First Appearance system authorized six months ago provides real-time updates on sexual crimes.
WALTHAM, MA, March 13, 2006 — Metatomix, Inc., the leader in semantic composite applications, today announced that the First Appearance criminal information system it developed for the State of Florida under the Jessica Lunsford Act is scheduled to become operational this month. It is the nation's first statewide criminal information system to provide real-time background checks based on a booking and to automatically notify law enforcement officials and judges if an arrested person has a record of sexual crimes. It was developed under a contract awarded to Metatomix in September 2005.
The system is an expansion of the Metatomix-developed Judicial Inquiry System (JIS) that has been serving Florida's criminal justice officials for more than 18 months. The First Appearance module adds several key data sources – from disparate, incompatible software systems – to give judges and other criminal justice officials immediate access to information crucial for properly handling recently arrested persons when they make their first appearance for arraignment. These new data sources include:
The advanced information system was mandated last spring by the Florida Legislature after a nine-year-old child, Jessica Lunsford, was sexually abused and murdered by a registered sex offender who had just been released from police custody after arraignment on an unrelated charge. A number of other states are considering similar legislation and a bill requiring a national real-time information system on sex offenders has been introduced in Congress.
"This is one of the most important applications that we have built to help make the world a better place," said Mike Kinkead, CEO of Metatomix. "We are very pleased that we could put our advanced semantic composite applications technology to use in bringing a speedy solution to this pressing criminal justice need. Florida children, indeed all Florida citizens, will be much safer for it."
With the First Appearance system, information about new bookings at every jail facility in the state is sent to the statewide First Appearance system immediately upon entry. It carries out an automatic, comprehensive background check on all arrestees, tapping its databases for demographic information and any other identifiers. All this information is automatically forwarded to specified confidential Jessica Lunsford Act website locations available through the secure Florida State Courts Network. The consolidated profile is then easily accessible by the judge, state attorney, public defender, sheriff, and any others qualified to access and view the information at the arrestee's first appearance in court.
Additionally, if a suspect should be considered a high-risk offender – a known sexual predator – the First Appearance system immediately and automatically notifies the booking facility and any other appropriate parties, such as the Department of Corrections, so that the suspect cannot be released on bond and so that bail is not set for the arrestee until after the first appearance hearing has been conducted.
About Metatomix, Inc.
Founded in 2000, Metatomix is an innovative software company that has delivered the industry's first, commercialized semantic composite applications. The company is dedicated to delivering business value and high customer satisfaction through the creation of new, dynamic, intelligent solutions leveraging our customers' universe of applications, data, and services.
The company's market-proven solutions have been improving and strengthening our country's war on crime in both public safety and financial institutions since 2001, streamlining end-to-end enterprise processes in banking, finance, government and healthcare. For more information, visit the Metatomix Web site: http://www.metatomix.com.
For additional information contact:
Mark Metzger
Metzger Communications
Phone: +1.781.648.2564
mmetzger@metzgerco.com
Metatomix is a trademark of Metatomix, Inc. Other brand names or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
