SMALL COMPUTERS AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE (FROM CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION AND STATISTICS SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL SEARCH SYMPOSIUM - PROCEEDINGS, FOURTH, 1979, BY JOHN W LAUCHER - SEE NCJ-63648)

• NCJ Number: 63658
• Author(s): P K WORNELI
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 5 pages
• Corporate Author: SEARCH Group Inc.
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS SYMPOSIUM ADDRESS FOR POLICE INTRODUCES THE FIELD OF MICROCOMPUTERS AND DISCUSSES TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES AND CURRENT APPLICATIONS OF MICROCOMPUTERS.

Abstract

INTEGRATED CIRCUITS PRINTED ON TINY CHIPS MAKE SMALL COMPUTERS POSSIBLE. THE 8008, 8-BIT CHIP WAS THE FIRST TO BE USED AS THE HEART OF A COMPUTER. ANOTHER INNOVATION, THE FLOPPY DISK, IS ABLE TO STORE MUCH MORE INFORMATION THAN HARD, CONVENTIONAL DISKS. BOTH FLOPPY DISKS AND INTEGRATED CIRCUITS DRASTICALLY REDUCE THE SIZE AND COST OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS, ENABLING SMALL POLICE AGENCIES TO AFFORD COMPUTER SYSTEMS. FINALLY, COMPETITION FOR SMALL BUSINESS ACCOUNTS BETWEEN HOME COMPUTER FIRMS AND LARGE COMPUTER FIRMS HAVE RESULTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL, INEXPENSIVE COMPUTERS THAT POLICE AGENCIES NEED. COMPARISONS OF EARLY, ROOM-SIZED ENIAC COMPUTERS WITH THE 1979 Z-8000 SHOWS THE Z-8000 TO BE A TINY FRACTION OF ENIAC'S SIZE AND WEIGHT, BUT MUCH FASTER AND WITH GREATER MEMORY STORAGE CAPACITY. THE 1979, STAND-ALONE, MICROCOMPUTER SYSTEM IS AVAILABLE FROM 89 MANUFACTURERS AND HAS AN 8-BIT CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT WITH ONE OF SEVERAL GOVERNING CHIPS. IT COMES WITH FLOPPY DISKS OR OPTIONAL HARD DISKS; ITS PRINTERS CAN PUT OUT CORRESPONDENCE-QUALITY COPY. UTILIZING MICROCOMPUTER TECHNOLOGY, THE LEAA PROJECT, POLICE OPERATIONAL SUPPORT SYSTEM-ELEMENTARY (POSSE), IS DISCUSSED. MICROCOMPUTERS CAN PERFORM THE SAME CRIMINAL JUSTICE TASKS AS LARGE COMPUTERS, SUCH AS PROVIDING COMPREHENSIVE RECORDS RETRIEVAL OR MANAGEMENT INFORMATION PRODUCTION. IN ADDITION, THESE COMPUTERS CAN BE OPERATED BY PERSONS WITHOUT COMPUTER TRAINING. (PAP)