Catching criminals in NC goes mobile

The Office of the State Controller on Wednesday released a new mobile-friendly website that will help the more than 22,000 criminal justice professionals across the state immediately access information on their smartphones or tablet computers about offenders.

The information is already available in a Web-based system called CJLEADS, which officers have access to on their laptops, but the mobile version allows users to use it in different settings out in the field – for example, officers on patrol at a concert without a laptop.

CJLEADS, which stands for Criminal Justice Law Enforcement Automated Data Services, is relatively new in North Carolina.

The state started testing the system in Wake County in 2010 and completed a roll-out across the state this year.

Unlike the state's old computer system, it draws data from across the criminal justice system and presents it in a user-friendly format and allows users to customize it for their own needs.

A parole officer, for example, could set up alerts to be notified whenever an offender they are tracking is arrested.

The system has also been used at the North Carolina State Fair to identify registered sex offenders, track habitual DWI offenders and identify criminals in traffic stops, among other uses.