Contributions of Technology to Criminal Justice
Introduction.
The advancement of technology deliberately impacts the criminal justice system immensely. Variable arrays of technology have been incorporated into the justice system and ensure the guiding of policies of the system. For example, the advancement of social media has emerged as the virtual law enforcement branch, as they allow for investigations and evidence to be facilitated online. This paper aims to explore the different modes in which criminal investigations and the justice landscape have been impacted by technology.
An excellent testament to just how impressive technology has impacted justice is the detection, tracking, and positioning systems—devices like drones, surveillance cameras, and global positioning systems(GPS). Interestingly, the gadgets, as mentioned above, can be used in tandem, as a drone can be fitted with a surveillance camera for even better results. Since America is a country with flexible gun control laws, it only makes sense to have a system that regulates gun users as police can tell where and when what type of gun was fired and by how many participants (Dutton, Mcleod-Henning, Nguyen, Scott, Castellanos and Dupont, 2015). Robotics is a significant technological advancement in the field of criminal justice.in the event of a bomb threat; unique programmed robots can be deployed to assess the likely course of action to be taken next.
Fingerprint technology is one of the most prevalent go-to methods for police throughout America (Lee, Ramotowsky & Gaensslen 2009). A proper review of a fingerprint is bound to show unmatched individual identification. Fingerprinting can be dated back to the late 1880s in China. However, it was so slow and inaccurate and could take up to days with no assurance of precision at all. It utilizes the frictional ridges, loops, and whorls for identification. Earlier on during the technology’s infancy, it was heavily manual and cumbersome. They are generally categorized into three; plastic, patent, and latent fingerprints. Plastic fingerprints are more pronounced as they are more three-dimensional prints obtained by physically pressing fingers against soap, gel, or wax. Patent fingerprints are the most identifiable as they can be rendered through blood or dirt. Latent prints are found on the skin surface and are formed by sweat.
The collection of fingerprints has evolved with time to incorporate special reagents, powders, lighting, tapes, solvent, and other equipment. For porous surfaces like cardboard and paper, special solutions are sprinkled on to the surface in question; then, photographs are taken. For nonporous surfaces like metal and varnished wood, forensic experts dust it off using special powder, then lift it off using special lifting tape (Lee, Ramotowsky & Gaensslen 2009). After analysis, for matching, an unknown print is pitted against a known copy. If both of them are similar, it is considered a success. Fingerprint technology is fast, reliable, automated, and accurate.
DNA database profiling forensics changed the outlook of the criminal justice system and re-altered forensics (National Research Council, 2009). They gave better legal options to law enforcement agencies and police forces globally and transcended considerable levels in the US. They simplified criminal justice and enabled improbable and notorious crimes to be solved through availing evidence searches and valuable intelligence. It is, however, quite expensive. However, recent studies show that 96% of law enforcement institutions in the united states of America have at least one investment in DNA databases. Just like fingerprints, it is centered around individualization and involves matching suspect samples with unknown samples. It is a broad field and includes blood grouping, hair analysis, bullet striations, dental impressions, voice spectrograms, enzyme typing, and neutron analysis, among others.
Courts recommend DNA profiling highly because of its transcendent accuracy. However, it is essential to understand the progression of this method through time, purely for perspective purposes (National Research Council, 2009). In 1987, in Florida, Tommy Lee Andrews was the first man in the US to have ever been convicted through DNA evidence. He raped a woman at knifepoint and then robbed her. Semen samples were collected from the woman and matched Andrew’s blood samples. At that time, the United States government did not have a database bank at all. After other courts and states witnesses this revolutionary revelation, it was slowly incorporated into their legal systems, and ten years from that, the US has the most advanced DNA databank in the whole world. As a result, jobs were created for forensic experts, molecular biologists, and federal detectives, and justice got dealt a high hand.
Conclusively, despite criticisms across the board about the legal constraints of DNA profiling and analysis, the legal system of the united states of America took many steps forward and kept outdoing themselves with these technological game-changers as they purpose to upscale justice at every turn. One thing remains constant, DNA analysis and profiling revolutionized criminal justice.
References.
Lee, H. C., Ramotowski, R., & Gaensslen, R. E. (2001). Advances in Fingerprint Technology, Forensic and Police Science Series.
National Research Council. (2009). Strengthening forensic science in the United States: a path forward. National Academies Press.
Dutton, G., Mcleod-Henning, D., Nguyen, M., Scott, F., Castellanos, V., Dupont, A., … & United States of America. (2015). The Impact of Forensic Science Research and Development.