to incomplete, inaccurate or out-of-date information, which in extreme cases can lead to users losing confidence in the usefulness of the system, and the system falling into disuse Inadequate attention to the security and confidentiality of the information, can in extreme cases lead to compromises of the justice system and to infringements of privacy Inadequate staff preparation for the implementation of the computer system and its associated changes in procedures can lead to staff antipathy, and in extreme cases, refusal to use the system Attempting to develop systems which are too large and complicated to be managed properly, can lead to slipped deadlines, loss of development staff morale and loss of interest on the part of users operly applied, planning of computerisation will mean that any computer systems that are introduced will generate real benefits, at a cost which can be justified, that they will have scope for future expansion and integration, and that the systems will work according to expectation 4.3 Planning for Computerisation Planning for computerisation is similar to that involved in building a new town or estate; work cannot begin on building individual parts until the overall plan has been prepared and agreed. The overall plan determines how big the overall development will be, where the infrastructural components(which, in the town analogy, would be roads, drainage etc, but in computer terms would be the computer processors, communications links, etc ) will be placed and the number and type of individual buildings to be built. The plan usually also sets a time scale, which shows construction plans and a time line. In computing terms, the overall plan is called a strategy, it exa the objectives of the criminal justice system or agency and identifies those aspects of the work which could usefully be computerised. A strategy also sets out the infrastructure necessary to achieve the proposed computerisation the relative sizes of computer systems required, the communications facilities needed, the number of users requiring access and the relative volumes of work to be undertaken by lanning for computerisation consists of a large number of individual stages or components, as in the town building analogy described above. As with building a new development, the first problem is to find a suitable site, and develop an overall plan for the scale and nature of the development--whether to build a residential housing area or an industrial park, for example. In technical terms, this stage is known as defining the strategy establishing a plan which sets out what objectives are to be met, the extent to which computerisation will be applied, and the broad time scale in which the development will take place. Once the strategy is defined, the remainder of the planning process focuses mainly on building and implementing the component parts of the strategy-buying the right computer hardware, developing or buying appropriate computer software, training the At first sight, the list of tasks involved in planning a computer system can be daunting. In reality, by breaking down the overall task into specific components, it can be seen that each individual part is straightforward and manageable. It follows that since the individual stages are manageable, so is the overall task. As a guide to the components involved in planning for computerisation, one can identify the following typical stages as a guide to what is normally included Setting the scope and direction of computerisation Designing and implementing each individual system Ensuring the security, integrity and satisfactory operation of the computerisation project 4.3.1 Stages Associated with Setting the Scope and Direction of Computerisation I. Deciding responsibility for managing the strategy study and for setting the policy on the scale and scope of computerisation, I. Undertaking an analysis of the needs of the organisation(s) and preparing a detailed overall plan for computerisation which tackle the needsto incomplete, inaccurate or out-of-date information, which in extreme cases can lead to users losing confidence in the usefulness of the system, and the system falling into disuse; C Inadequate attention to the security and confidentiality of the information, can in extreme cases lead to compromises of the justice system and to infringements of privacy; C Inadequate staff preparation for the implementation of the computer system and its associated changes in procedures can lead to staff antipathy, and in extreme cases, refusal to use the system; C Attempting to develop systems which are too large and complicated to be managed properly, can lead to slipped deadlines, loss of development staff morale and loss of interest on the part of users. Properly applied, planning of computerisation will mean that any computer systems that are introduced will generate real benefits, at a cost which can be justified, that they will have scope for future expansion and integration, and that the systems will work according to expectation. 4.3 Planning for Computerisation Planning for computerisation is similar to that involved in building a new town or estate; work cannot begin on building individual parts until the overall plan has been prepared and agreed. The overall plan determines how big the overall development will be, where the infrastructural components (which, in the town analogy, would be roads, drainage etc., but in computer terms would be the computer processors, communications links, etc.) will be placed and the number and type of individual buildings to be built. The plan usually also sets a time scale, which shows construction plans and a time line. In computing terms, the overall plan is called a strategy; it examines the objectives of the criminal justice system or agency and identifies those aspects of the work which could usefully be computerised. A strategy also sets out the infrastructure necessary to achieve the proposed computerisation - the relative sizes of computer systems required, the communications facilities needed, the number of users requiring access and the relative volumes of work to be undertaken by each. Planning for computerisation consists of a large number of individual stages or components, as in the town building analogy described above. As with building a new development, the first problem is to find a suitable site, and develop an overall plan for the scale and nature of the development--whether to build a residential housing area or an industrial park, for example. In technical terms, this stage is known as defining the strategy-- establishing a plan which sets out what objectives are to be met, the extent to which computerisation will be applied, and the broad time scale in which the development will take place. Once the strategy is defined, the remainder of the planning process focuses mainly on building and implementing the component parts of the strategy - buying the right computer hardware, developing or buying appropriate computer software, training the users how to use the system, etc. At first sight, the list of tasks involved in planning a computer system can be daunting. In reality, by breaking down the overall task into specific components, it can be seen that each individual part is straightforward and manageable. It follows that since the individual stages are manageable, so is the overall task. As a guide to the components involved in planning for computerisation, one can identify the following typical stages as a guide to what is normally included: C Setting the scope and direction of computerisation; C Designing and implementing each individual system; C Ensuring the security, integrity and satisfactory operation of the computerisation project. 4.3.1 Stages Associated with Setting the Scope and Direction of Computerisation I. Deciding responsibility for managing the strategy study and for setting the policy on the scale and scope of computerisation; I. Undertaking an analysis of the needs of the organisation(s) and preparing a detailed overall plan for computerisation which tackle the needs;