Suspect Identification

In August of 2009, an Alabama man killed both parents and then fled the state. Through the course of the investigation, Alabama detectives did two important things: First, they began tracking the suspect through his credit card purchases. Second, they sent an All Points Bulletin (APB) over Nlets to every control terminal agency on the Nlets system.

The South Dakota Control Terminal Agency (the Department of Public Safety dispatch center) was able to broadcast the information on the suspect out to officers on the street. Because Alabama was able to communicate with the states and alert them to the location of the credit card purchases, and because the dispatch center was able to redistribute this information, the suspect was quickly apprehended in  South Dakota on interstate 90.

That night, a local news station aired interviews with officers who were involved in the apprehension. A South Dakota district commander of 20 years told the story of the capture and how a “new national System, the FUSION CENTER was used to alert the officers.” It was really Nlets, a system that has been around for over 40 years.

And, herein, lies the most valuable lesson of this story: Getting the word out—literally, by taking full advantage of Nlets capabilities during the course of both routine traffic stops and complex investigations; and, figuratively, by ensuring that officers, dispatchers, managers, and law enforcement administrators understand what Nlets can do and how important Nlets is to the law enforcement and public safety community. Without the information sharing between states over Nlets, the suspect might never have been arrested.