By Lorena Inclan, Action News Jax Friday August 19, 2016 8:57 PM
Original Post: http://www.actionnewsjax.com/web/wjax/news/local/new-digital-crime-fighting-tool-generating-tips-in-st-johns-county/426840058
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office is getting more help fighting crime thanks to technology.
“The Community Pro-Tektor” is a digital kiosk that displays information about fugitives, cold cases and even Amber Alerts.
“It’s a great information tool, we get a lot of tips off of that from unsolved crimes that we have,” said St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Cmdr. Chuck Mulligan.
Mulligan said it’s funded—not by taxpayer money—but instead by a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
The nearly $29,000 grant allowed for the purchase of six machines, as well as training and graphics.
“We have one at the Walmart down in St. Augustine so we’re looking to move these around the county to see where we get the most advantageous benefit,” said Mulligan.
There’s also one at the courthouse and at each St. Johns County field office. The goal is to get as many eyes as possible on the information displayed.
According to Mulligan, the kiosk allows them to simultaneously disperse information wirelessly to specific corners of the county.
“Of course you can see here we’ve got some hit and runs, a possible child abduction suspect, so these things can be populated on the fly,” said Mulligan.
The county is testing them out for the first year. If they prove to be useful, you may see more electronic kiosks around town.