COMPUTER EXTENDS LONG ARM OF SHERIFF.Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer Mayberry's Sheriff Andy Taylor For other persons named Andrew Taylor, see Andrew Taylor (disambiguation). Sheriff Andy Taylor is the main character on CBS's The Andy Griffith Show, an American sitcom of the 1960s. never had a crime-fighting tool like this. The Ventura County Sheriff's Department The Ventura County Sheriff's Department (VCSD) provides law enforcement for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California, USA, as well as several cities within the county. The cities that VCSD serves are Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, and Thousand Oaks. has debuted a computer home page that allows Web surfers to tap into missing persons reports, information on fugitives and listings of volunteer and job opportunities. The department's first Web site features a report on Kathy Marie Silveri of Oxnard, who disappeared Jan. 12, 1996. Having offered a $50,000 reward in the case, officials say they can reach more people through the Internet - and do it cheaper and more effectively. ``We're sending a picture of her around the world,'' said Mark Ball, the department's administrative support captain. The department also plans to use the Web site to direct the public to its services and to recruit volunteers and officers. ``It's just one more method that we can utilize,'' Ball said. ``The technology is here and we certainly want to use the technology that's available.'' The Web site address is http://www.ventura.org/sheriff. More and more, law enforcement has been turning to the Internet to distribute information, he said. ``We're certainly not the first law enforcement agency Noun 1. law enforcement agency - an agency responsible for insuring obedience to the laws FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation - a federal law enforcement agency that is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Justice to do this,'' Ball said. ``A lot throughout the country are doing this.'' Web surfers can call up a multitude of facts on the home page. A condensed con·dense v. con·densed, con·dens·ing, con·dens·es v.tr. 1. To reduce the volume or compass of. 2. To make more concise; abridge or shorten. 3. Physics a. version of the 1996 crime statistics likely will run on the Home Page this week, and the department is working to make the bulky bulk·y adj. bulk·i·er, bulk·i·est 1. Having considerable bulk; massive. 2. Of large size for its weight: a bulky knit. 3. Clumsy to manage; unwieldy. document available via computer. ``You could download the entire 128-page document and work on the actual program itself,'' he said. ``You could actually download all the raw data to your computer.'' The home page also serves as a link to other agencies. For example, an icon can link a browser browser Software that allows a computer user to find and view information on the Internet. The first text-based browser for the World Wide Web became available in 1991; Web use expanded rapidly after the release in 1993 of a browser called Mosaic, which used to the Department of Motor Vehicles In the United States of America, Department of Motor Vehicles (or DMV) is a commonly used name of the government agency of a U.S. state which administers the registration of automobiles (e.g., by issuing license plates), and/or the licensing of drivers (e.g. . ``Anything that references law enforcement, we can link you to it,'' Ball said. There are plans to begin posting photographs and information about wanted criminals, he said. Overall, the department can inform a wider public about its crime-fighting efforts. Given its increasing reliance on volunteers, the department can use the home page to refer members of the public to its volunteer-based programs for assistance, or to recruit workers for these programs, Ball said. ``Our message is that certainly we want the public to know what local law enforcement is doing for them and there's a tremendous recruitment tool A recruitment tool is an advertising method that aids in creating interest in and getting people for a typically political organization. The term can not properly be applied to commercial advertising. here, either for volunteers or for any of the departments we have here.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: (color) Sgt. Harold Humphries shows the Sheriff Department's new home page. Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News |
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