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Computer Applications in Law Enforcement

NCJ Number
72131
Author(s)
J D Davis
Date Published
1976
Length
126 pages
Annotation
The designing, development, and implementation of a burglary data system for the Santa Ana Police Department and other police agencies in Orange County, Calif. are described in this thesis.
Abstract
The project was initiated following a determination that burglary had the highest incidence and the lowest clearance rate of all major offenses in the county. The Santa Ana Police Department was selected to administer the project on behalf of the county's 23 law enforcement agencies with the aid of an LEAA grant. The major objectives include identifying the total information needs of the system as they pertained to burglary prevention and burglar apprehension; cataloging the information needs according to the requirements and capabilities of primary and alternative users; and designing, developing, implementing, and testing the system. An on-line system was purchased, and its configuration was as follows: a 48 K words memory; a 29 Megabyte disk; a tape drive; three video terminals; a teletype console; and a line printer for 165 characters per second. A detailed review of the design and implementation procedures is provided. In addition, chapters focus on the alternative appproaches considered, and on definitions of terms, a review of related literature, an examination of the Los Angeles Police Department's information management system, and a discussion of the findings from the Orange County system. Data tables, a work schedule, a bibliography, and an appendix containing the system model and flow charts are included.