Information Technology and the Criminal Justice System
- PDF / 52,792 Bytes
- 2 Pages / 482 x 694 pts Page_size
- 33 Downloads / 228 Views
W
ithin recent times, advances in information technology (IT) have made a significant impact on both the detection and deterrence of criminal activities. To date, there has not been an up-to-date piece of literature that adequately discusses the impact of this new technology on the criminal justice system although substantial investments are poured into the criminal justice system by the federal, state and private sector organizations such as CrimeStoppers. Perhaps the only criticism that one can make after reading the book is that the authors have failed to look beyond Europe and North America to find examples of the impact of IT on the criminal justice system. For example, this book volume would have had a greater international appeal if impacts from both underdeveloped and developing countries were integrated. For example, in Trinidad and Tobago, at least 5% of the national budget goes into National Security each year and the government has sought to fight crime by purchasing hi-tech spy software from Israel and surveillance sky ships. Despite this criticism, the authors of this edited collection have done justice to the title through the use of practical examples and empirical data from the US and Europe. Decision makers within the criminal justice system can benefit by learning the techniques in acquiring, evaluating and implementing new IT solutions. This is very important in a world where not only accountability of public funds is pivotal but also the efficacy of implementing certain IT solutions is just as significant. As a result, if proper communication is forwarded to the public from the purchaser of the IT solutions, unrealistic expectations in the performance of the equipment can be minimized. In addition, the book explains the use of IT in addressing common “politically” incited debates such as the differential ratio of police officers to citizens among cities. One of the goals of any technologically driven criminal system is to transform the police service from one that merely minimizes crime to one that manages crime. The contributors did an excellent job in addressing cybercrime, its effect on our society and its control and prevention. The use of “Honeypots” or
Crime Prevention and Community Safety 2007, 9, (222–228) © 2007 Palgrave Macmillan Ltd 1460-3780/07 $30.00 www.palgrave-journals.com/cpcs
Crime Prevention and Community Safety 223
fake Websites by policing agencies to catch sexual predators, the use of technology to modify retailers’ websites to prevent hacking without compromising ease of use of the customer and the use and design of technology products such as the “Clipper Chip” which would afford the government the ability to unscramble encrypted files. While these measures all have good intentions, the authors point out there must be a balance between accessibility of information and privacy issues – some of which should never be compromised. The future use of IT in the criminal justice system presents many challenges to all societies. Presently, there are a lot of unanswered questio
Data Loading...
