NCJ Number
76945
Journal
Security Management Volume: 25 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1981) Pages: 77-78,80-81
Date Published
1981
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computer and its role in recovering stolen heavy equipment (e.g., trucks).
Abstract
Located in Washington, D.C. and designed to complement existing metropolitan and statewide information systems, the center serves as the nucleus of a vast communications network, which includes local, State, and Federal criminal justice agencies throughout the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is responsible for the management of the total system, but each State or grouping of States has its own computer system. Communicating via State terminal control agencies, States must furnish equipment and manage their own systems. NCIC records are organized into 10 basic categories (stolen vehicles, boats, articles, securities, guns, license plates, wanted and missing persons, computerized criminal history, and criminalistics laboratory information system). The stolen vehicle file stores descriptive information about specific automobiles, trucks, off-road equipment, trailers, motorcycles, and other vehicles. With heavy equipment, some confusion enters the process of selecting the file in which to enter the loss. For instance, a wheel-loader backhoe carries an operator and therefore fits into the stolen vehicle file. But if only the backhoe portion is stolen, it should be entered into the stolen article file. To prevent the problem of identifying data before equipment is lost, the owner should record the exact numbers that appear on the factory-installed serial number plate. Some equipment manufacturers favor the designations product identification number (PIN) for the whole item and component identifcation number (CIN) for its parts. Recent developments in 'street level' use of the NCIC records are represented by the appearance of the special moblie automated remote terminal (SMART) squad cars in Chicago (Ill.) Equipped with mobile computer terminals that communicate directly with the local or State computer system, these cars speed access to the information because a station operator is not required.