Representatives from the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (
www.NamUs.gov) assembled in Chattanooga on Wednesday to train local law enforcement in the use of the NamUs System. The event was hosted by Hamilton County District Attorney General Cold Case Unit.
Led by Regional System Administrator Amy Dobbs and Director of Communications and Case Management Todd Matthews, the eight hour course sought to inform local agencies about the resources and tools available to them through the NamUs organization.
Initially focusing on biometrics, RSA Dobbs spoke at length regarding the different types of DNA and DNA testing available to officers and investigators through NamUs. She also detailed the extensive resources and expertise of NamUs’ fingerprint examiners and forensic odontologists, explaining the process for submitting biometric information to them for incorporation into missing persons’ case files.
Dir. Matthews later spoke about the case management features of NamUs which are available to all registered law enforcement users. He explained the case matching feature, which allows users to compare system generated matches of missing persons and unidentified persons cases side-by-side. Through this tool, officers and investigators can closely examine the proposed matches, and submit exclusions should those cases prove unrelated. He also detailed the media resources that NamUs possesses, showcasing a number of media pieces which spotlighted both the system and its recent successes.
A number of officers spoke with Dir. Matthews and RSA Dobbs regarding cases within their jurisdictions that were not currently entered into NamUs. They were especially interested in entering their cases into the system, and sought advice as to what information was needed as well as best practices for case entry. Many officers also took NamUs flyers and brochures back to their departments to share with other officers to make sure that any cases they might have are entered as well.
Attendees from Chattanooga PD, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Hamilton County OCME, University of Tennessee (Knoxville), and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation were present throughout the day, with each receiving a certificate of completion upon the conclusion of the training. Thanks to the efforts of RSA Dobbs and Dir. Matthews, nearly all of those officers who were not registered as users of the NamUs system at the beginning of the meeting left the training session as registered users.