The second-part of this four part series will trace the advance of information and information technology (IT) as it relates to the Property & Evidence environment. 

The IT information presented in this second-part compliments the RFID automatic identification and data capture technology that we discussed in the part-one. The U.S. Department of Justice has made great inroads into the development of database standards for the primary purpose of interagency information exchange. These and other IT industry standards make for exciting possibilities for agencies both large and small to reduce the total effort required to operate a secure, effective and efficient Property & Evidence service in accordance with IAPE operating standards. 

Prologue

The evolution of IT has been a century old effort. It started with the invention of punch card readers for looms in the late 1800's and continues with the advent of cell phones with their omnifarious media features. 

The easiest way to describe the information evolution in modem times is to link it to the armed conflicts of the past 60 years beginning with WWII. 

During WWII we experienced the beginnings of "back-office" automation with the introduction of machines like the UNIVAC. This vacuum tube (that's glass encapsulated semi -conductors for PC people) powered main-frame helped make strategic decisions and solve problems from Logistics to Physics. The primary data storage media was paper (punch-cards, paper-tape, and printouts). The main source of information regarding the war was delivered in the medium of radio, newspaper & newsreel at the movies. The telephone was rotary-dial and there were no data networks. 

During the Vietnam Conflict we experienced the automation of the "front-office" with the introduction of word-processors and early PC's. The primary data storage media was magnetic-tape and early disc-drives. The main source of information regarding this conflict was presented via the television (using processed film) and newspapers. The telephone had evolved to touchtone and key-punches were using 300bps data links over phone lines to transfer digital information. 

Gulf-War I - brought about a major paradigm shift, the automation of the "individual" with interactive weapon systems and PC's. The primary data storage media was hard-disk. The main source of information was now "real-time" from a fixed location via TV. The telephone had evolved to the cell/satellite phone and the Internet was "the" data network using both fiber optic and satellite backbones. 

Gulf-War II - enhanced the automation of the individual by bringing the battlefield information systems to the individual solder on the ground that used Laptops and PDA's to see over the hill and with night-vision, into the dark. With the introduction of the embedded reporter we now had the ultimate non-combatant's view of war in "mobile real-time" displayed on our TV, PC, or Cell phone (they all have that ubiquitous screen). Broadband Internet connections are now the standard of data communications as they allow Voice, Video and Data over IP to travel the globe one indistinguishable from the other. 

The point of this evolutionary discourse is not to glorify armed conflict but to show how we've come from a paper-based, technologically divergent information society; to a screen-based, technologically convergent information society who is intolerant of anything less than "real-time" information. This fact has placed enormous pressure on the Public Safety sector. The Public now asks; "how did you not see the incident with all of the cameras at almost every intersection or the news-chopper flying overhead?" and "how did you loose my stored property or evidence when all of this technology is available to you?" 

Property and Evidence is the most underrated yet one of the most potentially liable functions in Law Enforcement. We see time and time again how the awaking of the importance of the Property Room and its "Chain-of-Custody", Audits, Two-Person Rule, etc, Used wisely technology can be the most advantageous evolution to descend upon the Property & Evidence function in modem times. Choices about moving from the WWII era of paper based system to Y2K real-time digital systems are not easy, especially if you don't know the vocabulary of technology. Hopefully this article with give some breath on the subject; diving into the depth, however, is up to the reader. Informed decisions are usually the best decisions. 

Early computing

Early computing is characterized as special purpose, highly complex scientific computing tools. These computing tools were often analog computing devices or highly specialized computers used by the military. Advancements in core technology move the computing work to punch card computing and early adoption in both business and government. 

Mainframe age 

The age of mainframe computing marks the acceptance of general purpose computing in business and enterprises environments. These systems were characterized as large, expensive, highly structured environments. The age of the mainframe computer also brought about the computer room with its tightly restricted access to the computing resources. Centralized computing, however, left little say-so on behalf of the end-user. 

For the first time mainframe computers provided enterprises tools to manage their business at the detail level. Large organizational controls were put in place to control and manage access to the computing resources. The success of mainframe computing created the demand for department level computing and the introduction of the minicomputer age. A few major Law Enforcement agencies began using these mainframes for early RMS and Property & Evidence management systems. Although we have progressed to personal platforms, mainframes are still in use mostly due to the enormous investment in software development. Systems such as LETS and NCIC started as mainframe applications. 

Departmental Computing

The emergence of departmental computing changed the economics of computing forever. Departmental computers (mini-computers) introduced systems that were scaled to the needs of smaller departments, business units, workgroups or even projects. The computing resources were no longer tightly controlled by operations groups, but made directly available to production work groups. The demystification of computers opened up untold new applications to computer analysis. End-users now had the power of the computer at hand via character based terminals. It was this computing model that brought about wide spread use of computers in Law Enforcement. However, flat-file databases and other software restrictions provided little or no information interchange or easy migration to other vendor's software or newer database technologies. 

The development of Structured Query Language (SQL) provided a standard database vocabulary. Relational databases provided the means for enterprises to store vast amounts of information in a manageable environment. This database model became an integral business resource and a core component in the client-server model. 

The deployment of departmental computers also created a new demand for data networking. Departmental users needed to implement and deploy systems from multiple vendors to satisfy their specific needs. Combined with Transaction Control Protocol (TCP) and a new network topology called Ethernet, the universal internetworking solution was now available. TCP/IP paved the way for the "client-server" phase of departmental computing. 

Client-server computing was an incremental step during the maturation of departmental computing. In the client-server model some of the processing functions were moved to the client computers. Appearing in many early forms, it was not until the IBM-Personal Computer debuted in the mid 80's that business enterprises accepted that desktop personal computing could play an important role the enterprise portfolio of data process tools. 

The early 1990's brought about the first client server software for Law Enforcement. The Police Research Center in Huntsville, TX built one of the first client-server software systems. The Criminal Research, Information Management and Evaluation Systems (CRIMES) used Microsoft Front and Back Office suites and v1.3 of MS SQL Server to record and evaluate Incident reports. 

Personal Computing

Personal computers provided the processing power to enable the client-server model. The departmental computers became servers: file servers, database servers, and application servers; the PC provided local processing power to enable the user to interact with the vast amounts of information in databases and other unstructured data stores. The application model of PC computing is "thick-client". Most stand-alone/ networked Law Enforcement systems including numerous Property and Evidence software packages use this model of computing. 

Graphical User Interfaces (GUI), were developed to provide a friendlier user experience. Highly interactive elements like graphics, color and informative controls provided users more immediate information and interactive feed back. The PC drove innovation into the computing model. With more power then ever in the hands in the users, with networks interconnecting resources, a new application model was set to emerge, the World Wide Web (Web). 

The application model of the Web is "thin-client", Supporting client-server and thick-client computing has become cost prohibitive. With the move to thin-client computing no longer is it necessary to deploy applications onto countless number of PC workstations. The application is deployed onto a server that all the PC workstations connect to, a generic user interface tool, the browser (e.g., Internet Explorer), is deployed onto the PC workstation. It provides the single user interface for multiple applications, by multiple vendors running on multiple servers. 

This is the current state of the science in the Law Enforcement computing model. Thin-client allows the agencies to pick the "best-in-breed" applications all of which share the common browser interface. With the advent of the Integrated Criminal Justice Information Systems (ICJIS) and the Global Justice XML (database) Data Dictionary (GJXDD), it is now possible for agencies to interchange information without having a common vendor system. The GJXDD even allows those disparate vendors to build their systems onto a common standard database.

Mobile Computing

The emergence of mobile computing is taking two forms today, first wireless local area networks (LAN) in the form of WiFi, and second public mobile networks provided by cellular and mobile telephone operators. These networks provide users access to network infrastructure in non-traditional settings. Mobile computing that we experience today provides us a preview of the ubiquitous computing of the future. Today using wireless LAN technology called WiFi, users can access the enterprise's resources almost anywhere. With the convergence of wireless data and voice technologies, users will no longer be burdened with network issues, the network will always be there. 

The Future of Computing in Law Enforcement

The velocity of adoption of new technology encourages innovations in all sectors of computing, applications, devices and environments. Future generations of computing environments will most likely continue to evolve on the two paths we have witnessed in the past, incremental improvement and radical innovations. Incremental improvement provides the stepwise development of existing technologies. The process refines the technology, providing new features, driving out cost, improving performance. The current state of thin-client Web environments with standardized markup languages (like XML) provides us with a very mature environment with which we can develop robust, portable, high performance applications. 

The last five years in Law Enforcement have seen substantial progress in the move toward interconnectivity and information sharing initiatives. It was the events of 9/11 and the subsequent anti-terrorism laws that have accelerated those initiatives. Three of the most relevant initiatives for Property and Evidence managers are the Integrated Criminal Justice Information System (ICJIS), the Global Justice XML Data Dictionary (GJXDD) and the Regional Information Sharing Systems (RISS). 

The ICJIS uses technology to allow seamless sharing of information across departments, agencies and other entities. In an integrated system, information is entered only once but can be accessed from a variety of sources thereafter. Streamlined data transfer replaces redundant data entry as well as the cost. Access to the correct information at a critical time is crucial to effective operation of Law Enforcement agencies. 

Currently information systems in the justice sphere range from predominantly paper-driven to highly automated and interactive. Increasingly, Law Enforcement agencies are working together to plan, design and implement Icns systems that enhance the ability to collect, access and use information, including personal information. The use of the Internet by Justice Agencies has broadened the reach of information available to Law Enforcement practitioners. There are currently over 20 Icns projects under development in the U.S. 

The GJXDD is one of the most significant advancements brought about by the DOJ in recent history. The database data dictionary contains over 2,700 data elements that describe all aspects of the criminal justice system. This data dictionary covers all aspects of the Criminal Justice system from Master Name File to Court Filings to Property. There are over 320 data elements in the Property section alone with links to the court system as well. 

The development of GJXDD 3.0 represents a significant paradigm shift in the development of justice information systems. In the past, single agencies or small groups of agencies would work with a single vendor to develop a unique and proprietary solution to their information sharing needs. While this solved their immediate problem, it created independent islands of information sharing capability with limited ability to share information between these islands. Rather than continuing the small group paradigm, representatives of large bodies of practitioners were brought together with a technical development staff in a group called the XML Structure Task Force (XSTF) under Global's Infrastructure/Standards Working Group. The XSTF provided a structure that enabled a productive relationship to develop between practitioners and development staff. This effort resulted in the release of GJXDD 3.0 in April of 2003.

The RISS brings the efforts of lCJIS and GJXDD together for all of the CJ user community. RlSS is composed of six regional centers that share intelligence and coordinate efforts against criminal networks that operate in many locations across jurisdictional lines. Typical targets of RlSS activities are drug trafficking, terrorism, violent crime, cyber crime, gang activity, and organized criminal activities. Each of the centers, however, selects its own target crimes and the range of services provided to member agencies. Regional information sharing with timely analysis is needed to meet the challenges of community policing, particularly with cross-jurisdictional offenses. 

As agencies develop and increase partnerships with their neighboring communities (whose members may traverse the borders of each participating agency in the course of everyday life), demands from those communities for law enforcement information is increased. Currently, the majority of Public Safety Agency information systems are stand-alone systems, without the technology and infrastructure necessary for integration. Each of the stand-alone information systems is utilized primarily for data storage, with the technical capacity for information dissemination limited to internal use only. The result is a lack of information sharing in support of public safety obligations. The application of the RlSS standards and XML documents will help eliminate the information sharing bottle-neck. 

About the author: 

Harvey V. Janelli is the Managing Director at interactive mobile systems (all lowercase). His background in the IT and Telecom markets spans 30 years. He has served in technical, marketing and management positions at the Police Research Center (SHSU), IBM, TI, NV Philips, and Lucent. harveyjanel1i@imobilesystems.com.