DACS General Meeting
June 1, 2009
Program Review:
Meeting Review - NYPD - Where Technology Can Mean Life or Death!

by Patrick Libert

Jim Onalfo heralded the opening of his presentation with a short but impressive video on the New York Police Department. It is obvious that Jim is very proud of having been chosen at the NYPD’s Chief Information Officer in 2003.

Jim accepted the responsibilities under the condition that he report directly to Commissioner Kelly in order to be as effective as possible in reorganizing how information was disseminated and used in the department. Meeting some resistance from the bureaucracy on his first day, he quit until his conditions were accepted.

Jim’s mission was to build and integrate the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) into the NYPD. The goal of this center was to gather all the available information about crimes and criminals into a database that would be available to every officer on the force at a moment’s notice. This reduces the use of paper reports and allows the entire force to have all the information it needs to solve a crime. Previously, this information was often available but in individual precincts and not necessarily shared with all the force.

Jim used several examples of recent cases where the use of this technology led to the apprehension of the perpetrator(s) in record time. Whereas in the past fingerprint information was faxed between the Albany database and the NYPD, Jim’s efforts made this an immediate transfer of information. This is crucial because NY State laws demand that the perpetrator be indicted within 24 hours of arrest or else he must be released.

In addition to the successful creation of the RTCC, Jim is also involved in the modernization of the NYPD communications system.

Jim’s presentation was excellent. It presented a perfect example of how IT is a vital cog in the wheel of our everyday life.