Technology and Communication Paper
Chris Souza
CJA/304
July 7, 2014
Paul Lowery
Communication is a very important part of life as we know it and technology is constantly changing in which the ways one is able to communicate now days. Due to the current technology and its continuing advancement in the way people communicate, the criminal justice system must also enhance its communication by keeping up with current and upcoming technology. It is very important for the criminal justice system to keep up with the new and advancing technology when it comes to communication, because communicating effectively can have positive results in an investigation. Throughout this paper we shall do a comparison of at least two types of specialized databases in the criminal justice system. The first shall be mobile data terminals. The second shall be facial recognition. We will discuss positive effects and negative effects on communication databases. Finally, which new specialized technologies you might want to use and why. There are databases in the criminal justice system, which are specialized and its communication capabilities have been impacted in a very big way when it comes to technology. There are some positive and some negative effects with the use of these new technologies when it comes to communication within the criminal justice system. Mobile databases links law enforcement officers on the road to their dispatch centers and police or sheriffs' departments. Windows-based screens make data entry and reporting easy, clear and concise. Directly works over cellular or radio modems that support TCP/IP protocol. Perhaps the most common use of mobile data systems is to allow officers in the field to instantly access information in their agency’s database. Sometimes they’re able to access the databases of other agencies, as well. Example: An officer pulls over a speeder and instantly views all available records on the subject from the department’s records database to find out if there are any warrants, previous arrests or stops, verify identification and more. (Jerrard, 2010) Some systems will automatically dump the subject’s information into a new record, such as an accident report, thus saving time and effort. Seems to be a step in the right direction in enhancing the war on crime in the criminal justice system. But, with all positives come negatives in certain technology advancements. Some people feel that mobile systems will be very costly with the current financial situation in California which has forced budgets to tighten regarding purchasing of new technology.
Facial recognition can provide law enforcement agencies with a valuable tool for multiple public safety applications. While fingerprints assure higher rates of accuracy than face recognition can, facial recognition provides benefits when fingerprint data does not exist, is not easily shared between agencies, or when multiple independent verification methods are desired. The first semi-automated facial recognition programs were created by Woody Bledsoe, Helen Chan Wolf, and Charles Bisson. Their programs required the administrator to locate features such as the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth on the photograph. It then calculated distances and ratios to a common reference point which was then compared to reference data. While facial recognition technology has high-accuracy when used to match a clear image of a person with another passport-style photo, it is not as effective when used with low-quality images. (Thompson, 2014) Technology has come a long way in just the last five years and now there are features that will allow users to clean up even low-resolution photos. Although this technology is being used by many different organizations, a number of issues surround its
