NCJ Number
49673
Date Published
1977
Length
55 pages
Annotation
THE GOALS, SUBSTANCE, AND RESULTS OF A STUDY ON THE ROLE OF THE COMPUTER IN LAW ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS ARE REVIEWED.
Abstract
THE OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY WERE TO, (1) DOCUMENT THE USE AND EVOLUTION OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY, (2) ANALYZE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SUCH INNOVATIONS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND (3) ASSESS THE IMPACT OF COMPUTER-RELATED TECHNOLOGY. A FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATION WAS ESTABLISHED, BASED ON FOUR LEVELS OF INQUIRY: (1) WHETHER THE APPLICATION OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY TO LAW ENFORCEMENT IS VIABLE, LASTING, AND CAPABLE OF NEEDS FULFILLMENT; (2) THE NATURE OF THE TECHNICAL IMPACTS THROUGH CHANGES IN INPUT, PROCESSING, OR OUTPUT OF INFORMATION, THE AVAILABILITY OF NEW OR BETTER INFORMATION, THE GREATER SPEED OF PROCESSING, AND THE WIDER COLLECTION OR DISTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION; (3) THE PROCESS AND RESULTS OF TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS AND THEIR IMPACT ON POLICE TASKS AND SERVICES; AND (4) TECHNOLOGY'S EFFECT ON INTERNAL BALANCES OF POWER AND THE EXISTENCE AND EXTENT OF POWER SHIFTS BROUGHT ON BY CHANGES IN THE STRUCTURE OF DECISIONMAKING. USING THIS FRAMEWORK, THE SUMMARY COVERS THE USE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY. A REVIEW OF THE USE AND EVOLUTION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IS FOLLOWED BY AN ASSESSMENT OF ROUTINE COMPUTER APPLICATIONS, AND THEN AN ANALYSIS OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY IN SELECTED NONROUTINE USES. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE LAW ENFORCEMENT ENVIRONMENT IS DISCUSSED, AS WELL AS THE IMPACT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY FOR POLICE SERVICE AND TASK SUPPORT. RECOMMENDATIONS TO LEAA REGARDING THE USE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY ARE OUTLINED IN AN APPENDIX. GRAPHIC DATA ARE PROVIDED. NO REFERENCE SOURCES ARE CITED. (KBL)