New FBI Web Site Focuses on Fighting Crime

By Kamika Dunlap on March 29, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

The new FBI website, BanditTracker focuses on fighting crime in the New York region. The web site is the Internet weapon to catch bank robbery suspects.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is using the web site to solve and track down bank robbery suspects in New York and New Jersey, the New York Times reports.

The web site launched recently enlists the public's help to identify surveillance camera footage of bank robbery suspects. The site also includes suspects' information like their heights, races and builds and descriptions of the holdups.

Through the web site the public can contact authorities if they think they know the whereabouts of a suspect.

Officials say the BanditTrackerNorthEast is the modern day version of the "wanted" notices. The web site loads images online within hours of the crime, allowing authorities to perhaps arrest robbers still making their getaways.

Other areas fighting crime using BanditTracker include Little Rock, Indianapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles, St. Louis Washington D.C. and Atlanta. The cities have seen some success using the new FBI technology.

The site was developed by the firm Electronic Tracking Systems. Using the site, investigators can download digital images of a suspect, sometimes within an hour after a robbery.

In the New York region, bank robberies have seen a sharp decline and the FBI hopes the new web site will help keep it that way.

According to FBI officials, there were 222 robberies in New York City in 2009, compared with 444 in 2008 and 283 in 2007.

Other BanditTracker sites have received more than 300,000 visits, with subject photos displayed more than 10 million times, officials said.

The FBI is encouraging the public to surf the site and call or e-mail tips that could lead to arrests.

Copied to clipboard