Different types of technology used in criminal justice

Different Types of Technology used in Criminal Justice Different Types of Technology used in Criminal Justice There are numerous indications that ongoing trends in technology will stimulate continuing re-evaluation of the constitutional rights of people who are suspected, charged, or convicted of breaking the law. Information technology, in essences, is saturating all phases of the administration of justice (Travis, 2012). This paper will discuss the different types of technologies applied in criminal justice.
Some of these technologies are: drug testing technology, DNA technology, concealed weapons detection technology, information technology and technology of knowledge (Travis, 2012). Drug testing technology has become a common factor in the American criminal society. Drug testing’s application is far-reaching in many fields such as police forces, airline pilots, federal employees and even participants in school sports. Also, prospective executives of the National Institute of Justice have to go through drug tests as regulations of employment. In the field of criminal justice, the moderately inexpensive and considerably powerful drug test to determine drug use has opened a broad range of issues that reach into unfamiliar territories of policy, law and practice. Criminal fighting agencies use this technology to fight drug abuse in America mostly the police force and anti drug agencies. Another influential technology is the DNA technology. DNA allows criminal fighting agencies to match a genetic sample to a person at a mathematical level that has total assurance. DNA tests are frequently used in roughly all jurisdictions across the country. DNA testing is used in connecting a suspect to a crime (Lazer, 2004). A key agency that uses this technology in the U. S. is the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Concealed weapons detection technology is a technology that permits criminal fighting agencies to locate hidden weapons. Police officers, court security officers plus other enforcement officials can now predict whether or not a person is carrying a firearm (Gibbons, 1988). This helps to maintain law and order in the society since people carrying firearms could easily be tracked (Gibbons, 1988). Information technology helps criminal fighting agencies to locate information regarding crime or a location that is prone to criminal activities. Police officers can verify the history of a suspect through fingerprints, fill in paperwork in the squad car through using a hand-sized laptop, and go back to patrol. This technology is mostly used by the police force such as probation officers to track the activities of probationers (Lazer, 2004). The technology of knowledge refers to a technology that permits criminal fighting agencies to share ideas that a vital in improving policing, as well as criminal justice. The technology is wide spread in the United States and many law organizations such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the police force use it.
These technologies have their obstacles, but their advantages outshine these obstacles. The cost of implementing these technologies is relatively high, though the effects surpass the cost (Lazer, 2004). People, however, need proper training as to how to use these technologies. Apart from the weapon detection technology, most of these technologies use sophisticated techniques. They all need severe training of their usage.
In conclusion, according to me, these technologies are not expensive. They are cheaper compared to the way criminal justice was being tackled before the technologies were introduced. Hence, I highly recommend the usage of these technologies. Even though, the technologies intrude some rights of individuals, they still are meant for fighting crime. The technologies, hence, benefit everybody.
References
Gibbons, J. (1988). Criminal justice, new technologies, and the constitution. NP. Retrieved from http://www. fas. org/ota/reports/8809. pdf
Lazer, D. (2004). DNA and the criminal justice system: The technology of justice. The MIT Press.
Travis, J. (2012). Technology in criminal justice: creating the tools for transformation. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Washington DC: National Institute of Justice.