NCJ Number
111359
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 55 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1988) Pages: 32,34-35
Date Published
1988
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The capacity for competent systems analysis is vital for police departments using computerized information systems (CIS), and whenever possible, police departments should develop and train their own staffs in CIS and systems analysis.
Abstract
Some police administrators using CIS question the necessity of conducting systems analysis. Instead of using systems analysis to study and solve the information needs and problems of their organizations, they try to use ready-made programs, borrow programs from other police departments, or hire a consultant to customize for them the products of others. There are problems in these approaches. Frequently, borrowed or adapted systems do not serve the needs of the organization. No one on the staff of the organization knows how to evaluate the system or to modify it to better uses. To carry out a thorough analysis and to pinpoint specific needs and problems, the systems analyst must have a detailed knowledge of how the existing system works. Several examples are given of problems arising when this knowledge is incomplete or missing. Since it is predicted that most law enforcement agencies in the United States will have automated information systems by 1990, it is important to develop the in-house capacity to design, evaluate, and analyze computerized information systems. Law enforcement agencies should seek out staff with computer aptitudes and provide them with training in systems analysis. 6 footnotes.