NCJ Number
176782
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 68 Issue: 1 Dated: January 1999 Pages: 1-4
Date Published
1999
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article presents a discussion of year-2000-related computer problems faced by law enforcement agencies.
Abstract
With the six-digit date format two digits each for the month, day, and year computers will most likely interpret a year entry of 00 (for 2000) to mean 1900. Therefore, any computer programs that involve date comparisons, arithmetic functions, scheduling, forecasting, and statistical analysis stand a good chance of generating erroneous information. Moreover, most law enforcement agency computers are linked to other computer systems, such as local courts, county jails, and State and Federal crime information systems, and faulty computer programs sending invalid data may corrupt other computer systems. The year 2000 problem is not limited to midsize and large mainframe computers. Many law enforcement agencies have local area networks and stand-alone computers that are just as susceptible to the problem as larger computers. Fixing the year 2000 problem will not be easy, primarily because large computer systems contain millions of lines of programming code. The current cost of fixing a single line of computer code is about $1.30; this amount will increase to about $3.65 by 1999 and to about $4.00 by the year 2000. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) in Tampa, Florida, has spent the past 4 years writing and modifying computer programs to make them year-2000-compliant. The HCSO's mainframe computer connects about 1,000 computers and 500 video terminals, as well as 1,000 mobile data terminals in vehicles. The HCSO's Data Operations Bureau spent $200,000 for year 2000 programming adjustments in 1997, and the 1998 budget doubled to about $400,000 for hardware, software, and reprogramming. Based on the experience of the HCSO and other jurisdictions, the authors conclude law enforcement administrators should not underestimate potential computer problems associated with the year 2000 and should ensure that costs of fixing any problems receive appropriate budgetary priority. 6 endnotes and 1 photograph