Police Technology

Technological advances can be a huge advantage to the law enforcement community, but may also be a disadvantage as well. Technology. As the use of the Internet and other computer networks has grown rapidly in recent years, so has the opportunity for electronic crime. Unlawful activity can be committed or facilitated online. Criminals can trade and share information, mask their identity, identify and gather information on victims, and communicate with co-conspirators. Web sites, electronic mail, chat rooms, and file sharing networks can all yield evidence in an investigation of computer-related crime. Law enforcement officials know this and they have responded to the problem by using the same technology as the criminals. This paper will set …show more content…
There are various advantages of computers and computer software in police investigations. Since the introduction of computers and the computer technology push in the 1970’s, there has been slow use of computers in criminal justice. However, many departments with access to computers in the 1970s and even into the 1980s seemed reluctant to use them for more than routine tasks. So, why were many police agencies not making more effective use of computers? Leading police chiefs blamed the complexities of the new technology, the cautious, conservative nature of many police officers, and citizens' "fear of Big Brother”. Lack of funds for computer training and equipment maintenance also played a part (Seaskate Staff, 1998). …show more content…
In fact, computers and the Internet have made the criminal a better criminal. To investigate and prosecute cyber-crime, law enforcement agencies need skilled investigators, up-to-date computer forensic examiners and prosecutors with cyber-crime familiarity (Wolf, 2009). This is where the problem lies. Technology today is far advanced than it was once a long time ago, and many law enforcement personnel are just not up to par when it comes to being tech savvy. Agencies are lacking the required staff to investigate accurately with the technological tools that are available to them. Training gets you far, but without practice you forget, and with computers you need to stay up to date and well informed about changes and furthering technologies. This keeps the criminals ahead of law enforcement. Lt. Amanda Simmons of the South Carolina Computer Crime Center - a well versed expert on the topic - replied that "as today's technologically savvy children and teenagers grow older, I believe there is a possibility that nearly every crime will eventually involve some high-tech piece of evidence." (Wolf,