By The Associated Press
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- Maine has become the first state in the nation to sign on to a new federal bomb and arson tracking system.
The system, run by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, allows state, local and federal law enforcement agencies to share information about bomb and arson investigations.
State Fire Marshal John Dean said fire officials are now able to input details of their investigations into computers and share the information with other law enforcement agencies to determine if there are similarities in cases.
“I’m very excited about it; it’s nice to have a system designed specifically for the kind of work we do,” Dean said.
Maine was one of six pilot sites around the country chosen for the program. Other pilot sites were the Glendale, Ariz., police and fire departments; the Winchester, Va., police department; the Tulsa, Okla., fire department; and the public safety department in Southlake, Texas.
The system allows fire marshals to manage information about their investigations, including the origin, the type of device used, suspects, losses and geographic location.
The investigators can share the information with other law enforcement agencies, allowing them to search for similarities or patterns in arsons, and create maps to electronically pinpoint arsons that may be connected, Dean said.
Dean said Maine’s fire investigators helped develop the system, the end result being a product created by people who have expertise in fires and bombs.
To assist with the program, the fire marshal’s office used a federal grant to obtain laptop computers that link 10 investigators and two supervisors in the field.
Dean said having the system in place should reduce the amount of time spent on investigations.
“I believe it’s going to pay big dividends,” Dean said.