into a dorm room. Not only was LENSS able to pull up his prior arrest in another city but the arresting officer in that city was notified through text. He was contacted and was able to instantly brief NSU officers on the subjects history, heightening their level of awareness.

"At Northwestern our biggest concern is our students safety," says Chief Jon Caliste, Director of Community Relations and Departmental Procedures at NSU. "So when something happens in the city or there is an offender that is out in the city when they come on campus now we have the ability of knowing who they are, what they are involved with and what things they have committed out somewhere else compared to before where that was virtually impossible."

Just within a year, LENSS has been picked up by several law enforcement agencies and college campuses across the ArkLaTex including LSUS, BPCC, Centenary College and NSU. The technology could be the key factor into stopping campuses assaults and other violent crimes like what we saw recently in the death of UT of Austin student Haruka Weiser, whose body was found in a creek on campus.

"With the LENSS system, we are just telling you what you need to know," says Fortune.

Fortune hopes to have the LENSS system in the hands of police departments everywhere across the country in the coming years which is a possible feat since the system is so affordable. Starting at $2,500, even the smallest police department would be able to shell out the bucks for the information sharing system. Information that turns multiple investigations into one collaborative effort which not only makes tax dollars go further, but keeps police in the know and your students in the clear.

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