DOI: 10.3886/icpsr09969.v1
title: Automated Reporting System Pilot Project in Los Angeles, 1990
title: Version 1

description: The purpose of this pilot project was to determine if 
 preliminary investigation report (PIR) data filed by patrol officers 
 could be collected via laptop computers to allow the direct input of 
 the data into the Los Angeles Police Department Crime and Arrest 
 Database without adversely affecting the personnel taking or using the 
 reports. This data collection addresses the following questions: (1) 
 Did officers and supervisors prefer the automated reporting system 
 (ARS) or the handwritten version of the PIR? (2) Did the ARS affect the 
 job satisfaction or morale of officers and supervisors? (3) Did the ARS 
 reduce the amount of time that patrol officers, supervisors, and clerks 
 spent on paperwork? (4) Did the ARS affect the accuracy of information 
 contained in the PIRs? (5) Did detectives and prosecuting attorneys 
 find the ARS a more reliable source than handwritten PIRs? Officers and 
 supervisors in two divisions of the Los Angeles Police Department, 
 Wilshire and Hollywood, participated as control and experimental 
 groups. The control group continued using handwritten ("existing") 
 PIRs while the experimental group used the automated PIRs (ARS). The 
 General Information Questionnaire collected information on each 
 officer's rank, assignment, watch, gender, age, years with the Los 
 Angeles Police Department, education, job morale, job demands, 
 self-esteem, computer anxiety, and relationship with supervisor and 
 other officers. The Job Performance Rating Form gathered data on work 
 efforts, depth of job knowledge, work quality, oral and written skills, 
 and capacity to learn. The Time Study Sheets collected data on 
 investigation time, writing and editing time, travel time, approval and 
 correction time, review time, errors by type, and data input time for 
 both the handwritten and automated forms. The Evaluation of the 
 Existing Form and the Evaluation of the Automated Form both queried 
 respondents on ease of use, system satisfaction, and productivity loss. 
 The ARS Use Questionnaire asked about ease of use, typing skills, 
 computer skills, comfort with the system, satisfaction with training, 
 and preference for the system. The Hollywood Detective Division ARS Use 
 Questionnaire surveyed detectives on the system's ease of use, task 
 improvement, support for continued use, and preference for the system. 
 The PIR Content Evaluation Form collected data on quality of officers' 
 observations, organization and writing skills, physical evidence, 
 statements of victims, witnesses, and suspects, and offense 
 classification. The Caplan Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity subscales 
were used in the design of the questionnaires.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Hollywood Detective Division ARS Use Questionnaire
DS2: Hollywood Time Study Sheet of the Existing and Automated Forms
DS3: Hollywood ARS Use Questionnaire
DS4: Evaluations of the Existing and Automated Forms
DS5: Prosecuting Attorneys PIR Content Evaluation Form
DS6: General Information Questionnaires, Evaluations of the Existing and Automated Forms, Job Rating Performance Form, Time Study Sheets, and Caplan Scales
DS7: Codebook for All Parts