PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend Police Department is using a statewide website that asks the public to help identify persons of interest and suspects.
The Port Angeles Police Department may soon follow suit on the website, www.CanYouID.me, which was established by the Lake Forest Police Department in 2010.
“We are understaffed, so we don’t have the resources to identify suspects in minor crimes ourselves,” said Port Townsend Officer Patrick Fudally, the department’s spokesman.
“We are hoping that people will see these pictures, recognize someone and let us know.”
The Port Angeles Police Department also is listed as a participating agency on the website.
Deputy Chief Brian Smith of the Port Angeles police force said his department is not using the website now but that officials are considering posting photos on it.
“We need to know how this works, but it sounds like a good use of technology,” he said.
Smith said that now that Port Townsend has signed on, Port Angeles could follow in the near future.
He did not know Wednesday why the department is listed as participating. He said an officer in the past may have used the free service.
The website lists 71 participating agencies. Along with two from the North Olympic Peninsula — the Port Angeles and Port Townsend police departments — the State Patrol also is listed.
The website was created as a location for all police investigators in the state to post photographs of people captured on video that they could not identify, the website says.
Members of the public can click on a photo and send information if they recognize the person. Tips can be confidential.
None of the people in the photos has been charged. The photos are from police investigations.
Capt. Paul Armbrust of the Lake Forest Police Department said the appearance of a person on the site does not imply guilt.
“These are people that law enforcement wants to talk to but cannot identify,” he said.
“They can be suspects, or they can be witnesses or victims.
“They are all potentially connected with a crime but are not necessarily guilty of anything,” Armbrust said.
The Port Townsend Police Department has posted surveillance videos images from seven crimes.
Three are recent, occurring Feb. 5, Feb. 6 and Feb. 16; one is dated October 16, 2010; and three are undated.
The crimes under investigation are retail theft, forgery, shoplifting and counterfeiting.
The Lake Forest Police Department maintains the site and offers its services free of charge to any legitimate law enforcement agency, Armbrust said.
The site has identified 186 subjects in the past five years, he said.
Port Townsend’s Fudally said his department first used the site when it started but had stopped doing so because it was able to cover all its cases.
A reduction in staff meant that is no longer true, he said.
The department is down by three officers, Fudally said. It now has 16 out of a possible 19.
“The newspapers don’t print all of our releases and aren’t going to do a big story if someone steals a bottle of wine from Safeway,” Fudally said.
“This is just another tool we can use.”
Those logging on to the site can type a location name into the search window and see all those from that area.
Armbrust said the service is available to any qualified law enforcement agency, which can then post pictures of people it wants to identify.
All agencies are vetted before they are allowed posting privileges, Armbrust said, and members of the public have no access to the posting process.
A corresponding Facebook page, www.facebook.com/Canyouidme, publishes a feed from all affiliated agencies, but with comment privileges disabled.
The pictures are appended with contact information. No specific case information is included.
Armbrust said his department doesn’t charge other agencies for the service but maintains it out of its regular budget.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
