NCJ Number
68401
Date Published
1980
Length
86 pages
Annotation
THIS REPORT GIVES AN ACCOUNT OF CURRENT USE OF COMPUTERS BY POLICE AGENCIES, PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED AND SOME SOLUTIONS, AND A SUMMARY OF LAW ENFORCEMENT COMPUTER APPLICATIONS FUNDED BY LEAA.
Abstract
ALTHOUGH SOME CITIES SUCH AS ST. LOUIS AND NEW YORK HAVE THEIR OWN, FULL-SIZED COMPUTERS, POLICE USING COMPUTERS HAVE TRADITIONALLY SHARED COMPUTER TIME WITH OTHER CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCIES. THE DECREASING COSTS OF BOTH HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE DUE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MINICOMPUTERS AND MICROCOMPUTERS HAVE ALLOWED MANY DEPARTMENTS TO DEVELOP THEIR OWN SYSTEMS, HOWEVER. EQUIPMENT OFFERED BY HONEYWELL, IBM, AND OTHER COMPANIES IS DISCUSSED, ALONG WITH COMPUTER LANGUAGES USED BY THE NEW EQUIPMENT, DATA BASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, AND VARIOUS WAYS THE POLICE CAN COMMUNICATE WITH THE COMPUTER (TELEPHONE, MICROWAVE LINKS, SATELLITE, AND OTHERS). LEAA HAS FUNDED COMPUTER USE AND COMMUNICATIONS PROJECTS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR INCIDENT REPORTING, RECORD KEEPING, PROCESSING ARRESTS AND WARRANTS, INVESTIGATIONS, CRIME ANALYSIS, AND MUCH OTHER POLICE WORK. COMPUTER APPLICATION PROBLEMS INCLUDE INEFFICIENT USE OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICES, CRIME INVESTIGATION PROBLEMS, INTERAGENCY SUPPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS, AND PUBLIC ACCESS PROBLEMS. SOLUTIONS TO EACH PROBLEM ARE PRESENTED. TABLES, A BIBLIOGRAPHY LISTING 104 SOURCES, AND AN APPENDIX PRESENTING DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS ARE INCLUDED. FOR VOLUME 1 OF THIS REPORT, SEE NCJ 68400.