NCJ Number
35044
Date Published
1976
Length
139 pages
Annotation
THIS REPORT DESCRIBES THE USES THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES HAVE MADE OR PLAN TO MAKE OF AUTOMATED GEOPROCESSING SYSTEMS AND GEOCODED DATA.
Abstract
DURING RECENT YEARS, COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE POSSIBLE THE RAPID AND ACCURATE COLLECTION, STORAGE, RETRIEVAL, AND ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION GATHERED AND USED BY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. THIS TECHNOLOGY HAS ALSO BEEN APPLIED TO THE FIELD OF LAW ENFORCEMENT. INFORMATION SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED ON LOCAL, REGIONAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL LEVELS; MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS HAVE BEEN AUTOMATED; AND OPERATIONAL APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED. SUCH APPLICATIONS AS COMPUTER ASSISTANCE DISPATCHING, CRIME ANALYSIS, AND MANPOWER ALLOCATION REQUIRE THE PROCESSING OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION TO IDENTIFY LOCATIONS OF CRIME INCIDENTS AND DEVELOPING PATTERNS. TO SUPPORT THESE APPLICATIONS, GEOGRAPHIC BASE FILE SYSTEMS WERE DEVELOPED OR MODIFIED FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT PURPOSES. THIS REPORT DESCRIBES THE USES THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES HAVE MADE OR PLAN TO MAKE OF AUTOMATED GEOPROCESSING SYSTEMS AND GEOCODED DATA. IT IS DESIGNED TO SERVE AS A REFERENCE DOCUMENT ON LAW ENFORCEMENT SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT, GEOGRAPHIC BASE FILE SYSTEMS, AND HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE CONSIDERATIONS FOR THOSE DEPARTMENTS PLANNING SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT, MODIFICATION, OR EXPANSION. EACH OF THESE ASPECTS IS DESCRIBED PRIMARILY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE EIGHT SYSTEMS EXAMINED TO PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK FOR COMPARING THE ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO OVERALL SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT TAKEN BY THE INDIVIDUAL AGENCIES. DATA FOR MOST OF THE REPORT WAS GATHERED DURING SITE VISITS TO POLICE DEPARTMENTS IN DALLAS, ST. LOUIS, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, AND THE CALIFORNIA CITIES OF LONG BEACH, SAN JOSE, HUNTINGTON BEACH, AND SAN FRANCISCO. A TWO-PAGE BIBLIOGRAPHY IS INCLUDED.