Matrix History
Those responsible for our nation’s safety and the enforcement of our laws have always been aware of the key role that information has played in the prevention and investigation of criminal activity. The atrocities of September 11th created a new sense of urgency. It is clear that existing legacy systems can no longer keep pace with the overwhelming amount of data that must be analyzed in order to fight the global war on terrorism and the systemic domestic crime problem.
In the wake of September 11th, a law enforcement working group was formed to participate in a collaborative effort aimed at the identification of innovative uses of information technology to assist in the investigation of the acts of terrorism.
This working group formed a unique partnership between the multiple federal and state law enforcement agencies and private industry during a time of national crisis. The cooperative effort brought together decades of real-world law enforcement experience and world-renowned information technology experts for a common goal — our collective security (U.S. Department of Justice, 83).
The working group contributed useful data to multiple ongoing investigations. The successes achieved and the information sharing lessons learned from this unique experience became the genesis for the idea behind the Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange (MATRIX) pilot project.
Introduction
The Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange (MATRIX) pilot project leverages proven technology to assist criminal investigations by implementing factual data analysis from existing data sources and integrating disparate data from many types of Web-enabled storage systems. This technology helps to identify, develop, and analyze terrorist activity and other crimes for investigative leads. Information accessible includes criminal history records, driver's license data, vehicle registration records, and incarceration/corrections records, including digitized photographs, with significant amounts of public data records. This capability will save countless investigative hours and drastically improve the......
