Technology: Guides & Reports

• Information Sharing and Technology
• 311 and Call Management
• Crime Mapping

Global Justice XML Data Model
Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), 2005.
The USDOJ Office of Justice Programs, together with the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global), has released an operational version of the Global Justice Extensible Markup Language Data Module to the justice community. This product will facilitate the exchange and reuse of information from multiple sources and multiple applications and should lay the foundation for local, state, and national justice interoperability in information sharing.

GJXDM Law Enforcement Information Exchange Package Workshop Report
SEARCH, March 2005.
In continuing its support of improving law enforcement information sharing, the COPS Office funded SEARCH, Inc. to hold a series of workshops and develop Global Justice XML Data Model (GJXDM) Information Exchange Packages (IEPs) for Law Enforcement. The publication of law enforcement IEPs provides tangible models and GJXDM content that can be used by local law enforcement agencies pursuing data interoperability and can support information sharing about crimes and offenders throughout the U.S. The Law Enforcement Information Exchange Package Documentation Workshop Report provides information on the workshops, which led to the development of these IEPs. Information Exchange Package Documentation can help local law enforcement agencies by providing baseline models for GJXDM conformant information exchange. Several documentation reports are available, including Field Interview Report, Charging Document, Sentence Order, and Incident Report.

Issue Brief 1 - Disaster Planning & Recovery: 9-1-1 Center Survivability 
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and SEARCH, May 2007. This Issue Brief addresses questions about preparing 9-1-1 centers to sustain a catastrophic event and learning from past experiences. It also offers insight into what one might expect and what needs to be thought about to assist 9-1-1 centers to respond to and recover from major and catastrophic events that affect 9-1-1 operations.

Issue Brief 2 - Communications in the Incident Command System  
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and SEARCH, May 2007. This Issue Brief presents background on communications within the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and its Incident Command System. It examines the role of communications within these constructs, as well as in the context of multiagency response to disasters and emergencies. It concludes with operational best practices for effective use of incident communications units.

Issue Brief 3 - Building a Regional Communications Plan  
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and SEARCH, May 2007. A key step in integrating technology and operational requirements is building a regional communications plan. This Issue Brief presents the basic steps in building a regional communications plan to improve interoperability and, ultimately, joint response to emergencies.

Issue Brief 4 - Interoperable Communications Training and Exercises
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and SEARCH, May 2007. This Issue Brief addresses the importance of interoperable communications training and exercises, and explores the types of exercises available to the public safety community. Communications is not an independent element of emergency response that can be adequately exercised and evaluated in isolation. It is through integrated exercises that communications can be trained in context, tested, evaluated, and set for continuous improvements.

Issue Brief 5 - Performance Measurement and Interoperability
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and SEARCH, May 2007. This Issue Brief will define interoperable communications, performance measures, the SAFECOM Interoperability Continuum, and provide predictive modeling/statistical measurement solutions. This Issue Brief also presents an overview of how these concepts could be combined to develop a solution for performance measurement and interoperability.

Issue Brief 6 - Project 25: The Quest for Interoperable Radios
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and SEARCH, May 2007. This Issue Brief addresses questions about Project 25, its history, future, and value to public safety managers and technology managers. It also provides background and current information for decision-makers who may be considering use of radios and radio systems built around standards that have arisen from the project.

The Impact of Video Evidence on Modern Policing: Research and Best Practices 
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), March 2007. This report contains the results of a COPS-funded study conducted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) on the use of in-car cameras, focusing on those in use by state police and highway patrol COPS grant recipients in state police and highway patrol agencies. The field evaluations measured the impact of in-car cameras on officer safety, officer performance and police professionalism, agency liability and internal control, training and education, community perception, agency policies, procedures and protocols, agency leadership, and the judicial process.

Information Systems Integration
SEARCH, October 2005.
This compilation of four SEARCH publications provides practical information and resources for practitioners who are undertaking justice information systems integration initiatives. Funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, this compilation follows a logical progression in justice integration efforts: understanding what integration is; setting up a governance structure to oversee the effort; planning and managing the effort; and using performance measures to demonstrate its success.

Information Systems Technology Enhancement Project (ISTEP) 
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), February 2000.
The Information Systems Technology Enhancement Project document examines the uses of information technology and its application to community policing in America. It documents the information technology planning and acquisition processes, while contrasting the various applications of the technology to community policing in five police organizations.

Introduction to the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) 
Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), February 2007. The National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) is designed to develop, disseminate, and support enterprise-wide information sharing standards and processes across the whole of the justice, public safety, emergency and disaster management, intelligence, and homeland security enterprise at all levels and across all branches of government. The “Introduction to NIEM” is designed to a) provide a general description of how NIEM functions, b) describe the need for and value of NIEM as an enabler of enterprise-wide information sharing, c) provide an overview of key NIEM concepts, and d) identify near-term goals of the NIEM program.

ISTEP II – Case Studies
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), November 2003.
This series of case studies continues the work started in the original Information Systems Technology Enhancement Project. Each case study examines the uses of information technology and its application to community policing in America. It documents the information technology planning and acquisition processes, while contrasting the various applications of the technology to community policing in four police organizations.

Law Enforcement Tech Guide: How to plan, purchase, and manage technology (successfully!) 
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), September 2002.
The Law Enforcement Tech Guide presents best practices in strategic IT planning and procurement, reveals pitfalls to avoid, and consolidates and expands upon various sources of relevant information currently available. The Guide reviews best practices to help create a user-friendly product that will provide law enforcement with the tools they need to successfully achieve their IT goals.

Law Enforcement Tech Guide for Communications Interoperability  
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), December 2006. Building a voice or data communications system that allows police, fire, and emergency medical service agencies to communicate with each other within and across jurisdictions is a complex and costly effort. This guide is a comprehensive, user-friendly guidebook that provides strategies, best practices, and recommendations for public safety agencies seeking to develop or already engaged in interagency communications projects. It explores current and emerging technologies in voice and data communications, and provides planning tools to help achieve interoperable communication initiatives. It serves as a companion to the COPS-funded "Law Enforcement Tech Guide: How to plan, purchase and manage technology (successfully!), A Guide for Executives, Managers and Technologists".

Law Enforcement Tech Guide for Creating Performance Measures that Work
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), February 2007. Performance measures can help law enforcement agencies assess and report on the impact of their policing efforts, whether those efforts include adopting a new technology or new community policing initiatives. This guidebook will help agencies develop the necessary performance measures that can be used to improve individual programs and initiatives and can be integrated into broader performance management frameworks. It includes a six-step process for measuring performance, practical real-life examples, templates, recommendations, and checklists. It is a companion to the COPS-funded "Law Enforcement Tech Guide: How to plan, purchase and manage technology (successfully!)."

Law Enforcement Tech Guide for Information Technology Security
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), February 2007. As public safety agencies continue to adopt new and complex information-sharing technologies, securing sensitive and mission-critical information has become an essential part of information technology (IT) planning. This guidebook offers agencies a step-by-step process for developing IT security policies. It includes strategies and best practices, as well as self-assessment and risk-assessment tools that will help agencies systematically identify where IT security risks exist and determine the most effective way to mitigate those risks. It is a companion to the COPS-funded "Law Enforcement Tech Guide: How to plan, purchase and manage technology (successfully!)."

Law Enforcement Tech Guide for Small and Rural Police Agencies
This practical and user-friendly guidebook is geared to the small and rural police agency, providing strategies, best practices, recommendations, and ideas for successful IT planning and implementation. Agencies with minimal personnel and financing can learn how to implement IT projects from preliminary project planning and project plan creation to technology acquisition, implementation, and maintenance. This guidebook complements the Law Enforcement Tech Guide: How to plan, purchase, and manage technology (successfully!). When used together, they make an impressive toolset for technology implementation.

National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan
Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), October 2003.
The Department of Justice has endorsed this plan developed by the Global Intelligence Working Group. It proposes a nationwide communications capability that will link together all levels of law enforcement personnel, including officers on the streets, intelligence analysts, unit commanders, and police executives for the purpose of sharing critical data.

Policing Smarter Through IT – Learning from Chicago’s CLEAR System
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), May 2004.
A report on the first findings of a COPS-funded evaluation, conducted by Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago, of the Chicago Police Department’s Citizen and Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting (CLEAR) System. The report examines "launch procedures" toward developing an integrated criminal justice information system powered by the CLEAR data warehouse and lessons learned on the design, development, and use of automated systems and police management applications. The Automated Incident Reporting Application (AIRA) will streamline the reporting process, provide accurate, timely information, and attain NIBRS compliance. Other police management applications include the Automated Arrest, System Crime Mapping, Digital Mugshots, eTrack (evidence tracking), Gang and Juvenile Arrest, Personnel Suite, and Automated Rap Sheet.

Policing Smarter Through IT – Lessons in Enterprise Implementation 
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), September 2004.
A companion piece to Policing Smarter Through IT: Learning from Chicago’s Citizen and Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting (CLEAR) System, this report provides the reader with practical strategies and cautions to consider when developing an integrated criminal justice information system. Its process review covers issues of funding and vendor management, hardware and operating system decision-making, in-house development vs. outsourcing, physical capacity and infrastructure needs, and what to do about "scope creep" and "information silos." Information security and privacy, ensuring user buy-in and proper training, use assessment, and other IT issues are discussed using real-life examples. The lessons learned are applicable to criminal justice organizations seeking to expand the boundaries of external and internal information sharing.

Standard Functional Specifications for Law Enforcement Computer Aided Dispatch Systems 
Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and National Institute of Justice (NIJ), 2005. Developed by the Law Enforcement Information Technology Standards Council (LEITSC), this publication is designed to inform law enforcement about the basic functional requirements that all CAD systems should have in order to achieve interoperability.

Standard Functional Specifications for Law Enforcement Records Management Systems Version II 
This publication, developed by the Law Enforcement Information Technology Standards Council (LEITSC) with support of the Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, is designed to inform law enforcement agencies about the basic functional requirements for records management systems (RMS) systems. These standard functional specifications should be used as a starting point to build a fully operative records management system that is based on open standards in order to efficiently interface and share information with other systems both internally and externally.

Tips for Ensuring Successful Technology Implementation
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), January 2006.
This is the COPS Office's "top ten list" for successful implementation of technology. This document written in coordination with the SEARCH Group collects accumulated knowledge from administering thousands of COPS MORE technology projects over seven years.

311 Proves a Valuable Supplement to 911 Service
Best Practices in Emergency Services, Volume 8, Number 9, September 2005.
This article reports that across the U.S. “cities that have adopted 311 have said that the system has freed up call-swamped 911 centers, sharpened first response services and resulted in many other unforeseen benefits.” (p.97). Three-one-one sites in Chicago, Illinois and New York City, New York are featured as well as several COPS-funded 311 sites of Austin, Texas; Baltimore, Maryland; Houston, Texas; and Orange County, Florida. Written by Penny Colston, this article appears in Best Practices in Emergency Services, a monthly newsletter geared towards emergency services such as EMS, fire and rescue, hazardous materials, and disaster management.

Building a 311 System: A Case Study of the City of Minneapolis
City of Minneapolis in cooperation with The MACRO GROUP. October 2008.
This case study examines the process and impact of building a 311 non-emergency call system within the City of Minneapolis. Topics include project planning, staffing and training, technology considerations, budgetary issues, call tracking and routing processes, and 311 facility build-out. Also discussed is the 311 system’s impact on several areas affecting police and the citizens of Minneapolis, including 911 call volume, police operations, municipal service delivery systems, quality of life enhancements, community initiatives, and crisis management planning, including its use during the August 2007 Minneapolis I-35W bridge collapse.

Building a 311 System: A Case Study of the Orange County, Florida, Government Service Center
Law enforcement executives and agencies and public safety communications organizations interested in learning about what is involved when establishing a multijurisdictional, nonemergency 311 telephone system will find Building a 311 System informative. This Internet-only publication documents the experiences of Orange County, Florida, in organizing and establishing such a system. Topics discussed in this case study include the political, financial, and technological challenges involved in intergovernmental partnerships and interagency coordination, along with developing call routing and tracking mechanisms, staffing a 311 call center, and the role that the Orange County 311 system plays in hurricane emergency preparedness.

Building a 3-1-1 System for Non-Emergency Calls: A Case Study of the Austin Police Department  
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), September 2003.
This case study documents the 311-system implementation process of Austin Police Department. This study describes the challenges the department encountered and strategies it used to set up the 311 system, and provides lessons learned for other agencies wishing to develop similar systems.

Building a 3-1-1 System for Non-Emergency Calls: A Process and Impact Evaluation  
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), September 2003.
This report contains findings from a process and impact evaluation conducted on Austin Police Department’s 311 system. Findings are presented on a range of performance measures, including 911 call volume, police response time, staff buy-in and training, and citizen satisfaction.

Call Management and Community Policing
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), July 2003.
A Guidebook for Law Enforcement focuses on police call management strategies and how they affect community policing today. This guidebook looks at the direct relationship between community policing and managing calls for service effectively, and includes practical examples from police departments around the country.

Call 311: Connecting Citizens to Local Government
International City/County Management Association. December 2008.
Local governments across the country want to respond efficiently and effectively when their citizens need assistance. This report is intended to serve as a reference manual for local governments considering the implementation of a centralized customer service system. Included in the report are recommendations based on findings from both the national survey and the case studies. These recommendations represent what ICMA researchers and study advisors consider critical management practices for obtaining optimum results from a centralized system.

Calling 311: Guidelines for Policymakers  
National Institute of Justice (NIJ), February 2005.
This publication examines issues on 311 system implementation and focuses on key considerations for police managers and public policymakers. Issues examined include the impact of 311 on 911 calls, the link between 311 and community policing, technology considerations, and citizen education.

COPS Fact Sheet: 311 for Non Emergencies  
The 311 system was created to divert non-emergency calls away from emergency lines and provide support for 911 in a time crisis. This fact sheet provides information on how COPS funding was used to establish and evaluate 311 systems in select cities, and provides guidance for others wishing to learn from their experience.

COPS Innovations: Local Law Enforcement Responds to Terrorism – Lessons in Prevention and Preparedness
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), April 2002.
This pamphlet highlights anti-terrorism activities of COPS grantees. It also includes examples of three agencies using COPS-funded 311 systems to address terrorism: Austin Police Department, TX; Baltimore Police Department, MD; Rochester City Police Department, NY.

Guidelines for Starting and Operating a New Police Department
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), August 2006. Although starting a new police agency is a complex and expensive undertaking, very little has been written about it until now. This guide will assist public officials and citizens decide whether to start their own police departments, and if they decide to go forward will offer guidance on how to do it efficiently and effectively. This guide can be a valuable tool to assist communities in thoughtfully considering the major issues involved in starting a police department.

Law Enforcement Tech Guide for Creating Performance Measures that Work 
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), February 2007. Performance measures can help law enforcement agencies assess and report on the impact of their policing efforts, whether those efforts include adopting a new technology or new community policing initiatives. This guidebook will help agencies develop the necessary performance measures that can be used to improve individual programs and initiatives and can be integrated into broader performance management frameworks. It includes a six-step process for measuring performance, practical real-life examples, templates, recommendations, and checklists. It is a companion to the COPS-funded "Law Enforcement Tech Guide: How to plan, purchase and manage technology (successfully!)."

Managing Calls to the Police with 911/311 Systems  
National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), February 2005.
This publication is geared toward practitioners planning for 311 systems and focuses on organizational considerations needed by police officers and managers. Issues discussed include using 311 as a call management strategy, the link between 311 and community policing, police dispatch policy, and citizen education.

Managing Citizen Calls to the Police: An Assessment of Non-Emergency Call Systems
National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), February 2003.
This is a COPS-funded study of non-emergency call systems, including 311. Administered by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and conducted by the University of Cincinnati, the report discusses findings and provides recommendations. It features case studies conducted in the cities of Baltimore, Maryland; Buffalo, New York; Dallas, Texas; and Phoenix, Arizona.

Misuse and Abuse of 911
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), August 2002.
This guide addresses the urgent problems of misuse and abuse of 911. It leads law enforcement professionals through a series of questions to assist them with analyzing their local problem and provides a summary of responses to the problem of 911 misuse and abuse based on policing principles and new technological development. This guide also suggests evaluative measures for implemented responses.

Promising Strategies from the Field: A National Overview
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), March 2003.
This COPS Innovations piece highlights specific projects and the progress of American law enforcement agencies that received COPS grants and the impact COPS helped make on their communities. Promising Strategies from the Field focuses on ways COPS grantees operationalize and institutionalize community policing strategies to reduce crime and improve communication between law enforcement and the communities in their jurisdictions. This publication features a case study of a COPS-funded 311 project, as well as other COPS-funded community policing initiatives.

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Crime Analysis and Crime Mapping Information Clearinghouse (8th Edition) 
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and
Police Foundation, 2003.
This COPS Office/Police Foundation document provides a comprehensive list of valuable crime analysis and mapping resources. It includes bibliographic and Internet resources that may be helpful to practitioners and researchers interested in the disciplines of crime analysis and crime mapping.

Crime Mapping Newsletters 
Police Foundation.
The Crime Mapping Newsletter is a quarterly publication of the Police Foundation supported by COPS Office funding. It provides articles and examples of mapping and crime analysis on a wide variety of topics ranging from terrorism to evaluation of crime mapping software products. The Newsletter currently has an international distribution of over 4,000 individuals interested in crime mapping and law enforcement analysis.

Crime Mapping Principal and Practice
National Institute of Justice (NIJ), December 1999.
This National Institute of Justice Research Report introduces the science of crime mapping to police officers, crime analysts, and other people interested in visualizing crime data through the medium of maps. Not a technical guide to software, Mapping Crime: Principle and Practice presents a broad approach and addresses the kinds of questions crime mapping can answer and how it can answer them.

Geocoding in Law Enforcement, Final Report 
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and
Police Foundation, August 2000.
Geocoding, one of the initial steps in conducting an analysis based on crime mapping, is the process of bringing tabular and geographic data together through a common geographic unit of analysis. This COPS Office/Police Foundation guide describes the five basic steps in the geocoding process.

Guidelines to Implement and Evaluate Crime Analysis and Mapping
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and
Police Foundation, October 2000.
This document serves as a guide for the processes of implementing and evaluating crime analysis and mapping. It is designed by the COPS Office / Police Foundation for use by law enforcement agencies that do not currently have the function in place as well as those that are looking to reevaluate and restructure their current crime analysis and mapping functions.

Integrating Community Policing and Computer Mapping  
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and
Police Foundation, February 2000.
This document details a research project undertaken by the Police Foundation in an effort to identify the needs of the law enforcement field regarding crime mapping and analysis technologies. This COPS Office / Police Foundation document should be of interest to those seeking a better understanding of the state and needs of law enforcement agencies with respect to crime analysis and mapping.

Introductory Guide to Crime Analysis and Mapping  
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and
Police Foundation, November 2001.
This guide was developed directly from the "Crime Analysis Mapping and Problem Solving" training course conducted by the Police Foundation. The purpose of this document is to convert the information presented in the training course into a succinct and readable report. It is intended to be a "starter" guidebook for someone just entering the field or as a reference manual for current law enforcement analysts.

Mapping Out Crime: Providing 21st Century Analysis Information System (RCAGIS)
U.S. Department of Justice, National Partnership for Reinventing Government, July 1999.
This 1999 report by the Department of Justice details how the Federal government can help communities and police departments use information-age tools to reduce and prevent crime. It also includes thumbnail sketches on innovative police departments.

Manual of Crime Analysis Map Production 
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and
Police Foundation, November 2000.
Through discussion and comprehensive examples, this COPS Office / Police Foundation manual provides guidelines for introductory-level crime analysis mapping. The document begins with a brief examination of the factors necessary to produce an effective map, follows with a discussion of the types of maps and design elements and concludes with five comprehensive examples that illustrate the process of crime analysis mapping. It should be of interest to those looking to produce effective and efficient maps for use in a law enforcement agency.

Regional Crime Analysis Information System (RCAGIS)
U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division
The U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division GIS Staff, in conjunction with the Baltimore county Police department and the RCAS group, has developed a crime analysis system (software) called RCAGIS (Regional Crime Analysis GIS). RCAGIS is an ESRI MapObjects® based system that is designed to facilitate the analysis of crime on a regional basis. This software should be of great interest in anyone seeking to develop interagency mapping capabilities.

User’s Guide to Mapping Software (6th Edition)
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and
Police Foundation, Summer 2003.
This COPS Office/Police Foundation report provides a review of a wide range of mapping software and geographic information systems, focusing on their functionality and ease of use by members of police departments. It should be of great interest to those seeking to purchase crime mapping software.

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