A database-driven complaints information storage and retrieval system for Katwe Police Station

Abstract

The aim of the study was to design a database driven system for complaints information storage and retrieval at Katwe Police Station (KPS) so as to solve the problem of time wastage in the area of storage and retrieving of the accused, complainant’s information using the manual system. The objectives of the study were to; establish the nature of complaints information at Katwe police station, examine how complaints information is stored and retrieved at KPS, identify the requirements for the database driven system for complaints information storage and retrieval for KPS, and design a database driven system for storage and retrieval of complaints’ information at Katwe police station.Interviews and observations were used to collect the information about the current system used in the storage and retrieval of complaints informationat Katwe Police Station.The researcher interviewed 3 police officers, 1 records officer and an I.T technician.The study findings established the various complaints reported by the public at Katwe Police station and these included; cases of rape, cases of defilement, burglary and theft, assault, robbery and theft of motor vehicles/ cycles, obtaining money by false pretense, issuing bouncing cheques, and possession of narcotic drugs among others.The study revealed that the complaints received from the public trough oral conversations, written, phone messages or local media are manually registered into the counter book called a Stations Diary Book and complainant offered an SD Number. These are further transferred to a crime report book and filed which can be retrieved at any time whenever the need arises.The study also established the different requirements need by the users of the system that should be satisfied and these included; restricts access to information to only authorized personnel, easy to learn and use, provides attractive interfaces with easy navigation throughout the system, stores data and produces reports timely and accurately and fast, flexible and convenient.In order to design the database driven complaints storage and retrieval system for KPS, data flow diagrams, activity diagrams, and flow charts were used. Data flow diagrams were used to examine data inputs, outputs and processes while showing how data moves through the system. Activity diagrams were used to find the entities, their attributes and the relationships between those entities. It is from these relations that the system’s database was formed.