Police and computer technology-The expectations and the results

In July, 1965, in the face of dramatic rises in reported crime and delinquency rates, the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice (sometimes called the Crime Commission) was created. One area selected for special attention in the Commission's final report was the potential contribution of science and technology in the generally labor-intensive field of law enforcement. Because criminal justice agencies must process enormous quantities of data, the use of computer technology-electronic computers and new techniques such as systems analysis, operations research and computer modeling-seemed particularly promising, and the use of computer technology by the police has expanded significantly since the mid-1960s. A variety of factors have fueled this growth. The first was the report of the Crime Commission. The recommendations of such a distinctive group drew instant attention and outlined high expectations: .. Modern technology can provide many new devices to improve the operations of criminal justice agencies, and particularly to help the police to deter crime and apprehend criminals." 1 The Commission's recommendations were fortified by the addition of large-scale federal resources to the police area through the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA). The pressure from vendors to sell their product-enhanced as the Vietnamese War was ending and technology-oriented industries sought to increase their domestic market-also contributed to the expansion of the computer-related innovations. According to one study, $143 million, or 11.5 percent of the total LEAA block grant budget, was spent for law enforcement telecommunications during the three-and-one-half years between July 1, 1971 and January 1, 1975, and this figure did not include matching money from the states. 2 The Crime Commission report was filled with enthusiasm and raised high expectations about the possibilities of such innovations. Advocates felt that computer technology would allow for the rapid processing of information, expand police capabilities and improve law enforcement services, for example by reducing response time. Some hypothesized that