Project – Design and implementation of an online crime reporting system with graphical aid

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    Introduction

Crime Report is a written account of an incident observed from one or more sources It can also be defined as the communication of information arranged in an accurate, concise, clear and complete manner, which then becomes a record of a given incidents to an interested party for decision to be made.

An online crime reporting system allows a user to alert the appropriate authorities of a crime in progress or one that has been recently committed. The proposed system in order to strengthen the veracity of the report and provide adequate evidence is designed to support audio, visual and graphical inputs.

Graphical Aided systems combine images, videos and audio to help illustrate a given concept.

This chapter covers the background of the study, statement of the problem, the aim and objectives of the study, significance of the study, scope of the study, limitation of the study and definition of terms.

1.2 Background of the Study

Crime report helps to get an accurate picture of a crime being committed. Without crime report it will be very difficult to arrest criminals and at the same time distribute personnel in the planning of operation.

Imo State Police Command is faced with processing of a large number of criminal cases every week. Most times, accurate data on each individual case file is not kept as a result of human error. This also makes attending to new case files and obtaining the relevant information on these files difficult. At times, individuals are not comfortable going physically lay a complaint at the police station due to the poor service they receive.

Currently, the Imo State Police Command does not have a system for remote reporting of criminal activities going on around it’s environ. For an individual to report an offender or a crime, he or she has to go down to the Police Station to physically lay a complaint, most tomes, reporters do not have substantial evidence to back up their claims and the Police Station does not have the tools to process and store this evidence and thus leads to poor documentation of reports.

An online complaint reporting system will solve this problem and will also help the Imo State Police Command in catching criminals. In addition to this, it will help capture and preserve criminal records with their corresponding evidence files.

1.3 Statement of the Problem

The problems that were identified in the existing system includes;

1. The use of paper files and steel filing cabinets has led to the difficulty in storing records in the Security Unit.
2. It is not easy to search and retrieve specific criminal records when the need arises.
3. The organization of information is structured poorly and processing is slow.
4. During file processing, errors are easily made and cannot be detected easily.
5. File storage is not durable due to the manual method of storing information.
6. Students are filled with fear of physically going to the Security Post to report a criminal case for fear of victimization.

1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The main purpose behind this study is to improve the effectiveness and performance of the Imo State Police Command; to improve the efficiency of security procedures. In achieving this aim, the following objectives will be met;

1. The new system will provide an easy and efficient mode of storing information in the Security Unit.
2. The system will enable the easy retrieval of criminal details and criminal information.
3. With the use of an online relational database, files and records will be stored and indexed properly, thereby enabling speedy processing of information.
4. The system will enforce data validation during file upload. This helps reduce errors in stored data.
5. The new system will ensure data privacy, security, and the durability of stored information.
6. Students will be able to report criminal cases from any location without fear of victimization and indictment. 

1.5 Significance of the Study

It is critical for this project to be undertaken in order to provide a better crime reporting and documentation system which can be accessed over the internet from remote destinations, and also allow accurate and secure solutions to crime. This will eventually provide a more organized crime report recording system and will provide an efficient mode of data storage, retrieval and increase data integrity. 

1.6 Scope of the Study

The new system is designed to allow users capture and report ongoing crimes from remote locations. The reports would typically support a textual description of the offence, the upload of evidence such as images, documents, audio, video or any other form of media files that will support the claims of the reporter.

1.7 Limitations of the Study

Insufficient Funds: It was difficult to pay for programming tutorials that were necessary in order to integrate a direct camera capture functionality to the system. This proved to be a challenge as the researcher had to finance the online course enrollment.

Lack of efficient Development Tools: Also, some of the Software Development Environments that support Virtual Reality programming had expensive licence keys, this made the acquisition of these soft-wares to be difficult.

Conflicting Academic Schedule: The researcher was forced to combine academic work with the research work, thereby exerting much intellectual strain in the researcher. Hence, the scope of the work was reduced.

1.8 Definition of Technical Terms

Authority: The power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.

Case File: A collection of documents and evidence relating to a particular legal case.

Crime: An action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law.

Evidence: The available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid.

Graphical Aid: Graphics are visual images, designs, videos or other such media that helps illustrate a concept further.

Incident: An instance of something happening; an event or occurrence.

Information: What is conveyed or represented by a particular arrangement or sequence of things.

Offender: A person who commits an illegal act.  person or thing that does something wrong or causes problems.

Remote: (Of a place) situated far from the main centres of population; distant.

Report: An account given of a particular matter, especially in the form of an official document, after thorough investigation or consideration by an appointed person or body.

Security: The state of being free from danger or threat.

Project – Design and implementation of an online crime reporting system with graphical aid