Case Study

Case Study: Canadian Vehicle Registration Query

opaulson — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 20:27:43 +0000

Case Study: Canadian Vehicle Registration Query

opaulson April 13, 2025

The following story describes how using the Canadian Vehicle Registration Query allowed an investigator to discover that a vehicle with Canadian plates had been stolen.

Officer Willard of the Great Falls Police Department in Montana received a call late at night about an abandoned vehicle in the middle of a busy intersection with Canadian plates. Upon arriving on the scene, Officer Willard searched the abandoned vehicle for any registered owner information but was unable to find anything.

Willard asked dispatch to run a Canadian Vehicle Registration Query to determine the status of the vehicle’s registration and to gain additional information on the registered owner.

The response to the Canadian Vehicle Registration Query returned information about the registered owner and the vehicle’s registration status which indicated that the vehicle had been reported stolen. Officer Willard then completed the remaining necessary procedures and impounded the vehicle.

Do you or your agency have a success story to share with us about how Nlets helped you solve a case or track down a suspect? We’d love to hear it. Just send us an email at news@nlets.org or give us a call at 623-308-3513.

Want to read another case study? Check out a few below:

** For additional information on the Canadian Vehicle Registration Query, please refer to the Nlets Wiki.

Case Study

Case Study - Railroad Crossing Transaction

opaulson — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 15:36:34 +0000

Case Study - Railroad Crossing Transaction

opaulson April 13, 2025

The following story describes how using the Railroad Crossing Transaction allowed medics to locate a particular railroad crossing to save an injured individual more rapidly.

"While working the night shift, a 9-1-1 dispatcher in Nebraska receives a call from a civilian reporting what appears to be a severe accident involving a commercial train and a passenger vehicle at a rural county railroad crossing.

Due to poor weather conditions, the train’s engineer was unaware that the accident even occurred, and so the train is no longer there.

The reporting party is unsure of their current location and does not have a strong enough GPS signal to use their mobile device’s maps. However, they indicate that immediate medical attention is necessary for the passengers involved in the accident.

Thanks to the dispatcher’s quick thinking, the civilian finds the Railroad Crossing Indicator (RCI), which dispatch uses to run an Railroad Crossing Query (RCQ). The response returns valuable location and emergency contact information that dispatch provides to law enforcement, fire, and rescue. This eliminates what would have been 20 minutes of travel time to the nearest cross streets and allows the medics to get onsite to work to save the injured individuals more rapidly.”

Want to read another case study? Check out a few below:

** For additional information on the Railroad Crossing Transactions, please refer to the Nlets Wiki.

General Nlets

Case Study

Case Study: Sex Offender Registration Transactions

opaulson — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 18:39:00 +0000

Case Study: Sex Offender Registration Transactions

opaulson April 13, 2025

The following story* describes how using the Sex Offender Registration Transaction allowed an officer to protect a minor against a perpetrator who had committed crimes in multiple states.

"Officer Matthews pulls over a vehicle for speeding and the driver provides her with an out-of-state license. While talking to the driver, she notices that there is a grade-school-aged girl in the vehicle along with the middle-aged driver. The two individuals do not resemble each other, while the child appears to be very nervous and recently crying. Additionally, the driver is pointedly avoiding eye contact with Officer Matthews. When Officer Matthews asks where the two are headed, the driver says that he’s just helping out while her parents are busy and that they are good friends.

The totality of circumstances causes Matthews to suspect that the driver may not be telling the truth about the relationship with the young girl or her parents. She asks dispatch to run a SOQ to NL to see if he is a registered sex offender in any state.

The consolidated response indicates that the driver is a registered sex offender in five states, with a history of sexual assault of minors which leads Officer Matthews to take him in for further questioning.”

Want to read another case study? Check out a few below:

*Please note that the story is fictional, but the use of the transaction is portrayed accurately.

** For additional information on the Sex Offender Registration Transactions, please refer to the Nlets Wiki.

Case Study

Case Study: State Warrant Transaction

opaulson — Thu, 07 Jul 2022 18:09:11 +0000

Case Study: State Warrant Transaction

opaulson April 13, 2025

The following story* describes how using the State Warrant Transaction allowed a prosecutor's office to enhance charges against a perpetrator who had committed crimes in multiple states.

“John Jones is a repeat offender who has been through the judicial system numerous times for petty offenses that include check forgery and theft. He is scheduled to appear in court for another fraudulent check forgery crime. Since he is a repeat offender, the prosecutor's office wants to do everything they can to keep him behind bars so he cannot continue committing these crimes. Since John Jones is known to travel from state to state committing these crimes, the prosecutor's office wants to check if there are any outstanding warrants for similar crimes in other states.

After running John Jones’ FBI number in the State Warrant Transaction (SWQ)**, the prosecutor’s office receives information from the query that indicates he has two active warrants in neighboring states for check forgery. This helps them request the court enhance the charges against John Jones, which will likely land him more jail time.”

Want to read another case study? Check out a few below:

*Please note that the story is fictional, but the use of the transaction is portrayed accurately.

** For additional information on the State Warrant Transaction, please refer to the Nlets Wiki.

Case Study

Case Study: Hazardous Materials Transaction

opaulson — Fri, 28 Jan 2022 18:33:21 +0000

Case Study: Hazardous Materials Transaction

opaulson April 13, 2025

The following story* describes how using the Hazardous Materials Transaction alerted an officer of a potentially dangerous situation.

“Officer Rojas responded to a call that a semitruck carrying chemicals had flipped on the highway and caught fire. When she got to the scene, after she ensured that all individuals were safely removed from the vehicle, she noticed a chemical barrel had rolled out of the truck and was beginning to leak onto the pavement. The UN Number on the barrel was completely unreadable, but she managed to make out the letters ‘Brom’ and ‘Acid’ below it.

Dispatch ran BROM%ACID in the Chemical Name field using the Nlets Hazardous Materials Query**, and from the results, Officer Rojas could tell definitively that the name of the chemical was Bromoacetic Acid and its UN Number was UN1938.

Then Dispatch ran UN1938 in the UN Number field which provided results from the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) that said that the chemical was toxic, so it was critical to establish a ½ mile perimeter in all directions and call the National Response Center immediately. Officer Rojas immediately alerted all nearby personnel, and they moved to a safe distance away from the spill.”

Want to read another case study? Check out a few below:

*Please note that the story is fictional, but the use of the transaction is portrayed accurately.

** For additional information on the Hazardous Materials Query, please refer to the Nlets Wiki.

Case Study

Success Story: Administrative Message (AM) - Regional Broadcast

opaulson — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 15:37:20 +0000

Success Story: Administrative Message (AM) - Regional Broadcast

opaulson April 13, 2025

The following story describes how using the AM – Regional Broadcast alerted relevant terminals of critical information.

“A large electrical generating station in New Jersey is experiencing technical problems, and utility officials notify the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) Office of Emergency Management.

The generating station will be taken offline at a prescribed time to affect repairs, and outages are expected in areas of New Jersey and several neighboring states.

The NJSP generates a Regional Broadcast Administrative Message using the Region B (Code B1) distribution to alert all terminals of the potential outages in the Region B Group, which includes its neighbor states and appropriate US Federal agencies.”

Want to read another sample success story? Check out a few below:

Case Study

Success Story: FAA Aircraft Registration System

opaulson — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 16:06:27 +0000

Success Story: FAA Aircraft Registration System

opaulson April 13, 2025

Nlets

The following story describes how using the FAA Aircraft Registration System led a Customs and Border Patrol Officer to inspect a suspicious aircraft for illegal drugs.

A Customs and Border Patrol officer is tasked with monitoring all incoming small aircraft from Mexico into Arizona. He observes a plane landing during nighttime hours that appears to turn off its lights immediately upon landing as if to conceal any features or identifying numbers of the plane. This raises his suspicion.

He can see the registration number on the tail of the aircraft and asks dispatch to run a GQ. The GR indicates the aircraft has been involved in numerous drug smuggling incidents in the past which gives him probable cause to approach the pilot and inspect the aircraft for illegal drugs.

Have you heard the updates that Nlets recently made to FAA Registration Queries? Check out our blog on the recent updates that we made to the way we access aircraft registration data from the FAA.

Do you or your agency have a success story to share with us about how Nlets helped you solve a case or track down a suspect? We’d love to hear it. Just send us an email at news@nlets.org or give us a call at 623-308-3513.

Case Study

Success Story: Concealed Weapon Permit Information

opaulson — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 15:56:09 +0000

Success Story: Concealed Weapon Permit Information

opaulson April 13, 2025

Nlets

The following story describes how a Detective in Utah used the Concealed Weapons Permit Information System to uncover the truth about a man who was ultimately convicted of aggravated assault:

Detective Nguyen was assigned to investigate the violation of a domestic violence restraining order in Utah where the victim claimed her estranged boyfriend drove by her house and pointed a handgun at her to scare her from testifying against him at an upcoming court hearing.

The suspect, who had recently moved across the border to Arizona, claimed he did not own or have access to a firearm and had no familiarity with them. He said he was merely driving by her house to make sure she was okay.

After running a CWQ on the estranged boyfriend, Officer Nguyen found that the estranged boyfriend had a permit to carry a firearm in Arizona, which undermined his earlier statement and his credibility.

The suspect was subsequently found in contempt and convicted of aggravated assault based partly on the concealed weapons permit information provided by Arizona.

Case Study

Success Story: Boat Registration Transaction

opaulson — Fri, 01 Oct 2021 15:53:39 +0000

Success Story: Boat Registration Transaction

opaulson April 13, 2025

Chuck Fehrman

The following story describes how the US Coast Guard (USCG) used a Boat Registration Query to discover that the operator of a vessel was not who he said he was:

The USCG Station Portsmouth boat crew and boarding team came across a vessel adrift in the Elizabeth River, Norfolk, VA. The boarding team found two persons on-board; the vessel was estimated as a 65-foot Hatteras style fishing boat. The operator, who also indicated he was the vessel’s owner, stated he had engine problems and needed a tow to a marina in Hampton, VA. However, USCG policy is to assist a vessel to the closest and safest safe harbor, which was Waterside Marina in downtown Norfolk, VA. Upon being told of the change the operator became agitated and insistent that he be taken to the marina in Hampton. Due to the vessel operator’s ongoing agitation and insistence, the boarding officer requested that the Norfolk Police meet them at Waterside Marina.

Upon arrival at Waterside Marina, the boarding officer started a post-SAR boarding. During the boarding, the boarding officer noted that the documented numbers permanently affixed to the vessel were altered and the operator could not produce the Certificate of Documentation. The boarding officer asked dispatch to run a Boat Registration Query through Nlets, requesting registration and/or documentation identification and verification from the Coast Guard. The Nlets Boat Registration Response verified that the numbers affixed to the vessel were invalid, that no Certificate of Documentation exists and that the name of the owner does not match the identification presented by the operator. Norfolk Police subsequently indicated to the boarding officer that the identified operator of the vessel had an outstanding arrest warrant in place. The vessel was impounded, and the operator taken into custody by the Norfolk Police.

This scenario was provided by Chuck Fehrman / CJIS Systems Officer, US Coast Guard

Do your or your agency have a success story to share with us about how Nlets helped you solve a case or track down a suspect? We’d love to hear it. Just send us an email at news@nlets.org or give us a call at 623-308-3513.

Case Study