NCJ Number
67254
Date Published
1977
Length
14 pages
Annotation
THE GEOGRAPHIC BASE FILE (GBF) DEVELOPED BY THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT (TEXAS) IS DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF ITS DESIGN RATIONALE AND SOME OF THE PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED ALONG THE WAY.
Abstract
SAN ANTONIO'S STREET STRUCTURE AND STREET NAMES ARE BOTH SO INCONSISTENT AND UNPREDICTABLE THAT IT WAS NECESSARY FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO CONSULT VARIOUS AGENCIES' AUTOMATED ADDRESS FILES, PUBLISHED DOCUMENTS (SUCH AS THE ZIP CODE DIRECTORY, COMMERCIAL STREET GUIDES, AND THE CITY DIRECTORY) AND OFFICIAL CITY MAPS. FINALLY, ONE RETIRED GENTLEMAN'S ORIGINAL, NEW STREET GUIDE, COMPILED DURING HIS SPARE TIME, SUPPLIED THE MOST ACCURATE AND CURRENT STREET NAMES AND LOCATION. WITH THE DATA IN HAND, THE DEPARTMENT THEN AIMED TO DESIGN A GBF THAT WOULD SUPPORT COMPUTER-ASSISTED DISPATCHING, MANPOWER ALLOCATION TECHNIQUES, THE PRESERVATION OF HISTORICAL ACTIVITY, AND THE HANDLING OF STREET NAME CHANGES, RENUMBERING PROJECTS, AND FUTURE NEEDS OF THE DEPARTMENT AND OTHER AGENCIES. FILE MAINTENANCE AND INTEGRITY WERE TO BE PROVIDED FOR BY ONLINE INQUIRY AND UPDATE CAPABILITIES, MAKING MANUAL OPERATIONS DEPENDENT UPON THE SYSTEM, AND OBTAINING A BROAD AND VARIED BASE OF SYSTEM USERS. POINTERS FOR DEVELOPING A SYSTEM BASED ON SAN ANTONIO'S EXPERIENCES ARE OFFERED. THE FILES EVENTUALLY DEVELOPED ARE DESCRIBED WITH LISTS OF THE DATA ELEMENTS INCLUDED, HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE CONSIDERATIONS ARE LISTED, AND EXAMPLES OF SYSTEM INPUT FORMATS ARE PROVIDED. (MPH)