Importance Of Technology In Criminal Justice

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Assess the emerging importance with technology and the criminal justice system.
According to the FBI (2011), “The use of DNA-which carries individuals’ unique genetic information-to help solve crimes has become such a fundamental tool for law enforcement that it’s hard to believe this technique of matching unknown profiles to known offenders is a fairly recent phenomenon” (The FBI, 2011, para. 1). Technology has contributed significantly to the criminal justice system; from the inventions of Tasers as a non-lethal weapon, to identification tools such as DNA testing that tremendously help law enforcement solve crimes.
American policing has evolved tremendously throughout the century, and each era carried its strengths and weaknesses: Political Era: (1837-1910); Reform Era: (1910-1980); and Professional Era: 1980-present (Perez & Moore, 2012, p. 26). Police organizations here in the United States continuously learn from past and present mistakes that occur in their department and others. We have seen on television of various incidents involving police with terrorists and citizens. The Trayvon and Ferguson incident sparked many controversies against police departments …show more content…

Traditional crimes remains as the most calls for service for police officers in the patrol bureau. Although cyber-crimes (e.g. computer hacking), are prevalent here in Houston, calls for service indicates very low reports from citizens in regards to cyber-crimes. Patrol officers are considered as front line officers, and are usually first to be on scene for all types of criminal activities. For this reason, patrol officers must be “equipped with the basic skill set essential for the proper management of interrogations, crime scenes, computer evidence, and the attendant paperwork involved” (Higgins, 2010, p.

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