By Kathryn Balint, San Diego Union-Tribune
When Tarek Fouad, president and chief executive of Senscom in Sorrento Valley, offered free software that would allow police to access criminal databases from handheld computers in the field, law enforcement agencies throughout California paid no attention.
It sounded too good to be true.
“We have spent two years of time and money trying to get the word out there,” Fouad said. “But getting the word out has been a struggle for us. I don’t think many of the recipients of our letter ever read beyond the first paragraph before chucking it.”
Senscom’s offer of free software for the state’s law enforcement agencies will expire at the end of this month.
Fouad came up with the free-software strategy to help Senscom break into a new field. Not only would it help the company get feedback from police officers on its technology, but it would also help Senscom get a foothold in sales to law enforcement.
Senscom’s expertise began in the financial services industry with the company’s founding in May 1999.
Fouad, a network engineer at what was then Pacific Bell Wireless, left the phone company to develop software that would allow credit union members to securely access their accounts over cell phones.
The business started in his home. By January 2000, Senscom had four employees and an office in Sorrento Valley.
In April 2000, using Senscom’s software, the University and State Employees Credit Union in San Diego became the first financial institution to offer cell phone transactions to its members.
By Fouad’s account, Senscom’s software was a success. It continues to be used by 15 credit unions nationwide, he said.
The company, which grew to 10 employees and contractors, is using the profit from its credit-union software to fund development of its software for law enforcement.
The idea to enter a new market first took shape after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“September 11th happened, and we thought, ‘We can do something here to help,’ ” Fouad said. “We had the technology to allow police and law enforcement and security agencies to fight crime and terrorism.”
The kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam of Sabre Springs the following February only strengthened Fouad’s resolve to help law enforcement.
“I felt devastated,” Fouad said. “I thought if this happened to my daughter, it would kill me.”
Senscom developed software that allows police to wirelessly access information on criminals, stolen vehicles and driver licenses using handheld computers. The software also allows police officers to write tickets and print them from the handheld computer.
So far, just one law enforcement agency, the Riverside Police Department, has accepted Senscom’s offer of free software. Fouad said it’s saving the Riverside department millions of dollars.
Riverside Police Capt. Michael Blakely admits he was skeptical at first.
“It’s an unusual offer,” he said. “You don’t usually see something like that. In our case, I actually gave Tarek a call, met with him and had some discussions with him. I explained why we would be somewhat hesitant to accept his offer.”
Once the department discovered there were no strings attached, it took Senscom up on the offer.
Senscom has agreed to provide the software to the Riverside Police Department at no cost, providing free support and free software in perpetuity. Riverside has spent $50,000 to purchase computing equipment, including five handheld computers, but none of that went to Senscom.
In return, Senscom has had the opportunity to try out its software in the field with police officers, who have offered advice on how to improve the graphical interface.
And Fouad has a sense of satisfaction from helping police.
The Riverside department conducted a pilot program to test the software with a variety of handheld devices. The officers who tested the devices said it took some time to get used to writing tickets on a handheld computer rather than by hand, Blakely said.
Instead of copying information from a driver’s license, officers can swipe the license. All of the information on the license’s magnetic stripe is automatically imported into the computer.
The software on the handheld computers also automatically sets court dates for officers, eliminating the need for the officers to calculate the dates themselves.
Both of these features eliminate the potential for time-consuming errors, Blakely said.
The department plans to equip its motorcycle officers with the handheld devices by the end of this year. It plans to eventually buy more devices for its patrol officers, Blakely said.
After its free offer expires at the end of this month, Senscom is gearing up to market its software to law enforcement agencies worldwide.
San Diego County law enforcement agencies have declined Senscom’s software offer. Instead, the county’s 50 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, which use a computer network known as the Automated Regional Justice Information System (ARJIS), have developed their own software for use with wireless handheld computers.
ARJIS wanted to have control over the security of the system, said Pam Scanlon, its executive director. ARJIS’ software was developed with a $53,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice and has been in use for a year, she said.