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How does the use of technology help criminal investigations
Importance of technology in crime investigation
How does the use of technology help criminal investigations
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Information technology (IT) is important to the application of crime analysis in law enforcement. Crime analysis is the review of data collected and/or stored in order to identify trends of criminal activities so that the police can effectively adjust to deter that crime and continue to protect the public’s safety. According to Foster (2013), “The use of IT in law enforcement is rapidly expanding. Indeed, in 1996 it is estimated that state and local governments spent an estimated $3.5 billion on information technology goods and services, and they were expected to spend as much as $4.5 billion in 2001.” The question remains though about how information technology is used in crime analysis. Today, I will identify and explain what types of technology are necessary for accurate crime analysis; Identify four methods of collecting, storing, and retrieving information needed for crime analysis; and analyze the benefits of crime analysis to the community and to law enforcement. Crime analysis relies on many different sources of …show more content…
The community would benefit from the police enhancing their relationship, through a community-oriented policing approach, and raising awareness about the criminal activities taking place in that area so they can be avoided. The community may also see an initiative to improve their public areas (parks, schools, etc.) because a crime analysis may show these areas are targeted due to a poor design that needs to be changed. Law enforcement benefits because crime analysis encourages communication and builds relationships between departments and other government entities. Crime analysis also allows police departments to review trends and adjust their staffing accordingly in order to counter act potential criminal activities. Due to these reasons, you can see why crime analysis is a benefit to both the community and law
In contemporary society, there are various methodologies for collecting data (Linden 2012). That being said, there are pros and cons to each that are based on reliability and validity; where reliability is consistency of the statistics, and validity is a measure of how accurate the results are in accordance with the research topic. This ties in with how this paper will explore the Uniform Crime Report system (UCR); a measure of crime that is used the most. UCR statistics reflect the crimes that are reported to the police throughout the country. victimization and self-report surveys, which are statistics that reinforce the findings revealed by the UCR, will also be explored. Lastly, the issue of media coverage of crime news will be examined.
In the United States, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, including FBI, Department of Homeland Security, among others, have taken on roles to fight computer crimes and terrorism. The roles and responses of these law enforcement agencies concerning digital crime have created challenges that limit enforcement efforts against digital crime.
For decades, researchers have tried to determine why crime rates are stronger and why different crimes occur more often in different locations. Certain crimes are more prevalent in urban areas for several reasons (Steven D. Levitt, 1998, 61). Population, ethnicity, and inequality all contribute to the more popular urban. Determining why certain crimes occur more often than others is important in Criminal Justice so researchers can find a trend and the police can find a solution (Rodrigo R. Soares, 2004, 851). The Uniform Crime Reports are a method in which the government collects data, and monitors criminal activity in the United States (Rodrigo R. Soares, 2004, 851). They have both positive and negative attributes that have influenced
The COMPSTAT ( Compare-Statistics) system was developed by the New York Police Department in 1994 and is credited with having a significant impact on the reduction of major crimes in New York city. COMPSTAT is internationally recognized as having become an extremely successful tool, incorporating accurate crime intelligence analysis methods and streamlining law enforcement management processes, including the seeding of power to local district commanders. In broad strokes, COMPSTAT can be described as a series of process used for the collection and analysis of criminal intelligence data which in turn assists commanders in developing effective strategies and tactics to combat crime.
The Uniform Crime Report, which was developed in the 1930s, is commonly used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a record of crimes committed all across the United States. These crimes, which fall under two categories, Part I and Part II offenses, are reported by local police to the Federal Bureau of Investigation each year. Part I offenses are considered to be the more serious of crimes recognized by society. Such examples of this are homicide, forcible rape, robbery, arson, motor vehicle theft, etc. Part II offenses are those that are considered less serious, such as fraud, simple assault, drug abuse, gambling, stolen property, embezzlement, etc. Part I crimes can also be subdivided into what are known as violent crimes and property crimes. (Barkan, 2012). However, there are both some positive and negative aspects of this type of crime measurement. The following paper will explore the small amount of pros and numerous cons associated with the Uniform Crime Report.
Technology has opened new encounters and opportunities for the criminal justice system. There are so many new practices of criminal activity, such as computer crimes. There are different types of computer crimes that many people become victims of every day. Computer crime is any crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target ("Computer Crime: Chapter 2: What Are the Crimes?", n.d.). Crimes such as data diddling, pump and dump, social engineering and spoofing are computer crimes. Even though these crimes are difficult by privacy issues, the new technology has made investigations and prosecutions well organized and effective. 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.).
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...
...of attention. One of its major benefit is its ability to quickly gather crime information about a particular area, this indeed can guide through the process of formulating solution. Currently more officers are discovering its importance and consequently incorporating it in their operations.
Crime Analysis has many benefits to the community. Community engagement, targeted initiatives, strategic use of resources, and data-driven decision-making contribute to decreasing crime. Crime prevention and community satisfaction with police services, while linked to the number of officers on the streets, does not depend entirely on the visibility of patrol officers. Community engagement, targeted initiatives, strategic use of resources, and data-driven decision-making contribute to decreasing crime. So in closing I believe that departments that take the positive elements of foot patrols and combine their efforts with crime analysis that focuses on the time, location, and type of crime, may use the findings to develop strategies to decrease crime and enhance the quality of life in their communities.
In general, official statistics of crime recorded by the police and surveys of the public such as victim surveys and self-report studies are the three main measures of the extent of crime in Britain. The oldest method is to rely on official data collected by criminal justice agencies, such as data on arrests or convictions. The other two rely on social surveys. In one case, individuals are asked if they have been victims of crime; in the other, they are asked to self-report their own criminal activity. (Terence P. Thornberry and Marvin D. Krohn) Although these are a main secondary source of quantitative data, each of them may contain some drawbacks. Thus, this essay will introduce these three methods and demonstrates their disadvantages, such as the police crime statistics exclude the unreported and unrecorded crime;
This essay will talk about what Situational Crime Prevention( SCP) is, it will also discuss the theoretical assumptions that underpin this approach, for example, the nature of the offender as well as examining how the SCP strategy has been used to deal with crime as well as the general pros and cons of such an approach.
To conclude, Community policing represents a major development in the history of American law enforcement, but the extent to which this approach is a success and dominates contemporary policing remains a source of debate. In my point of view, community policing is good for communities. It has challenged the traditional concept of the police as crime-fighters by drawing attention to the complexities of the police role and function. In addition to the police officer hard work; citizens can also make a difference and contribute to make neighborhoods a better place to live. For instance, citizens can hold community meetings to talk about concerns and agree on solutions help organize healthy activities for children in your neighborhood, join or starting a neighborhood crime watch program, and talk to your community police officers and share information and concerns.
The Uniform Crime Reporting Program formulated the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). NIBRS presents comprehensive, detailed information about crime incidents to law enforcement, researchers, governmental planners, students of crime, and the general public. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division conducted the pilot demonstration of this program in 1987. Since then, implementation of NIBRS has been commensurate with the resources, abilities, and limitations of the contributing law enforcement agencies. Although participation grows steadily, data is still not pervasive enough to make broad generalizations about crime in the United States.
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