NCJ Number
141834
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 62 Issue: 4 Dated: (April 1993) Pages: 14-19
Date Published
1993
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The Homicide Investigation and Tracking System (HITS) enabled Washington investigators to access an electronic system that stores, collates, and analyzes characteristics of all murders and sexual offenses in the State.
Abstract
Local agencies voluntarily submit data on murders, attempted murders, missing persons, unidentified dead persons believed to have been murdered, and predatory sex offenders. The HITS system grew out of an initial project to record information on Washington homicides between 1981 and 1986. Over the years, the data collection instrument has been simplified so that police officers can complete a form in about 30 minutes. The HITS software is characterized by the investigator's ability to design specific investigation queries, choosing from up to 250 fields of information; the HITS staff has compiled over 90 formatted and indexed queries for routine investigations. The HITS program access information is obtained from at least six different sources including a murder file, sexual assault data file, preliminary information file, Department of Corrections file, "time line" file, and additional files and records. HITS tracks information concerning evidence, victimology, offender characteristics, modus operandi, associates, geographic location, weapons, and vehicles related to the crimes. There have been small steps toward regionalization of the HITS system, as analysts have found that it has significantly improved violent crime investigations in Washington.