Police crime recording and investigation systems – A user’s view

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the role computer software plays within police forces with particular attention paid to crime analysis and investigation computer systems. A distinction is made between major crime (e.g. murder, violent assault, rape, etc.) and volume crime (e.g. domestic burglary, shoplifting, etc.). Illustrative systems that are in practical use for tackling both major and volume crime are described. Particular attention is paid to the attempts that have been made to apply artificial intelligence techniques to tackling the volume crime of burglary. A topic of current research is the use of data mining techniques for automatically detecting patterns in reported crimes. The paper concludes by looking at the problems and benefits such systems may bring.