MANAGEMENT OF DISTRIBUTED DATA PROCESSING IN A LAW ENFORCEMENT ENVIRONMENT (FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT DATA PROCESSING SYMPOSIUM - ANNUAL, 2ND, 1978 - SEE NCJ-54083)

• NCJ Number: 54087
• Author(s): J E REAMES
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 13 pages
• Corporate Author: International Assoc of Chiefs of Police
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE GENERAL EVOLUTION OF DISTRIBUTED DATA PROCESSING IN THE BUSINESS WORLD IS TRACED, AND ITS POTENTIAL APPLICATION TO LAW ENFORCEMENT IS DISCUSSED.

Abstract

DISTRIBUTED DATA PROCESSING INVOLVES THE USE OF A MINICOMPUTER TO PERFORM ALL OF THE FUNCTIONS CHARACTERISTIC OF A TELETYPE MACHINE AND ASSIST IN ALL PHASES OF INTERNAL RECORDKEEPING, SUCH AS THE ASSIGNMENT OF THE NEXT AVAILABLE CASE REPORT NUMBER, COMPUTERIZED UNIFORM CRIME REPORTING, AND PERHAPS EVEN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF COMPUTERIZED PROBABLE CAUSE. COMPUTER TO COMPUTER COMMUNICATION IS ALSO POSSIBLE, ALLOWING FOR EXCHANGE OR INFORMATION BETWEEN SEPARATE DATA-PROCESSING DEPARTMENTS WHICH HAVE UNIFORM RECORDKEEPING PROCEDURES. DISTRIBUTED DATA PROCESSING DEVELOPED IN THE BUSINESS WORLD WHERE IT IS NOT UNCOMMON FOR LARGE BUSINESSES TO PROCESS DATA IN OFFICES LOCATED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY OR THE WORLD. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MINICOMPUTERS KNOWN AS 'INTELLIGENT' TERMINALS ALLOWS A COMPUTER TO ACT AS A TERMINAL TO A CENTRAL COMPUTER THAT ALLOWS A NETWORK OF COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE CENTRAL COMPUTER AND THROUGH THE CENTRAL COMPUTER TO OTHER TERMINALS. EACH TERMINAL ALSO IS ABLE TO STAND ALONE AS A COMPUTER SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING ITS OWN DATA. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SUCH A SYSTEM REQUIRES UNIFORMITY IN RECORDKEEPING THROUGHOUT A CENTRALIZED SYSTEM OF DATA PROCESSING. SUCH A SYSTEM WOULD ALLOW LAW ENFORCEMENT AT MANY LEVELS OF JURISDICTION TO SHARE NEEDED INFORMATION. AT THE PRESENT TIME, HOWEVER, DISTRIBUTED DATA PROCESSING CANNOT BE USED IN THE LAW ENFORCEMENT FIELD TO ANY GREAT EXTENT BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF UNIFORMITY IN RECORDKEEPING METHODOLOGY AMONG LOCAL, COUNTY, STATE, AND FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES. REGIONAL AND STATEWIDE AUTOMATED DATA-PROCESSING BOARDS ARE RECOMMENDED FOR THE PURPOSES OF IMPROVING THE EDUCATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL TO THE BENEFITS OF COMPUTERIZED DATA PROCESSING AND TAKING THE LEAD IN BRINGING LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO MORE ENLIGHTENED DATA-PROCESSING PROCEDURES. (RCB)