Optimum Technology Introduces Law Enforcement Investigation Management System

Integrated System Facilitates Information Gathering, Data Analysis and Case Management

PHILADELPHIA [October 22, 2003]
Optimum Technology, a leading provider of information sharing solutions for state, county and municipal government agencies, today announced the availability of a comprehensive Investigation Management System (IMS) for use by law enforcement and regulatory agencies. The announcement was made in Philadelphia at the 110th Annual Conference and Exposition of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Optimum’s IMS serves as a framework to help investigators organize intelligence, analyze data, and manage information for a variety of investigation types, including drug enforcement, health care fraud, white collar crime and regulatory compliance.

Components of the Optimum IMS include:

• A sophisticated intelligence database that enables investigators to easily record and access detailed information about suspects, organizations, locations, vehicles, property and activities – and the links between them.
• Complete case management functionality to manage and track case assignments and disposition, evidence, investigative reports, surveillance logs and expenses.
• Flexible searching tools that allow investigators to quickly and easily find related information based on a name, date, word or phrase located anywhere in the database, including narratives and supplemental reports.
• A full suite of application integration facilities that ease the burden of importing existing data and securely exchanging data with other applications and agencies.

“Investigators have to keep track of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of elements of information in a case. That usually means storing the information in a paper-based file, or relying on their own memory or that of a colleague,” said Zach Zettler, Optimum Technology’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Our Investigation Management System simplifies the information gathering and sharing process by providing an easy way to record, search, sort, analyze and share the many types of information collected in the course of an investigation.”

Optimum’s IMS stores information about suspects, associates, organizations, places, vehicles, weapons, drugs, financial accounts, and a variety of other property types. Investigators can quickly add photo images and Microsoft® Word and Excel files to any record. The innovative user interface makes it easy to view the relationships between people, places and things associated with a lead or case. Powerful search capabilities enable investigators to search any type of data anywhere in the system while flexible reporting tools make it easy to get information back out of the system.

For supervisors, the system tracks cases by assignment and disposition. Overdue assignments generate an automatic notification for the supervisor. Statistical reports, such as case volume, time, expenses, seizures and forfeitures, reduce the time required to produce monthly and quarterly reports from days to minutes.

The Optimum IMS is the only system of its kind that provides full-featured support for the investigation of prescription drug diversion -- the channeling of legitimate, controlled pharmaceuticals for illegal purposes or abuse. According to a recent report published by the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Drug Intelligence Center, nearly half of the law enforcement agencies surveyed identified a problem with pharmaceutical abuse in their jurisdictions, and more than half of those noted dramatic increases in pharmaceutical diversion and abuse.

The Warren-Clinton County Drug & Strategic Operations Task Force (WCDTF) served as a beta test site for the software. WCDTF is a multi-agency task force responsible for both street and prescription drug enforcement activities for Warren and Clinton counties in southwestern Ohio. The WCDTF is led by Commander John Burke, a 32-year veteran of the Cincinnati Police Division and a nationally recognized expert in Drug Diversion Investigation.

“We’re now able to capture and share intelligence and case information much more effectively than we ever could before,” said Commander Burke. “The new system makes it simple to find information, and the management tools allow me to view the status of all cases or leads with the push of a button.”

The Special Investigations Unit of the Office of State of Ohio Auditor Betty Montgomery also served as a beta test site for the Optimum IMS, and will use it to manage its centralized statewide investigation management network. The network allows public employees or private citizens to report theft, embezzlement or other possible corruption or misuse of public dollars.

“A key requirement in our evaluation of investigation management software was the ability to automate the link with our fraud tip Web site and with our crime analysis software,” said John O’Nan, chief of investigations for the Auditor of State’s Office. “The Optimum IMS allows us to easily track fraud tips and manage case information without having to re-key data into multiple systems.”

The Optimum IMS utilizes the Microsoft .NET platform as a multi-tier software
application. Data is stored in a Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database. Microsoft BizTalk Server 2002 is used to manage the XML-based exchange of information with other systems and agencies.

Pricing for the Optimum IMS software starts at $6,000 for a five-user license. Customization, data conversion and application integration services are available from Optimum Technology. For more information call 614-785-1110 or visit www.otech.com.

*Editors: A JPEG image screen shot of Optimum IMS is available upon request.

Contact:
Zach Zettler (IACP Booth #2263)
or 614-547-0030

Dave Kishler
Fahlgren Mortine Public Relations (for Optimum Technology)
(614) 825-1801
dave.kishler@fahlgren.com

Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp.
Optimum Technology is a Microsoft Certified Partner.

About Optimum Technology
Optimum Technology provides software solutions that help law and regulatory enforcement agencies fight crime and eliminate fraud by removing barriers to information sharing, improving data reliability and timeliness, and aiding collaborative investigation. The company's solutions are helping over 500 agencies across the country protect and serve more than 17 million citizens.

For more information about Optimum Technology, call 614.785.1110 or visit www.otech.com.