For the professionals at LeoTech, enhancing public safety isn’t just a job — it’s a mission. Founded and staffed by former law enforcement officers (LEOs), the company leverages its patented Verus technology platform to analyze communications, unlocking actionable, real-time insights to help solve crimes and prevent unlawful activity.
While the LeoTech team uses various tools, Thomson Reuters CLEAR stands out as a uniquely valuable source of critical information, according to John Jefferson, Training Manager at LeoTech.
“Throughout my 30 years in law enforcement, I used a variety of databases. Once I had the opportunity to use CLEAR, I found it a lot more user-friendly. I love it,” Jefferson says. “When I was working for the FBI, I found myself turning to CLEAR to enhance my investigative techniques.”
Locating criminal associates
A common challenge for investigators is identifying associates operating on the periphery of a case.
“I need to know who these individuals are — their telephone numbers and emails. They want to be anonymous; they don’t want you to find them,” Jefferson explains, noting that law enforcement databases don’t always provide the information to locate friends, family members, or associates of suspects. “CLEAR enables me to find the little ‘breadcrumbs’ that I can follow to locate these associates. CLEAR fills the gaps in other databases and does a better job helping me find what I’m looking for.”
Jefferson cites one example of a YouTube user posting gang-related content under a street moniker. Intelligence indicated threats against him from gang members to stop him from putting out the information: “A police officer I know was trying everything to find the guy to warn him, but was having no luck. Using CLEAR, I was able to identify the YouTuber and provide that information to law enforcement so they could warn him of the threat.”
Dynamic duo: Verus and CLEAR
LeoTech often pairs CLEAR with Verus, its communications analytics platform, when monitoring authorized inmate communications to or from prison inmates.
“I use CLEAR extensively to enter phone numbers and gain actionable intelligence on the subscriber for that telephone number,” Jefferson says, calling the collaboration between Verus and CLEAR a beautiful marriage.
In one case, an inmate communicated with a young woman using an unregistered number not listed in the state database.
“The inmate mentioned her name on the call. Using this information, I was able to look for relatives in CLEAR and discovered that she was the daughter of an associate smuggling contraband into the prison. I would not have made that connection without CLEAR,” Jefferson recalls.
Speed and simplicity
The best intelligence is only valuable if it can be accessed quickly — and Jefferson says CLEAR excels in this.
“It’s very user-friendly,” he notes, pointing to its intuitive interface with clear fields and drop-down menus. “If I misspell something, CLEAR will still give me what I’m looking for. For example, if I leave an ‘e’ out of ‘Yvette,’ I still get relevant results.”
Time is critical when tracking suspects or protecting victims.
“I can go directly to CLEAR and get the information instead of navigating two or three different databases. That saves me a lot of time. I would say it saves a third of my day that I would otherwise spend looking for things I can get quickly with CLEAR,” he says.
Jefferson also has high praise for the Thomson Reuters support team.
“LeoTech prides itself on customer service and integrity. The same is true for CLEAR support. I know that when I call, I’m going to reach someone and get assistance. I think service is a valuable selling point for CLEAR.”
Achieving the mission
Most importantly, the actionable information CLEAR provides helps LeoTech achieve its mission.
“There is no doubt that there are cases that have been solved by utilizing CLEAR. Our partners in law enforcement are very appreciative and impressed with the reports we are able to produce using CLEAR,” Jefferson says.
LeoTech’s Verus platform has become the industry standard for communications monitoring and analytics — and Jefferson believes CLEAR is the investigative standard. “I tell my law enforcement peers, if you aren’t using CLEAR, you’re missing out on a lot of good intelligence.”
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters is a leading provider of business information services. Our products include highly specialized, information-enabled software and tools for legal, tax, accounting, and compliance professionals, combined with the world’s most global news service — Reuters.
