While the NYPD continues to rely on old-fashioned stop-and-frisks, the department is also fighting crime with a high-tech computer database that parses through police records, accident reports and other documents to quickly find the identities of suspects and victims. In a room that reportedly "resembles a Las Vegas sports book" or a set from Judge Dredd, detectives search through databases of tattoos, birthmarks and scars, missing teeth and gold teeth, limps and their severity, and skin blotches.
According to the Times, the NYPD's Real Time Crime Center, which opened in 2005, is equipped with a 500-square-foot screen, as well as smaller monitors that detectives use for their searches and to dispatch information to beat cops. The extensive databases allow detectives to find detailed records on just about anyone who has been arrested, so long as criminal cases against the individual haven't been dropped. Though some say the NYPD is overstepping its bounds in obtaining information on people, police officials claim the system has helped catch criminals and identify people who aren't carrying IDs.
Sgt. Kevin C. Lonergan said one of the challenges at the Real Time Crime Center is identifying new tattoos. "Jailhouse tattoos, tribal tattoos, those are sometimes hard to write down descriptions for because either we don't know what they are or what they mean," he noted. "Asian symbols are easier." The databases can help investigators who are working off of broad descriptions, or very specific ones. A scan of the tattoo database reveals that 596 people on file have tattoos including the words "I love." Dozens have tattoos stating "I love Mom." However, records show that only one person on file has a tattoo reading "Chi-Chi I love you," "Dollar Bills I love Money," and "I love Rudy," respectively.
