Computer Solves Route 1 Mobil Station Heist-June 15, 1987

A Roslindale Man Is Tied To A Norwood Robbery

A $4.6 million State Police computer is revolutionizing law enforcement in communities throughout Massachusetts, matching latent fingerprints to known felons 83,000 times faster than a human expert. The system, which began testing one year ago this month at State Police headquarters in Boston, has successfully solved a string of regional crimes, including a multi‑year rape investigation in Sharon and a recent armed robbery at a Mobil station on Route 1 in Norwood.

Last month, authorities arrested William Shea, a 38‑year‑old Roslindale man, for the January heist at the Norwood service station. According to police, William Shea allegedly talked his way into the station’s office under the pretense of using the telephone. Once inside, he pulled a knife, bound both attendants, and fled the scene with a safety deposit bag. Believing he could conceal the ongoing crime from passing motorists, the suspect placed a “closed” sign in the window. However, Norwood Police recovered latent prints belonging to William Shea from the surface of the sign.

Norwood Sgt. William Brooks stated that the case probably would not have led to an arrest without the state’s centralized technology. Norwood Police possess local fingerprinting facilities with distinct capabilities, but none match the processing power of the system located in Boston.

The regional database has further aided local investigators in identifying suspects using aliases. Last fall, Norwood Police processed a woman following a shoplifting arrest. In March, the automated system revealed that the suspect had provided a false name and possessed a record of previous arrests under five separate aliases. The individual, identified to local authorities as Barbara Collins, was subsequently released on bail, and a warrant is currently out for her arrest.

The utility of the technology extends beyond identification to exoneration. In January, Weymouth Police suspected an innocent man of shoplifting after William F. Lee of South Boston provided the other man’s name during an arrest. Once the fingerprints of William F. Lee were entered into the computer, they matched his actual identity and prior record, clearing the falsely accused individual.

Currently, police departments across the state submit approximately 4,000 sets of fingerprints each month from individuals accused of drug crimes or felonies. State Police Sgt. William Anderson explained that the system currently holds about 250,000 sets of fingerprints, representing half of the half‑million print cards maintained on file by the state. To optimize space within the current 290,000‑print capacity, the computerized files are limited to individuals under 50 years old who have committed a felony or face drug‑related charges.

The acquisition process began in early 1985 when state officials learned of the technology and tasked the State Police with an evaluation. Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, who chairs the Governor’s Statewide Anti‑Crime Council, became an ardent supporter later that year. Massachusetts is the third state in the country to implement a statewide fingerprint computer, utilizing a model slightly more advanced than the pioneering system launched in San Francisco, California four years ago. Plans are underway to establish dedicated terminals in State Police stations across neighboring New England states within the next two to three years.

While a trained fingerprint expert takes approximately 100 seconds to compare two cards manually, the computer scans 830 prints per second. The system maps the unique loops, whorls, and ridge distances of a print, then superimposes the pattern over its entire digital archive to find a match within roughly one minute. Local officials remain unconcerned that publicizing the system will alter criminal behavior. Sgt. William Brooks noted that many offenders act opportunistically without considering forensic evidence, while more calculating individuals are already aware of police biometric capabilities.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Norwood Messenger