Data is key to preventing criminal activity. Whether it’s a background check before hiring teachers that spend all day with children, or looking up someone’s information when they get pulled over, early detection relies on data.

We were called in to work on a project with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI). They maintain a database that, in layman’s terms, is the master database of all bad people. And the system was old enough that it needed to be modernized.

CCH is the Computerized Criminal History System. By far, it’s the most proactive crime prevention system, as well as crime data collection system.

The system is used in Oklahoma when people apply for a handgun license, when they apply for any government or public sector job, when they try to rent an apartment, and in many other situations as well. The system is also utilized when other states request data from Oklahoma. So its impact is huge.

The old system was over twenty years old. It was very complex, with a number of different interfaces. As is the case with many systems that are that old and large, it had grown to the point where there were many band-aids and tourniquets in place for issues that really needed to be fixed the correct way.

The system was cumbersome, slow, and subject to many issues. It wasn’t made to handle the stress being placed on it, and was on its last leg.

In preparation for the modernization, the internal team spent over two years researching, documenting, and generally gaining a better understanding of the existing system. The team then put together a prototype so they would know what they needed from their provider.

At that point, our team here at LSG Solutions was brought into the project.

The new system we developed has many advantages. It’s built on a modern platform that’s far better. It has an Oracle backend, and is easy to integrate with web services and Java applications, utilizing a system that’s easily skinned and portable.

There’s also a huge improvement in performance. It is typically seven to eight times faster than the old system. This obviously reduces the overall wait time for background checks.

And even though there was a lot of user input on the original prototype, our team at LSG took it to the next level by utilizing our user interface expertise to improve upon that prototype.

While the public doesn’t directly interface with the new system, you should be glad to know that your tax dollars have been put to use on modernizing this system, making Oklahoma a safer place for you and your family.