NCJ Number
47417
Date Published
1977
Length
14 pages
Annotation
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE USE OF LOCATION DATA FOR BOTH MINUTE-BY-MINUTE DEPLOYMENT AND LONGER TERM PLANNING IN THE ALLOCATION OF POLICE RESOURCES IS DESCRIBED.
Abstract
POLICE FORCES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM ARE ACTIVELY USING MOBILE DATA EQUIPMENT, COMPUTER-AIDED DISPATCH, AND CARTOGRAPHIC DISPLAYS TO ASSIST IN THE DEPLOYMENT OF RESOURCES. CONSIDERABLE USE IS MADE OF MOBILE DIGITAL COMMUNICATION TO TRANSMIT STATUS AND LOCATION INFORMATION IN REAL TIME TO COMPUTER-AIDED DISPATCH SYSTEMS WITHOUT THE NEED FOR MANUAL INTERVENTION BY CONTROLLERS. ALTHOUGH TWO-WAY DATA TRANSMISSION AND THE USE OF THE FULL RANGE OF MOBILE TERMINALS IS BEING INVESTIGATED, THE TREND HAS BEEN TOWARDS SIMPLE ONE-WAY DATA TRANSMISSION DEVICES. WHEN A RESOURCE (E.G., AN OFFICER, VEHICLE, OR INVESTIGATORY UNIT) IS DISPATCHED TO AN INCIDENT, A RECORD OF THAT DEPLOYMENT IS MADE ON THE INCIDENT LOG STORED IN THE COMPUTER. THE STATUS OF THE RESOURCE IS CHANGED AUTOMATICALLY TO CORRESPOND WITH THE CODE OF THE INCIDENT, AND ALTHOUGH THE RESOURCE IS NOT REQUIRED TO UPDATE ITS LOCATION ENROUTE, THE COMPUTER MUST BE INFORMED ON ARRIVAL. THIS IS DONE BY PRESSING A BUTTON WHICH TELLS THE COMPUTER THAT THE RESOURCE IS NOW AT THE LOCATION OF THE INCIDENT FOR WHICH IT WAS DISPATCHED. PRESSING ANOTHER BUTTON ON THE CONSOLE CAUSES AN AUDIO VISUAL INDICATOR TO OPERATE IN THE INQUIRY UNIT TO INDICATE THAT A PARTICULAR RESOURCE WANTS TO MAKE AN INQUIRY OF THE NATIONAL COMPUTER. ANOTHER BUTTON MAY BE USED TO INDICATE TO THE COMPUTER THAT URGENT ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED. AN EVALUATION OF PERSONAL DIGITAL COMMUNICATION IS BEING CARRIED OUT TO ESTABLISH THE USEFULNESS OF THIS FACILITY. ALTHOUGH THE PROTOTYPE BEING EVALUATED IS LARGER THAN THE PRODUCTION MODEL, RESULTS OBTAINED SO FAR ARE ENCOURAGING. A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF WORK HAS BEEN DONE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CARTOGRAPH RESOURCE DISPLAYS THAT ENABLE OPERATORS TO SEE DISPLAYED ON A MAP THE AVAILABILITY AND APPROXIMATE LOCATION OF SELECTED POLICE RESOURCES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF AN INCIDENT REQUIRING POLICE PRESENCE. THE DISPLAY IS PRODUCED IN TWO PARTS: A COLORED BACKGROUND MAP OF AN APPROPRIATE SECTION OF THE CITY, AND AN ALPHA NUMERIC DISPLAY MADE UP OF FLASHING SYMBOLS LOCATING THE INCIDENT AND THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES RELATIVE TO THE INCIDENT. A MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (MIS) HAS ALSO BEEN DEVELOPED BASED ON INCIDENT LOGS, CRIME REPORTS, AND COMPUTER ENCODED STATUS CHANGE DATA RELATIVE TO POLICE RESOURCE DEPLOYMENT. THE MIS PRODUCES LISTS, ANALYSES, AND MAPS ON A DAILY BASIS TO AID MANAGEMENT IN THE ALLOCATION OF EXISTING RESOURCES AND THE PLANNING OF FUTURE NEEDS. GRAPHIC AND TABULAR DATA ARE PROVIDED, AND MAP DISPLAYS ARE REPRODUCED. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (KBL)