PA Justice Network Earns Prestigious 21st Century Achievement Award from Computerworld

HARRISBURG, Pa., June 5, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Justice Network (JNET) has earned a 21st Century Achievement Award from IDG's Computerworld Honors Program for its use of facial recognition technology to help enforcement identify criminal suspects and witnesses. The award was presented at last night's Laureate Medal Ceremony and Awards Gala in Washington, D.C.

Computerworld received more than 500 nominations in 11 categories from around the globe for the 2012 Honors Program. Two hundred Laureates were selected by a panel of leading information technology company chairmen and CEOs.  One Laureate from each category is chosen for the 21st Century Achievement Award.

Nearly 40,000 police officers and other criminal justice professionals use JNET to access information from state, federal and local data sources through a secure web portal. The JNET Facial Recognition System (JFRS) allows users to compare photographs and surveillance footage against a database of 3.5 million criminal booking photographs and quickly identify potential matches. The system has aided investigators in solving numerous cases including homicides, robberies, burglaries, fraud and identity theft.

"Pennsylvania's criminal justice professionals use JNET to perform their jobs more effectively and efficiently, which translates into improved public safety for our citizens," said David Naisby, executive director of JNET. "The ability to quickly access data, photos and records in the field from a wide array of sources through a single web portal is a major benefit to law enforcement."

"JNET is a great example of how individual agencies, at different levels and in different branches of government, can work together to share information and achieve a common goal," said Pennsylvania Chief Information Officer George White.  "We are honored to have JNET recognized by the Computerworld Honors Program and look forward to expanding the ways that JNET can serve its users."

Last year, Computerworld recognized JNET as a Laureate for its federated address search, which allows users to search addresses housed in different systems via a single inquiry.  Previously, users had to enter an address into each system separately and compare the results from each.

To learn more about JNET, visit www.pajnet.state.pa.us. 

To learn more about the Computerworld Honors program, visit www.cwhonors.org.

Media contact: Dan Egan, 717-772-4237

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of Administration