NCJ Number
143389
Date Published
1992
Length
184 pages
Annotation
This manual was prepared to assist government executives and managers in the criminal justice field. It assists them in planning, implementing, and updating their criminal justice information systems by taking full advantage of new information technologies.
Abstract
Three guiding principles for successful computerization in criminal justice include top management responsibility, the top-down approach to planning computerization, and the one- step-at-a-time approach to automating information systems. The manual also discusses the objectives and benefits of computerization, the need to commit criminal justice resources to the task of computerization, and the need to carefully plan the process of computerization. Furthermore, the manual presents an approach to be adopted for computerization, stressing the need for an overall plan to guide the process. The stages of planning computerization include setting the scope and direction of computerization, designing and implementing individual systems, and ensuring the integrity and satisfactory operation of the project. System implementation involves documentation, training, data conversion, information quality control, security planning, planning for disaster recovery, support and maintenance, data administration, and system evaluation. In addition, technical activities of the United Nations in support of international criminal justice-related computerization are described. 14 appendixes