About LEADS
In the mid-1960s, many law enforcement administrators began to realize computers could be used in law enforcement operations. At that time, computers were coming into popular use in business and industry to store and retrieve information; computers could accomplish in seconds what it might take hours, days, or even weeks to accomplish by telephone, telegraph, or mail. Law enforcement administrators saw the instant access computers could provide so information would be invaluable for criminal justice purposes. They saw computerized information systems could play a critical role in providing for the security and safety of the officer on the street.
In Ohio, an initial feasibility study was conducted to identify specific areas in which a computerized data system could provide needed services to all law enforcement agencies within the state. This study, funded by the Office of Law Enforcement Assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice, began in July 1966 and determined a computerized data system could provide several critically needed services:
- Statewide storage of crime information
- Immediate response to police inquiries
- Easy access to criminal information files by law enforcement agencies
Given the results of the feasibility study, another federal grant was obtained in October 1967 to begin work actually designing and programming Ohio's Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS). A coordinating committee was formed to oversee the work of development.
The coordinating committee was chaired by a representative of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the agency charged with operating LEADS. Other members include, the Buckeye State Sheriff's Association, Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), police departments representing smaller police departments, county sheriff’s offices representing metropolitan area sheriff’s offices, and the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court or his/her designee representing courts. LEADS became operational in November 1968.
Another federal grant was obtained by the State of Ohio while LEADS was being developed and put into operation to assist in providing some 175 additional computer terminals for installation in local law enforcement agencies throughout the state. This five-year grant was funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Bureau of the U.S. Department of Transportation. With this grant, the total amount of federal grant funding for the development and installation of LEADS came to $4.2 million.
The capabilities of LEADS in November 1968 consisted of message-switching among terminals and accessing information in stored mainframe files. Message switching was used and continues to be used to send messages back and forth among law enforcement agencies. Three information files were stored on the mainframe when LEADS first became operational:
- Operator’s license information
- Vehicle registration information
- Auto alert information on stolen cars
The first known hit through LEADS occurred shortly after the system became operational. The Toledo Police Department entered a stolen 1969 Cadillac in the Auto Alert file on December 1, 1968. On May 13, 1969, the FBI in San Juan, Puerto Rico, made an inquiry by serial number and got a hit on the vehicle. Consider how long it would have taken for FBI personnel in San Juan to find out the vehicle was stolen if they hadn't had access to a computerized data system. For that matter, consider whether or not they would have been able to get the information at all!
LEADS was not designed just to provide criminal justice information to law enforcement agencies within the State of Ohio. LEADS was also intended to form a vital component of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Clarksburg, West Virginia. NCIC maintains computer files of information provided by each of the fifty states. LEADS users in Ohio can access NCIC files through LEADS, just as users in other states can access NCIC files through their own states' systems. Thus, LEADS provides criminal justice information from across the country to Ohio law enforcement agencies and, at the same time, provides criminal justice information from Ohio to law enforcement agencies across the country.