The Impact of Future Technology on Crime and Law Enforcement free essay sample

â€Å"Policing in America today is at a crossroads as it looks towards the future, the old policing strategies are no longer suited to address the emerging threats and growth of electronic crimes arising from out of the growth and popularity of the Internet, these crimes include: online fraud, child pornography, embezzlement, economic espionage, privacy violations, computer intrusions, cyberstalking or any other offences that occur in an electronic environment for the express purpose of economic gain or with the intend to destroy or inflict harm to another person or institution. † Cybercrime is growing dramatically with each passing year and in order for Law enforcement to stay a step ahead of the cybercriminals a new model of policing has to be developed. A policing model that is able to utilize new technology-driven crime-fighting tools that enable them to enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement operations across the nation. â€Å"A new policing model that incorporates the current existing policing concepts,†2 without turning American into a Police state, which is another issue facing Law enforcement as they move towards the future, one which Critics claim that over the past decade the United States has been moving towards a police-state in a number of small but noticeable ways, such as: â€Å"The United States National Security Administration recently requisitioned all Verizon phone records in the US for a period of 3 months. Your telephone records (who you called and for how long) say a great deal about you. This was done with a court order and has been going on since 2001. †2 1. â€Å"American police are becoming militarized, with SWAT teams proliferating, and use of Drones, GPS tracking devices, and military equipment, as well as participation of National Guards in the ‘war on drugs. † 2 2. â€Å"The USA PATRIOT Act institutes gag orders that are a violation of the 1st Amendment, forbidding persons and companies from revealing that the government has secretly asked for surveillance records. † 2 3. â€Å"Indefinite military detentions of U. S. citizens by 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, approved by the Senate, and would allow the military to detain without a trial any American citizen accused of being a terrorist. † 3 4. â€Å"Targeting U. S. citizens for killing a radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen, born in New Mexico, who was killed in an American missile strike in September. Law enforcement agencies are now considering using these spy planes to conduct covert surveillance on American soil. † 3 And while these issues may be up for debate it is no secret that since 9/11 Americans have given up more and more of their rights provided to us under the Constitution. I mention this because it is an issue that law enforcement will have to address as they move into the twenty-first century. FUTURE OPERATIONAL NEEDS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT A national survey taken by Lockheed Martin, regarding the operational needs of Law Enforcement agencies, their findings were as follows: 1. â€Å"Improving communication technology is a high priority for many agencies, the need for improving the interagency, and inter-jurisdictional interoperability of communication is a very important concern, as we discussed in class. 2. Improving the ability of police to collect and process DNA evidence would have great potential for improving criminal investigation. 3. Police are increasingly using various forms of camera surveillance; these cameras may be more effective if coupled with emerging biometric technology for subject identification. 4. Need the tools, technical training, new laws, support and jurisdiction to properly investigate and solve electronic crimes. (The tools mentioned include;; Encryption-breaking technology, Forensic Laboratory, Software to collect input and output data, Network intrusion detectors, and recovery equipment. ) 5. A high priority has been placed on the development and enhancement of integrated data systems, including systems and equipment that provide in-field access for officers. 6. Crime analysis, mapping and information-led policing. 7. Higher caliber, and capacity weapons and enhanced personal body armor. † 4 And while technology may not be the sole solution to these needs, technology can be used in a number of ways to improve both the efficiencies and effectiveness of the Law Enforcement. FUTURE CRIME-FIGHTING TECHNOLOGIES The emerging technology that Law Enforcement will be able to choose from is listed below, along with a short description in each area. I devoted a separate section to one of these technologies because I feel it has the most promise. 1. â€Å"Increased use of Closed-circuit Television (CCTV) cameras that applies biometric facial and tattoo matching software to the CCTV footage. †5 8. â€Å"Monitoring of GPS systems combined with location-based data Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to track probationers and parolees. By outfitting offenders with GPS devices can help law enforcement respond to crimes, the article gives an example where Boston police were able to apprehend a probationer soon after he committed a murder because his GPS ankle bracelet documented his whereabouts. † 5 1. â€Å"Shotspotter technology has been developed to assist public safety agencies in fighting against gun violence. It helps security agencies offer instant help and precise data, which in turn, allows them to respond more safely and quickly. The shotspotter technology helps determine time between a gunshot and police arrival. † 6 2. 3-D technology is another important advancement that has proven to be a crime buster for law enforcement agencies. This technology can positively influence every aspect of law. For instance, a 3D image of a bullet can be created to describe how had it been fired by matching it with similar crime incidents in past. † 6 3. In the Non-lethal technology area a system Called LRAD (Long Range acoustic device), is being test as a means for crowd control, the device can emit extremely high-power sound waves in the range of 120dB, and can be raised as high as 151dB. At those levels the device can disrupt and/or destroy the eardrums of a target, causing severe pain or disorientation, at lower levels less powerful sound waves can cause humans to experience nausea or discomfort, all of which are effective at crowd control. † 6 4. â€Å"The development of new advanced lightweight personnel protective body armor for Law Enforcement officers. There is a product is called â€Å"Dragon Skin†, it is made by Pinnacle Armor and it provides unmatched ballistic protection (nearly three times the protection for the same weight). † 6 5. â€Å"Improved communication including computer-aided dispatch with global positioning system (GPS), tracking of police cars, wireless access in patrol cars, and Inter-agency radios. † 6 6. â€Å"The use of unmanned Drones by Law enforcement to provide intelligence from restricted airspace, and to track terrorists and drug traffickers, and other dangerous situations. †6 7a. â€Å"Providing Police with Higher caliber firepower, this issue became more prominent after a Police standoff with Bank robbers in Los Angeles; in order to resolve the situation the local Police actually went to a local gun shop and borrow additional firepower them. So now there is a trend developing with Law Enforcement agencies to carry Military weapons systems as standard equipment. There were two featured in the article are the Heckler and Koch OICW XM-29 OICW (Objective Individual Combat Weapon) was the name for a series of prototypes of a new type of battle rifle that fired 20 mm airburst grenades, and is pictured below in Table 1:† 6 7b. The second weapon gaining in popularity was the â€Å"MAUL – A 12 gauge multi-shot under-barrel launcher, its features include: 5 shot semi-auto 12 gauge shotgun. At 800grams, (less than 2lbs) it is the lightest multi-shot shotgun available. Under-barrel accessory. Lethal, non-lethal, and door breaching munitions available. Reload speed of up to 5 rounds in less than 2 seconds. † 9 It is pictured below in Table -2: 9. â€Å"Advanced investigative software such as â€Å"Crime Predictive Analytics â€Å", more detail is presented in the next section. † 7 CRIME PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS â€Å"Crime Predictive Analytics is a form of statistical analysis that uses computer algorithms driven software applications that extract information from crime statistics and criminal behavior models to â€Å"produce ‘predictive areas’ where burglars and muggers are likely to target. † 7 The field of predictive analytics is not a new one; it’s been used by engineers, municipalities, bankers to determine credit customer’s likelihood of making future credit payments on time and the military, who used the software predict the likelihood of engine failures in vehicles. † 7 The municipality that used the software was featured in this article; the municipality was collecting and analyzing data from 35 other municipalities in order to help them make smarter decisions about managing water resources, reducing traffic jams and fighting crime. â€Å"A separate department of the municipality, Dade County’s Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department saved over $860,000 annual by using the predictive analytics software combined with smart metering to help monitor water consumption and identify leaks remotely. † 7 Just as Financial analysis or a statistician use software to fine anomalies in financial statements, reports or data, soon Law Enforcement agencies will all employ a Crime Data Analysis who will not only map crime areas but also use Crime Predictive Analytics â€Å"software â€Å"to detect patterns from the crime data which will enable Law Enforcement to predict trends and behavior patterns from the information. † 7 CONCLUSION My goal when writing this paper was to review the various specific technologies, both current and emerging that can benefit Law Enforcement. Following is a review of those technologies, how they could help the respective Law Enforcement agency, and the benefits they could provide to Law Enforcement. 1. â€Å"Currently law enforcement agencies throughout the nation are facing fragmentation issues relating to their communication and information system technologies. A nationwide standard radios codes, communication equipment, and Information technology can help facilitate this process by improving the integration, analysis, and dissemination of information. † 1 2. â€Å"Technology can help agencies better manage calls for service and deploy their resources more effective through the use of computer aided dispatching with GPS and automatic offense reporting, it can also help with the ability to communicate and coordinate actions with other first responders, i. e. fire and rescue and emergency medical personnel. † 4 3. â€Å"The effectiveness of the use of various forms of camera surveillance by Police, ranging from individual cameras in patrol cars or on officer’s uniforms, could be improved by coupling them with emerging biometric technologies that recognize tattoos and other identifiable marks of each subject that will aid in the identification of the subject. † 5 4. â€Å"The development of non-lethal weapons for individual and crowd control is a high priority issue for Law Enforcement technology, current technology included Tasers, chemical sprays and soft projectiles, emerging technologies includes the use of light and sound devices for controlling crowds. † 6 5. The use of â€Å"Crime Predictive Analytics† is a promising field which has already had success in the fields of engineering, science, business, and the military. The software uses computer algorithms to combine crime statistics and criminal behavior models to produce ‘predictive areas’ where burglars and muggers are likely to target. † 7 Given the technologies mentioned the opportunity exists for a number of new positions in Law Enforcement, those being technical experts in the field of technology. Currently the need exists for someone, or some organization to advise Law Enforcement agencies on which technologies would work best and be the most cost-effective for them. They are also going to need experts in each of the new technologies purchased, such as the â€Å"Crime Predictive Analytics. † The individual who will work with this type of software will need to have experience in Law Enforcement, investigations, analytical analysis, pattern recognition and strong computer skills in order to properly use this type of software. This is a position that would be anyone’s dream job, the individual who ultimately will work in this position is in a position to make a real difference in the lives of many people and of the community that he lives in. I find this particular area of extremely interesting.