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Two New memberships in law enforcement agencies to broaden Sheriff's aid to police
The acceptance of the Camden County Sheriff's Office as a member agency by two highly regarded law enforcement groups will connect it with the most comprehensive police networks in the nation.
One is the Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit (LEIU), the premier police intelligence gathering agency in existence, and the other is RISS which stands for Regional Information Sharing Systems, a federally funded data bank of individual and gang activities which can be accessed by member agencies.
"One of the main functions that I see my office performing is as a continual support system for local municipal police departments throughout the county," said Sheriff McLaughlin, "and the services these memberships render will help us to enhance this role."
"The growth in size and number of organized crime groups in the United States presents significant problems not only for the individual person but also for law enforcement agencies," he said.
"We appreciate that none of us can combat this criminal element alone. Coordination among groups and agencies as well as a broad intelligence gathering network backed up by data banks are the weapons we need. Our participation in these two professional agencies will provide us with those things," the sheriff continued, "as well as sharing with us 'intricate tools of the trade, tangible and intangible', that individual law enforcement agencies cannot provide or afford."
Who better can appreciate fighting organized crime? During a 28 year career with the New Jersey State Police, Sheriff McLaughlin was assigned as an undercover investigator who infiltrated and interdicted organized crime conspiracies. Later in his career, he was charged with all intelligence gathering in South Jersey, directing some of the State Police's most celebrated and successful organized crime investigations resulting in the decimation of the notorious Bruno-Scarfo Crime family.
"Involving this office in the exchange of criminal intelligence among other law enforcement agencies is one of the ways our new memberships will help us," he said.
By being a member of LEIU, "We will now share with others throughout the United States, Canada and Australia information concerning criminal activities ranging from bombing and bribery to murder and narcotics," the Sheriff continued.
The projects offered by RISS to its members include combating organized criminal activities, drug trafficking and white collar crime by furnishing a data bank which is constantly being updated with information fed into it from other members.
Members not only share information but receive upon request analytical information dealing with telephone, financial and criminal activities all of which provide investigative trend analyses which are sent to members.
Members may also borrow specialized equipment like dialed number recorders, photographic and night vision equipment and surveillance and countermeasure gear.
"Of major importance to us," said Sheriff McLaughlin, "is the training of our staff in the use of specialized investigative equipment; analytical and surveillance methods, and the latest techniques for investigating narcotics trafficking, organized crime, white collar crime and one of the newest and most heinous of crimes, terrorism."
Each of the six geographic divisions of RISS has a full-time professional staff whose top people are highly experienced law enforcement personnel.
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