10-12-1995, pp A25.

Casting a Wider `Net'
Suffolk goes on-line to catch criminals

By Olivia Winslow. STAFF WRITER

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers program is going national - on-line, that is. "We're tickled pink to finally be up on the Internet," Suffolk Police Commissioner Peter Cosgrove said at a news conference yesterday announcing the development. "We'll expand our request for information to something like 30 million subscribers," Cosgrove said. The police commissioner was joined by Suffolk County Executive Robert Gaffney, other police officials, and the chairman of Crime Stoppers of Suffolk County, Inc., the non-profit foundation that raises money for the cash awards given to tipsters whose information leads to the arrest of suspects. John Bracken, chairman of the Crime Stoppers Inc. board of directors, said the group has given out $10,000 in amounts ranging from $75 to $1,000 since Crime Stoppers was established in the county 1 1/2 years ago. While police officers handle the calls, Bracken said it is the volunteers who raise the money for the awards. "We rely solely on contributions to give these awards." Police said that as far as they have been able to learn by "surfing the net" themselves, Suffolk County police department is one of only two police departments in New York state to go on-line seeking tips about criminals' whereabouts. According to Lt. Nicholas Sorrenti, commander of Crime Stoppers bureau, the other is the Oneida Tribal Police Department. Gaffney demonstrated how to tap into the Suffolk Crime Stoppers page, which went on the Internet yesterday and features biographical information on the county's "10 Most Wanted" list of criminals, a brief synopsis of the crime, as well as suspects' pictures. Crime Stoppers also will solicit information from Internet subscribers on missing children and death investigations in the county. (The web site address is http://www.nais.com/clients/scpd). "Now, computer users and surfers of the Internet will be able to help us apprehend known criminals," Gaffney said. "It just increases the number of opportunities to apprehend these individuals." Like other tipsters, Internet users with information for Suffolk Crime Stoppers should call the toll-free number, 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls are kept confidential, police said. Eventually, though, Sgt. William Okula, of the Suffolk Police Department's data services unit, said they would like to set up a confidential E-mail system that Internet tipsters could use to maintain anonymity. Suffolk Crime Stoppers' leap onto the Internet was aided by Long Island On Net, based in Port Jefferson, which sells computer supplies and equipment and, more recently, Internet Access. The company will cover the cost of putting Crime Stoppers information on the Internet. The exact cost to the company, however, could not yet be calculated, since that will depend on usage, said Howard Ryan, a co-owner of Long Island On Net. "We're prepared to handle it," he added.