NCJ Number
140650
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 40 Issue: 6 Dated: (June 1992) Pages: 49-53
Date Published
1992
Length
5 pages
Annotation
A police officer describes the increasing uses of computers in his work and concludes that to improve the quality of criminal investigations, agencies should expand the use of computer technology by patrol and investigative officers.
Abstract
The improved quality of reports may make defense attorneys reconsider taking certain cases to court, thereby providing a return for the money spent on computers. The author initially believed that computers were unjustifiably expensive and began by using a borrowed computer to aid his burglary investigations while eliminating the strain of using pens. The borrowed computer had limited memory, two floppy disk drives, and a basic word-processing program. However, it enabled the author to edit reports rapidly. He decided to list the features he wanted on his own computer. These included more random access memory, an internal hard disk, portability, and the ability to handle advanced word processing and database programs. These features greatly improved the quality of his reports and investigations. When he was transferred to a patrol car, he decided he also needed a removable keyboard, lighted display, and the capability of operating on vehicle power. He now prepares nearly all the reports while in the field. He has also created databases in dBase IV to receive and store information about offenses, individuals, and vehicles. At the end of his patrol shift, he can connect the laptop computer to a printer or the mainframe computer.