The Guardia Civil

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The Guardia Civil handles large amounts of information every day, which it has to analyze with care so that it can be used in different fields of application, such as investigating crimes and psychology. To do so, it uses IBM SPSS software, as it considers data analysis to be a fundamental part of conducting its public service work effectively and efficiently.

The Guardia Civil has always relied on the most advanced methods and resources available on the market at any time, and one of the tools chosen was the IBM SPSS Statistics Server. “For more than ten years, different units have chosen to use the IBM SPSS Statistics package, perhaps because it was the program used at universities where the Guardia Civil’s analysts (psychology, pedagogy, biology, etc.) received their degrees. That is why the agency was in favor of continuing to use the IBM SPSS Statistics technology,” stated José Luis Martín Ramos, member of the Guardia Civil’s IT and Statistics Service (ITSS).

It is used in the Crime Investigation, Psychology, Training and Traffic Departments, as well as the IT and Statistics Service and the Analysis and Prospective Center. Thanks to IBM, the departments’ internal procedures have been improved and the material and human resource allocation processes optimized.

The challenge: supporting and optimizing the use of statistical software
Everything began in the Guardia Civil’s statistics section, following the hiring of several graduates in this specialty who realized that standardizing the software into a single network would improve the department’s performance. To that end, all of the units involved were contacted asking them to cede their single user licenses and update them to a single network, as they were available locally and each department only used the modules they thought were useful.

For Martín, there was a very clear goal. “Until that time, the units involved had to be able to access all of the modules available in the package. At the same time, if a unit was not using its licenses, several users from another unit could access them. In brief, we aimed to provide services to more units and far more users.” To achieve this, they updated their systems and acquired new licenses for some modules.

The solution: IBM SPSS Statistics Server
Thus, IBM SPSS Statistics Server was initially used by different departments with different objectives and functions. For example, the software is used in criminal investigation to support forensic investigation, enabling analysts to validate expert evidence and apply scientific methodology to DNA, bullet and handwriting analyses. The Psychology department helps to establish psychological profiles, supports the staff selection process and helps to develop measures to prevent atypical behavior. The Guardia Civil’s Department for Training studies the public’s security needs and appropriate training for the Guardia Civil in order to satisfy these needs. And, in the Statistics Department, IBM SPSS guarantees a real and balanced set of statistical data, improves the interpretation and knowledge of real-world issues that impact the Guardia Civil, and supports and promotes the use of statistics as a fundamental tool.

Extending access to IBM SPSS Statistics Server modules to new users led the Guardia Civil to pose questions about its staff’s training needs in order to help them use the software correctly. For Martín, “it is clear that this tool requires advanced knowledge of statistics in order to use it fully, meaning that we have to focus more on training, in both the use of software as well as statistical concepts in general.” Consequently, the Guardia Civil organized training courses on how to use IBM SPSS software and help staff discover all of the ways statistics can be used.

Future plans
IT is used widely in the Guardia Civil. According to Martín, “IT is present throughout all the Guardia Civil’s units. We reach even the farthest flung corners of the nation with multiple applications covering aspects from operational management to administrative matters. Unfortunately, investment in technology has not always been a priority. However, in recent years, that investment has increased considerably.”

To be specific, thanks to the high investment being made in technology by the Guardia Civil, the strategy of extending the IBM SPSS package reflects the advantages obtained by introducing information technologies.Furthermore, Martín explains, “we are in the midst of introducing an Information Technology strategy, the Information and Communication Systems Plan, where a large number of projects have been launched or are being finalized. Over the next few years, we will consolidate the goals we have achieved.”

Advantages: improving existing capacity
Since 2005, when several IBM SPSS Statistics licenses were installed on the network, eight departments have been involved. They have used IBM SPSS software to check the quality of data in the Integrated Operation Management System, which generates more than four million records per year. Furthermore, a substantial improvement has been noted in procedures in the Crime Investigation Department, and the Psychology Department can now internally develop tests that previously had to be purchased.

“IBM SPSS software has allowed us to achieve optimum assignation of the Guardia Civil’s material and human resources, and, at the same time, it has given us the possibility to establish more efficient procedures,” Martín explained.

Technology and infrastructure investment
Although the total investment made was high, it was not expensive in the context of the Guardia Civil’s total budget for information technologies. Martín also highlighted that “we have to remember that we are in the initial introductory phase. Meaning that we will have other solutions integrated into this technology in the near future.”

Installation was very quick thanks to the fact that the Guardia Civil has a very well developed IT structure allowing fast installation in several workstations in different units across Spain. “Throughout the process, we were supported by the Guardia Civil’s staff and expert advice from IBM SPSS management,” Martín stressed.

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