Integrated Crime Information System (Part III)
IN THE last column, we looked at the establishment of the Integrated Crime Information System (ICIS) principally as a modern tool to aid the crime fighting capability of the Guyana Police Force. While the conceptual impact was an enterprise level application that will effectively serve the day-to-day operations of the Force, it is also an information resource for those agencies authorised to access and input relevant information.  Information is key to analyses that would inform on actions and interventions.
Executed under the Citizen Security Programme, ICIS is a state-of-the-art incident-based station reporting system, and a centralised, crime information management system. It is designed to directly support a number of operational components of law enforcement and contribute to the overall efforts at improving the work of the justice system.
1. Within the GPF and other law enforcement agencies, there is a voluminous amount of data collected and stored. The current state of manual gathering and storage is not only unsustainable, but costly. A computerised system has been identified as an effective solution. ICIS allows users to securely enter all occurrences and related information from the level of the police stations all the way to Force headquarters. In the process, over fifty ledgers which have to be painstakingly hand written will not be required.
2. ICIS provides for extensive search and retrieval capabilities to review all information to support investigative and querying activities. It is designed to support and source reference information from  agencies such as the Guyana Revenue Authority, Guyana Elections Commission, the Passport Office, the General Registry Office, Maritime Administration, and the Civil Aviation Department.
3. It will also realise in greater efficiency in prosecutorial work. Specific functions include the electronic routing of files to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for advice and guidance. Apart from direct access by the DPP, ICIS also has an interface which will allow the magistrate courts to access and update specific cases of magistrate decisions.
4. The system also extends to the day to day operations of the Guyana Prison Service. The functions that will be supported to include Prison Admissions, Parole Scheduling, Prisoner Education/Training, Court Appearance Scheduling, Discharge Calendars, and Visitation Tracking.
5. ICIS also supports the informatics requirements of the Crime Observatory by serving as a data repository for an integrated Geographic Information System. The overall idea is that there will be no need for specific and separate data collection activities. The information entered at police stations is structured in such a way that statistical reports can be generated at a moment’s notice to assist in the mapping of crime and violence related injuries.
Based on open industry standards, the Integrated Crime Information System will distribute data and applications anywhere they are needed. It begins with the collection of data at police stations and eventually the police vehicle. Information about events and individuals can be easily tracked throughout the criminal justice system.