Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

New Equipment In Place

There is a new crime fighting tool at the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, which speeds up many aspects of police work.

According to Sheriff Vines, the department has a terminal connected to the Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC). This terminal, he said, helps speed up the process when officers are making a traffic stop.

The ACIC terminal is a joint effort by the NCSO and PPD, with each department paying half of the monthly rental fee.

"This is something we've needed here for a long time," Vines said. "It's already been a big help."

Before the NCSO/PPD got the terminal, all traffic calls were initiated by the officer to the dispatcher. The dispatcher then had to call the Arkansas State Police.

ASP dispatchers would, in turn, run the information given through their ACIC terminals and call the NCSO dispatchers back. Then the NCSO personnel would call the deputies with the data from the ASP.

This was time consuming for the officer and person(s) being detained. It also posed a potential hazard for the deputy involved.

Now, Vines said, the deputy radios in the license number on a vehicle before making a stop. In many cases, they have the pertinent information (such as any outstanding wants or warrants) on the vehicle in question before ever getting out of their vehicle.

This helps increase the safety for the officer involved, Vines said. With the information in hand before getting out of their patrol car, the officer can call for backup assistance if needed.

In addition, Vines said the NCSO's ACIC terminal is tied into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC).

This means information on items stolen in Nevada County can be plugged into the system. Should they turn up anywhere in the nation, the data is returned back to the NCSO. Also, he said, information on missing persons and stolen vehicles can be entered into the system as well.

Dispatchers with the NCSO went through a four-hour class to learn how to operate the ACIC system, and are now fully certified with the terminal. Vines said they will receive more training in the future as well.

According to Vines, the equipment was installed at the NCSO about three weeks ago.

Before the department could get the ACIC terminal, Vines had to make a request before the ACIC board and show a definite need for the equipment. He went to Little Rock and made the county's case for an ACIC terminal. Six weeks later, he said, the request was approved.

"No one had ever done this in Nevada County before," he said.

Jim Westmoreland, criminal investigator with the NCSO and Prescott Police Department, said the addition of an ACIC terminal has made his job a little easier as well.

The terminal, he said, allows him to run criminal history checks on suspects, check license plate numbers, vehicle registrations and run serial numbers of recovered items to see if they have been reported stolen anywhere.

"We can have a printout in minutes now," he said. Before the NCSO added the terminal, printouts of information requested had to be picked up at ASP Troop G in Hope.