computer networks

As crime globalizes
so does crime fighting. Mobsters
serial killers
and terrorists cross state lines and borders effortlessly
making use of the latest advances in mass media
public transportation
telecommunications
and computer networks. The police - there are 16
0
law enforcement agencies in the Unites States alone - is never very far behind.

Quotes from the official Web pages of some of these databases:

National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC)

Its mission is to combine investigative and operational support functions
research
and training in order to provide assistance
without charge
to federal
state
local
and foreign law enforcement agencies investigating unusual or repetitive violent crimes. The NCAVC also provides support through expertise and consultation in non-violent matters such as national security
corruption
and white-collar crime investigations.

It comprises the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU)
Child Abduction and Serial Murder Investigative Resources Center (CASMIRC)
and Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP).

VICAP is a nationwide data information center designed to collect
collate
and analyze crimes of violence - specifically murder. It collates and analyzes the significant characteristics of all murders
and other violent offenses.

Homicide Investigation Tracking System (HITS)

A program within the Washington state's Attorney General's Office that tracks and investigates homicides and rapes.

Violent Crime Linkage System (ViCLAS)

Canada-wide computer system that assists specially trained investigators to identify serial crimes and criminals by focusing on the linkages that exist among crimes by the same offender. This system was developed by the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) in the early 1990s.

UTAP
stands for The Utah Criminal Tracking and Analysis Project

Gathers experts from forensic science
crime scene analysis
psychiatry and other fields to screen unsolved cases for local law enforcement agencies.

International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO) - Interpol's DNA Gateway

Provides for the transfer of profile data between two or more countries and for the comparison of profiles that conform to Interpol standards in a centralized database. Investigators can access the database via their Interpol National Central Bureau (NCB) using Interpol's secure global police communications system
I-24/7.

Interpol's I-24/7

Global communication system to connect its member countries and provide them with user-friendly access to police information. Using this system
Interpol National Central Bureaus (NCBs) can search and cross-check data in a matter of seconds
with direct and immediate access to databases containing critical information (ASF Nominal database of international criminals
electronic notices
stolen motor vehicles
stolen/lost/counterfeit travel and ID documents
stolen works of art
payment cards
fingerprints and photographs
a terrorism watch list
a DNA database
disaster victim identification
international weapons tracking and trafficking in human beings-related information
etc).

Interpol Fingerprints

Provides information on the development and implementation of fingerprinting systems for the general public and international law enforcement entities.

Europol (European Union's criminal intelligence agency) Computer System (TECS)

Member States can directly input data into the information system in compliance with their national procedures
and Europol can directly input data supplied by non EU Member States and third bodies. Also provides analyses and indexing services.