U. S. Department of Justice ;e Bureau of Justice Statistics The Criminal Justice Microcomputer' Guide and Software Catalogue June 1988 / 112178 U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice This document has been reproduced exactly as received from the person or organization originating it. Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or pOlicies of the National Institute of Justice. Permission to reproduce this copyrighted material has been granted by Public Domain/BJS u.s. Department of Justige to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires perP'lis­ sian of the copyright owner. " " ...~ .. ,... .• J. \ '''1'' ~. t .'; - ,': --------------~- -- u.s. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS STEVEN R. SCHLESINGER DIRECfOR Report of work performed under BJS Grant No. 83BJ-CX-KOOI awarded to SEARCH Group, Inc., 925 Secret River Drive, Sacramento, California 95831. Contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Bureau of Justice Statistics or the U.S. Department of Justice. The information contained herein was provided solely on a voluntary basis, and as such neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor SEARCH Group, Inc., assumes responsibility for the completeness and accuracy of the Software Catalogue. Copyright © SEARCH Group, Inc. 1988 The U.S. Department of Justice authorizes any person to reproduce, publish, translate, or otherwise use all or any part of the copyrighted material in the publication with the exception of those items indicating that they are copyrighted by or reprinted by permission of any source other than SEARCH Group, Inc. ii " Acknowledgments Many criminal justice agencies and computer vendors significantly contributed to the success of The Criminal Justice Microcomputer Guide and Software Catalogue by voluntarily providing information on criminal justice application software. The work on this report was completed under the auspices of SEARCH Group, Inc., the National Consortium for Justice Information ano. Statistics. Gary D. McAlvey is the Chairman and Gary R. Cooper is the Executive Director of this nonprofit organization of the states which is dedicated to improving the criminal justice system through information technology. The Criminal Justice Microcomputer Guide and Software Catalogue was prepared by Noel C. Morgan, Manager, Technical Services, with assistance from Roger R. Wickham, Criminal Justice Computer Systems Specialist, and was edited by Judith Anne Ryder, Manager, Corporate Communications, and Dr. Thomas F. Wilson, Senior Writer. SEARCH would like to acknowledge the contributions of Ronald H. Jayne, former Director, Systems and Technology. The project was conducted under the direction of John Jones, Project Manager, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Departm~nt of Justice. The Criminal Justice Microcomputer Guide and Software Catalogue was produced on an Apple® Macintosh SHfM and LaserWriter Plus™ using Microsoft® Word and Aldus PageMaker® software. \, I' l The Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, coordinates the activities of the following program offices and bureaus: Too Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and It the Office for Victims of Crime. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS I) ART ONE: THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE MICROCOMPUTER GUIDE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii INTRODUCTION ix I. BASIC MICROCOMPUTER COMPONENTS 3 Hardware 4 Software 26 II. OPERATING SYSTEM OPTIONS 37 Single-User, Single-Tasking Operating Systems 39 Single-User, Multitasking Operating Systems 41 Multiuser, Single-Tasking Operating Systems 43 Multiuser, Multitasking Operating Systems 44 Ill. SELECTING A MICROCOMPUTER SYSTEM 49 Conducting a Needs Assessment 49 Investigating Software 53 Investigating Hardware 58 Selecting a Vendor 63 Installing the System 66 A Final Word 68 GLOSSARY OF MICROCOMPUTER TERMS 71 PART TWO: THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SOFIWARE CATALOGUE INTRODUCTION iii ApPLICATION SOFTWARE FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE 1 INDICES Vendor/ Agency Name Index 155 Criminal Justice Discipline Index 159 Hardware Type Index 163 Public Domain Index 169 APPENDICES Appendix A: Descriptions of Fields in Software Catalogue 173 Appendix B: Form for Submittals to Software Catalogue 175 v PART ONE THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE MICROCOMPUTER GUIDE INTRODUCfION I. BASIC MICROCOMPUTER COMPONENTS II. OPERATING SYSTEM OPTIONS III. SELECTING A MICROCOMPUTER SYSTEM GLOSSARY OF MICROCOMPUTERTERMS INTRODUCTION The purpose of the Criminal Justice Microcomputer Guide and Software Catalogue is to assist small- or medium-sized criminal justice agencies, unfamiliar with computer technology, in the selection of an appropriate microcomputer system. Which is the best microcomputer system for your agency? Of course, you want the one that matches your agency's data processing requirements. But how do you know which is the best microcomputer system? The answer to that question is the focus of this book: getting the best system (both hardware and software) for your agency is the result of an org.fmized selection process. The Guide suggests a sequence of steps and provides enough information .for you to establish your own systematic approach to acquiring a microcomputer system. To select the best microcomputer system, you need a basic understanding of the parts of a microcomputer system and how those parts work together. This does not mean that you have to be a technical wizard or that you must understand the circuitry of a silicon chip. You do need to know what happens in the process - we put data into the computer, it undergqes a process of manipulation, and information comes out, answering the problem that we wanted to solve. The explanation of this process and the related questions surrounding microcomputer technology are based on SEARCH's many years of experience training criminal justice professionals in the basics of computer technology. The oft repeated questions posed in our national training classes, and the requests we receive from thousands of technical assistance calls, contributed greatly to the content and format of this publication. The publication is divided into two major parts: Pait One, the Microcomputer Guide, defines the basic components of microcomputers and describes a process for selecting a system. Part Two, the Software Catalogue is a listing of operational criminal justice software applications. The first chapter in Part One begins with a discussion of the basic components of a system - its hardware and software. The chapter briefly describes the computer's microprocessor and memory; input devices (keyboards, mouse and light pens); output devices (printers and monitors); and storage devices (hard and floppy disks and magnetic tape drives). Additional hardware components are discussed under communication devices and local area networks. The first chapter continues with a discussion of system software, including operating systems, utilities, languages and industry standards, and general and highly specialized application software. The chapter also includes a brief explanation of public domain software. ix Once you understand the various microcomputer components, Chapter Two, Operating System Options, moves into a detailed review of four general types of operating systems: 1) single-user, single-tasking; 2) single-user, multitasking; 3) multiuser, single-tasking; and 4) multiuser, multitasking. Each type of operating system offers different capabilities and has specific limitations. Your choice of operating system will determine which hardware components you will be able to link together and which application programs you can operate. Putting the right parts together is the key to success. Chapter Three, Selecting a Microcomputer, highlights the general steps in a systematic acquisition process. Your agency's needs determine the best system for you. Your first step in the process, therefore, must be to define those needs. What do you really want the microcomputer to do for you? How is your current system managing (or mismanaging) the defined tasks? After outlining the key points in a needs assessment, the chapter sets out a process for analyzing, evaluating and scoring software packages and hardware components that should help you navigate your way through dozens of potential systems. Chapter Three also helps you to evaluate computer vendors and the services they provide. Throughout the text, technical jargon is kept to a minimum; we hope to provide only the amount of technical terminology you will need to be conversant in the selection process. To guide the reader whenever technical words do appear, they are in boldface type the first time they are used. All words in boldface are defined in the extensive glossary which follows Part One. There are also many additional technical words in the glossary that you may find helpful as you wind your way through the acquisition process. Finally, with an understanding of computer basics, configuration options, and an organized selection process, you will be able to turn to the software listings in Part Two, the Software Catalogue where over 150 existing proprietary and public domain criminal justice software packages offer the promise of addressing your agency's computer needs. The variety of software available for microcomputers is extensive and growing daily. The majority of the applications