Law Enforcement and the Need for Technology
Nicholas Cox
Troy University
Introduction
The duty of a law enforcement officer is to protect and serve the public. The manner in which they accomplish this extensive task is by investigating crimes and preserving the evidence so that it may be presented in a court of law. The presence of computers and other technologies are growing at a rapid pace. Since police officers are required to investigate crimes both at physical scenes as well as virtual, or computer based crime scenes, the need for increased technology among police departments has never been greater. Keeping the technological needs of police departments up to date not only will increase efficiency of these departments, it will
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also ensure that these departments will operate with greater accuracy. The History of Police Technology The ability to evolve with constantly increasing technology is a critical function that is a requirement for any successful law enforcement organization.
According to Seaskate INC., (1998), police departments in the 1900’s were only equipped with a nightstick and a handgun. Sometime around the 1920’s the police started to use polygraph tests, fingerprint identification, and the handwriting classification system. The larger population and availability of automobiles made it necessary for police to become more mobile. The police met this need with using cars that were equipped with two-way radios (Seaskate INC., 1998). Recent forms of technology in law enforcement include hardware and software that can be used to gather and preserve computer based evidence. Since computers are increasingly becoming an everyday part of life, law enforcement agencies need to ensure that they match the rate of technology growth in order to catch the criminals that use computers to exploit their …show more content…
victims. Current Uses of Technology Law enforcement offices all over the world employ a vast amount of technology to not only catch criminals, but they also use the statistical data to focus their efforts on where they will be the most effective. Using technology to determine when and where most crimes occur, police are able to direct their efforts where they are most needed. Video cameras are by far one of the most beneficial tools that officers use. Security and surveillance cameras are virtually everywhere. The cameras record the most accurate account of events that transpire at a crime scene. Even if the camera at the scene does not record the crime, it is quite possible that other cameras nearby may have recorded details that would give investigators leads. Computer forensics is also a rapidly expanding field that is a result from the increase of technology.
Hackers and cyber criminals are very clever when it comes to manipulating computer based programs or devices. Since cyber crimes are a worldwide problem, all police departments need the resources available to investigate crimes in their jurisdiction. As an example, my mother had realized that she was a victim of computer fraud last week. She called the local sheriff’s office to report it, but they had referred her to the state police department because they didn’t have the resources available to investigate her claim. When the state police investigated, they had determined that the source was from Nigeria and that there was nothing they could do. Since there are no jurisdictional boundaries online, it is extremely difficult to investigate and successfully prosecute cyber crimes. Law enforcement needs the most up to date technology to ensure cyber criminals don’t operate out of reach from the
law. Conclusion “Many computer crimes violate both federal and state statutes. Although the federal agencies are better equipped to deal with the complexities involved in high-technology crime, state agencies are also inundated by increasing requests from local agencies for assistance in the investigation and detection of computer crime” (Britz, 2013). Law enforcement at all levels need the most current and updated technology in order to counter a growing and changing threat from cyber criminals. Police need updated technology along with the ability to take action when anonymity and jurisdictional boundaries aren’t clearly defined. Bibliography Britz, M. T. (2013). Computer Forensics and Cyber Crime an Introduction 3rd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson. Seaskate INC. (1998, July 1). History of Police Technology. Retrieved from Police Technology: http://www.police-technology.net/id59.html
American policing has evolved tremendously throughout the century, and each era carried its strengths and weaknesses. The American policing Era are as follow: Political Era: (1837-1910); Reform Era: (1910-1980); and Professional Era: 1980-present” (Perez & Moore, 2012, p. 26). We continue to strive to improve our police organization by continuously learn from our past and present mistakes. Due to the technological revolution, policing in the United States has evolved tremendously with advanced gadgets and software which helped make policing more effective and efficient.
Over the next 10 years the criminal Justice system could entirely change with the passing of a major law, epidemic, or failed service. Consequently, every since 9-11 our justice system has become much more open minded. Therefore, resulting in the strict enforcement of laws to protect its citizens. Nothing ever stays the same for too long. New developments related to science, technology, DNA analysis, and countless other tools and other factors are changing for the better in solving cases, prevention of crimes, and aiding in investigations. Where there is change there will be changes in the way we handle everyday processing. For example, booking a criminal, acquiring evidence, and interrogation. This also results in the field of criminal justice having no choice but to adapt to the slowly changing times or else be left behind.
Rape, murder, theft, and other crimes almost always leave a devastating mark on the victim. More often than not, it would be impossible to identify the perpetrator a crime without forensic science and the technology it uses. Forensic science allows investigators to unmask the secrets of the crime scene. Evidence gathered at the crime scene helps to identify the guilty party, murder weapon, and even the identity of the victim (Harkawy, 1991: 276). The new technologies enables the forensic experts to have better and faster access to accumulated information, to be more accurate in the identification of victims or delinquents, and minimizes the possibility of wrongful accusations. New technology has improved the methods and techniques that forensic scientists and law enforcement investigators use, in order to provide a safer environment for other people. Information technology is one of the most important aspects in forensic science. It is very important for the forensic experts to receive the undisturbed evidence, such as fingerprints left at the crime scene, as quickly as possible, for more accurate readings. Thus using space technology, such as satellite communication, enables the forensic experts to "gather and digitize evidence at the crime scene, enter it into an on-site computer, and beam the data to a crime lab for swift analysis" (Paula, 1998: 12). Therefore, due to the use of this technology, forensic experts in laboratories can examine the evidence in short time, and the possibility of damage or unlawful manipulation of the evidence before the trial is minimal (Paula, 1998: 12). More often than not, "criminals" wear gloves at the time of the crime, thus to obtain a fingerprint...
Law enforcement like much of the economy and society has had to adapt to the rapidly changing Atmosphere of the technological advances. To counter these advances, education has served in the forefront to combating the technological sophistication that is rapidly sweeping the workforce. The need and desire to remain competitive with the technology that we have is a need that can be satisfied with more education. Much like technology, education has benefits elsewhere in the equation of remaining competitive. Education on the higher tiered level provides a professionalism to accompany by the demands placed on students during their scholastic years of study. Activities required by many professors in the higher education realm provide skills needed to polish the individual for his or her place in society. Is this now so hard to conceive that law enforcement may also have to do the same? Over the past three decades the demands that law enforcement have encountered have greatly increased as the changing times and technologically stimulated problems have come into light. Higher Education plays a large part in the professionalization and advancement of police into the modern context of what is needed and expected of police.
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.
Oliver, W. (2006). The Fourth Era of Policing: Homeland Security. International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, 20(1/2), 49-62. Doi: 10.1080/13600860600579696
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...
There are three main kind of data collection and storage systems, computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems, and records management systems (RMSs) which are located within police departments, and geographic data systems which are maintained by city, county, or state governments. Police departments use CAD technology to dispatch officers, keep track of officers’ locations and activities, and track officer-initiated activity. A data e...
Modern policing plays a vital role in today’s society. More importantly, the introduction of modern technology contributed to the success of police operation. Both the problem oriented policing and community policing are significant in today’s modern society in solving and preventing crimes. Before modern policing came around in the second quarter of the 19th century, law-enforcers usually consisted of soldiers, city watchmen, guards or other people of authority or military experience. As late as the 1700s, modern police had not yet arrived on the scene as we do today. In today’s society, problem oriented and community policing link vitally for the safety and well-being of people in solving and preventing crimes, and the success thereof is contributed largely to the introduction of modern technology. As it’s written in the Criminal justice in Canada by Colin Goff (six editions) “police patrols didn’t reduce the crime rate; detectives didn’t solve a lot of crime; and arrests didn’t necessarily deter would-be criminal” which tells us that policing was not good in the 80s comparing to today. This led to communities hiring private security companies to protect them. According to Sherman (1986) “citizens weren’t calling the police to report crimes and were living with significant fear of crime.” Until (1979) when Herman Goldstein published an article which changed the style of policing, which indi...
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 biggest challenge investigators face and who is involved with high tech crime is the fast-paced constant evolving nature of technology. When companies come out with new devices or new versions of old devices which is almost all the time, and those who gather digital evidence must remain current to be able to locate and preserve all potential evidence. As technology evolves the capacities of these devices will rapidly increase while their form factor grows continually smaller. Investigators must preserve digital evidence to make sure it is suitable for presentation in court as well. Investigators must first never change a crime scene or alter evidence. It is their goal to document and preserve the scene exactly as it was when the crime occurred. Extreme caution and care is needed because the mere act of documenting or cataloging a crime scene means that investigators are interacting with the scene. The second concern is the physical fragility of the evidence. Care must be taken to keep items from getting wet, stepped on etc, this can also be applied to digital evidence. Investigators have been able to examine hard disk drives that have been through fires because the drives are usually air and water tight and impervious to temperatures into the thousands of degrees. The third issue is that digital evidence can be lo...
Today, technology has affected our global surroundings in a number of ways. Technology has created a more advanced society and economy. We use technology in every aspect of life today. New innovations and technology helps create a safer atmosphere and reduces the rate of crime. Technology is the usage and knowledge of techniques or is systems of these things. Usage of technology in the criminal justice system is not new but more apparent today. Technology in criminal justice will continue to challenge us to think about how we turn information into knowledge. Due to new technology, criminal investigations are able to maintain and improve their processes. Forensic science, DNA, other and future technology has all had a tremendous impact on criminal investigation and its process.
In conclusion technology is changing every day. Law enforcement has to keep up with the time. Some devices started back 1932 that I could find and they are on the rise as far as being in police cars. Most are expensive but worth the monies. The United States need technology devices to keep criminal activity down. Criminal activity is not dropping rapidly but it is decreasing slowly.
Throughout the years, technology has been increasing in both good and bad ways. Technology is now being used to contact people through social media, link people together through group chats, and also spy on people. Although connecting with people instantly on social media is the upside to technology usage, people often tend to share private information that can be used in the wrong way which is the downside of technology. As both technology and crime increases, technology usage is now being increased to help solve crimes. Many years ago, without the usage of technology, many aspects of a crime was not questioned or the resources to uncover certain evidence were both time consuming and/or expensive. The Police Chief Magazine list many technological improvements that have been put in place to
There are different groups, from law enforcement agencies to the U.S. Secret Service, that are attempting to combat the problem through cooperation and preemptive efforts. If these groups combined with the public to protect themselves and the country from criminals that commit cybercrime, the nation’s network and technology servers would be much safer for technology users. Clearly, cybercrime is a problem because it puts internet users at risk of being taken advantage of or harmed. The advantages of technology and the internet have led more criminals to use cyberspace to commit crimes. The threat of cybercrime is increasing as globalization continues to spread across the world.