NCJ Number
102645
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 53 Issue: 9 Dated: (September 1986) Pages: 39-47
Date Published
1986
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The New Jersey State Police's experience in developing trunking operations in their radio communications system, a police agency's property control system based on bar codes, and new developments in fingerprinting are described in three articles.
Abstract
Trunking is the sharing of a small number of communications paths by a large number of users. Shortages of radio frequencies, Federal regulations, and technological advances have resulted in its availability to the public safety community. The New Jersey system's design provides for statewide mobile/portable radio coverage, an emergency alert system, flexibility in system management and configuration, and elimination or minimization of the use of radio tie lines. The $15-million network will be completed by the end of 1985. The city of Lakewood, Colo., now uses an automated bar code system to manage the lost or stolen property, evidence, and contraband handled by the police department. The system permits fast checks of an item's status, rapid generation of reports, and immediate access to detailed information. Major technical advances in fingerprinting techniques in the last 15 years range from machine classification and search capabilities and automated file management systems to systems yielding improved prints and the use of stickers containing prints of individual fingers to place over defective images.