Preservation and conservation of digital records: a case study of Kampala Central Police Station, Uganda

Abstract

Digital records enhance efficiency and accountability in organizations by providing accurate, easily accessible, and organized information for decision-making and operational processes. This study was carried out at Kampala Central Police Station with the following objectives: to find out the ICT systems used; to identify the digital records created and maintained; to identify the methods used for digital record preservation and conservation; to examine the challenges faced by records staff in managing records; and to propose measures to improve digital records preservation and conservation. The study used a qualitative method, specifically a case study, to establish convergence and validation. This was carried out at the Kampala CPS in the departments of ICT, traffic, and forensic which were creating and using digital records. In order to select the respondents for this study, a non-probability sampling was carefully considered and purposive sampling was used. The researcher used interview, observation and document analysis techniques to collect data. The study's findings showed that, the ICT systems used were CCTV systems, Automated finger print identification system, Digital Mobile Radio, and Express Penalty System. Despite the prevalence of databases, audio, word office, photos and palm print and video recording were the most often creating and used digital records at Kampala CPS. The findings showed that migration is the most technique used for digital record preservation at the Kampala CPS. The study established that to conserve digital records, there was a consistent schedule for backing up digital records to safeguard against data loss due to hardware failure, human error, or cyber threats. Migration of data stored on outdated or obsolete hardware (e.g., floppy disks, CD-ROMs) to modern storage media (e.g., external hard drives was done. General housekeeping, proper humidity control in the records storage spaces and proper keeping of storage devices to save digital documents. The report identifies a variety of obstacles that hinder record preservation and conservation, including a lack of funding, outdated/old storage equipment, and a lack of employee training on digital record preservation among others. The results show that the development and upkeep of digital records, such as word-processed documents, PDF files, audio files, videos, photos, databases, palm print and emails was as a result of the growing usage of ICT systems. The study recommends that Kampala CPS should create digital records backups of their data in hard drives, and cloud storage.