Computers, the Year 2000, and law enforcement.

Imagine it is 8 a.m. on January 3, 2000, in a busy police department containing many officers returning to work after the holidays. They begin the day by turning on their personal computers that are connected to the department's local area network. To bring themselves up-to-date, some officers decide to run a list of all of the burglaries entered into the department's database during their vacations. They bring up the search screen and type in the search parameters: 12-24-99 to 01-02-00. Shortly after the officers press the enter key, an error message appears on their screens: "INVALID DATE RANGE." Several more attempts produce the same result. After making mental notes to check with the department's computer maintenance people, the officers begin checking other systems.

However, every time they try to access a computer program, they get the same error message. A few officers begin to filter through the stacks of paperwork in their in-baskets and discover a memo from the communication section supervisor to the head of computer maintenance explaining that no entries can be made into the statewide crime information database for stolen property and missing or wanted persons. The memo states that the problem began on January 1, 2000.

The computer difficulties the officers encountered earlier and the communication section's problem suddenly become crystal clear. The computer programs interpreted the ending date (01-02-00) that the officers attempted to enter for the burglary search and other activities as the year 1900. The state's crime computer database also failed to accept the entries for the same reason. For the department's computer programs, the year 1900 goes far beyond the automatic expungement date, which deletes all data over 50 years old. Some of the officers remember reading about the Year 2000 problem but thought that it would affect only large businesses and corporations. How wrong they were.

While the plight of these officers represents a fictional scenario, experts indicate that such problems may become a reality in the very near future. Already, Year 2000 problems have begun to surface. For example, holders of credit cards with expiration dates of 2000 or later have encountered difficulties because some businesses have failed to update their verification systems.(1)

The Problem

The problem begins with the six-digit date format (two digits each for the month, the day, and the year). A computer most likely will interpret a year entry of 00 (for the year 2000) as the year 1900. Thus, any programs that involve date comparisons, arithmetic functions, scheduling, forecasting, or statistical analysis stand a good chance of rendering erroneous information. Moreover, most law enforcement agencies have their computers linked to other computer systems, such as the local court networks, the county jail, and state and federal crime information systems.(2) Consequently, faulty programs sending invalid data may corrupt other systems.

The Year 2000 problem is not limited merely to midsize or large mainframe computers. Many agencies have local area networks and stand-alone computers that prove just as susceptible to the problem as larger computers. Any device that relies on software may be affected, including private branch phone systems, or PBXs, used by many law enforcement agencies.

The Fix

Unfortunately, fixing the Year 2000 problem will not be easy. Large system programs contain millions of lines of programming code. Because each line must be individually examined and possibly altered, computer specialists must spend long periods of time recoding programs, resulting in costly, labor-intensive changes.

Currently, fixing a single line of computer code costs approximately $1.30. This amount should rise to about $3.65 by 1999 and to around $4 by the year 2000.(3) Cost estimates for fixing the problem in the United States business sector range from $120 to $300 billion. For example, one banking corporation alone must fix 2,500 computer systems and estimates that it will cost about $380 million.(4) A recent government report calculates that Year 2000 repairs at federal agencies will reach $4.7 billion.(5)

In addition to the cost of fixing the problem, experts anticipate an influx of Year 2000-related lawsuits. At a recent Year 2000 Task Force meeting sponsored by Lloyd's of London, underwriters predicted $1 trillion in litigation in the United States alone.(6)

The Local Approach

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) in Tampa, Florida, has spent the last 4 years writing and modifying programs to make them Year 2000 compliant. The department's mainframe computer connects approximately 1,000 computers and 500 video terminals. It also connects about 1,000 mobile data terminals in HCSO vehicles via radio transmissions. Additionally, the mainframe computer contains large databases, including the Computer Aided Dispatch System (CADS) and the Jail Administration and Management System (JAMS). Officers access CADS for most dispatch and law enforcement functions, while they use JAMS for the operation of the Hillsborough County Jail System. If these databases remain unchanged, programs dealing with such issues as the jail's security system, prisoner release dates, juvenile detention center release dates, or active warrant dates or any program that calculates someone's age could be affected in the year 2000.

In addition to these in-house functions, HCSO's mainframe computer shares databases with the local clerk's office for traffic tickets, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles for vehicle registration information, and the Florida Crime Information Center and the National Crime Information Center databases for criminal information. If these other agencies delay in working on the Year 2000 problem, they will affect HCSO's programs. Part of the reason for meeting internal deadlines involves HCSO's allotting sufficient time to test and retest its programs with outside databases prior to implementation.

HCSO does have an advantage over other departments that have failed to actively address the problem. First, the Data Operations Bureau began work on Year 2000-oriented goals several years ago. Also, along with assigning each HCSO programmer different programs to correct before 2000, the bureau dedicated an entire month in 1997 solely to working on Year 2000-related problems. Further, in order to seek out potential Year 2000 problems, HCSO began using a test system that tricks the computer's clock into thinking that the programs are being run in the year 2000. When programmers find problems, they modify the programs and record the changes for future reference. Finally, HCSO has been actively exchanging problem-solving information with other government agencies that have similar programs.

While the department's Data Operations Bureau spent approximately $200,000 for Year 2000 programming adjustments in 1997, the 1998 fiscal budget for Year 2000-related requests doubled to about $400,000 for hardware, software, and reprogramming concerns. However, in the future, the budget may need to include funds for contracting additional help, if needed, to solve some of the more difficult or time-consuming Year 2000 problems.

Along with budgetary concerns, HCSO's Data Operations Bureau realizes that time constitutes a major issue. Solving the Year 2000 problem proves tedious, as every program must be tested, checked, and rechecked, and no "magic bullet" exists to fix everything.

The Data Operations Bureau remains concerned about meeting deadlines because approximately 3,200 mainframe programs need to be checked. With fewer deadline days remaining, programmers may have to work overtime to meet the demanding schedule.

Recommendations

For those government agencies that start too late, HCSO programmers predict that it will cost them dearly in terms of money, time, and aggravation. However, these agencies may want to try some of the strategies HCSO has employed. Specifically, agencies should:

1) inventory all of their systems;

2) prioritize the items that need to be fixed;

3) develop contingency plans for all critical items in case they are not fixed on time or the fix fails;

4) establish test environments to verify the integrity of the changes, allowing sufficient time for testing;

5) involve the users in the testing process;

6) obtain written certification of successful test results; and

7) provide monthly status reports to senior managers.

HCSO regularly reviews and updates its monthly Year 2000 compliance report and has developed a comprehensive written contingency plan for all mission-critical systems and equipment. Further, HCSO programmers have found a wealth of constantly expanding information and assistance on the Internet and have contacted their computer and software providers for up-to-date technical support. Also, since 1994, HCSO has developed more than 1,000 programs and made them Year 2000 compliant. These strategies have helped HCSO face the challenges of the Year 2000 problem and may serve as a blueprint for other law enforcement agencies.

Conclusion

Law enforcement administrators throughout the country must not underestimate the potential problems that may lie hidden within their computer systems until January 1, 2000. Time is most certainly of the essence, and the further they delay in addressing the situation, the greater the probability of not meeting the rapidly approaching deadline for compliance. Administrators at agencies without full-time computer personnel should seek a professional diagnosis of their systems and ensure that the costs of fixing any problems receive appropriate budgetary priority. Administrators can find a great deal of information to help them decide what action to take.

With today's modern approach to law enforcement, it arguably can be said that computers often play just as important a role as the officer on the street. By waiting until computer problems surface after the year 2000, law enforcement agencies will be doing a serious disservice to the public they serve. Therefore, administrators must attack this problem with the same effort and determination that law enforcement professionals employ when faced with other challenging situations.

Endnotes

1 D. Poppe, "A $600 Billion Headache; Reprogramming Countless Computers," The Miami Herald, July 28, 1997, 22B, 1.

2 NCIC Technical and Operations Update: Information Interstate Identification Index Data Change and National Crime Center Date Field Changes, Criminal Justice Information Services Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC, September 25, 1997, explained all of the changes the FBI is making to existing NCIC date field formats, edits, and document conversion. Users should contact the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division at 304-625-2730 regarding any concerns or inquiries relating to Year 2000 compliance with FBI information systems.

3 Supra note 1.

4 Rajiv Chandrasekaran, "A $50 Billion 'Bug,' Fed Official: Year 2000 Computer Fix Could Slow Economy," The Washington Post, April 29, 1998, A18.

5 Ibid.

6 Peter Leyden and Peter Schwartz. "The Long Boom: An Interview with Peter Leyden and Peter Schwartz," Barron's, September 1, 1997, 17-20.

Year 2000 Federal Points of Contact

* Department of Justice

Kathy Larson, e-mail: [e-mail]

* Department of the Treasury

Eldon Colby, e-mail: [e-mail]

* U.S. Courts

David Schenken, e-mail: [e-mail]

* Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms

Judy Walters, e-mail: [e-mail]

Year 2000 Internet Resources

* The Year 2000 Web Page: http://www.year2000.com

Offers links to hundreds of articles and resources on the Year 2000 problem

* Federal Government Information: http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/mks/yr2000/y2khome.htm

Provides an information directory of the federal government's Year 2000 effort

* Year 2000 Manager's Toolbox: http://www.govexec.com/tech/year2000

Discusses Year 2000 concerns that managers need to know

* Year 2000 Resources: http://www.computerworld.com/res/year-2000.html

Offers a variety of resources concerning the Year 2000 problem

Sergeant Eisenberg serves with the Enforcement Operations Bureau of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in Tampa, Florida.

Deputy Slattery serves with the Enforcement Operations Bureau of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in Tampa, Florida.