New IBM Computer System Helps Catch Criminals

SAN DIEGO, Calif., Jan. 9 . . .IBM and law enforcement officials here are
teaming up with the latest computer technology to track and apprehend
criminals. Many police officers will carry multimedia laptop computers in
their squad cars that will give them instant access to a suspect's record,
allow them to map out geographic patterns of crimes and watch videos of
crime scenes.

The laptops will eventually be connected by a wireless link to ARJIS, San
Diego County's Automated Regional Justice Information System, which holds
a huge amount of historical data on crime cases, arrests, traffic
accidents, stolen property and other information collected during field
interviews.

IBM will redesign ARJIS in a client-server configuration to make it faster
and easier to use. IBM will also incorporate advanced computer
technologies, like multimedia and wireless communications, digital
scanning, document imaging, video storage and computerized mapping.

ARJIS is used by many law enforcement officials in San Diego County,
including county sheriff's deputies, police officers, deputy district
attorneys, county deputy marshals and local FBI agents.

With the new ARJIS, police officers can use their laptops to track patterns
in crimes, like a series of robberies in a neighborhood. With the use of
computerized mapping software, the officers can pull up a map of a
neighborhood, specify the type of crime, and find out immediately if
there's a pattern, the modern version of placing push pins in a wall map.

By taking their laptop computers into the field, police officers can enter
information on traffic citations, field interviews and crime reports. With
wireless communications, they can transmit information on crimes and
criminals directly to police officers in other squad cars and back to the
ARJIS database. A powerful IBM RISC System/6000* computer will match the
latest crime information to historical data to reveal patterns not readily
apparent but integral to solving the crime.

The ability of computers to quickly identify patterns is what makes them
valuable partners in law enforcement, according to Dave Worden. Assistant
Police Chief of the San Diego Police Department. He points out that the
exciting lights-flashing, sirens-screaming police chases portrayed on
television don't really represent the mainstay of police work. To
successfully catch a criminal, investigators must painstakingly sift
through clues and make sense of an overwhelming amount of information --
the perfect job for a computer.

"We rely on ARJIS for up-to-date, critical information," Assistant Chief
Worden said. "ARJIS has long served as a model for counties across the
United States, and now it will be even better. The new system will be
faster, more flexible and easier to use."

IBM will incorporate into the new ARJIS easy-to-use graphics and improved
ability to manage information for case investigations, operations and
administrative support. The improvements, Worden said, will allow police
officers to spend more time on the streets where they're needed most.

The new ARJIS is being designed and installed by IBM's consulting and
services group, which will also write the software and maintain the
system.

"The ARJIS project is a good example of how IBM can apply its expertise in
hardware, software and services to a computer system that helps our
customers work more productively," said Skip Wyatt, IBM general manager of
the western geography. "And, with ARJIS, we hope the system will help keep
the people of San Diego safe, as well."

Wyatt added that the ARJIS project is a fine example of the coming
"network-centric" world of computing where anyone can be connected -- by
computer -- at any place and at any time. By connecting law enforcement
officials with each other, and with the information they need to solve
crimes, they can be more productive on the job.

Nancy Angus, ARJIS administrator, said IBM was chosen for the project
because "IBM offered the right technology that could easily grow with us
and because they were willing to develop and implement the new ARJIS in a
cost-effective manner."

Also a consideration, Angus added, was IBM's willingness to work closely
with the San Diego Data Processing Corporation, the ARJIS project
manager.

Technology Details

At the core of the new system will be a four-processor IBM RISC
System/6000* (RS/6000*) Scalable POWERparallel* Systems (SP*) computer.
The IBM RS/6000 SP is running the IBM AIX 4.1* (UNIX) operating system and
has an IBM DB2/6000* relational database management system with 33
gigabytes of data storage.

Object-oriented software such as IBM VisualAge and C++ application
development tools will be used. These software tools will allow the
developer to quickly write working parts of the application. And increased
crime investigation functions will allow users to quickly and intuitively
pose complex queries against the ARJIS database. IBM will also build in a
variety of system management and connectivity features.

The client systems will include PC's, workstations, and the text-based
terminals already in use at many agencies. Many agencies will also have a
PC server at their locations. The new ARJIS will be an open computing
system, allowing the agencies that use ARJIS to link various hardware and
software already in place.
 
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