An Oxford Village Dispatcher has been suspended for one day without pay and received a written reprimand in his file following an internal investigation into alleged misuse of the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN).
‘I didn’t see anything criminal,? said village Police Chief Mike Neymanowski, who conducted the internal investigation, which was concluded last week. ‘Absolutely nothing criminal was done by the dispatcher. But he did technically violate LEIN policy.?
‘In my mind, that’s a sufficient amount of discipline to issue to that dispatcher,? the chief added.
LEIN is a computer system that provides on-line information to law enforcement agencies regarding the status of driver’s licenses, registered vehicles, driver’s records, and criminal record information. It’s part of the FBI’s National Crime Information System.
LEIN is only used by certified employees of a police department or other law enforcement agency. Information stored in the network is restricted by law and not meant for disclosure to the general public.
Neymanowski was informed of the alleged LEIN misuse/violations the second week of March and instructed by the Michigan State Police to conduct an investigation and report back with the results.
The internal investigation focuses on two different incidents involving one dispatcher, whose name is not being released.
The first involved a ‘private citizen from the area? who called the village dispatch center to find out if he’s wanted in another state for a possibly unpaid speeding ticket he received about two or three years ago. The citizen was going to travel to that state for vacation.
Neymanowski said the dispatcher, who knows the citizen in question, looked up the information on LEIN and gave it to him over the telephone.
‘The dispatcher thought that by knowing the person directly, it was okay to release his personal information to him,? said the chief, noting the dispatcher viewed it as a ‘service request? from a citizen.
Although the dispatcher did not do this for his own personal use, ‘he still violated the LEIN policy,? Neymanowski said.
‘The correct procedure in this (situation) would have been to advise that citizen either to call the court in the jurisdiction of the ticket or to personally come in here (to the police department) with their identification, hand it over, then we could check that out for them,? the chief said.
Giving LEIN information over the phone, not in person, is what constituted the violation, Neymanowski said.
The second incident involved the same dispatcher giving LEIN information to unauthorized school personnel at Oxford High School without a user agreement in place.
Under LEIN policy, a law enforcement agency can verbally give information regarding a license plate number to only the superintendent, assistant supertintendent, school principal or assistant principal if there’s a user agreement in place between the police agency and school.
A fall 2003 audit of the village department’s LEIN use revealed there was no such agreement in place.
Neymanowski said he was under the impression an agreement was still in effect from the now-defunct joint Oxford Police Department, which dissolved in 2000.
‘To be honest, we never found another agreement, a prior agreement from that other agency,? he said.
After learning there wasn’t a LEIN user agreement in place with the high school, Neymanowski said he went there in December 2003 and left an agreement for the principal to review and sign.
‘As time went on, he (the principal) never got back with me,? the chief said. ‘It was sitting on his desk, but it wasn’t officially signed. . .I overlooked it too.?
‘The dispatchers didn’t know this. They assumed that I took care of the LEIN agreement. As time goes by, they’re still doing (license plate) checks for the school.?
‘I ruled this as an administrative error on my part,? Neymanowski said. ‘I should have made the dispatchers aware that there wasn’t a LEIN agreement in place.
After her received the March notice from the state police about the alleged misuse, Neymanowski said he ‘went immediately over there and the principal and I signed that agreement together.? The agreement, signed March 12, is now in place.
As for giving the LEIN information to unauthorized personnel, the chief said the lady who serves as the high school’s ‘parking lot security supervisor? was calling in for license plate checks.
‘The dispatchers weren’t aware of the exact language of the LEIN policy which states only the principal, assistant principal and superintendent (and assistant superintendent) can call those in,? he said. ‘In fact, the principal over there wasn’t even aware of it either.?
‘That’s all been corrected,? said Neymanowski, who discussed the issued with the OHS principal. ‘Any future checks, he (the principal) will personally call those in to us.?
‘Written policies have been put in place in the organization (police department). Now our dispatchers are fully aware of what LEIN expects of these particular checks. So everybody is fully aware of the proper procedure to handle checks from the school,? the chief said.
Looking back on both incidents, Neymanowski said, ‘I feel that I did a complete investigation on this. I didn’t leave anything unturned. I’m satisfied.?
‘I think with the disciplinary action and the policies set in place now, these particular violations have been corrected and they’re not going to happen again,? the chief said.