David Henriksen, the sole detective with the California Polytechnic State University Police Department (CPSUPD), recently praised the FBI’s National Data Exchange (N-DEx) System. Detective Henriksen said that his department has experienced both a shrinking budget and an increasing crime rate. “Those realities, combined with human resource challenges, have added considerable strain on personnel in the form of expanding caseloads,” he said. Henriksen explained that obtaining intelligence and “connecting the dots” in an investigation is cumbersome and time-consuming. “Many private firms offer problem-solving tools to ease and/or enhance the intelligence-gathering process. But these tools come with high price tags and limited information, neither of which my department could work with,” he said.

In 2014, the CPSUPD discovered N-DEx. After completing the vetting process, the department began integrating N-DEx into most of its larger cases, especially cross-jurisdictional crimes. “This practice has saved us hundreds of hours and contributed to improving the overall dimension of our cases,” Henriksen said. “I would like to thank all of the contributors who made N-DEx what it is today. This agency is certainly impressed with its astonishing capabilities.”

For more information about how your agency can use the N-DEx System to help further its investigations, contact the N-DEx Program Office at ndex@leo.gov or call 304-625-0555.