Management of Information within a Law Enforcement Agency using Technology - Coursework Example

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT of the of the Introduction This study would be centered towards information management in context of law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement agencies in United States play a critical role in bringing forth justice within the system. Criminal justice system is established through such law enforcement agencies. Corrections and courts also contribute towards justice system. Law enforcement agencies usually have to deal with wide array of information. Governmental police agencies are solely responsible for governing law enforcement agencies. The major purposes of such agencies are investigation of criminal activities, transferring results to courts and detention of any pending judicial action. Varying degree of governmental intervention is present within different law enforcement agencies. Other duties which are performed by such agencies are warrant enforcement, court orders and writs. These agencies are actively indulged in providing their first response in any form of emergency. They even ensure public safety through facing various threats. Protection of infrastructure or public facilities is other duties exhibited by law enforcement agencies. These agencies are also held responsible for performing operations related to correctional facilities, public order maintenance and enhancement of skills or knowledge of public officials. In this study, importance of information management shall be highlighted in relation to law enforcement agencies. Information management is all about standards, technologies, functions, etc., that helps in providing or storing high quality information. The law enforcement agency selected for this particular study is New York State Police. This organization was established in 1917. State police belongs to a specific category of law enforcement agencies. Discussion Contribution of information system technology Technology has been able to alter the operational procedure of law enforcement agencies. High performance of New York State Police is dependent on the mechanism of information management. There are large volumes of information which are handled by state police and their entire operation is closely knitted with acquired information. Police forces across the globe face a lot of challenges in terms of managing crime rate or enforcing any new law. Apart from handling volume crime, there are other challenges too faced by state police such as transnational criminal networks, dealing with threat of domestic or international terrorism, etc. Expectations of citizens also have to be addressed by state police. Higher public accountability and transparency along with proper policy frameworks are a part of such expectations. Police forces are not only there for addressing identified challenges but also needs to upgrade their efficiency level by reducing resources and overall costs. In all forms of policing activities with respect to New York State Police, information management has been able to resolve many critical issues. Advanced technology has enabled the organization to deal with high volumes of information and solve criminal cases efficiently. Information management has supported this law enforcement agency to reduce cost and eradicate any kind of waste from the system (Conser, Paynich, Gingerich and Gingerich, 2011). Unnecessary recordings are removed with the help of knowledge management measure. This in turn facilitates better utilization of analytics and promotion of decision making process based on costs. The effectiveness of wide array of policing services has been enhanced through information system technology. Performance is one such aspect which has reached its desired level after implementation of information system technology. New York State Police is being able to collaboratively work with other law enforcement agencies due to information system technology. Knowledge management initiates information sharing amongst agencies. This information can be explored in order to solve any criminal case or to undertake any strategic policy. Preventive policing and enhancement of intelligence base is supported by information management technology. Knowledge management is an integral component of policing activities since police officers are able to access some critical information. From the past few years information technology has increased public confidence on New York State Police (New York State, 2015). This is simply because information technology provides a platform whereby police department can efficiently engage with other local communities. They mainly serve on the basis of tools to formulate crime maps. These crime maps help to evaluate different policing operations by citizens. Administrative processes of the selected organization are well executed by information technology system. The system is not only responsible for handling information but even performs analytical operation. Information value is unlocked by police forces through utilization of knowledge management system. The problem of data collection has been mitigated to a great extent with the support of information management system. It can be stated that these systems serve as a medium to collect required information regarding any particular criminal activity and then performing thorough analysis on collected information. The system has even contributed towards providing access to superior quality information. Law enforcement agencies such as New York State Police align their operations with available information. Technology facilitates faster collection of data and reduces time which would have been otherwise required during acquiring essential information. Information security is ensured through such knowledge management measures. Police forces are able to share confidential information with some partners through information management system. In earlier years, New York State Police always witnessed a common challenge in terms of transforming gathered information into actionable intelligence. However information management system has played a key role in converting information into intelligence. Data visualization is initiated through information management system. Large information volume is represented in graphical format due to information system architecture. Decision making process has been improved with the support of advanced technology. Relevant information is accessed timely by police forces of New York through information management system. Information flow optimization has been triggered by information management mechanism. New York State Police is now being able to resolve higher percentage of criminal cases after successful implementation of information system. Measurement of agency’s commitment Law enforcement agencies develop best practices so as to safeguard public from external threat. These threats are of various forms and are currently being predicted through information management system. To be more precise information systems have facilitated rapid execution of tasks. The agency’s approach towards this field is related to handling large volumes of information and making them accessible when required. Flexible information networks are present within all law enforcement agencies. Transparency is the major motive of New York State Police. Trust of public can be gained when a system is transparent enough to reveal necessary information to citizens. The organization lays emphasis on this particular field since it guarantees system transparency. Measurement is a common approach associated with implementation of advanced technology. Productivity of such systems should be properly measured so as to determine return on investment (Bidgoli, 2006). Organizations make lump sum investment on such systems so that maximum benefits can be explored. In this particular field, organization’s approach can be effectively measured by analyzing current level of performance in comparison to earlier performance. Benchmarking is necessary in order to measure approach of the organization. New York State Police is actively involved in resolving wide range of criminal issues. An appropriate database management system would help in measuring organizational approach in specified field. Database shall contain number of cases registered with the agency and percentage of cases efficiently solved. A graphical representation would denote the change in trend in case resolution. The organization puts emphasis on knowledge management since it helps to eradicate duplicate information and access higher quality of information. This agency is a state level agency and possesses certain framework of rules or regulations. New York State Police can compare its technology based operations with other federal or local level agencies. It would help in understanding the varying procedures in context of implementation and utilization of information system. The comparison tools are always beneficial in order to understand current position of an entity (Chu, 2001). Law enforcement agencies have to continuously work for public and in due course of time their performance level might deteriorate. However incorporation of benchmarking techniques would be adequate since a strong correlation could be established between other agencies and chosen state agency. To certain extent, database management system can be used to identify efficiency level of an organizational system. Technical inefficiency might result into some form of flaws within the database system. This would be inadequate in relation to measuring organizational approach in the particular field. There are chances of such measurement tools to be better. Criminal justice and public safety forms the basis of New York State Police. These two factors can be well addressed when information is stored in the system and accessed for framing appropriate policing activities. The approach could have been better if a decentralized process was maintained in the system. This would have enabled all departments to access information and take corrective actions. Department integration is not included within organizational approach in this information technology field. Information integration through technology is expected to yield better results. Policing activities in current scenario relies heavily on information management system. The selected law enforcement agency has limited emphasis on the particular field. Emphasis in this area is not so great since there are further areas of improvement. New York State Police puts emphasis only on collection and storage of information. The stored information can then be utilized to drive intelligence based operations. Information system has supported the agency to regulate large volumes of information. In overall context information reduces manual error and increases efficiency of operational procedure. Law enforcement agency puts emphasis on the particular field so as to initiate maximum utilization of resources (Reynolds, 2014). Cost is a major issue associated with information processing and analysis. This factor is emphasized on by the agency but there are other factors too which could have been encompassed. Information system is often regarded as a tool to collect wide range of data but this system is capable enough to alter traditional practice. Recommended strategies Information management technology system is a central component of high performance police forces. The agency’s current approach towards the system can be upgraded through incorporating performance standards. Public confidence and trust in the system can be improved only when effective policing services are designed. Increase in accountability and transparency helps to reduce costs associated with performing policing operations. Performance and efficiency of a system is totally based on information management capabilities. The agency needs to develop a consolidated architecture of enterprise wide information management system. It is firstly recommended that the agency should design an information strategy. Some standardized information policies should be structured by the agency. Information policies usually comprise of certain principles, guidance or frameworks that is used to govern organizational operations. A common set of information standards would ensure high quality information which could be accessed or analyzed by the agency. On the basis of this approach high quality information can be stored, created and communicated across different parties. Strategic goals of the agency can be attained through designing such information system architecture. Apart from structuring standardized set of information policies it is also recommended that large number of stakeholders should be involved in the process. Information strategy would have certain impact on strategic, operational and technological functions. Involvement of stakeholders helps to design best information strategy. This is because agency stakeholders would be aware of intricacies interlinked with policing activities. Collaborative process is capable enough to refine operational procedure. These strategies can be refined and developed through such process. A wide range of functions are performed by stakeholders. These key personnel are senior officers, front line officers, key decision makers, technologists and administrators. The stakeholders are capable enough to contribute their innovative ideas towards designing appropriate information system architecture. Thirdly it is recommended that a central governance function is established within the system. There are common information management practices and standards which are incorporated throughout organizational structure. A central governance structure is facilitated through an appropriate information strategy. Central governance function is responsible for raising awareness and managing communication. Communication channels across the police department can be enhanced only through proper utilization of information system. Training is a necessary element when it comes to transferring traditional system into a technology based system. Internal stakeholders of the agency were responsible for performing operations on information technology system. Training programs should be designed for such stakeholders so that they are able to understand well pros and cons of such system. Central governance structure also comprises of disseminating good practice and guidance. Data models should be followed by the organization in order to sustain technical standards in the system. Information governance is another recommended strategy which could upgrade IT infrastructure of law enforcement agency. It is recommended that key policies should be central component of such IT system. These policies refer to data entry standards mainly for police officers. There would be assigned individuals who shall perform data entry operation. Privacy guidelines are an important issue in context of handling large volumes of data. Data can be secured only through usage of software that can safeguard entered data from any form of exploitation. Each of the department could be able to access information as per their requirements. Data security would be facilitated through utilization of passwords and secret identification code. This code will enable officers to view information needed for resolving any particular criminal case. On the other hand, it is highly recommended that information strategy should be aligned with strategic priorities. Information management improvement is bound to have an impact on performance and efficiency. Strategic priorities of the law enforcement agencies need to be listed firstly and then information strategy shall be structured. These priorities would differ from one agency to another. Cost reduction can be one of the strategic priorities and information strategy should be strong enough to address such priority. The major goal of information management system in case of New York State Police needs to be reduction of duplicate information from the system. Hence it is recommended that data entered by selected group of individuals could not be altered by any other departmental members. Conclusion This study clearly reveals that information management system contributes towards up gradation of law enforcement agency’s operations. There are agencies which are handling large volume of information. Information needs to be managed properly so that identified issues can be resolved at a faster rate. New York State Police had been selected as a law enforcement agency in this particular study. This agency over the years is actively indulged into solving criminal cases and safeguarding public well-being. Individuals rely on police department since they promise to deliver best services. It often becomes difficult to manage such wide base of information. In such scenarios, information technology plays an integral role to manage information efficiently and utilize it in different cases. Accessibility, control, storage, etc., are key features which are associated with information management system. The organizational approach towards this field is to store information and share it amongst other departmental units. There are situations when accessed information cannot be converted into active intelligence. Information management system of the chosen agency possesses capability to perform such conversion and adopt the role of analytics. This study also encompasses certain recommended strategies for the agency in order to improve upon their information management system. Training programs are one such recommended strategy which can improve upon functionalities of the system. Information strategy designed by the agency needs to be well aligned with its strategic priorities. References Bidgoli, H. (2006). Handbook of information security, information warfare, social, legal, and international issues and security foundations. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Chu, J. (2001). Law enforcement information technology: a managerial, operational, and practitioner guide. New York: CRC Press. Conser, J. A., Paynich, R., Gingerich, T. E. and Gingerich, T. (2011). Law enforcement in the United States. New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. New York State. (2015). Division of State Police. Retrieved from: http://www.troopers.ny.gov/ . Reynolds, G. (2014). Ethics in information technology. New York: Cengage Learning. Read More