Kosciusko County, Indiana  – In an effort to further combat crime in Kosciusko County, the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department is now using LeadsOnline – an investigative system that enables detectives to search for suspects and stolen property across secondhand stores, scrap metal dealers, pawnshops, and internet (eBay) drop-off stores both locally and nationwide.

The system equips criminal investigators with the ability to instantly solve crimes and to return goods to their rightful owners. Property can be searched using serial numbers, suspect name, item descriptions, or other information. Most searches are completed within seconds. Often, these property crimes are associated with larger crimes such as homicides, arson, and fraud.

“This is the largest online investigative system of its kind nationwide. Our investigators are using it to solve crimes ranging from burglaries to homicides by instantly searching for missing items in the transaction records of businesses across the area and the country.  We appreciate the support of our local businesses as they work with us to serve our community,” says Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Captain Aaron Rovenstine. 

Without LeadsOnline, investigators had to undertake a time-consuming process of visiting all the stores in the area, collecting paper tickets and computer diskettes, and manually filing the tickets into a database. Keeping up with the volume of information was costly and overwhelming, and detectives were limited to searching for stolen property within the city. With LeadsOnline, information is automatically collected from businesses each day. Kosciusko County businesses that accept merchandise from the public throughout the area are now reporting electronically via LeadsOnline.

“More than 2,000 law enforcement agencies and businesses across the country are using the system to the benefit of countless victims of crime. We’re excited about the opportunity to serve Kosciusko County and are expecting great results,” says Dave Finley, CEO of LeadsOnline.

Here are a few success stories:

A detective in a Seattle suburb recovered electronic equipment, valued at $1.7 million, stolen from a telecommunications company. It was the largest property recovery recorded in Washington law enforcement history.

Corpus Christi, Texas, police caught two murder suspects when items from the crime scene were pawned in San Antonio, more than 150 miles away.

Fort Wayne, Indiana, police responded to a burglary call concerning a missing PlayStation. After interviewing the young man who was babysitting at the residence, the responding officer decided to run his name through LeadsOnline from his patrol car. Not only did he instantly find the missing PlayStation, he also found the young man had pawned his fiancées’ engagement ring that had been missing for two days.

Bethany, Oklahoma police solved a 4-month-old case within their first few weeks on the system.

Jasper County, Missouri Sheriff’s officers responded to a burglary of a home in which several guns and a four-wheeler were stolen. Six weeks later an investigator doing a regular check of LeadsOnline discovered two of the guns pawned in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, about 125 miles away.  The weapons were secured, the suspect was caught and made a full confession, and all of the other items were returned.  The victim had his property returned and the suspect went to jail.  Detectives say they may never have solved this case without LeadsOnline.

For more information, contact Captain Aaron Rovenstine or visit www.leadsonline.com.