Collaboration of the Police and the Public Prosecutor's Office for Computer-assisted Manhunt Operations Using the Example of Berlin (From Moeglichkeiten und Grenzen der Fahndung - Arbeitstagung des Bundeskriminalamtes Wiesbaden, P 153-166, 1980 - See NCJ-78924)

• NCJ Number: 78937
• Author(s): L Seeber; D Piete
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 10 pages
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: German
• Country: West Germany (Former)
• Note: Panel discussion at Working Conference of the Federal Bureau of Criminal Matters, November 12-15, 1979.

Annotation

The Berlin system of cooperation between police and prosecutor in computer-assisted searches is described in two position papers and analyzed in the summary of an open discussion.

Abstract

As apprehension of criminals is the combined responsibility of the police and the prosecutor's office, it has become clear that the two institutions must collaborate in their computerized search efforts. In the Berlin system, all arrest orders are put immediately into the computer information system. Data are available to the prosecutor's office and administrators of criminal justice at any time. Files are updated with information on searches and further charges. The objective is to reduce the unacceptably long period between issuance of the arrest order and the issuance of a search order. The advantages of the system are that it avoids dead periods in which searches cannot be mounted, that it contributes to search efficiency without any significant increase in price, and that it reduces the possibility of mistakes in searches. The beginning and end of all search activities are functions of the Justice Department so that improvement of police searches is of little avail without cooperation of the two institutions. In the view of the introductory speakers, improvement in police search results can be expected from further expansion of the computerized information system. The discussion centers on whether and how the Berlin model can be applied in other States of the Federal Republic. It is agreed that the search intensity should not be dependent on the jail capacity, although this has proved to be a problem in Berlin as the clearance rates have risen. General support is voiced for immediate searches without delays because of bureaucratic red tape, and for updating of search laws, taking into consideration technical advances in new computer generations. The most controversial questions are how and to what extent data from the police information system should be made available to the prosecutor's office. In the opinion of discussion participants, cooperative efforts between the police and the prosecutor's office depend on local circumstances. The possibility of establishing a nationwide system of search command posts should be explored. Tables are supplied.