THE OVERALL GOAL OF THE HOME OFFICE'S POLICE SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT BRANCH IS TO ASSIST IN THE INSTALLATION OF SYSTEMS THAT CAN PROVIDE POLICE OFFICERS WITH DATA FOR THE MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS OF DECISIONMAKING AND PLANNING WITH GREATER EFFICIENCY. THE FIRST STAGE IS TO SUPPLY COMPUTER DATA NEEDED FOR SHORT-TERM DECISIONMAKING: THE NATURE OF THE WORKLOAD, ITS LOCATION, AND THE AVAILABILITY AND LOCATION OF RESOURCES. THE SECOND STAGE INVOLVES PROVIDING THE KNOW-HOW FOR INTERPRETING AND PRESENTING PREDICTIONS, AND THE FINAL STAGE CALLS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCE DEPLOYMENT MODELS THAT WILL ALLOW POLICE MANAGERS TO DECIDE ON THE BEST RESPONSE TO A SITUATION. AT PRESENT, THREE LOCAL SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED. IN SUSSEX, A TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM COLLECTS DATA AT 20 SITES ON THE SPEED AND LENGTH OF EACH VEHICLE, AND ON THE GAPS BETWEEN THEM. A CENTRAL COMPUTER CALCULATES TRAFFIC FLOW, MEAN TRAFFIC SPEED, AND THE PERCENTAGE OF VEHICLES EXCEEDING THE SPEED LIMIT. THE INFORMATION CAN BE USED TO ASSESS DRIVERS' RESPONSES TO WARNING SIGNS OR THE PRESENCE OF POLICE AND THEREBY TO SCHEDULE LIMITED POLICE RESOURCES. IN DORSET, THE SYSTEM CAN PROVIDE INFORMATION ON DETAILS OF CRIMES, ACCIDENTS, AND ARRESTS. MANPOWER AVAILABILITY CAN BE PREDICTED FOR UP TO 12 MONTHS IN ADVANCE, AND POLICE TRAINING SCHEDULES ARE PREPARED. IN STRATHCLYDE, A SIMILAR SYSTEM PRODUCES 32 TYPES OF REPORTS, COMPRISING MAPS, TABLES AND LISTS OF INCIDENTS AND CRIMES, WORKLOADS, AND RESOURCE ACTIVITIES. NO ADDITIONAL MATERIALS ARE APPENDED.