Police Information Systems in the Scenario Where

Police Information Systems

In the scenario where your Uncle Bob is visiting Miami Florida from California and is pulled over for speeding, and after some discussion with the officer, Uncle Bob is handcuffed and taken into custody, it is likely that the officer on the scene has had contact with their local police department. This contact could have taken place through two way radio over police frequencies, but as more police departments come to rely on computers and Miami is a first rate department with adequate resources, it was probably done through the officer's "mobile office." This would include a dash-mounted laptop computer, called a mobile data computer (MDC), with access to the department's database and certain other information such as "drivers license, local, state, and national wanted persons databases and databases concerning stolen vehicles." (Foster, 2005, p.168)

Through the mobile data computer, and it is important to realize that Miami is a city that would probably have the most advanced systems, the officer on the scene may have been able to conduct a search of Uncle Bob through one of the many interagency databases such as the Institute of Police Technology and Management system called Police Trak Mobile. This particular system gives officers on the scene instant access to a number of databases and the "ability to query state and national crime information systems, run vehicle registration checks, run driver's license checks, run wanted person checks, and much more." (Foster, 2005, p.169)

Uncle Bob is wanted for some reason, and since he has never been outside of California, it is likely that the state of California wants him arrested. The scenario also assumes that Uncle Bob has been arrested, tried, and punished in California so Uncle Bob has a police record as well as a trial and prison record. California, like most states, maintains a system of records for all those arrested, tried and imprisoned. And as Miami most likely contains a fully integrated police records management system, they are "going to have access to all of the other records maintained by different criminal justice organizations." (Foster, 2005, p.158) So by running his name, cross referenced with his date of birth, the officer on the scene in Miami could access California's database and receive accurate records concerning Uncle Bob. The California system could also send the officer on the scene a photo of Uncle Bob so as to verify identity. If Uncle Bob was on probation and confined to the state of California, this information would be available to the Miami officer through access to California records concerning Uncle Bob.