Databases

Before the use of ICT police would store information about everybody in a paper base system. The problem with this though is that only one person could access a piece of data at any one time and if a piece of data was lost, damaged or destroyed due to a fire or flood, data would be lost forever and would need to be recollected. Also filling cabinets which stored this information took up a lot of room and it could take hours to find one piece of information about a person or crime. Lastly if something needed to be changed about a person the documents would need to be re written which was extremely time consuming.

Now through databases records can be searched through easier using queries, computers do not take up at much room as filling cabinets, data can shared over a network and a back up can be taken onto a memory stick, magnetic tape or CD and stored somewhere else in case of a flood or fire. It is also a lot easier to change a piece of information if it is on a computerised system.

The criminal conviction database includes the following fields

• Name (the one the criminal is known by)

• Real name

• Height

• Approx. weight

• Colour of eyes

• Colour of hair

• Glasses

• Tattoos

• Scars

• Warning signals e.g. do they usually carry firearms

• Previous convictions

• Method of crime