NCJ Number
194045
Date Published
February 2002
Length
176 pages
Annotation
This report first reviews the conceptual framework of the Information Systems Technology Enhancement Project (ISTEP), whose purpose was to identify the basic principles of community policing and the added demands placed on the information systems of departments in their transition to community policing; this if followed by profiles of five police agencies that were successful in implementing and integrating the new information technology.
Abstract
ISTEP advises that community policing (COP) includes a number of elements with information-related implications, including citizen input, geographic focus, prevention emphasis, partnerships, problem-solving, and management. Community policing changes the types of information required by front-line police officers, managers, and executives; and it also creates new information users, namely, citizens, community groups, other government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. COP also changes the types of analysis that police departments need. Existing police information systems must be adjusted and new systems developed to provide the data required by analysts and COP operatives. Seven domains of police information are critical to the successful implementation of community policing: community interface, interorganizational linkages, work-group facilitation, environmental scanning, problem orientation, area accountability, and strategic management. ISTEP is designed to help police departments meet the new information needs associated with COP; determine the new data sources, information processing technology, and data analysis methods required; and identify systems that have already been developed by leading-edge police agencies. In an effort to fulfill the latter responsibility, this report describes the development of COP-based information systems in the police departments of Tempe, AZ; San Diego, CA; Hartford, CT; Reno, NV; and Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC. This report concludes with a cross-site report that synthesizes the findings of the individual case studies by addressing nine questions intended to help other departments understand the processes for developing and applying information technology suitable for the transition to community policing.