The first pilot schemes for a computerised Garda information network, which will link 200 stations and bring the force into the information technology age, are due to begin operation in November.
The pilot stations are Bandon, Co Cork, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, and Santry in Dublin.
Most of the new system is expected to be in place next year to replace the seven or eight existing Garda computer systems used to process criminal records, vehicle information and intelligence. Those systems are outdated in computer terms, some having been installed in the 1970s, and are not "2000 compliant". They are not expected to survive the millennium computer "bug".
The introduction of the pilot information technology (IT) schemes in November is the first physical implementation of a five-year preparation programme overseen by a special IT branch at Garda Headquarters, directed by two chief superintendents and employing up to 200 staff.
It is hoped that before the millennium the force will be able to transfer all its information technology needs on to the new network. It will be based on a three-tier client server system involving placing 1,400 personal computers in 200 Garda stations around the State.
This should save the existing data bases from "crashing" and provide the largely computer-less force with an efficient IT system.
The section at Garda Headquarters has spent the last three years preparing the force for the introduction of IT. Chief Supt Paul Smyth, who is in charge of the introduction of the new system, said: "We have gone to a lot of trouble to keep everybody informed and we involved gardai in the design and testing of the system. There were 80 user groups drawn from different specialised and geographical areas."
The initial Garda IT programme was outlined in late 1993 in the then government's law and order package. Andersen Consulting was retained in February 1994 to produce a conceptual design.
A Crime and Offence Management System would provide gardai with immediate information on summons and warrant administration, charge management, court outcomes, juvenile liaison administration, bail administration and custody tracking.
For instance, the Bridewell station beside Dublin District Court handles records on some 14,000 prisoners each year, all handwritten documents brought to the station by arresting officers.
Under the proposed new computer system, an arresting officer would enter details of the defendant and offence on the PC at the station where the arrest took place. This information could be called up on the computer at the Bridewell in the quite commonplace event of a defendant or charge sheet going missing. If the information system was kept up to date with the addition of court and prison records it should be possible to ascertain immediately if a defendant was imprisoned for other offences, on bail or illegally at large.
The PC system would link all Dublin Metropolitan Area (DMA) stations and all division and district headquarters outside Dublin, as well as DMA and Garda headquarters in the Phoenix Park. It was also envisaged that computer terminals could be installed in Garda squad cars.
The development process involved visits or liaison with 160 other police forces mainly in Europe and North America. At the outset of the programme the Garda Siochna was described as being a "greenfield site" in computer terms because of its lack of electronic information-processing.
The existing computer systems include the National Vehicle Register, run in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, which is used to trace the ownership and details of vehicles. This is an efficient system but dates from the 1970s.
Of the two other main systems, "criminal records" is fairly widely accessible in main stations. The system handling "security and intelligence" contains highly sensitive information and is confined to an internal network in Garda Headquarters.
In September 1996 the then minister for justice, Mrs Nora Owen, signed a £10 million contract with Andersen Consulting for the initial installation and training programme. The total installation and operation costs were put at £36 million, with final implementation "in and around" the year 2000.
It was envisaged the system would be "rolling out" for use in 1998 and 1999. A guide to what is known as the PULSE (an acronym for Police Using Leading Systems Effectively) system was distributed to gardai in February 1997.
The booklet described the system as "exciting and revolutionary". It added: "There will be powerful facilities for linking and matching details of crimes, vehicles and incidents that will assist in the investigation and prevention of crime. There will be 24-hour access to intelligence information on suspects and their vehicles.
"There will be less time spent in stations processing prisoners, as charge sheets and bail bonds will be `on-line'. Summons applications, court return forms and warrant details will be automated. Many station records and books will be replaced by information on screen.
"The overall impact of the system is that it will reduce the amount of time spent by officers on administrative duties."
The PULSE management team chose 1,000 members of the force, including many with no computer skills, and has been training them in pilot schemes since 1997.