Use of Computer Technology by Law Enforcement Officers
When it comes to fighting crimes, computers are the most helpful source law enforcement and security officers have. They help track where a suspect could be, where they used to live, past jobs, past criminals record, etc, and they keep track of all criminals. Computers keep records of everything; for example: fingerprints, pictures, information about a suspect, etc. Security personnel use computer technology to help catch thieves, cheaters, embezzlers, and so on. Computer technology is very important in today’s society. Many businesses use computer surveillance to keep people from stealing from their businesses. Video camera’s almost always can catch people who are trying to shoplift, if a store did not use a video camera, the person trying to steal would more than likely get away with it ninety nine percent of the time. Computer’s also help in a way so that pictures can be printed off of a suspect and posted in many areas so that people will be aware of who they are to be looking for. If we did not have the printer today, no pictures of suspects would ever be posted, and many criminals would get off scot-free!
Law enforcement use computer technology to keep track of convicts everyday. They keep on record the day someone was sent to prison, and they have on file the day they are supposed to be released. Also, computer technology helps the public be able to know if they have an ex-con living in their neighbor, all they have to do is look it up online for their area! If computer technology was not available, you could have a child molester living right next door, and not even know it! And to too me, that would be very scary! Law enforcement use computer technology to help match up fingerprints they have recovered from a recent crime scene. If there were no computer, the person who left the prints would never be found because law enforcement would not be able to link the prints to any one person.
Today, police officers have little computers inside their vehicles so that if they so choose too, they can scan your license plate while driving behind you to see if you have a warrant out for your arrest, see if your
Randa, Laura E. “Society’s Final Solution: A History and Discussion of the Death Penalty.” (1997). Rpt.in History of the Death Penalty. Ed. Michael H. Reggio. University Press of America, Inc., 1997. 1-6 Print.
...ed United States. U.S. Government Accounting Office. Capital Punishment. Washington: GPO, 1994 Cheatwood, Derral and Keith Harries. The Geography of Execution: The Capital Punishment Quagmire in America. Rowman, 1996 NAACP Legal Defense Fund . Death Row. New York: Hein, 1996 "Ex-Death Row Inmate Cleared of Charges." USA Today 11 Mar. 1999: 2A "Fatal Flaws: Innocence and the Death Penalty." Amnesty International. 10 Oct. 1999 23 Oct. 1999 Gest, Ted. "House Without a Blue Print." US News and World Report 8 Jul. 1996: 41 Stevens, Michelle. "Unfairness in Life and Death." Chicago Sun-Times 7 Feb. 1999: 23A American Bar Association. The Task Ahead: Reconciling Justice with Politics. 1997 United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Report. Washington: GPO, 1994 Wickham, DeWayne. "Call for a Death Penalty Moratorium." USA Today 8 Feb. 1999: 17A ILKMURPHY
Security cameras are an invasion of privacy. These invasions begin with searches. Spying is a huge invasion of privacy. Industry sales of spy and security equipment increased from 10 billion dollars to 40 billion dollars, as stated by CCS International. (Downs, 1 of 4) People are spying on their babysitters, spouses, and even their children. Some creeps use them to violate women. They get their most embarrassing moments on tape. Lenexa police arrested a tanning salon owner when they found videotapes of naked customers. (Downs, 1 of 4)Peepers use cameras they put in backpacks, briefcases, and shopping bags to peek up women’s skirts. Sometimes these women will find themselves exposed on the Internet. This is happening more today. In 1994, in Buffalo. MO, a tanning bed worker was incriminated of secretly videotaping his clients. He was charged with child abuse and being a hazard to the welfare of a child for videotaping minors.
The death penalty continues to be an issue of controversy and is an issue that will be debated in the United States for many years to come. According to Hugo A. Bedau, the writer of “The Death Penalty in America”, capital punishment is the lawful infliction of the death penalty. The death penalty has been used since ancient times for a variety of offenses. The Bible says that death should be done to anyone who commits murder, larceny, rapes, and burglary. It appears that public debate on the death penalty has changed over the years and is still changing, but there are still some out there who are for the death penalty and will continue to believe that it’s a good punishment. I always hear a lot of people say “an eye for an eye.” Most people feel strongly that if a criminal took the life of another, their’s should be taken away as well, and I don’t see how the death penalty could deter anyone from committing crimes if your going to do the crime then at that moment your not thinking about being on death role. I don’t think they should be put to death they should just sit in a cell for the rest of their life and think about how they destroy other families. A change in views and attitudes about the death penalty are likely attributed to results from social science research. The changes suggest a gradual movement toward the eventual abolition of capital punishment in America (Radelet and Borg, 2000).
Technology over the years has improved the criminal justice system. Ever since the 1960s, criminal justice systems have used technology to advance and gain a better knowledge of the different issues and encounters officers may face. Technology is used to improve the day-to-day operations, decrease operational costs and increase strategic planning and tactical approaches. Technology has opened new opportunities for the criminal justice system. There are so many new criminal activity practices, such as computer crimes.
Recent advancements in technology have had a huge impact on the current criminal justice system. These new developments have made it easier for those in the field to track down criminals and help provide better evidence to support their cases. Things such as fingerprint databases, DNA testing, GPS tracking, and many other things have made it easier for prosecutors or defendants to prove their cases in court. This is very beneficial because with this new wave of technology officials are now able to provide more reliable and credible evidence in court. This current upsurge of technology will help benefit a lot people in the field. People such as law enforcement, falsely accused criminals, prosecutors, defendants, judges, the list just goes on and on. Technology has been has had a major impact on the criminal justice system, it is now been made easier to track down and catch criminals and made it so that the evidence provided at court is more reliable and credible.
“The case Against the Death Penalty.” aclu.org. American Civil Liberties Union, 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2013
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).
According to Rachel Boba, “Crime analysis is a law enforcement function that involves systematic analysis for identifying and analyzing patterns and trends in crime and disorder” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime analysis).The information on these patterns can assist law enforcement agencies in the deployment of resources in a more effective manner; it can also help detectives to identify and catch suspects. Crime analysis also plays a role in improvising solutions to crime problems, and developing crime prevention strategies. There are various types of technology that is used in crime analysis. Crime analysis relies heavily on computer technology, and over the past fifteen years there has been a significant improvement in computer hardware and software that has led to tremendous developments in this field. One form of hardware that is used by Crime analysts to complete most of their work is Desktop personal computers, laptop computers are also used by crime analysts for fieldwork and presentations. Other forms of hardware that are used include color laser printers that can produce high-quality documents quickly, plotters which are printers that can produce large poster size color maps, scanners, and digital cameras, these specific types of hardware is mostly used by police departments when analyzing crime.
We all know why we like technology. Some positive things of technology that mostly everyone had thought about are how convenient it is. But have you looked deeper into the pros of technology? For example, technology had come a long way. Take a look at DNA forensics. Without DNA testing and tracking, we would not be able to put criminals in jail when they are guilty. This process has worked great for those studying forensics, science, even working for the government. As stated from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, DNA is especially important in the study of evolution. They are right! DNA and other sciences would not make the world it is today. If we did not have this type of technology we have today, we would not be able to perform surgeries. We would not be able to provide auto...
One important reason that advancements in technology are bad is Personal identifying information can be found by anyone who has a computer. People’s personal information, like address and medical history can be found, because almost everything is online. ID theft is a growing problem in the United States. “The scope of ID theft has grown so quickly that it now takes up a substantial and growing portion of law enforcement resources.” This means that ID theft is becoming a big problem. Once your ID is stolen it can be very difficult to get back what you lost.“Though the costs of getting your money back have declined, victims aren't getting back all of what was taken”. This means that when people’s things get stolen over the internet, they may not get everything back that was taken.Technology is so advances people’s personal information can be accessed by anyone with a laptop, and that is something that needs to be changed.
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
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.
aspect of our lives, we are faced with computers. They are in our classrooms, cars, and even used