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Reducing data gaps: real-time incarceration and arrest records in CLEAR

Timely, comprehensive data is crucial for financial and insurance agencies managing risk and conducting investigations. Data gaps hinder the investigative process, so getting complete information up front is essential for uncovering clues and making connections.

One way investigators can reduce data gaps is by leveraging tools which automatically notify users when a person of interest or criminal subject is arrested, such as Real-Time Incarceration and Arrest (RTIA) records.

Bruce Aldridge, director of Data Integrity and Governance for Appriss Safety, a Thomson Reuters partner, explains the value of RTIA records in filling data gaps for investigations.

“You have to do your due diligence and your risks assessments, and the way you do that is with data,” he explains. “The more data you’ve got, the more data you can utilize for identification of potential fraud or whatever else you’re looking for.”

Aldridge’s background in IT and as a former police officer and criminal investigator afford him a unique perspective on the benefits of RTIA records and how they can save time spent on research.

“The RTIA feeds we share on the CLEAR platform get updated every 15 minutes,” Aldridge adds. “If someone is involved in criminal activity and they’re arrested for it, the information is passed to investigators very quickly.”

RTIA records’ comprehensive data helps investigators quickly make critical connections. With more than 140 million booking records from Appriss, the breadth of CLEAR data is incomparable. Also notable is that arrest records offer insights court data may not.

“It’s important to look at incarceration data because not all cases end up getting adjudicated,” Aldridge explains. “With many people, you can see a pattern of evolution where they start off with petty theft and shoplifting and then branch into things like identify theft. Having incarceration information provides a comprehensive picture of a person’s evolution and development in criminal activity.”

He adds, “You may not get an arrest record of an individual for money laundering, but you can get an indication from their history if someone is inclined to be a higher risk or if they’re inclined to be involved in financial crimes.”

With RTIA records alerts, investigators can realize the full benefit of the Appriss partnership with CLEAR: timely, complete data available at their fingers tips, without having to conduct a search due to automatic notifications.

Want to see CLEAR in action?

See how Thomson Reuters real-time incarceration and arrest records can help you avoid missing critical information in your due diligence investigations

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