Criminal Justice it it Is Becoming Very

Criminal Justice IT It is becoming very clear how much of an impact the newest technological advances have on the world. For example, consider how quickly the information spread via the social media about Osama bin Laden's death. Technology innovations are also greatly impacting the criminal justice system in the U.S. By providing significant improvements in the way that agencies find, process, share and utilize information.

With the present speed of change, many new information technology advances are still on their way for the 18,000 police departments and several thousand prosecutorial court and correction agencies in the U.S. (Pattavina, 2005). In the future, as the digital world continues to advance in complexity, the criminal justice system will continue to improve in overall effectiveness and capabilities in crime measurement, control and response.

Since the 1960s, criminal justice system agencies have been using information technology to gain a better understanding of the issues and challenges they face, improve the management of daily operations, lower operation costs and develop and enhance strategic planning and tactical approaches. Information technology has positively impacted law enforcement even more so over the past several decades (Pattavina, 2005). This is especially the case in the area of crime analysis, as defined by Reuland (1997) as resource deployment, investigation and apprehension of offenders, crime prevention and administrative support.

Crime analysis also supports crime prevention departments, investigation officers and community relations/public relations in strategic planning, development and evaluation. For example, although not yet used by the majority of law enforcement units in the U.S., a crime analysis technology called geographic information systems (GIS), along with crime mapping, has proven considerably advantageous. With GIS software, the user can create any form of geographic display from a point map to 3-D representation of spatial or temporal data of police issues, such as crime problems.

For example, GIS helps analysts determine where different types of crime occur and provides insights on relationships between certain geographic variables. In tactical crime analysis, GIS clarifies patterns of crime, such as burglary and car theft. The crime analyst can then display several variables at a time, such as variable=crime, values=robbery, assault, and rape (Boba, 2005, p. 44).

As GIS becomes more sophisticated in crime mapping capabilities, it is providing advanced results such as digital/raster images; temporal weighting/aoristic analysis, or pattern recognition based on the hour of the day and spatial terms; dasymetric mapping to show more extensive pattern and spatial autocorrelation, and consideration of criminogenic impact on adjoining locations. Offender identification and criminal histories is another area in which information technology has considerably enhanced abilities (Pattavina, 2005). In 1997, only half of all states had final dispositions for 70% or more of arrests from the prior five years.

With computerization, increasing numbers of states are establishing criminal history databanks. On the federal level, the FBI maintains information on federal offenders. The passage of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, National Child Protection Act and Megan's Laws greatly extended recordkeeping on eligibility of firearm purchase, childcare employee screening, and sexual offender registration.

Mobile data terminals (MDTs), which allow wireless communication of information for police officers, is another identification enhancement; with the use of laptops and PDAs, the officers can obtain and disseminate information much more quickly, increase their time and ability to aid in response, and enhance their safety. Naturally, an overview of information technology's impact on the criminal justice system must include the major changes in forensics. DNA databases will continue to significantly improve investigative work for law enforcement and prosecution. According to the U.S.

DNA Initiative (2011), The National DNA Index as of March 2011 contained more than 9,535,059 offender profiles and 366,762 forensic profiles. Ultimately, the success of the combined DNA information system (CODIS) will be measured by the crimes it helps solve. Also as of March 2011, CODIS had made approximately 141,000 hits that helped in about 135,500 investigations. The court system, defenders, prosecutors and correctional units also make valuable use of information technology. The introduction of digital technology, for example, provides evidence presentation systems that include laptop computers, DVD players, VCRs, printers and cameras for instant exhibit displays.

While answering questions on specific topics, an expert can use visual technology to provide more information and a better understanding. Another area of interest for the correctional institutions is called technocorrections, which includes electronic tracking, pharmaceutical care and genetic and neurobiological risk analyses. In addition, electronic monitoring is used for locating people on probation and parole, as well for the application of wrist bracelets that keep track of an offender's location.

However, according to Pattavina (2005), above all these technological advances "Arguably the most valuable application of networking technology has led to integrated justice information systems" (p. 18), which improve the quality of data available to users, save time and money by reducing redundancy of data entry, and enhance accurate access to information and communication in different localities. The future promises to bring continued increased complexity and enhancements to the information technology already in place.

An area that is expected to expand considerably is computer forensics, which combines law and computer science to collect and analyze data from computer systems, networks, wireless communications, and storage tools, so that they are recognized as admissible evidence in a court of law. Presently, and more so in the future, technological innovations are not only helpful for the criminal justice system but also for the criminals. New digital technology is making it much easier for people to commit crimes, while minimizing the risks involved.

Computerization is providing easier access to systems, goods, and information, removing geographical obstacles to crime, heightening the scale of potential rewards, and increasing anonymity and the ability of offenders to avoid detection (Pattavina, 2005). Computer forensics has helped advance crime-solving techniques and counterintelligence methods, making it possible to close many more cases. Computer forensics is also increasing in importance, due to the growth in cybercrime and insider misuse of information technology. DNA evidence is also growing in importance as technology expands.

For instance, the time needed to test a DNA sample has decreased from between six and eight weeks to between one and two days".