NCJ Number
67255
Date Published
1977
Length
5 pages
Annotation
THE CITY OF PORTLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE COUNTY OF MULTNOMAH (OREGON), USED LEAA-IMPACT FUNDS TO IMPROVE THE POLICE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM. THEY IMPLEMENTED A COMPUTER ASSISTED DISPATCH SYSTEM.
Abstract
THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN AUTOMATED VERIFICATION SYSTEM (AVF) BECAME A BASIC REQUIREMENT IN THE DESIGN PHASE OF THE TOTAL SYSTEM, AS BOTH CITY AND COUNTY WISHED TO IMPROVE THEIR CALL PROCESSING. THE AVF PROJECT TEAM THEN WAS CREATED WITH A POLICE OFFICER SUPERVISOR, A CLERICAL STAFF, AND A DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION CONTRACTOR (BCS). THE GEO FILE UPON WHICH THE AVF FILE WAS BASED WAS THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU'S DUAL INDEPENDENT MAP ENCODING (DIME) FILE. DURING FILE CONSTRUCTION, PROCESSING WAS ACCOMPLISHED ON AN IBM-370 THROUGH A CONTRACTOR AND ALL DIME RECORDS NOT INCLUDED IN THE CITY-COUNTY POLICE JURISDICTIONS WERE PAINSTAKINGLY REMOVED. THE METROPOLITAN MAP SERIES SUPPLIED BY THE CENSUS BUREAU WAS THEN UPDATED. THE COMPLETED FILE WAS REFORMATTED INTO A SHORTER VERSION. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS FILES CREATED WERE A ROUTE AND BOX FILE, A LANDMARK FILE, AND AN ALIAS FILE. THE FILE WAS FORMATTED IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT CAN BE ENTERED OFFLINE ON THE SECONDARY COMPUTER. THIS ALLOWS THE SYSTEM TO FUNCTION WITHOUT DISRUPTION. THE OPERATIONAL ADDRESS VERIFICATION SOFTWARE PROGRAM WAS CONTRACTOR-SUPPLIED AND THUS DEVELOPMENTAL DESIGN WAS KEPT TO A MINIMUM AND OPERATOR TASKS WERE KEPT SIMPLE. LOCATION INFORMATION CON BE ENTERED THROUGH ANY OF THE FILES; INCLUDED ARE A MINIMUM CHARACTER SEARCH FEATURE AND A MISSPELLING FEATURE. THE BASIC FUNCTION OF THE SYSTEM IS TO VERIFY ADDRESSES, I.E., VERIFY THAT A LEGITIMATE ADDRESS RANGE DOES EXIST FOR THE ENTRY DATA. AFTER THE ADDRESS OR LOCATION HAS BEEN VERIFIED, THE SYSTEM WILL THEN SEARCH FOR NEARBY INCIDENTS AND TEMPORARY SITUATIONS. THE ENTIRE AVF FILE IS MICROFILMED AND SUPPLIED TO ALL OPERATORS. AVF FILE MAINTENANCE IS ONGOING, AND UPDATES TO THE FILE ARE MADE SEMIANNUALLY. THE BASIC GOAL OF REDUCING LOCATION VERIFICATION PROCESS TIME FROM 2 TO 3 MINUTES TO 6 SECONDS HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. THE FILE IS SIMPLE TO MAINTAIN AND OPERATE. THE USE OF THE CENSUS BUREAU DIME FILE, A CONTRACTOR WITH PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE, AND PROVEN SOFTWARE SYSTEM GREATLY ENHANCED DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS. (MHP)