Three Information Technology Systems - Assignment Example

Being able to correlate information across multiple platforms creates a successful environment for combatting crime. Introduction In today’s age of information technology and in the various designs of database creations, members of law enforcement find that knowing how to utilize any number of research techniques will greatly assist in finding information on criminals being sought for various crimes. Criminal databases are also a valuable tool in determining what areas of a city, state or in the nation, require a more robust police presence in order to keep criminal activity down to a manageable level (Hunter & Barker 2011).

As part of training for any police officer and for detectives conducting any type of criminal research activities, understanding how each database works and the search criteria required for each, is essential for success in finding and identifying specific people who may be involved in criminal behavior. Three database systems are discussed in this paper: the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), the National Crime Victimization Survey database (NCVS), and the Crime Mapping system (Cordner & Scarborough 2010). 1. There are a number of ways that these database systems are used by law enforcement agencies within a community policing program to help with keeping down criminal activity.

It is important for every community to have some type of mapping system which can show what criminal activity has been taking place over various time periods. In many instances, the police department for any given city will most likely access state information in order to drill down to a city’s information criteria and subsequently, to fine-tune that information to a neighborhood or community (Mazerolle, Bellucci & Gajewski 2005). The state is the main point of access for any type of information concerning census data, land use data, Department of Motor Vehicles data, and any other data that would commonly be required by a state to maintain in some database.

From the statewide access point, the city police department may choose to have a professional database designer come in to create a system that can access the state information and combine it with city information in order to be able to create specific pictures or maps of where crime has been more active, such as in number of robberies over a specified time period. This type of mapping is also useful in determining traffic problems that might occur in various spots in the community because of criteria concerning time of day and even the day of the week (Mazerolle, Bellucci & Gajewski 2005).

In the case of the IAFIS system which plugs into a national database, the use of the system helps to identify criminals who may be traveling over different cities and even into different states while committing crimes along the way (FBI 20130. If a criminal has been picked up once along the way and been fingerprinted before being put in jail, when he gets out and commits more crimes, he is easily identified, apprehended and put back in jail. While some criminals have not been caught yet, their fingerprints at crime scenes will be retained and attached to the crime so that if ever apprehended, the crime will come up in the database and the criminal finally