Annual Report - COMPLETE - Australian Crime Commission

ALERT will provide increased analytical tools such as mapping and charting
capabilities for intelligence practitioners as well as improve the ability to identify
new trends and patterns in the information being supplied to the national criminal
intelligence database. It will also provide resources for replacing ageing hardware
and increased technical capacity and capability.
In 2003–04 under the ALERT initiative, a feasibility study was undertaken to provide
intelligence analysts with a search and display capability based on geographic
location. New data storage technology was purchased and is being implemented
as well as upgrades to the ALEIN communications infrastructure.
Enhancements were also made to the ‘search’ capability in ACID. A ‘Virtual Office’
framework has been implemented to improve the ability of intelligence analysts to
manage and share information they have extracted from the intelligence database.
Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System (ViCLAS)
ViCLAS captures information for analysis on serial and violent crimes such as
attempted/actual homicides, sexual assaults, child abductions and selected missing
persons cases. It provides jurisdictions with a useful tool which has identified more
than 190 series of offences involving in excess of 741 crimes since its introduction.
During the reporting period ViCLAS produced a range of disseminations on potential
series identifications. The ACC provided technical and systems support.
Australian Identity Fraud Protection Registers (AIPR)
The AIPR commenced on 1 January 2004 and is a continuation and an improvement
of the innovative Identity Fraud Register Pilot which began in February 2002.
Through the AIPR the ACC collects information on fraudulent identities and victims
of identity theft from 30 law enforcement and government agencies. This national
collection allows law enforcement agencies to detect and stop the use of fraudulent
identities for criminal activities. At 30 June 2004, the AIPR listed in excess of 4000
fraudulent identities.
The register has made the ACC a world leader in the identification and use of fraudulent
identities and has already produced significant outcomes for law enforcement and
government agencies. The ACC is also assisting other law enforcement agencies
in the region to develop similar capacities.
Number and significance of strategic criminal assessments and other intelligence
and information products
The ACC produced a number of intelligence products in 2003–04 to inform partner
law enforcement agencies and the ACC Board of emerging harms and threats
identified by the ACC.
32 I ACC ANNUAL REPORT 2003–04