Database connects all B.C. police departments to help solve crimes quicker

THE CANADIAN PRESS
KELOWNA, B.C. - Police across B.C. now have access to a database that allows them to share information in real time.

Solicitor General John van Dongen says it's a first in Canada and will help investigators solve complex cases more quickly.

The system - called PRIME, for Police Records Information Management Environment - links 13 independent police agencies and 110 RCMP detachments.

The $40-million system can come up with data based on as little information as a nickname or the description of a suspect's tattoo.

PRIME began as a pilot project in Vancouver, Port Moody and Richmond in 2001, but is now available to all police departments.

Saanich Police Deputy Chief Const. Mike Chadwick, president of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police, says PRIME almost completely eliminates information blind spots, and enhances integrated police units that target such crimes as murder or car theft.

© The Canadian Press, 2008