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LAW ENFORCEMENT BULLETIN NATIONAL CRIME INCREASE PERCENT CHANGE 1967 OVER 1960 +90 3 3/4 MILLION CRIMES 88% OR +80 I 1 3/4 MILLION / OVER 1960 +70 V +60 VIOLENT CRIMES UP 72% PROPERTY CRIMES UP 90% +50 / V ./ +40 V +30 / +20 / / ~ POPULATION UP 10% 10 i - • + ••••••• t ••••••• ••••••• ~ ~ ••••••• 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 .. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE J. EDGAR HOOVER, DIRECTOR JUNE 1968 VOL. 37, NO. 6 _-...... __ .. - THE COVER-National crime increase. See Mr. Hoover's message on page 1. LAW ENFORCEMENT BULLETIN CONTENTS Message From Director l. Edgar Hoover . .... 1 Computer Applications in Law Enforcement, by e Lt. lack W. Baker, Commanding Officer, Rec ords Division, Police Department, San Diego, Calif· ..................... 2 Role of a State Investigative Agency, by Robert D. Blair, Director, Bureau of Criminal Investiga tion, Iowa Department of Public Safety, Des Moines, Iowa . .......... 6 FBI Training Programs (Conclusion) 9 Springfield's Talking Bicycles, by Lt. C. Les Rey nolds, Traffic Division, Police Department, Published by the Springfield, Mo. 12 " FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION Nationwide Crimescope . 17 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Investigators' Aids ... 18 Washington, D.C. 20535 Human Relations Program for Youth, by Dallas W. Bias, Chief of Police, Charleston, W. Va. Cardiograms Sent by Radio Device . Wanted by the FBI . ......• THE STORY IS TOLD of a mythical young knight this category for all criminal acts increased 72 who rode out to encounter his first fire-breathing percent during the same period. dragon_ When he spotted the beast, he froze with We hear the claim that improved police re• fear. He closed his eyes and hoped that the mon• porting methods account for some of the rise in ster would go away. He was wrong, of course, and crime and that now citizens are more willing to the dragon devoured him. report to police. These suppositions are weak. We have on the loose in our country today a Actually, agencies which update their reporting predatory monster called crime. It is growing systems are not included in the national trend in size and violence. Its far-reaching forages totals until they have established at least two com• threaten every city and hamlet in the Nation, and parable years under their revised operations. This it strikes fear in the hearts and minds of the law• is done purposely to avoid any paper increase abiding public. It is ripping away the very fiber which might result .from the change. As to more of our society and our system of government. crime being reported to police, most persons would concur that armed robbery and murder, The story of alarming crime increases each with isolated exceptions, are consistently reported year is not a new story. It is old and it is true. One year after year. Consequently, with minor fluctua• aPpalling aspect is the fact that many people in tions, the annual totals for these two crimes . ositions of responsibility continue to deny this should remain fairly constant. Yet, in 1967, truth. They prefer to close their eyes and hope armed robbery increased 30 percent above the that crime, if ignored, will go away. Here, as with 1966 figure, and murder rose 12 percent. the mythical young knight, this wistful approach is doomed to failure. Let us not forget that crime statistics are based on violations known to police. We know that there Concerted efforts have been made to minimize are unlawful acts which are not reported by citi• the seriousness of the crime problem and to ex• zens to police agencies. This will always be true. plain away the shocking truths behind crime sta• This factor was known to and recognized by the tistics. It is suggested that our population increase police administrators, social scientists, and ex• is responsible for a corresponding rise in the rate perts on law and public administration who au• of crime, and that extensive population growth thored the Uniform Crime Reporting program in of the crime-prone young age group has not been the late 1920's. The concept is not new, and the taken into account in crime figures. Under close fact remains that the criminal justice agencies can examination, as has been shown before, these only work with those offenses repOlted to them arguments do not measure up. or detected by them. For instance, our population increased approx• The answer to our Nation's crime problem will imately 10 percent from 1960 through 1967. be found in direct, positive action-not by wait• During that period, the volume of serious crimes ing and hoping the problem will go away. A good rose 88 percent. Thus, crime outpaced the popula• beginning would be to let the guilty criminal tion growth by almost 9 to 1. The young age group know that when he is arrested, he will be promptly population, 10 to 17 years, climbed 22 percent prosecuted and substantially punished for his from 1960 through 1967. Arrests of persons in misdeeds. A good time to begin would be NOW. JUNE 1, 1968 Computer .earche. of data from trafIIc contact record. provide valuable In- LT. JACK W. BAKER ve.tlgatlve load. for the San Diogo Department. Commanding Officer, Records Division, Police Department, San Diego, Calif. Computer Applications This timely article by Lieuten ant Baker is indicative of the tre • mendous progress many local law enforcement agencies are mak In ~ ing in computer applications, particularly as to the use of field interrogation reports as sources of valuable information. Several departments have made marked progress in computer storage, Law Enforcement manipulation, and retrieval which greatly assist the officer on the street. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin training program would be required. Either analysts would have to be trained in law enforcement problems and procedures or law enforcement personnel would have to be trained as computer analysts. We decided to save time and to provide the best pos• sible police-oriented system by train• ing experienced police officers. This decision has proved to be most valid olice agencies throughout the and economical. After the training of I Pworld are constantly striving to two officers was accomplished, the de• develop more efficient methods of com• partment objectives and procedures bating crime. Many scientific advances were evaluated to determine what ~ have been inaugurated in police pro• should be automated. An implementa• cedures in the last decade, and one of tion schedule was also established. the most recent developments is the use of the electronic computer. Law Systems Developed • enforcement has long realized that ac• curate and timely information is a key We decided to computerize criminal weapon in the fight against crime. records and data on wanted persons, With the FBI's National Crime Infor• wanted property, crime cases and mation Center (NCIC) becoming op• modus operandi, traffic enforcement, erational, the first major step of a traffic accidents, field interrogations. ~ puterized information network and patrol beat manpower utilization . The computer center for the San Diego Police Department is located in the city admin• • gned to fulfill this need became a The first two systems to become opera• istration building. reality. State and local agencies are tional were traffic accidents and traffic rapidly progressing in their efforts to enforcement. They were designed to names of persons arrested on robbery, achieve the ultimate goal of a law complement each other, both in statis• burglary, theft, and hit-and-run r enforcement information system en• tical reporting and in the depart• charges were checked, and we found compassing the entire United States. ment's selective enforcement program- that the maj ority of them had traffic During the initial phase of design• violation records. A high percentage had received a citation within 3 A New Approach ing the traffic enforcement system, it became obvious that traffic citation months prior to their criminal arrest. As the development of the modern• records contain a wealth of untapped Rarely was the record over 6 months day computer advanced, our depart• information in addition to statistics. old. ment officials recognized the potential It is a well-known fact that many of computerizing police records, both criminals are apprehended as a result Goals of System as a statistical reporting instrument of being stopped for a traffic violation, The system, as it was initially de• and as a method of rapid information but what about the traffic violator who signed, had two essential goals: First, retrieval. As commanding officer of some weeks later commits a crime? to enable a search to be made on a the records division, I was assigned Experience has proved that victims partial vehicle description as well as the task of developing such a program andl or witnesses of crimes rarely ob• on a complete license number; and sec• for the department. On completion tain a complete license number and ond, to build the file from available of the preliminary studies of computer description of the suspect's vehicle, traffic data with a minimum of coding configurations, computer use in busi• even if it is only a few feet away. and without destroying the statistical ness, and other law enforcement agen• Manual searching of all traffic offense value of the traffic enforcement cies' applications, the problem of records would be impossible under system. developing a systems analysis staff was these conditions; however, high-speed The source documents included in taken. computer searching is practical. the system were traffic citations, computer applications in law A study was conducted to determine traffic warnings, all traffic offense ar• enforcement were relatively new, a the feasibility of the theory. The rests, and field interrogation reports June 1968 3 mation file contained traffic contact quested through normal channels e data from the previous 2 months.