The use of computer technology in policing has increased during the last few years primarily due to the rapid adoption and development of technology in today’s society. Gilbert (2004) contends that law enforcement’s use of the computer is as significant as was the adoption of the police radio or the use of the motorized patrol car. When technology is mentioned nowadays, it does not necessarily refer to a desktop PC computer as has been the case historically. Today, many different types of equipment are dependent on computers and computer technology in order to function (for example, radar guns, breathalyzer machines, cell phones). It will become apparent how Gilbert’s contention regarding technology is supported by the variety and prevalence of computer technology in contemporary law enforcement organizations.
Nunn (2005) developed a broad categorization of technological systems that can be applied to computer technology in general. He classifies technology into seven different categories based on its usage: communications, database and record keeping, decision support, biometrics, monitoring, imaging, and weaponry and personal defense. Following are examples of law enforcement uses of each type of technology.
Communications technology includes analog and digital radios, digital wireless mobile terminals, and cell phones. Database and record-keeping technology includes criminal histories, warrants, NCIC, and property and evidence room inventories. Link analysis software, data mining software, and case management software are examples of decision support computer technology that is useful to law enforcement. Access control systems and pattern recognition systems are examples of biometric technology currently used by law enforcement. Monitoring computer technology includes video cameras, passive scanning thermography, and in-car video recording. Imaging technology includes facial recognition software, aerial photography, geographic information systems (GIS), thermographics, and passive scanning devices. Finally, for weaponry and personal defense, law enforcement uses taser stun guns, laser dazzlers, and laser heating weapons.
Foster (2005) offers another useful means of examining computer technology. He categorizes law enforcement’s use of computers as strategic, tactical, and administrative and management. Strategic uses of computers are those that might be used in planning and include communications via the dispatch center, agency systems, external systems, the Internet, information exchange, and crime analysis. Tactical uses of the computer, on the other hand, are those used in the field. These are typically for immediate decision making and include technology used in investigations, wiretaps, tracking and surveillance, major incident and disaster response, and technology on the street. Administrative and management uses are those that enable the organization to operate systematically using standard operating procedures and include personnel functions, training, and implementing and managing of technology (Foster 2005).
Computer technology can also be viewed as being used internally and externally. Internal uses of computer technology include paperless report writing, rapid report review by supervisors, case status communication between patrol and detective units, crime analysis projection, artificial intelligence, training, crime scene reconstruction, and personnel communication within the organization—usually via e-mail. External uses of computer technology include interagency Internet communication with local, state, federal, and foreign jurisdictions regarding an entire range of facts, communication of fingerprints, DNA and other forensic identification data, and posting of community information through agency home pages and websites (Gilbert 2004,186).
Even though significant advancements have been made with computer technology, not all agencies routinely use computer technology. A lack of resources is often cited as a reason for not adopting technology. Furthermore, while technology is much less expensive today than it was ten years ago, many agencies, especially smaller ones, still cannot currently afford various computer technologies. Additional reasons include concerns about the right to privacy, lack of training, and a resistance by officers who do not have a good understanding of the computer’s capabilities (Osterberg and Ward 2004).
The right to privacy is highly valued by citizens; they are reluctant to support any technology that appears to infringe on that right, such as surveillance technology. Even though law enforcement’s intentions in using surveillance technology are typically acceptable, some are concerned that law enforcement will abuse those capabilities and ”spy” on them. Adequate training for computer technology is somewhat limited. Training for computer technology in basic academy training is minimal, as is the case in in-service training. Absence of training makes officers reluctant to embrace the technology for fear of not using it appropriately or effectively. Resistance to using computer technology is also a byproduct of some officers not wanting to change the way things ”have always been done.” For reasons already stated, veteran officers are not generally willing to try these new technologies. On the other hand, newer officers tend to be more comfortable with computer technology and, therefore, are more willing to use it.
Aside from the uses listed earlier, computers are now used for criminal investigative purposes. Specifically, computers can be used to efficiently access existing records, record new information and store it for immediate transmission to like systems, analyze the information for patterns and trends, manipulate digital representations of people with respect to age, and recreate and visually track a series of events (Bennett and Hess 2004, 16). Computer technology has dramatically increased the information-gathering/sharing and the electronic document management capabilities of law enforcement; today information can be obtained from paper, fax, e-mail, and handwritten documents (Bennett and Hess 2004).
Additional uses of computers in investigations include developing analytical timelines and performing link analysis that allows officers to generate intelligence from raw data. The use of computer-assisted drawing has also increased greatly during the last few years and has enabled law enforcement to improve their accuracy, repeatability, simplicity, and the ability of files to be inserted into crime scene reports (Bennett and Hess 2004, 57).
While training on the use of computers is sporadic, training using computers is becoming more commonplace. For example, computer-based training and Internet-based training are being used as alternatives to the more traditional platform-based instruction. Given the resource constraints faced by most agencies, providing training that officers can do independently and without having to leave the organization for weeks at a time is an attractive option to some law enforcement administrators.
Baggett, Collins, and Cordner (2005) evaluated the efficacy of computer-based training compared to platform-based instruction with officers taking a DNA evidence collection training course. They found that students taking both courses significantly increased their scores from the pretests to the post-test; the researchers concluded that computer-based training was as effective as the platform-based training. An important point to note is that the computer-based training was also conducted in less time, for less money. Additionally, officers expressed a generally positive attitude toward the use of computer-based training. Computer-based training may not be a panacea for law enforcement, but it certainly offers a viable alternative to administrators who find it difficult to send personnel away from the organization for training.
A multitude of computer technologies that are useful for law enforcement are available today. Many of these technologies help law enforcement perform their jobs more efficiently and effectively. However, computer technologies are not readily available to or adopted by all law enforcement agencies. As technology becomes cheaper and more readily available, it is incumbent on police administrators to equip their personnel with the most advanced technologies available today in order to meet the new and dynamic challenges of twenty-first-century policing.
