NCJ Number
83384
Journal
Detective Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1982) Pages: 7-10
Date Published
1982
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the development and nature of the Manual/Automated Criminal Information System (MACIS) developed for use in law enforcement operations in military installations.
Abstract
MACIS was developed because a working information system was necessary to permit easy exchange of criminal information among law enforcement agencies. The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC) began developing a formal criminal information program in 1973. The initial system addressed only broad objectives and did not have standards. A more specific system was developed in 1975 to provide a centralized commandwide program. Following further system refinements, USACIDC began designing in 1980 an improved system which would be both applicable to local criminal information programs and would be related to the previous commandwide system. Small offices can use the system's manual mode, which was tested at two offices and performed well. The automated mode uses microcomputers and will be tested at selected offices starting in June 1982. MACIS is designed to provide investigative leads by furnishing suspect lists or other criminal data, increase the number of cases cleared by correlating the modus operandi of arrested suspects to other current or unsolved offenses, provide early identification of crime patterns, increase the number of discoverable crime patterns, provide information on projected future trends in criminal activity, and provide recommendations on possible solutions to crime patterns. MACIS contains five operational components: checklists, data index cards, sequential data files, punch cards, and grid maps. The system is flexible and can be adapted to meet the installation's specific needs.