Use of Technology in Law Enforcement and Against Terrorism
Technology has a definite impact not only on our everyday lives but also on the ideologies we pursue or abandon. This change can be clearly seen as society has progressed through from an agrarian culture through the growing pains of the industrial revolution, and into the current wave, the information wave. The role of technology was seen as a tool in the agrarian culture and also as a means for physical exploration of humanity 's surroundings. During the industrial revolution that tool, used to better the agrarian age morphed into a guiding force for social change, intellectual idealism, and scientific exploration. As the industrial age drew to a close, marked by
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This liberty of forum is available to anyone with a modicum of knowledge or the desire to gain such knowledge. This is in direct contrast to the publishing world where it requires a specialized knowledge and education to produce some thing or to become published. Often the knowledge needs to be combined with a fair amount of luck as well. Technology has also become a way to put social power into the hands of the few as well. The existence of surveillance systems, the exorbitant prices of medical matters, and the existence of issues such as the digital divide are all examples of technologically based ways to shift a balance of power in an arena.
As technology is always in a state of flux so are our society 's attitudes regarding technology. There is a definite polarization of issues in the field of law enforcement. Technology has always been seen as an asset in providing irrefutable proof that the person charged with the crime was the one who committed said crime. Technology has also been seen as an invasion of privacy as law enforcement officials gather data. Part of this change from the perception that technology will play an expanded role in a noble cause, to the invasion of privacy that police may commit, in their zeal to gather information, can be traced to a shift in attitude toward law enforcement in general. The position that law enforcement officials hold
The familiarity of such cases is evidence to believe that one case or even many cases of the same caliber did not prompt the decision to fund police body cameras alone but a more influential reason can explain the decision for body cameras. A state of field assessment conducted by the police reform revealed that various forms of technology is being adapted or developed for law enforcement purposes, and there are many specific technologies, both current and emerging, that can benefit law enforcement. The theory that can best explain new emerging technologies that has power to influence political decisions can best be explained by the new media
The biggest issue that effects policing is technology. Technology is at a rise and growing at an incredible rate. Technology advancement gives criminals a whole new way or an easier way to commit crimes. Eventually technology is going to take away jobs from our police officers and other individuals working in law enforcement. We are no longer going to need police officers out on patrol monitoring traffic, we have high speed cameras to detect incident detection, and vehicle counting, traffic flow monitoring and even people who violate traffic laws like speeding, running red lights and stop signs.
The license plate reader, LPR is a mobile plate hunter that comprises of a camera(s) placed on the outside of a squad car that is then connected to a computer database inside the squad car. The plate hunter has the capacity to recognize the character on a number plate and rapidly relay the information to the database computer that would verify of the owner or the automobile has any record or if the vehicle has been reported stolen/missing. This ability is even possible when the squad car is moving at 75 mph and can check up to 3, 000 number plates within an hour. Any offending incidence is brought to the attention of the officers by a siren or alarm the computer makes; stolen or revoked license. (Hanlon 2007)
From the night watch in Boston, to the present day policing, law enforcement has behind in the world of technology. As time rolled through the political era, professional era, and community-oriented era, police patrols would use the rapidly advancing technology in their favor. "Those were desperate times for policemen in a hostile country with unpaved streets and uneven sidewalks, sometimes miles from the police station, with little prospects of assistance in case of need.... It took nerve to be a policeman in those days," this was reported by Chief Francis O 'Neill of the Chicago Police Department in 1903. With only having a printing press and a multiple-shot revolver over a hundred years ago, the advancement in technology today has helped improve the policing methods in patrol quite significantly. However, technology would eventually out-run the police.
Computerized communication within law enforcement has and will continue to improve law enforcement as the technology is implemented and utilized within these agencies. The utilization of such devices as mobile data terminals (MDT’s) has given the average patrol officer access to enormous amounts of information. Even in 1979, Computer and technology were said to “have the potential to aid in criminal justice activities through the rapid communication of accurate and complete information, and perhaps a more rational approach to decision-making” (Colton, 1979. P.19). Now in 2014, the computers and
Leo Marx, once a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Harvard graduate, wrote an article titled “Technology The Emergence of a Hazardous Concept”. In this article, the author explores the modern day definition of the word technology and argues that technology offers too broad of a definition and is ill fitting to describe all technical advancements and their creators. Technology can be defined as the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science (dictionary.com). On the other hand, it can
Without having a criminal justice system there would be no order. Being in the law enforcement field, if it's being a police officer, probation officer, or even a correctional officer it is essential that everyone communicates with everyone. By colloaborating with each other it ensures that everyone is on the same page when it comes to things. Working together this way helps to create the same justice that we have for our victims but in our communities as well. In order for the criminal justice system to function effectively all three components of the criminal justice system is an essential part.
Future directions of crime fighting and its role in social policy implication would be the advancement of technology and its impact that it will potentially have on crime fighting in the future. Technology is ever changing and it something that we have all witnessed advance over the course of time, whether that is the progression of a tape recorder, to a CD, a CD to a Mp3, and Mp3 to iPods and iPhones. The only difference is that with criminal justice technology takes them much further than to just being able to listen to music but rather to get ahead of crime and to get a grasp on the criminals who are committing the
Throughout the course of the Randall County Sheriff’s Office Explorer Academy, we saw many different jobs that included technology to improve their quality of work. Every single job in the office used new technology introduced to them in the 21st century. In the crime scene unit, they use large computers and cameras to get very detailed information about blood splatter patterns, fibers from a suspect’s clothing left at a crime scene, and even taking photos of fingerprints and plugging them into computers that will automatically find points of reference for a match. Technology gives law enforcement the upper hand and gives a better edge into solving crimes.
Moving along, one of the biggest issues and trends facing law enforcement today and in the future is the use of technology. Today, police organizations have access to a wide range of technological tools, and they are continually advancing and improving. Some of these include records management systems, computer-aided dispatch, GPS technology, license plate readers, biometrics (facial recognition software, for example), crime mapping via geographical information systems, and less-than-lethal weapons (Tasers, beanbag rounds, tear gas,
Gadgets such as body-worn cameras, software used for facial recognition, forensics, and gunshot detection systems has made it easier for police departments to catch criminals. The more criminals that are off the streets the less crimes there will be. This technology helps law enforcement gather information of a person’s habits and their location to get in touch with them faster. In the article, Police Use New Technologies to Fight Crime, a police officer quoted, “The real value of all this technology is to empower the officer in the field. Now, data is pushed directly to their devices” (Avalos 2016). Not only is it beneficial and easier to catch a criminal, but it is the fastest way to getting to them. This technology has also been very useful to the City of Oakland and the City of San Jose because of their shortage of police officers. Technology on police cars has also been updated to make it easier to catch these criminals. Technology is also been a useful part in communication between police officers and catching the criminal. There are special software apps created to let the officer know information about the criminal. There have been less claims and less citizen complaints towards the police because of the body-worn cameras. Since technology each year is getting better and better the rate of crime will continue to stay low because it will be
Police Departments are continuing to evolve to try to stay ahead if the criminal. Police technology is most influential changes relative to modern policing. Police agencies are using modern technology such as internet to convey information to the public, smart phones with the capacity to communicate with others from the field, and mobile computers to retrieve information, (Grant & Terry, 2012). Because police officers have mobile computers while in the field,
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
Arnold Pacey published Technology in World Civilization: A Thousand Year History in the year 1991. Arnold Pacey was an associate lecturer at The Open University in Britain as well as an author to three additional books: Meaning in Technology, The Maze of Ingenuity, The Culture of Technology. He published all four of his books within a ten-year span. Arnold Pacey was trained as an engineer but is well known as a historian of technology because of the conclusions he drew of society and technology and their relationship. Society is defined as the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community. Technology is defined as the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry. Technology influences every aspect of our lives today, but we often forget that it profoundly affected the lives of past generations dating back to the beginning of civilization. Perhaps not to today’s extent, but the impact was still dramatic. New inventions or innovations produced more food, created new processes and tools, made life easier and made war more devastating. This course traces the evolution of technology and its impact on civilization from the creation of elementary tools up to today’s latest devices and even looks into future technologies.
After many decades elapsed, nowadays, the quality of human life is growing better. Human beings always search and invent new things in order to meet their needs. There are not only changes in the way that people dress and behave, but also there are many changes in forms of entertainment. In the past when technologies had not developed much, people usually entertained by getting together to dance, sing, or listen to music; many of them went to a small bar in the community to drink or play cards. Today is completely distinct from the time in the past. With innovative science and modern technologies, the entertainment has become easier and more convenient for all people. Everyone can relax and amuse themselves wherever and whenever with modern electronic devices such as cell phone, tablet, LCD TV, laptop, etc. Therefore, technology has become part of our life. Many people say that we could not do anything without technology; it helps people to make work easier. In fact, technology not only impacts our daily lives, but it also has a strong influence on the criminal justice system. If law enforcement officers apply technology to their investigations, it will assist to make the investigations less difficult and more efficient. So, what has the technology already helped to make an improvement in the criminal justice field, and how has it impacted on the law enforcement?