INTELLIGENT TERMINALS IN A POLICE INFORMATION NETWORK (FROM MAPPING AND RELATED APPLICATIONS OF COMPUTERS TO CANADIAN POLICE WORK, 1977, BY J E WATKIN AND F R LIPSETT - SEE NCJ-47416)

• NCJ Number: 47425
• Author(s): R A K MEYER
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 13 pages
• Corporate Author: National Research Council
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

INTELLIGENT TERMINALS ARE DEFINED, AND THEIR IMPACT ON COMPUTERIZED POLICE INFORMATION SYSTEMS IS DESCRIBED.

Abstract

AN INTELLIGENT TERMINAL IS DISTINGUISHED FROM THE USUAL MICRO-PROCESSOR BASED TERMINAL BY HAVING USER-PROGRAMMABLE RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY. ESSENTIALLY, THE INTELLIGENT TERMINAL IS VIEWED AS AN INEXPENSIVE MINI-COMPUTER. THE TERMINAL NORMALLY HAS A NETWORK FUNCTION AND CONSEQUENTLY REQUIRES SIGNIFICANT SOFTWARE SUPPORT. WHILE MICRO-PROCESSOR BASED TERMINALS CAN CONTINUE TO BE DESIGNED BY ENGINEERS AND TAILORED BY TECHNICIANS, THE INTELLIGENT TERMINAL HAS TO BE DESIGNED, IMPLEMENTED, AND SUPPORTED BY SOFTWARE PROGRAMMERS. THEREIN LIES BOTH THE STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS OF INTELLIGENT TERMINALS. LARGE NETWORK CONSTRAINTS ARE IDENTIFIED AND DISCUSSED, INCLUDING ADAPTABILITY, RELIABILITY, TRAINING, AND SEVERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS WHICH TEND TO DISCOURAGE THE CONTINUED CENTRALIZATION OF DATA BASE APPLICATIONS ON ONE COMPUTER COMPLEX. THE CANADIAN POLICE INFORMATION CENTRE (CPIC) NETWORK IS ALSO DISCUSSED. THE CIPIC SYSTEM WAS ESTABLISHED TO COLLECT, STORE, AND DISSEMINATE OPERATIONAL POLICE INFORMATION TO ALL ACCREDITED POLICE AGENCIES IN CANADA. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE SYSTEM ARE: INTEGRITY, RELIABILITY, EASE OF USE, PERFORMANCE, AND ECONOMY. ALTHOUGH A NEW COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM DESIGN IS UNDER DEVELOPMENT, MOST OF THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF THE ORIGINAL DESIGN WILL BE RETAINED. MODIFICATIONS ARE BEING MADE TO REFLECT ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY, PROVIDE MORE LOGICAL SYSTEM SEPARATION, REMOVE INTERDEPENDENCE BETWEEN THE COMPUTER SUBSYSTEMS, AND TO PROVIDE GREATER FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY. FOUR OTHER USER COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED FOR INTELLIGENT TERMINAL APPLICATION: NOVICE OR SPECIALIST SQUADS OR OCCASIONAL USERS; THE COMMUNICATIONS CENTER ENVIRONMENT; LARGE METROPOLITAN CENTERS WITH A REQUIREMENT TO SATISFY INFORMATION REQUESTS FROM A NUMBER OF DISPATCHERS; AND COMMUNITIES OPERATING LARGE RECORD CENTERS WITH FOUR OR MORE TERMINALS DEDICATED TO FILE MAINTENANCE. DIAGRAMS ILLUSTRATING THE SYSTEM ARE PROVIDED. (KBL)