University of Phoenix 1

Week 1: Research Used in Law Enforcement Capacity

Research Application
Mr. Pierre Arbajian
Week 1
Frederick R. Paige III












University of Phoenix 2
Research is an essential tool used in any successful environment whether in
business related, finance related, or otherwise. Research is the combination of reading,
understanding and applying statistical data, trends, and knowledge. In business, research
is used to sell products, ensure customer satisfaction, and find trends as they relate to
products and what the consumer wants. In the field of law enforcement, research is
extensively used to determine an individuals criminal history, prevent crime, determine
trends in crime and collect systematic data. Here we will discuss how research is used in
law enforcement and how research can be better utilized to ensure the safety of the public.
Law enforcement is a vast field to include various organizations such as federal,
state, and local organizations. FBI, CIA, U.S. Marshalls, DEA, and military are part of the
federal government. State agencies include State Bureau of Investigations, State Police,
Alcohol Law Enforcement, Division of Fisheries Patrol, Park Enforcement Rangers, Parole
and Probation Officers. Local law enforcement entities include, city police officers, campus
police officers, and local officials acting in an official capacity of sword duties. Because all
of these agencies exist on federal, state and local levels, it is important to have research and
collaborate all the information gathered from various sources.
In law enforcement technology is the most common research method used because
it is fast, up-to-date, and can be a secure source for authorized personnel. There are many
systems and databases that are used to help law enforcement perform various inquiries.
Criminal Justice Leads (CJLeads) is a North Carolina database used to check a persons
criminal history, previous charges, convictions and dates these occurred. This system can
only be accessed by agencies in North Carolina and is helpful because it has consolidated
information on a resident that lives in North Carolina through all 99 counties.
University of Phoenix 3
The Department of Motor Vehicles and their research database is used for vehicle
inquiries to include, registered owners of vehicles, driving histories, driving offenses and
vehicles registered to individuals. This system can perform research based on vehicle
identification numbers (VIN), driver license numbers, names and dates of births. This
system is helpful for patrol officers who routinely make traffic stops on vehicles for the
purposes of writing driving citations and infractions to motorists. This database is used by
all states and the consolidated information is state specific therefore some information
cannot be viewed by different states.
The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) is a research database for tracking
crime-related information and was established in 1967 by the FBI. J. Edgar Hoover, the
former director of the FBI at this time implemented this database for the purpose of
centralizing information. Data is received from federal, state and local agencies and is
interlinked with similar systems that each state maintains. NCIC makes available a variety
of records to be used for law enforcement and safety purposes only and they make up a
variety of forms and personal and property records. This research can be used to identify
people by property they own, such as vehicles, boats, structures, homes and land.
Crime mapping is a research tool also used by law enforcement and citizens to show
where incidents of crimes have happened. This research tool is effective for many reasons
and helps citizens and law enforcement to look up certain data. This system allows for
users to search for information geographically. The user can examine reported incidents
and calls for service point by point or within a distance of a location. This research is
broken down on a map by different colors and sizes to represent the number of incidents at
a single location.
University of Phoenix 4
All of these systems used in conjunction with each are helpful and essential for law
enforcement and citizens. The advantage it has for law enforcement is that it can
effectively deter crimes in certain target areas. Law enforcement can concentrate its
efforts in those target areas and reduce crime. Citizens can use the crime mapping system
to figure out safe areas to live, work and for recreation purposes. The sex offender registry
is also a common tool used by citizens to ensure the safety of themselves and children. Law
enforcement is a business because the efforts of Officers is paid for by tax payers therefore,
citizens should be able to access certain data pertaining to their safety.
A concern that Schindler & Cooper (2011) recognize is information overload.
Although the Internet and its search engines present extensive amounts of information,
the informations quality and credibility must be continuously evaluated. The ubiquitous
access to information has brought about the development of knowledge communities and
the need for organizations to leverage this knowledge universe for innovation-or risk
merely drowning in data. All of these systems mentioned, relate to research and how they
are used by various law enforcement agencies. Problems can exist and arise because all of
these systems are in place.
Problems that can arise include duplicate information, incorrect information, and
conflicting data. The people that input the data into these systems are human and human
error does exist. Names, dates of births, phone numbers and other identifying information
can be input correctly causing mismatch data and statistical data to be incorrect. This can
cause someone to not be identified correctly and pertinent information cannot be verified.
Information overload in law enforcement is also having to manipulate different
University of Phoenix 5
applications at the same time, and usually these applications are being run from a car
computer with a slower internet connectivity.
A suggestion to use this research more effectively is to consolidate all of data into
one application or source. All of these applications mentioned: NCIC, DCI, DMV, CJLeads,
and NCAWARE are established and maintained by different agencies. Because different
agencies maintain these records there could be conflicting data input on the same person,
property or thing that can vary from database to database. By combining and consolidating
this research information, mistakes can be avoided and information can be more
consistent. Another suggestion would be to employ professionally trained crime analysts
and ensure they have good analysis hardware and software, data management systems and
data-sharing agreements. They should also be able to focus their efforts and be
knowledgeable on public safety problems and operational strategies.
A good analysis and strategy is essential to any organization or business. An
analysis is having statistical and identifying information to follow and, a strategy is simply
having a plan of action to reach a particular goal. When these two things are combined
they create good solid research. It is the job of law enforcement to protect and serve its
citizens; therefore having proper research to do such is an imperative function of the job.
Many problems and conflicts can be avoided with database input and crimes can be
prevented with crime mapping research.




University of Phoenix 6
References
Cooper, D. R. & Schindler, P. S. (2011). Business research methods (11
th
ed.). New York:
McGraw-Hill Irwin.