Police Technology
Chapter Nine
External Systems
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
Learning Objectives
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The history of and developments at the
National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
Uniform Crime Reporting and National Crime
Victimization Survey
National Incident-Based Reporting System
Potential Sources of government information
Government vs. Commercial database
Regional information sharing schemes
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
Sources of Information
Two broad classifications of records a
police officer might access:
 Public Records – Available to the
public and about something that has
happened
 Investigative Records – About things
that are going on. More restrictive so
a case in not compromised.
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
Sources of Information
External sources of information are often
more extensive than local sources:
 Offenders move around leaving an information
trail
 Small agencies do not have the resources to
maintain large or extensive databases
 Many crimes are complex and cross-jurisdictional
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
National Crime Information Center
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First database with nationwide access
Each participating agency is responsible to
enter, update and delete their own records
Local agencies can query NCIC through a
state control terminal agency (CTA)
The Interstate Identification Index (III)
receives offender information from CTAs
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
NCIC 2000
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Has reduced fingerprint and photographic
information of wanted persons to digital
information
Allows agencies to submit same
information in a digital format
Ultimately will allow police officers to
access fingerprint and photograph data
from their patrol vehicles
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
NCIC 2000
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NCIC 2000 provides the software
application free of charge
System is designed to run with
standard computer and
communications equipment
Local agencies must acquire the
hardware necessary to run the software
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
Legal questions
Photograph provided by Cross Match Technologies, Inc
A police officer can check
for warrants
during a brief detention.
 Can the officer take the
person’s fingerprints?
 Is the officer escalating
the detention by taking
the prints?
 Is taking a fingerprint
during a detention a
seizure (4th amendment)?
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
Safety Issues
During a traffic stop, the violator has more
prefect information than the officer.
 The violator knows if he was only
speeding or fleeing from a crime scene.
 With this lack of information, approaching
the violator for a print is dangerous.
 The violator could take this opportunity to
flee or attack the officer
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
Uniformed Crime Reports
The U.S. Department of Justice has
two programs that gather statistics
on crime:
 Uniformed Crime Reports (UCR)
 National Crime Victimization Survey
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
UCR
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Agencies voluntarily report crimes to the
FBI monthly
Consists of crimes categorized as Part I or
Part II
Eight Part I crimes: Homicide, Forcible
Rape, Robbery, Aggravated Assault,
Burglary, Larceny/Theft, Motor Vehicle
Theft, and Arson
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
National Crime Victimization
Survey
NCVS statistics come from the victims
themselves.
 Complements the UCR information
 Many victims do not report crimes
 UCR and NCVS together provide a more
comprehensive picture on crime
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
Differences
UCR
 Rape: only reports
female victims
 Legal definitions of
crimes important
because of specific
intent
NCVS
 Rape: reports both
male and female
victims
 Does not report
homicide, arson,
commercial crimes
and crimes against
children under 12
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
Similarities
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Both UCR and NCVS give law
enforcement personnel information
that can be used strategically
Data have little or no tactical value
Information provided is a flat file
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
National Incident-Based Reporting
System
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NIBRS reports all the crimes that occurred
during a single occurred or incident (e.g.,
Burglary, Assault, Murder, Arson)
UCR follows the hierarchy rule
NIBRS looks at a crime and all of its components
as an incident (the elements)
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
Byproducts of NIBRS
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Likely to replace UCR in the future
Significantly more detailed, so there will
be more common information available to
analyze cross-jurisdictional crimes
Will require police officers to spend more
time completing reports and reduce
available time
Eventually, agencies will more effective
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
Government Databases
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The Regional Information Sharing Systems
(RISS) www.iir.com/RISS
National Drug Pointer Index (NFPIX)
www.usdoj.gov/dea/programs/ndpix.htm
National Tracing Center
www.atf.gov
National White Collar Crime Center
www.nw3c.org
Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
www.fincen.gov
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
Driver’s License and
Motor Vehicle Registration Information
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State or local police officers access
driver’s license information through the
agency RMS to the state authority
Accessing license information from
another state is done through NLETS
(National Law Enforcement
Telecommunications System)
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
Commercial Sources of Information
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Began with catalog sales
Evolved into direct marketing and market
surveys
Direct marketers began sharing
information with marketers of noncompetitive goods
Companies forms that collect, organize,
and sell information.
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
Commercial Sources of Information
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Personal information firms also collect
information from public records
(marriages, deaths, births, civil actions,
arrests, etc)
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster
Police Technology
Explore Forensic Science at
www.forensicprofiles.com
Copyright 2005 - 2009: Hi Tech Criminal
Justice, Raymond E. Foster