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Tallahassee, FL - (September 3, 2003) - Datamaxx Enterprise Intelligence, Inc., (Datamaxx) a subsidiary of Datamaxx Group, Inc., announced today the successful launch of the initial phase of "Kaleidoscope," a comprehensive criminal justice integration initiative within the State of Iowa.  "Kaleidoscope", the Phase 1 Proof of Concept, effectively integrates critical federal, state and local data, allowing it to be accessed over the communications infrastructure of the Iowa Department of Public Safety (IDPS) statewide network. This accessibility provides valuable and timely information sharing regarding offenders who have been released into community-based supervision programs managed by the Iowa Department of Corrections (IDOC), and those detained and/or released pending trial from the Polk County Sheriff's Detention facility. During routine traffic stops, law enforcement officers are notified of an individual's status as a probationer or person awaiting trial, while the system simultaneously notifies probation officers that one of his/her supervised offenders are either the subject of an inquiry or has been arrested. 

According to John Baldwin, Deputy Director of the IDOC, "The automatic notifications allow probation officers to be proactive in following up with the appropriate law enforcement agencies to determine whether any probation violations have occurred. The information and statistics gathered during the initial phase of Kaleidoscope validates our theory that significant, tangible benefits are derived from the sharing of information among members of the criminal justice community".  Kaleidoscope also offers automated scheduled reports that are sent to the Polk County Attorney's Office indicating any new arrests made by the Polk County Sheriff's Office.  

"There has always been a need to provide criminal justice information to officers on the street. Project Kaleidoscope, Phase1, provides critical corrections information in a timely fashion to officers in any location. This will improve the safety of both our officers and the citizens of Iowa," said Larry Grund, Chief of the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Technology Services Bureau.
"This is only one effort to meet Governor Vilsack's `safety communities` initiative as a criminal justice integration process. The Kaleidoscope project is an excellent example of the ongoing collaborative effort between Iowa's law enforcement practitioners, including: Polk County Sheriff's Office, Polk County Prosecuting Attorney, IDPS, IDOC, Iowa Criminal Juvenile Justice Planning, and the Department of Administrative Services Information Technology Enterprise."

According to Major Jim Martin (Retired), Director of Business Development for Datamaxx Group, "The post-9/11 environment has elevated the 'absolute mandate' that critical information be shared not only among law enforcement and criminal justice agencies, but also with non-criminal justice agencies that
perform key roles in responding to a disaster. There is no doubt that technological advances now allow us to build 'smart systems,' not just systems that move vast amounts of information among various entities.  This type of information sharing enhances public safety, increases productivity, provides critical indicators and assists in making informed decisions of a preventative nature.  Officials within the State of Iowa recognized this critical need and have established a platform on which to build such a smart system."

Customer stakeholders formed a Criminal Justice Integration Steering Committee and conducted project oversight. Datamaxx performed a comprehensive data analysis and needs assessment of available systems, the results of which along with information sharing recommendations being reported to the Steering Committee.   Kaleidoscope was then designed and deployed by Datamaxx based on the Steering Committee's approval of Datamaxx recommendations.  The Datamaxx approach to integrated criminal justice information sharing systems not only provides an effective information sharing resource, but also facilitates informed decision making by end users of the system at various stages throughout the criminal justice process.

About Datamaxx Group
Datamaxx Group, including Datamaxx Enterprise Intelligence, Datamaxx Applied Technologies and Datamaxx Professional Services is the premier provider of application and communication systems, enterprise intelligence solutions, consulting and other professional services, to law enforcement, criminal justice, public safety and government agencies.  Datamaxx Group is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, and has offices in Mississippi, Ohio and West Virginia.  Datamaxx is a privately held, Florida certified woman-owned enterprise and serves over 500,000 end users in 37 States, Canada and Guam.
To learn more about Datamaxx and the products and services it offers, please contact Bruce Leslie at 850-558-8000 or visit www.datamaxx.com. 
Attention Media:  For additional information, please contact:
David A. Meyers, Justice Information Systems Coordinator
Iowa Department of Administrative Services
Information Technology Enterprise
Hoover State Office Building, Level B, Des Moines, Iowa 50319
E-Mail:  David.Meyers@iowa.gov ; Voice (515) 725-0411