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SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 1977
AS WITH ALL RESEARCH WORK HOWEVER, IN ORDER TO HAVE PRACTICAL VALUE, THE TIME LAG BETWEEN DATA COLLECTION AND THE PUBLICATION OF FINDINGS MUST BE REDUCED TO A MINIMUM. IN THIS RESPECT, THE COMPUTER SYSTEM TO BE USED FOR THE REGISTRY WILL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE PRINT-OUT ANALYSES AT SHORT AND REGULAR INTERVALS AS REQUIRED.
ANOTHER ESSENTIAL FEATURE OF THE COMPUTER SYSTEM IS ITS +MATCHING CAPABILITY. BY USING DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS OF IDENTIFYING INFORMATION, THE SYSTEM CAN BE USED TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN ONE ADDICT REPORTED TEN TIMES AND TEN ADDICTS REPORTED ONCE. THIS WILL REMOVE THE POSSIBILITY OF DUPLICATION OF REPORTS WHICH WAS ONE OF THE MAJOR DEFECTS OF THE REGISTRY IN THE PAST.
THE EFFECTIVENESS AND ACCURACY OF THE WHOLE SYSTEM, HOWEVER, DEPEND LARGELY ON THE CO-OPERATION OF VARIOUS GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS AND VOLUNTARY AGENCIES CONCERNED, INCLUDING THE POLICE, THE PRISONS, THE MEDICAL AND HEALTH, AND THE SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENTS, AND THE SOCIETY FOR THE AID AND REHABILITATION OF DRUG ADDICTS.
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A STANDARD AND SIMPLE FORM, WHICH TAKES ONLY A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO FILL OUT, IS USED BY EVERY REPORTING SOURCE WHEN FIRST COMES INTO CONTACT WITH AN INDIVIDUAL ADDICT. THIS FORM WAS PUT INTO USE ON SEPTEMBER 1 LAST YEAR.
COMPLETE ANONYMITY IS GUARANTEED FOR ALL ADDICTS REPORTED TO THE REGISTRY AND INFORMATION ON INDIVIDUALS WILL BE KEPT ABSOLUTELY CONFIDENTIAL.
UP TO THE END OF MARCH, SOME 18,000 REPORTS HAVE BEEN COLLECTED AT THE REGISTRY. THESE REPORTS, TOGETHER WITH REPORTS TO COME IN DURING THE FOLLOWING MONTHS, WILL EVENTUALLY BE FED INTO THE COMPUTER WHEN PHASE II OF THE RE-ORGANISATION PLAN BEGINS.
THE NEW COMPUTER SYSTEM TO BE USED FOR THE REGISTRY WILL HAVE AN IMPORTANT SPIN-OFF: IT MAKES USE OF A VERY SOPHISTICATED INTEGRATED DATA-BASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, IN WHICH MR. WERBELL IS AN ACKNOWLEDGED EXPERT. THIS CAN BE USED AS A PROTOTYPE FOR SIMILAR SYSTEMS IN OTHER GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS.
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