Technology used in policing enhances law enforcement organizations’ ability to function because it has improved police databases, reports, tracking, and forensics (DOJ, 2004). In addition, a less-lethal weapon is designed to disable, capture, or immobilize a suspect without killing them. However, occasionally deaths do happen as a result of less-lethal weapons which include kinetic energy, electrical, acoustic, and chemical weapons. Furthermore, violence, disease, and infected evidence are dangers that law enforcement officers face today.
Police databases and offense reports have been improved by technology and have enhanced law enforcement organizations’ ability to function. One type of police database is a fingerprint databases that allow forensics teams to run fingerprints found at a crime scene against prints in the system. Another type of police database is a criminal database which show people arrested and convicted of various crimes. These databases allow for easier tracking of crimes and for identification of potential suspects. Offense reports have been improved through technology through databases and software. This technology makes writing reports efficient and is less time consuming. Therefore, police databases and offense reports have been improved by technology and have enhanced law enforcement organizations’ ability to function.
Global Positioning Systems and forensic science have also been improved by technology and have enhanced law enforcement organizations’ ability to function. GPS devices in law enforcement cars allow officers to input addresses when calls come in. For instance, rather than searching in the dark or trying to memorize an entire city, the officers can get the directions from the GPS unit. These...
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...ing exposed to violent scenarios. In addition, to combat the threat of infectious diseases among law enforcement officers, the federal Blood borne Pathogens Act was established in 1991. The act requires law enforcement officers to receive proper training in how to prevent contamination by blood borne infectious agents and undergo an annual refresher course on the topic (Schmalleger, 2011). Therefore, police organizations address these dangers by having policies and procedures in place.
To conclude, technology used in policing enhances law enforcement organizations’ ability to function because it has improved police databases, reports, tracking, and forensics. In addition, less-lethal weapons include kinetic energy, electrical, acoustic, and chemical weapons. In conclusion, violence, disease, and infected evidence are dangers that law enforcement officers face today.
This essay will aim to explore the controversial issue in regards to whether more police officers should be armed with Tasers. This essay will argue that more officers should not be equipped with Tasers, also known as “Conducted Energy Weapons” (CEWs), and that the issuing of Tasers by police services should be limited to supervisors and specialized tactical units until further research has been conducted on the effects that Tasers have on the human body. Furthermore, the abuse of Tasers by police officers will also be argued as another reason why officers should not be armed with Tasers. This essay will focus on two main points that will support the argument that more Tasers should not be given to more officers. First off, there has not been enough research completed to deem Tasers as a safe alternative weapon that officers can use to gain compliance from violent individuals that they may deal with on a day-to-day basis.
The use of force, particularly with correlation to officer morale and/or inadequate education/training, has become particularly problematic. Measures should be taken to reduce the injury to suspects, particularly physical injury resulting from poor officer tactics or malicious intentions not related to upholding the law. These are problems, which, if properly handled and rectified, will result in improved officer morale, improved relationships with the public as well as ensure a continued upstanding reputation for the oldest police force in the nation.
Law enforcement officers are in constant dangerous situations while out doing their responsibilities. When in these threatening situations, police officers typically have little to no time to determine the right precaution. These precautions may lead to the death of a suspect or even the officer themselves. The media has recently shed light on police brutality with use of force. Use of force could be defined as the amount of effort an officer must use in order to make an unwilling subject compel. Police officers are usually trained to enable the proper responsible to a dangerous situation they may be put in. In this paper I will go through the guidelines that a police officer must obey when considering a certain degree of use of force. Within each guideline there will be the pro and cons with that situation and also a recent case that happened. This paper will also talk about how this topic can be addressed more properly. These guidelines that officer are taught during their training are called Use of Force Continuum.
There have been lots of modern technologies introduced in the United States of America to assist law enforcement agencies with crime prevention. But the use of body-worn cameras by police personnel brings about many unanswered questions and debate. Rising questions about the use of body cam are from concern citizens and law enforcement personnel. In this present day America, the use body cameras by all law enforcement personnel and agencies are one of the controversial topics being discussed on a daily base. Body worn cameras were adopted due to the alleged police brutality cases: for instance, the case of Michael Brown, an African-American who was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 2014, Eric Garner died as a result of being put in a chokehold by a New York police officer, and John Crawford, shot and killed by a police officer at a Walmart in Beavercreek, Ohio.
(Swanson, Territo and Taylor, p. 2). However, in recent years some major changes have occurred in a shorter time period. Innovations in law enforcement During the past two decades, I have observed major changes in the viewpoint of society towards police officer's as the symbol of trust and dignity, the technological advances of communication and information systems in law enforcement, and the revision of selection and hiring practices for police officers. Organizational change occurs both as a result of internal and external agents (Swanson, Territo and Taylor, p. 664).
The police forces in every community are deemed law enforcement officers and have to take necessary precautions in executing their job. Individuals that police officers encounter may at any time threaten the security of the officer or others. Police officers have to follow procedures that are necessary to maintain control of situations that can cause harm to others or property. The three topics that will be discussed in police use of force are; the explanation and background of use of force, limitations of use of force, and disputed court cases dealing with police use of force.
The authors also explain that there are no real statistics to help explain how many times an officer has used a firearm. The text explains that there is no significant data to help explain police shootings and how many occur each year (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Most of the data that can be found does not clearly state the numbers of times a firearm was used. Majority of data is found through data bases such as Vital Statistics (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Even data bases such as Vital Statistics do not provide clear information on police
Everyday law enforcement personal have the possibility to face dangerous events in their daily duties. In performing such duties a police officer could come by a seemingly ordinary task, and in a blink of an eye the event can turn threatening and possible deadly. When or if this happens to an officer they won’t have
...reports from police to the Federal Bureau of Investigation are much more extensive and in depth. Included in these reports are the relationship, if any, of the offender and the victim, whether drugs and/or alcohol was involved prior to the offense, etc. (Barkan, 2012). Over time we will eventually see the National Incident Based Reporting System replace the Uniform Crime Report because the detailed accounts of criminal occurrences is more beneficial and descriptive to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the rest of society.
Though views are different on the pros and cons of specific technological changes in the criminal justice system, there is an agreement the system has changed affectedly ("Effects of Technology in Criminal Justice | eHow", n.d.). As we may see on television, it may seem as if officers are always out in the field chasing down the criminals, but there is more to their jobs than just that. Officer’s jobs also include plenty of documentation. They have to fill out reports about the arrests and the actions that led up to the arrest. In the past, officers used paper and ink pen or even a typewriter to fill out their reports.
The New York Police Department has structured some information technology applications to help optimize their firm performance in reducing crime versus patrols in the street. Some of the implications involved in the information systems are input, processing, output and feedback. Computer Statistics (COMPSTAT) uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to help police respond to crimes faster. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threat analysis (SWOT analysis), are evaluated in the predictive policing. All of these subject matters will be discussed in this paper.
New types of technology have made it easier to track down and catch criminals. Then also made it easier for prosecutors to gather and present more credible information. Some new technology that has made it easier to track down criminals or help provide more reliable and supportive evidence is things such as DNA testing, computer technology, fingerprinting, and GPS tracking devices. “The main strengths of technology in the criminal justice system lie in the provision of databases which allow better and more efficient records to be stored and retrieved” (Bean 370). Prosecutors now in sense have “…an infallible test of truth, a foolproof method, of determining the accuracy and reliability of evidence and hence of convictions” (Pallaras 72). These 4 technological advancement...
The use of technology in the policing domain has been rapidly adopted over the past few years. However, it should be noted that the process of adopting and effectively using technology in law enforcement, begun more than 50 years ago. For instance, it become apparent in the 1950’s that computer would enable easier storage and retrieval of large amounts of data. More recently, advancement in technology has incorporated more sophisticated ways of transmitting and analyzing information, therefore aiding the law enforcement process (Button, Sharples & Harper, 2007). The police have found various aspect of technology useful; predominantly, computer crime mapping has been widely adopted and consequently received a lot of attention (Goldstein & McEwen, 2009).
Current economic and political trends will affect how, and if, certain reforms take place. Some trends like the increased costs for medical services will affect officer’s salaries and benefits, while the growth of inexpensive technology with instant communication through cell phones and personal computers will improve response time and distribution of information quickly and effectively. Changes population demographics, with the increase in the cultural and ethic diversity of the population will create more of need for career equality. This will also be pushed forward by the immigration of more highly educated professionals from third world countries. Increased multinational organized crime activity will create a bigger need for better communication between countries and joint efforts to stop it. Increased concerns with crimes committed by violent juveniles and individuals with modern weapons, terrorism and threats against our infrastructure will also shape the way policing reforms to solve these increased threats. Because of greater concern with terrorism, more resources will be allocated to homeland security. These are resources that could have helped domestic crimes and police management and will have to compensate for. Even smart credit cards, DNA identification and global positioning systems will all help shape the new policing model.
“Each light has a different preset wavelength designed to detect hair, fibers, and body fluids at crime scenes, these lights allow a crime scene to be processed faster and more thoroughly than ever before.” This technology is speedy and can help locate the whereabouts of criminals. The use of in-car camera systems has become very popular, especially by law enforcement. These cameras are used to record traffic stops and road violations of civilians. “From the time the first in-car cameras were installed to document roadside impaired-driving sobriety tests, the cameras have captured both intended and unintended video footage that has established their value. Most video recordings have resulted in convictions; many provide an expedited means to resolve citizen complaints, exonerate officers from accusations, and serve as police training videos.” Photo enforcement systems helps to maintain road safety by “automatically generating red light violations and/or speeding summons and as a result to greatly improve safety for the motoring public.” (Schultz,