b'C O V E R21st Century CriminalsActively Hiding in our Law Enforcement DatabasesBy Peter E. Merry, CGI National Capital RegionT oday,21stcenturycrim- across the street or across the globe.TheywerenotawarethatHuntley inalsareleavinganun- Therealchallengenowishowtohadbeenaccusedorsuspectedof fettered trail in databasesbreak down cultural barriers to makefourrapesinthelate1990s,four acrosstheglobe.Whenthis potential solution a reality. sexualrelationshipswithunderage thesestoresofinforma- Information Breakdown girls(oneonly13),andindecent tion remain static and unconnected,assault on a 12-year-old girl.police officers and agents are deniedThe2002murdersof10-year-old a complete, real-time global pictureHolly Wells and Jessica Chapman inAformalinquirytoidentifyfail-of every individual they come acrossSoham,Cambridgeshire,England,ures in police intelligence gathering duringroutinepatrolsorinvestiga- rockedthesmallEnglishcommun- andsharingwaslaunchedtheday tions. These trails and clues are oftenitytoitscore.Themurderswereafter Huntley was found guilty. The discoveredandconnectedafterancommitted by Ian Huntley, who hadresulting report spurred the creation incident has already occurred. beenhiredlessthanayearearlierofthePoliceNationalDatabase as a caretaker at a nearby second- (PND),anationalinformation-shar-The right technology needs to be inary school. In the aftermath, it wasingmanagementsystemintended place and a culture shift must occur todiscovered that a total breakdown intosafeguardchildrenandvulner-solve this challenge. Fortunately, thetheinformation-sharingcontinuumablepeople;support,disrupt,and basic technology exists to help policepreventedofficialsfromunearthinginvestigateterrorism;andprevent officers and agents share informationHuntleyshighlyquestionablepast.anddisruptviolentandorganized 8 H.Q. Summer 2021'