IMPROVING CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SYSTEMS USING TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

• NCJ Number: 142965
• Author(s): R D Buchner
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 34 pages
• Corporate Author: Florida Department of Law Enforcement
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program Description (Model)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: From the series on Programs and Research in Criminal Justice.

Annotation

This booklet explains how local police can expand their information base on current and previous felons by accessing corrections-based offender data though a system similar to the Law Enforcement Information Network with Corrections (LINC) used in Oklahoma.

Abstract

LINC is based on the concepts of Total Quality Management, which focuses on customer (local law enforcement) needs, teamwork, and continual evaluation and system improvement. Timely and accurate information on current and ex-felons is a critical tool for police agencies. If police are to provide effective community protection, they should know both the identity and the location of high-risk felons in their communities. Traditional name-inquiry criminal history record systems, however, provide them with limited information. Although these databases provide extensive arrest information, they seldom contain complete records of felony dispositions. Rather than rely on criminal history records, Oklahoma has distributed to police agencies aggregate felony data from its Department of Corrections database. The LINC system contains the names of all persons convicted of a felony in Oklahoma since 1980, with the exception of unsupervised probationers. Information is provided on persons who have received deferred or suspended probation sentences, persons sentenced to incarceration, and persons paroled or otherwise released to community supervision. Offenders who were no longer under corrections supervision from each of the aforementioned categories were also included in the first LINC program. Among its many benefits, LINC permits local police agencies to match names against local criminal justice data systems, for example, warrants, weapons sales, etc., so as to determine whether or not current felons are involved in illegal activities. LINC users are also able to conduct crime analysis using data on convicted felons. The booklet discusses how LINC can be replicated in other States. 19 references and appended LINC system menu, a map of Oklahoma counties that use LINC, and findings from a national survey of Department of Corrections databases.