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Police follow TRAK lead Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Melissa Cochran, a tactical crime analyst with Medford police, prints out a demonstration missing-persons flier on the department's TRAK equipment, a computer hardware and software system that makes the wide distribution of such information far easier and more effective than in the past. Identification device aids in varied cases By JILL BRISKEY A new computer system designed to help police recover abducted children is being used locally to nab bad guys and recover stolen goods. Earlier this year, Hewlett-Packard and SocialTech donated a new form of computer technology to police agencies in more than 20 states, including Medford and Phoenix police departments and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office. The system - Technology to Recover Abducted Kids (TRAK) - allows the user to quickly create fliers of missing persons and electronically distribute a clear image to police nationwide. Pictures, links give TRAK an inside line on searches This year, thousands of police agencies were given computer systems that allow officers to quickly react to reports of missing children. According to FBI statistics, 2,100 children are reported missing in the United States daily. Technology to Recover Abducted Kids (TRAK) allows police to create high-quality color photos, bulletins and fliers that can be electronically transmitted to police agencies and surrounding communities to locate missing children. Developed in 1996, the computer system can used in many ways. TRAK items can be sent to other TRAK users simultaneously, from one city to another city or to every user in the state. TRAK also delivers enhanced black-and-white images to fax machines, allowing investigators to send fliers to schools, businesses or the media. Images created on TRAK can be easily posted on the Web. TRAK can be used to alert and activate child-search volunteer groups or national organizations. It's a wonderful tool, police say, a piece of equipment nobody wants to use but everyone feels safer knowing that it's available. According to Medford police Lt. Tim George, child abduction isn't a problem in our region or in the state, statistically speaking. "Medford is a very safe community. We can thank our lucky stars about that. Stranger-to-stranger abductions are rare," he said, adding that he hasn't handled a report of an abducted child in 24 years. "But it only takes one of those types of cases to bring an entire community on its ear." Instead of gathering dust in a back office, police agencies are putting TRAK's technology to good use. The system includes a computer, monitor, color scanner, software, licenses and color printer and is valued at $5,000. Using TRAK, Ashland police created a flier three weeks ago to help locate a missing senior citizen who wandered away from his home, said Lt. Rich Walsh. Police were able to find the man a short time later. However, Walsh said he was impressed with the quality of the missing person's picture on the flier. "It's unbelievable. It's like the person's right there in front of you," Walsh said. "In the old days, you could hardly make heads or tails of (the person's picture) but that isn't the case now." According to Medford Crime Analyst Melissa Cochran, TRAK also is used to find missing property by sending photo images to pawn shops or other parties. Police have used the technology to inform other police agencies about wanted felons or used it to create a photo lineup for witnesses, she said. "We've used it quite a few times now and we're happy with it," Cochran said. "It's easy and it's quick." Michel Holloran, secretary to Jackson County Sheriff Bob Kennedy, said the sheriff's office received its TRAK system in November. Since that time, Holloran said the department used the system when an unidentified man committed suicide in April. It was used again in May during a manhunt for convicted rapist Leighton Bates. "All I know is that the information got out there really quick," she said. "We like it. It's so basically easy to use." Holloran said the department is training deputies to use TRAK. The department also hopes to use the system to find runaway teens and alert pharmacists to people suspected of drug fraud in the future. The possibilities are endless, she added. "It's one more tool to have," Holloran said. "It's just a matter of getting the word out there quicker." Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.