Province Praising Prime

Saturday, April 12, 2008 03:59 AM

With police in Kelowna switching over to the "PRIME" system this spring, B.C. will have achieved a North American milestone in police intelligence-gathering and information-sharing. The system links its 13 independent policing agencies and 110 RCMP detachments through one system that helps them solve complex cases more quickly, says Solicitor General John van Dongen.

"PRIME-BC furthers intelligence-led, evidence-based policing - and with the system now live in Kelowna, provincewide implementation is complete," said van Dongen. "This first-in-Canada achievement means all our RCMP and independent police officers can share up-to-the-minute information in real time, advancing investigations and concluding cases more quickly."

The Police Records Information Management Environment (PRIME-BC) is an online data-sharing system that allows instant access and updating. Officers in the field can enter data about suspects, missing persons and
stolen property, making the information available immediately to other officers. The $40-million system has contributed to rapid arrests of suspects wanted on charges ranging from theft to criminal negligence causing death, with successful searches based on as little information as a nickname or the description of a suspect's tattoo.

"In the past, officers had to contact a neighbouring police agency to gain access to information about a potential suspect in a paper file," said Assistant Commissioner Al Macintyre, RCMP Officer in Charge of Criminal Operations in B.C. "With PRIME-BC, information is now at officers' fingertips and all the data within a file is available in real time to everyone on the system. The more information police officers have before arriving at crime scenes, vehicle stops or physically confronting individuals, the better it is for their own safety, and the safety of the public as well."

In addition to RCMP and municipal forces, PRIME-BC will continue to be of particular value to the province's growing number of integrated police teams and joint-forces operations, such as the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team and the Integrated Gang Task Force. B.C. has the most extensive police integration in Canada, per capita, with over 600 provincial and municipal officers and support staff comprising 10 major, integrated teams.

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Posted on Saturday, April 12, 2008 03:59 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: lunarbase on April 12 2008 6:44 AM

Yet the tragedy in Merrit happens as the justice of the peace, who ultimately makes the decision if a suspect can go out on bail, doesn't or isn't allowed access to the information from this system.

The overall justice system needs a huge renovation !

Posted by: Andyfreeze on April 12 2008 7:27 AM

The justice system needs a complete rebuilding!
And no more JP's messing in things they know so little about.
Make the damn judges earn there money!

Posted by: Andyfreeze on April 12 2008 7:27 AM

The justice system needs a complete rebuilding!
And no more JP's messing in things they know so little about.
Make the damn judges earn there money!

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on April 12 2008 7:56 AM

I thought it said Province Raising Prime for a second there!

Too bad the laws aren't as easily brought up to date for societies policing needs today.

Posted by: whitewater on April 12 2008 8:29 AM

This is a neat "catch and release" program but the crime rate still goes up. What's next...rivet a GPS unit on the skull of repeat offenders so insurance claims can be processed quicker? Whatever you do don't take the crimials "human rights" away.

Posted by: owl on April 12 2008 9:22 AM

So what is the NEWS part of this story to me? I did not realize they did not have this capability.

This sounds like something that should have happened a decade and more ago. Why did it take this long?

Posted by: Bridge on April 12 2008 9:55 AM

Why do we always blame our judges when a crook gets too light a sentence for a committed crime ? Its because we depend on others to do our dirty work. Our politicians dont want to get involved because it would would create a bad image for them.

It is up to us to get after our politicians so that they provide for the community the justice that is needed. Maybe we should do away with the appeal process this would make the system more felexable for our judges.

Cheers

Posted by: He speaks on April 12 2008 10:57 AM

Get rid of the child protection, if your 13 and your caught committing a crime. Send them off to prison for a week, to get them a taste of prison life. if they caught again, throw them in for four weeks. if there caught again, treat thems as an adult and throw away the keys.

New rules for the game, sure would like it if your caught stealing, cut off one of their fingers. A reminder not to do it again. They cut off the whole hand in some country. Don't get caught fooling around.

Posted by: lmorg on April 13 2008 3:06 PM

This is just nothing more than the provincial leaders ordering the police to support PRIME and laud its use. Prime is very confusing to the members on the road and many members have decided to retire than try to wrap their brains around it. The ROADS system was perfectly good and user friendly. The prime computer screens wreck the police officer's night vision.
Instead of being dispatched to a file, the respective officers select a file from a queue..a file of their choice, and therefore many more less desirable ones get loaded up onto the back of another member. Prime is being used in BC because it was legislated by the provincial government. It is law. It is a law that the police have to use prime...instead of what they wish to use. How stupid is that? And the rest of the country uses another system which they teach to new recruits in regina... the rcmp still has to refer to the old computer system to research stuff out of province....Sure Prime has its good points like a person can work on numerous screens at one time..but that can get sticky....If you ask me its just another useless expenditure of money by the Liberal Gov of BC.

Posted by: rvuser on April 13 2008 5:42 PM

Way to go Imorg. Its about time someone who knows about this stuff spoke up and told us newbies that way it is. I hope more who know will take the time to do this. I suspect that our politicians don't bother to check out Opinion 250.

Posted by: Andyfreeze on April 14 2008 7:18 AM

Good post Imorg!
So many times this kind of thing has very little to do with actual policing, and everything to do with politics!

Posted by: metalman on April 14 2008 7:38 AM

Thank you Imorg! It is good to hear from one who apparently knows. Typical of the politicians, to cram something like this down your throat, when equal systems are in place, or if not equal, at least familiar. The bottom line question however; Is this new system (with its' catchy acronym) better than the old or existing system?
metalman.

Posted by: thereasonableman on April 14 2008 8:33 AM

Sounds more like..somebody in power had a friend with a company that wanted to sell this system, they went golfing together, had a few drinks, and the deal was done.