Criminal Justice Technological Change - Essay Example

? Crime and Technology Introduction The advancements technology that has modified our lifestyles has also been accompanied by other consequences. While it increases the ease with which individuals and business entities are able to communicate and exchange information, it has generated new crimes and complicated dealing with the older crimes. The different crimes that are committed via the technology include several “offenses which subject the consumers, businesses and the society in general to diverse nature of threats” (Grabosky et al, 2001, p.34). Identity theft, hacking, fraud, extortion among many others is some crimes that have been born with the new technology. This is linked to the exponential expanding e-commerce and the increase in the number of people using internet across the world. “The number of organized crimes and other individual crimes are mainly widening the exploitation of the exploitation of the technological vulnerable individuals who depends on the online for the storage of important financial, intellectual property and other valuable information” (Grabosky et al, 2001 p.37). In the view of the above, criminology has to respond very fast with respect to the investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators of crimes. One of the most important part of criminology is the investigation of the crimes. A criminal investigation can be defined as the official and deliberate effort to reveal information about a crime (Wall, 200, p. 3). This is therefore a process that has the objectives of revealing who committed a crime and why the person committed the crime. This is important since it enables the crime detectors in prosecution and hence discourages crimes within our society. Investigation and management of crimes in general has however taken a shift from the traditional laws that discourage crimes to the use of technology to investigate, detect and prosecute crimes or prevent the occurrences of crimes. The use of technology in crime prevention is becoming popular than the use of stringent laws that prevent crimes because of the dynamicity and the complexity of the crimes generate by the new technology. In this context, some crimes go undetected and hence the perpetrators are not prosecuted yet the crimes often result into serious losses of property. The new technology has also moved faster than the law makers and hence certain crimes are not defined by the law and hence it is difficult to prevent such crimes by enforcing the existing laws and hence the technology has to be used to prevent such crimes. Criminal justice technological change just like in other areas of public interest and other private endeavors has been given priority in most governments (Caputo, 2007, p.37). The system of work by the different police agencies, community groups, other correlation institutions, court systems as well as all the institutions that collectively form and either directly or indirectly are involved in crime and justice are currently intertwined in a framework of technological change. The revolution rate in this field is moving at a faster rate such that a breakthrough technology of yesterday for example is looked as a common place today. For example, there are currently bullet proof jackets for the police officers, Routine monitoring through electronic means as probation condition, the incidences of crime can easily be monitored by the communities with sophisticated computers and effective methods that are used to administer health care to prisoners. Understanding the development of criminal justice technology is very important in our understanding of the current “challenges that are faced by the police and other law enforcement agencies” (Bradley, 2004, p.38). The history of its implementation is also important in understanding the problem of fragmentation during the past era. Finally the benefits of the evolution history of criminal technology are important since it helps in the demonstration of how information was managed in the past and how the trend has changed with time. It also helps in understanding the importance of information and how the information is both strategic and tactical. Most scholars have divided the history of criminal justice into three categories; political criminal justice, professional criminal justice and the community policing eras with the current technology being he community policing. During the early eras of criminal justice technology, the police officers were majorly appointed by the political leaders and that is why this era is referred to as political criminal justice era. The police and other government officials depended mainly on information from the public. The only information technology that was available in this ere was the printed press which was mainly used in the 1710s in the United States of America (Bradley, 2004, p.168). This technology was appreciated and used for more than seventy years that followed During the 1850s there was the introduction of multiple short revolver that was a major improvement from the former technology and the police officers used it for the main information technology source. However, the use of printed press and the multiple short revolver was still evidence in some parts of the world with America using both technologies together especially for investigation until 1856. Other technologies then followed and there was the introduction of the photography especially for criminal identification purposes in the U.S. since the police’s primary source of information was the community, photography was important as a source of evidence for criminal acts in this era. This was supplemented by the telegraph in 1877 and by 1878; “ the American police introduced the use of telephone by a police agency” (Bradley 2004, p.168). This was a great improvement in policing as the police were able to store the evidence and it was not difficult to deliver justice to all. Although the level of technology was still very low by this time, the new technology advancements like printing press, revolver, photography, telegraphy and the use of phone by police meant a significant development for the police in this era. The second era that is described as the professional era then came later in the 1900s in which the use of sciences in the investigations of criminal activities. This era is described as professional because it involved the use of both technological information as well as scientific evidences in the identification of criminals. This era saw the development of the police automobiles and the two way radios in 1920s and 1930s respectively in most cities and states in the United States of America and later saw the use of finger prints for identification (Bradley, 2004, p.169). This was necessary since it rapidly increased the productivity of the police and performance in responding to incidents of crime. The time period of response was reduced and it took the police little time to respond than it was before. Political influences as well as patronage was also a thing of the past as the police officers were appointed according to qualification and not on political basis by special professional police managers. During this era the police reformers saw the importance and the advancement in technology that was very important for the identification of crimes. “In the year 1923, the police saw the development of the first laboratory in the U.S. mainly for the enhancement of investigation” (Ismail, 2010, p.269). This era also saw the development of other police reforms especially the reforms on the management of police. The police managers saw the importance of research and scientific innovation through up to around 1960s in which various police administrators also published different books on police reforms. The idea that the “police managers and supervisors could control the production of service however was put on hold in 1950s” (Ismail 2010, 283). However, there was still the bureaucratic control of police officers and was very important at this time to reduce the number of crimes. This was also important as it saw the evaluation of the performance of the police officers unlike in the political era where most police officers served capitalism. Generally, the professional criminal justice technology era relied mainly on technology, central standards, science and centralized bureaucracy to produce professionals who managed to bring a lot of changes. During the period after 1970s, there was an emergent of new technology called the community oriented policing which is still the order of the day in most developed and developing countries (Ismail, 2010, p.283). Community policing is being emphasized by several government and it involve the community in giving information to the police in an effort to reduce crime. This was developed in the United States of America in 1970s since the police officers were responding to the same incidences at a time. There was also the distancing of people from the police due to the new technology. This new technology is to enable the police to work closely with the community in identification of crimes and the subsequent fighting of crimes. The need of a proper information technology with regard to criminal justice has not staled. Major companies and experts are currently being consulted by government in order to come up with a more rapid and effective information technology. These companies and individuals are majorly using the “quantitative and the qualitative means so as to provide vital formations for the government and other private sectors so as to chart their strategic course in dealing with the high rate of rise in crime” (Pattavina, 2005, p.20). One of the technologies that can be described as emerging criminal technology is the satellite technology. Satellite technology is mainly known as a communication technology by law enforcement agencies. However, this technology is very expensive currently when it is employed in law enforcement and crime fighting. “This technology has also been found to be very effective in especially in solving the common problems of dead sports especially in communication of the police” (Nellis, 2005, P.127). “Satellite technology is capable of focusing and concentration on very small and tiny objects very clearly and can be used to manage crimes in most cities and towns which are densely populated” (Williams, 2006, p.41). For example, when there is crime or robbery in certain areas in the city, it is possible for the satellite dispatcher to instruct the satellite to focus on the area and therefore provides ease of following criminals and eliminates the use of helicopters. This is because the helicopters make a lot of noise hence warn offenders and hence they leave the area of the scene before they are actually caught by the police. This has a lot of benefits which include timely action, accurate information and accurate identification of crimes. The second area of technology to be implemented in the future is the technology that relates to the pursuance of the criminals. The current method of perusing criminals is majorly through mechanical means which has proved very inefficient. One of the improvements is on the development of the automatic controlled barriers with spikes that are remote controlled (Ismail 2010, .283). This will eliminate the presence of police officers and the frequent roadblocks that are seen in major cities. This is because the barriers containing the spikes will be available even when the other motorists are using the roads but activated when the offenders try to pass. The other benefit of this kind of barrier technology is that it will reduce the number of offenders who normally escape police. The use of CCTVs in the effort to preventing crime and other losses and fraud is also becoming popular. In a study by Goold (2004, P. 86), “CCTVs are not just used to prevent the occurrence of a crime but is also used in the investigation of the crimes that had already occurred or has taken place." This is because it retains a memory and recordings of a good length that is important for identification of criminals when they were committing the crime. Since it records both movements and sound it is one of the best evidences that can be presented in a court of law for prosecution of the perpetrators (Goold, 2004 p.87). As observed by Kruegle (2007, p.200), “CCTV Surveillance is the fastest moving video digital technology that is mainly focused towards the success in management of crimes.” The world is moving away from the analog technology to digital video technology that is important in the management of most or all aspects of video surveillance. The advancement in information technology in the future is the backbone of the development of criminal justice technology in the future. This is evidenced from the modification of information technology in the past that has subsequent development in criminal justice technology (Manning, 2008, p. 36). This is also important as the criminal justice technology is based on the ability to provide accurate and timely information for effective identification and the fight against crimes. The future development and research by major companies and other criminal justice experts have also based their research in the innovation or development of other criminal justice technologies based on the current information technology (Caputo 2010, p.36). The increasing crimes and the crimes that have been generated by the advanced technology have seen the criminal justice system change significantly. Criminal justice system is currently adopting a more technological and scientific approach to the management of crimes than the law. This is because the technology has moved faster than the law and hence there are crimes that may not be defined by the law or may not be prosecuted because of lack of evidence. Technology is therefore being used to prevent as well as mediate the process of investigation of crimes as well as collecting evidences. The use of CCTV surveillance, Satellite and other computer technology programs are some many technologies that are currently in practice. Prevention is sometimes viewed as cheaper and less costly and hence, the law enforcement has taken this turn not only to prevent the crimes but also to reduce the cost of preventing the crimes. This is because the law involves processes and stages that sometimes may not deliver justice at the right time and to the right person. It is however important to note that the law still play an important role and at the present state, we cannot move away from the law and its role in preventing crimes. References Bradley Robert C. (2004). “Science, Technology, and Criminal justice.” New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc. Caputo, A. (2010). “Digital video surveillance and security.” Boston : Butterworth- Heinemann/Elsevier. Goold, B. J. (2004). “CCTV and policing: public area surveillance and police practices in Britain.” Oxford: Oxford University Press. Grabosky P.N., Smith, R. & Dempsey G. (2001). “Electronic Theft: Crimes of Acquisition in the Digital.” Age Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Ismail Karim. (2010). “U.S. Criminal justice Policy: A contemporary Reader.” Sudbury: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Kruegle, Herman. (2007). “CCTV Surveillance: analog and digital video practices and technology.” Oxford: Elsevier. Manning, Peter K. (2008). “The technology of Policing: Crime Mapping, information technology, and the rationality of crime control.” New York: New York University Press. Nellis, M. (2005). “Out of this world: the advent of the satellite tracking of offenders in England and Wales.” Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, Vol. 44, No.2, P.125-150. Pattavina April. (2005). “Information Technology and the criminal justice system.” London: Sage Publications. Wall, D. (200). “Crime & the Internet.” London: Routledge. Williams, M. (2006). “Virtually Criminal: Crime, Deviance & Regulation Online.” London: Routledge. Read More