Citizen Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting
Encyclopedia
Citizen Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting, also known as CLEAR, is a system of relational database
s used by the Chicago Police Department
(CPD) in Chicago
, Illinois
. These databases allow law enforcement
officials to easily cross-reference available information in investigations and to analyze crime patterns using a geographic information system GIS. CLEAR includes a network of remotely-operated cameras that exhibit a small amount of artificial intelligence
, in that they can sense gunshot
s, loiterers
, and suspicious activity, and alert the CPD.
employees who had developed the system had better "watch out" on the streets. The Police Department soon teamed with Oracle Corporation
to create CLEAR, a set of web-based applications to increase the functionality and usability of the CHRIS system. CHRIS remains as a backbone, but CLEAR serves as the user interface
.
and discrimination
. Critics have charged that the system uses racial profiling
, and that constant electronic monitoring evokes images of a Big Brother-like world.
Some individuals have raised concerns about the cameras used in the CLEAR system. Designed to be visible so as to deter
criminal activities, the cameras sit in large checkered boxes with flashing blue lights. Neighbors have complained that these boxes flash light into their bedrooms at night, scare away customers from local businesses, and stigmatize
the local community.
Relational database
A relational database is a database that conforms to relational model theory. The software used in a relational database is called a relational database management system . Colloquial use of the term "relational database" may refer to the RDBMS software, or the relational database itself...
s used by the Chicago Police Department
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
(CPD) in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. These databases allow law enforcement
Law enforcement
Law enforcement broadly refers to any system by which some members of society act in an organized manner to promote adherence to the law by discovering and punishing persons who violate the rules and norms governing that society...
officials to easily cross-reference available information in investigations and to analyze crime patterns using a geographic information system GIS. CLEAR includes a network of remotely-operated cameras that exhibit a small amount of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, in that they can sense gunshot
Gunshot
A gunshot is the discharge of a firearm, producing a mechanical sound effect and a chemical gunshot residue. The term can also refer to a gunshot wound caused by such a discharge. Multiple discharges of a firearm or firearms are referred to as gunfire. The word can connotate either the sound of a...
s, loiterers
Loitering
Loitering is the act of remaining in a particular public place for a protracted time. Under certain circumstances, it is illegal in various jurisdictions.-Prohibition and history:Loitering may be prohibited by local governments in several countries...
, and suspicious activity, and alert the CPD.
Uses
The unified CLEAR system is used for a wide variety of tasks:- Checking driver's licenses
- Checking names or addresses
- Checking for outstanding arrest warrantArrest warrantAn arrest warrant is a warrant issued by and on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.-Canada:Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code of Canada....
s - Communication between police officers
- Entering evidence into an electronic tracking database
- Retrieving information for a mission
- Checking investigative reports
Origins
In the 1990s, the Chicago Police Department developed the Criminal History Records Information System (CHRIS). This system was immediately unpopular with officers – so much so that a detective's newsletter warned that the ITInformation technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
employees who had developed the system had better "watch out" on the streets. The Police Department soon teamed with Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
to create CLEAR, a set of web-based applications to increase the functionality and usability of the CHRIS system. CHRIS remains as a backbone, but CLEAR serves as the user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
.
Criticisms
A number of groups have expressed concerns about CLEAR, particularly regarding privacyPrivacy
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
and discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
. Critics have charged that the system uses racial profiling
Racial profiling
Racial profiling refers to the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement...
, and that constant electronic monitoring evokes images of a Big Brother-like world.
Some individuals have raised concerns about the cameras used in the CLEAR system. Designed to be visible so as to deter
Deterrence
Deterrence may refer to:* Deterrence theory, a theory of war, especially regarding nuclear weapons* Deterrence , a theory of justice* Deterrence , a psychological theory...
criminal activities, the cameras sit in large checkered boxes with flashing blue lights. Neighbors have complained that these boxes flash light into their bedrooms at night, scare away customers from local businesses, and stigmatize
Social stigma
Social stigma is the severe disapproval of or discontent with a person on the grounds of characteristics that distinguish them from other members of a society.Almost all stigma is based on a person differing from social or cultural norms...
the local community.