BluComm

BluComm is a public safety records database service hosted by Gentek for NTBI. It also interfaces heavily with the BluComm Radio network.

The BluComm website is located here.

ICE Characters

The core of BluComm are ICE Characters. These are essentially roleplay bios for individual characters owned by a Second Life account. These bios include basic identifying information which is fed into the BluComm records system, as well as accessible to users through the ICE public interface.

Components

BluComm is made of several separate components which are designed for various public safety roleplayers.

Lookup

The Lookup system allows users to look up individual ICE characters by name (first, middle, or last), ICE ID number, license number, or NTBI vehicle license plate or VIN2 number. For options other than ID & license numbers, multiple characters can be returned, and the user can select between them. The selected character's full record is displayed, including bio information, report history, licenses (and their status), past citations & warrants, and booking history.

Reports

The Reports system allows users to write various reports (Incident, Shift, Accident, Supplemental, and Other) which are filed in the records of the author and all involved persons (Victims, Suspects, Witnesses, and Other). Different report types include different information; for example, Accident Reports include an additional list of involved vehicles which includes a variety of information for each vehicle.

Once submitted, reports are shown to agency supervisors for review. Supervisors can then approve or reject reports.

Reports can also be looked up by author, involved persons, and report number.

License

The License system allows users to issue driver & weapon licenses. Users with the license management permission can issue, suspend, reinstate, and revoke individual licenses, which are tied to ICE characters. Driver class A/B/C/M and 1-6 are available, as well as CCW (with or without restrictions).

ICE users can apply for licenses through their municipality's public license form. Submissions are shown in BluComm, where they can then be approved or rejected.

Citation/Warrant/Booking (CWB)

The CWB system allows users to issue citations and warrants, with an option to initiate a booking record. When filing a report, involved persons labeled as suspects are listed in the CWB interface, where they can have citations or warrants issued for them, as well as booking records. Crimes are picked from a large selection of options.

Availability & Enrollment

Currently, BluComm is in a closed beta for selected participants only. When an open beta is available, it will be announced in the NTBI News Network group and the NTBI News Network blog.

When made public, BluComm will only be available in a limited capacity to civilians. All users who want full access to the service must go through the application process (or be in a department whose administration has gone through the application process).