NCJ Number
47421
Date Published
1977
Length
16 pages
Annotation
THE EXISTING ON-LINE CAPABILITIES OF THE CANADIAN POLICE INFORMATION CENTRE (CPIC) DATA COMMUNICATION NETWORK ARE BRIEFLY DESCRIBED.
Abstract
SINCE THE BEGINNING OF ITS OPERATION IN JULY 1972, THE USE OF THE CPIC FACILITY HAS CONTINUED TO GROW, RESULTING BOTH FROM AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF COMPUTER TERMINALS WITH ACCESS TO THE SYSTEM AND FROM AN INCREASED AWARENESS ON THE PART OF THE POLICE FORCES OF THE SYSTEM'S CAPABILITIES AND IMPACT ON LAW ENFORCEMENT AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT. THE MAJOR FILES THAT ARE ACCESSIBLE BY THE USER COMMUNITY ARE SIMILAR TO THOSE FOUND IN THE MAJORITY OF POLICE INFORMATION SYSTEMS. THESE ARE: A VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM, A STOLEN PROPERTY SYSTEM, A WANTED PERSONS SYSTEM, AND A CRIMINAL HISTORY SYSTEM. DURING THE DESIGN OF THE COMPUTER RETRIEVAL SYSTEM, CERTAIN CRITERIA WERE IMPOSED WHICH HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE COMPLEXITY OF THE UNDERTAKING: (1) MESSAGES SHOULD BE IN AS NATURAL A LANGUAGE AS POSSIBLE, REDUCING THE NEED TO EITHER REMEMBER OR LOOK UP A VARIETY OF UNFAMILIAR CODES; (2) TO CONFORM WITH OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT POLICY, MESSAGES SHOULD BE ACCEPTABLE IN BOTH OF THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES OF CANADA; (3) A SINGLE QUERY SHOULD, AS FAR AS POSSIBLE, RESULT IN ALL REASONABLE AND RELEVANT INFORMATION; (4) THE MAXIMUM LENGTH OF TIME FOR A MESSAGE RESPONSE SHOULD NOT EXCEED 3 MINUTES FROM PATROL CAR BACK TO PATROL CAR DURING PEAK HOUR CONDITIONS; AND (5) SEARCH CRITERIA HAD TO BE THOSE NORMALLY AVAILABLE AND NATURAL TO AN INQUIRER. BASICALLY THESE CRITERIA WERE MET THROUGH COMMON HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE INNOVATIONS. HOWEVER, THE REQUIREMENT TO USE NATURAL CRITERIA FOR THE DATA SEARCH PROCEDURE LED DIRECTLY TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF PHONETICALLY INDEXED NAME DIRECTORY (FIND) CODE. THE FIND CODE IS A METHOD WHEREBY ANY NAME ENTERED ON THE SYSTEM IS CODED ACCORDING TO ITS APPARENT PHONETIC POSSIBILITIES, A NECESSARY FEATURE IN A NATION COMPRISING TWO MAJOR ETHNIC GROUPS, EACH WITH ITS OWN LANGUAGE. TWO OTHER SEARCH FEATURES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SPECIAL CASES: (1) THE ABILITY TO SEARCH GROUPS ELIMINATING AS POSSIBLE RESPONDENTS INDIVIDUALS WHOSE SURNAMES ARE SPELLED IN CERTAIN WAYS; AND (2) THE ABILITY TO SEARCH WHEN ONLY THE PHONETIC SOUND OF THE NAME IS KNOWN -- IN THIS CASE SURNAME SPELLING IS IGNORED AS A SEARCH ELIMINATOR. ONE FEATURE AVAILABLE WITH THE SYSTEM IS THE NO-HIT FILE USED WITH THE VEHICLE SYSTEM. VEHICLE QUERIES WHICH RESULT IN A NOT-ON-FILE RESPONSE ARE RETAINED FOR 72 HOURS AND COMPARED AGAINST ADDITIONS TO THE FILE DURING THAT PERIOD. ALSO, DUE TO THE INCREASING NUMBERS OF UNIDENTIFIED BODIES BEING FOUND, PARTICULARLY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, A FEATURE IS BEING ADDED TO THE SYSTEM THAT WILL ALLOW DENTAL CHARACTERISTICS TO BE USED IN A MISSING PERSONS RECORD. REFERENCES AND SAMPLE PRINTOUTS ARE PROVIDED.