A SYSTEMS APPROACH TO COMMAND AND CONTROL IN CRIME PREVENTION AND CONTROL,

Meaningful applications of contemporary science and technology to crime prevention and control require both a definition and an understanding of the objectives of administration of justice systems and subsystems. It is essential that both the technological and non-technological constraints that impinge upon the operation of these systems be identified and assessed in context with special environments. The provision of scientific and technological capabilities must be preceded by an assessment and, where necessary, an upgrading of the capabilities and limitations of existing administration of justice systems. This paper discusses some of the more apparent ramifications inherent in what might be referred to as a systems approach to some of the more immediate problems involved in attempting to apply science and technology to the administration of justice. The comments are directed to a more specific set of functions in one agency, the law enforcement or police agency. The fundamental functions of a command-and-control system in the context of a generalized view of portions of the police process are discussed in general terms. Author