Cops now carry electronic databases.

• Author: Swartz, Nikki
• Position: Up front: news, trends & analysis

According to a CNN report, a growing number of police departments now have instant access via handheld wireless devices to vast commercial databases that contain details on almost anyone officers may encounter while on their beat.

Police departments have been testing different handheld wireless devices. Typically, they've used them to gain access to law enforcement databases meant only for police that, for example, alert them about someone for whom there is an arrest warrant. At the same time, many police departments have been using desktop computers to search commercial databases to help them gather more detailed information about people they are investigating. These databases hold billions of public records from a variety of sources. Now, police are beginning to access commercial databases using handheld wireless devices.

LocatePLUS Holdings Corp., which told CNN it maintains more than 6 billion records and has data on 98 percent of the...