NCJ Number
82694
Date Published
1978
Length
157 pages
Annotation
This volume of the police management information systems (MIS) study describes MIS initiatives in a number of Canadian police forces and concludes with comments about the development process in the Canadian environment.
Abstract
It describes the Canadian Police Information Center (CPIC), which has made a vital contribution to the overall development of Canadian police MIS, and comments on the development background of the 'Canadian police MIS utilizer' as well as its role in municipal police MIS and its future development program. The results of a survey conducted in the 26 largest urban police forces in Canada on resource allocation for police MIS are reported, and specific MIS development programs currently taking place in 7 Canadian police forces are described. Five are municipal jurisdictions, one is in a Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment in British Columbia, and the other is in the Ontario Provincial Police. The volume concludes that Canadian police are showing a new interest in MIS but that MIS development is still immature. Many Canadian police MIS programs focus on improving recordkeeping efficiency and beyond this to improving the delivery of specific bits of information to personnel. This orientation towards operations support detracts the police from the management support potential of MIS. Systems that are built primarily to support recordkeeping do not necessarily generate timely management information. Few municipal police departments are prepared for MIS development, police control over MIS development programs is generally poor, police forces are reluctant to consult with other forces in MIS design, and no major agency in Canada has a mandate to evaluate new MIS technology and distribute the results to police managers. A glossary of technical terms and a police questionnaire are appended. For the summary of the study, see NCJ 82691. For other volumes in the series, see NCJ 82692-93 and 82695-96. (Author summary modified)