How the Concord Police Department uses real-time data to solve cross-jurisdictional crime

KEY IDEAS:

• The Concord Police Department needed a secure way to share intelligence and coordinate with partner agencies during cross-jurisdictional investigations.
• Many police agencies lack the technology to securely share investigative data in real time.
• Data integration platforms unify information from multiple agencies, creating a shared operational picture for investigators.
• With unified data, agencies can connect evidence faster, coordinate responses across jurisdictions, and apprehend suspects more effectively.

💡 CONCORD POLICE DEPARTMENT (CPD) AT A GLANCE:

Location: Concord, California

Population: Approx. 124,016

Sworn count: More than 120

Total personnel: More than 160

Sources: CPD, U.S. Census

CONCORD, Calif. — When criminal activity crosses jurisdictions, multiple agencies must work together to conduct crime investigations, share intelligence, and coordinate action. Like many agencies, the Concord Police Department in California often works across jurisdictional lines to investigate connected crimes.

However, agencies often lack a secure way to share intelligence and collaborate in real time. Without effective data integration, investigators must manually analyze information across siloed law enforcement systems, slowing investigations and coordination.

As a solution, the Concord Police Department onboarded Peregrine to connect investigative intelligence across jurisdictions and enable secure real-time data sharing between agencies. Ultimately, Peregrine helped investigators track and apprehend a serial bank robbery suspect whose crimes crossed multiple jurisdictions. Read on to learn how data integration platforms enable real-time intelligence sharing and strengthen interagency collaboration during cross-jurisdictional investigations.

Why real-time information sharing is critical for interagency collaboration

To coordinate effectively, agencies need a shared playbook. When key information is scattered across siloed police systems, personnel can’t get a complete understanding of an incident. They aren’t able to identify connections, create strategies, or coordinate strategic action.

READ MORE → Data Sharing and Real-Time Crime: Discussing the Future of SoCal Policing

However, law enforcement agencies often struggle in coordinating efforts across different departments with varying jurisdictions. Most state and local public safety agencies lack the technology to easily share all pertinent information in real time while ensuring secure and controlled access to sensitive data.

🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: BARRIERS THAT PREVENT EFFECTIVE INTERAGENCY DATA SHARING IN POLICING

• Traditional jurisdictional boundaries between agencies
• Siloed technology systems that cannot communicate
• Privacy, security, and compliance concerns
• Lack of clear data-sharing policies and procedures

Unified data platforms enable secure, real-time data sharing between jurisdictions

Data integration connects information across multiple agencies’ data sources, allowing personnel to identify connections and increase common situational awareness in developing situations. Unified data platforms provide a secure way for coordinating agencies to gather, share, and react to new intelligence.

READ MORE → 'Data is the New Currency:’ Florida Agencies Discuss Emerging Tech, Data Sharing

The Concord PD implemented Peregrine to integrate its agency-specific systems alongside its external data sources. Using Peregrine, the Concord PD and its partners were able to overcome the fundamental challenge of secure interagency data sharing. Peregrine’s fine-grained permission controls ensure users only interact with real-time data according to their authorization levels.

🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Unified data platforms enable secure real-time collaboration between police agencies.
• CJIS-compliant data integration solutions allow agencies to share intelligence across jurisdictions while maintaining data security through role-based access controls, end-to-end encryption, and audit logs.

How the Concord PD leveraged real-time data to apprehend a cross-jurisdictional bank robbery suspect

"The ease of use and accessibility of Peregrine's platform made a significant difference in our ability to track and apprehend the suspect." —Josh Medel**, Senior Crime and Intelligence Analyst, Concord Police Department

With a unified data platform that enables secure, real-time data sharing, the Concord Police Department was able to coordinate with neighboring agencies to apprehend a serial bank robbery suspect. In this case, Peregrine served as both the common operating picture for all involved agencies and the delivery vehicle for critical, real-time information increasing the operation's efficiency.

"The ease of use and accessibility of Peregrine's platform made a significant difference in our ability to track and apprehend the suspect," said Josh Medel, the Concord PD’s senior crime and intelligence analyst.

READ MORE → Interagency Data Sharing: Overcoming Barriers To Drive Collaboration

Police successfully secured a warrant on the location of the suspect's cellphone, identifying that the individual was at multiple banks at the times they were robbed. Involved departments needed to coordinate to apprehend the individual whose crimes crossed their jurisdictions.

Using Peregrine, police personnel:

• Plotted the mobile pings on a map
• Layered the locations of field officers and others monitoring the suspect
• Visualized other types of data, including automated-license plate recognition (ALPR) system data, on the same map
• Shared the map with involved officers across jurisdictions while maintaining appropriate privacy and security permissions

💡 HOW CAN REAL-TIME DATA HELP POLICE TRACK SUSPECTS ACROSS JURISDICTIONS? With a data integration platform that integrates new intelligence in real time, investigators can visualize information from multiple sources simultaneously. Personnel can automatically create dynamic maps that layer cellphone data, ALPR data, officer locations, and other insights to identify connections and coordinate informed actions.

Ultimately, the Concord PD’s dynamic map provided information the collaborating agencies needed to make the best decisions and apprehend a dangerous suspect.

"Without Peregrine's platform, coordinating this level of interagency collaboration would have been much more difficult. The real-time sharing of data allowed us to stay one step ahead of the suspect, ultimately resulting in his arrest," said Medel.

🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Real-time data sharing helps investigators connect evidence across jurisdictions.
• Integrated mapping tools allow investigators to visualize cellphone data, ALPR data, suspect activity, and officer locations.
• Dynamic dashboards update with new information in real time, increasing common situational awareness and officer safety.
• Data sharing enables multiple agencies to coordinate effective responses.

How data integration enhances interagency collaboration

By enabling real-time data sharing and cross-jurisdictional collaboration, unified data platforms play a pivotal role in helping public safety agencies achieve their mission of keeping people, officers, and communities safe.

"The success of this operation highlights how Peregrine's platform can fundamentally improve the way law enforcement agencies collaborate and work together,” said Medel. “It was far better than other technologies we’ve used."

Ready to elevate your law enforcement agency's operations and collaboration? Connect with our experts and explore how our platform can empower your team to be their best.

Peregrine is built on AWS GovCloud.

**Josh Medel now works as a solutions engineer at Peregrine.