Impact of databases, technology, policies in criminal justice
You have just graduated from the AIU Online Criminal Justice program and acquired your dream career working with the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). You love to write articles of criminal justice interest, and because the NCJRS provides links to millions and millions of criminal justice references, you find yourself in awe of your career.
For your first assignment, you have been asked to present a report at an upcoming criminal justice conference. This report will help your colleagues better understand how databases, technology, policies, and so forth affect the administration of justice and the outcome of court cases in particular. Your training coordinator expects you to highlight several examples of how criminal justice databases, computer technology, and policies have changed the way in which crimes are investigated and how criminals are brought to justice.
Pick 2 of the following databases, and address how technology tools and policies have changed the legal landscape in the United States in a 3–4-page paper:
Fingerprint analysis
DNA databases
Ballistics testing
Tire-tread analysis
Tracking of illegal pornographic images
Modus operandi databases
Three-strikes laws
Gun control laws
The USA PATRIOT Act
Megan’s law
Domestic violence laws
The exclusionary rule
Lie detectors
Inmate classification systems
Truth-in-sentencing laws
Impact of databases, technology, policies in criminal justice
The incorporation of policies, technology, and databases has made substantial changes in the course of justice administration and the outcome of court cases. The changes in the administration of justice and court cases have been made efficient and effective through the adoption of appropriate processes and operations. The new policies, databases, and technology have enabled the criminal justice system to shift from traditional mode operation to modern and advanced operations that have had a substantial change in the criminal justice system. The criminal justice systems continually adopt effective policies, technology, and database in the interest of achieving the principles of justice with ease and effectiveness. In this regard, the incorporation of fingerprint analysis and inmate classification systems databases has greatly influenced the entered criminal justice by changing the process and the outcome of court cases. The database, technology, and policies ensure that the five pillars of criminal justice (courts, corrections, prosecution, law enforcement, and community) meet their objectives of attaining, justice, fairness, and equality in the entire system for all the parties involved.
Impact of fingerprint analysis data technology
The fingerprint analysis enhances the identification of criminals for a long period. The use of fingerprint analysis has made the criminal justice system to identify to easily and effectively identify criminal with certainty (Dror et al., 2012). This approach ensures that criminals are brought to justice thus achieving fairness, justice, and equality for all the parties involved. The forensic scientist collect fingerprints marks at a crime scene and match it with the fingerprint database to identify criminals involved in different crimes.
The adoption of criminal justice has made it possible to handle undetected cases where there are not suspect. The collection of fingerprints in crime and profiling them enables forensic scientists to identify the persons involved in crime or related to it (Dror et al., 2012). In this case, the collected and matched with the existing fingerprints to identify the criminals. On the other hand, fingerprints are used in identifying bodies in crime scenes thus making conclusions in investigations and cases. Therefore, fingerprints analysis technology enables the criminal justice system to identify suspects or criminals in a case thus making it effective to prosecute them in the interest of justice for all the affected parties.
The fingerprints analysis database and technology are adopted in building up evidence and criminal cases both in the present and the future. The collecting of fingerprints in the crime scene takes the comparing and contrasting them in the course of matching them. The process gathers information that can be used to link the current and future cases thus solving them effectively. The fingerprints and related cases ensure that stored for future reference. Therefore, fingerprint analysis can be adopted in handling past unresolved cases using the already collected data or current data.
The use of fingerprint analysis and technology enhances absolute certainty in the testifying in cases and identification of criminals. Fingerprints are distinctive and they rarely change and thus they identify suspects and criminals with certainty (Ratha and Bolle, 2003). The forensic scientist analyzes the fingerprints through the identification of ridge length, shape and depth of ridges and the general shape of the ridge. Analysts use their experiences to evaluate, identify matches in fingerprints and use of exclusion to perfectly identify suspects and criminals. However, the process needs to be improved through developing standards and enhancing validity and testing in the process. Therefore, fingerprints provide evidence with certainty making it easy to handle issues and processes in the criminal justice system with facts and evidence.
Impact of inmate classification systems (ICS)
The inmate classifications systems are developed critically to evaluate and assess inmates’ program and custody needs to ensure that the inmates are effectively rehabilitated and integrated into the society upon the completion of their jail terms (Hardyman, Austin, and Tulloch, 2002). The classification identifies different factors such as security risk group membership, discipline history, presence of pending charges, length of sentence, and history of violence, inmate escape profile and severity of the offense. Under the system, the risks associated and related to an inmate to enhance proper decision making on programs and housing assignments meant to rehabilitate them. The system ensures that inmate assaults, suicide attempts, and escape attempts are significantly reduced.
The inmate classification system technology had a significant impact on the criminal justice system to ensure that the rehabilitation and restoration of inmates are done in the interest of the inmate and the society (Hardyman, Austin, and Tulloch, 2002). First, ICS enhances the safety of the public, penitentiary staff, and other inmates. The system ensures that dangerous offenders are effectively-identified through the Assessment of their arrests, past convictions, and criminal history as well as other classification procedures. This approach ensures that dangerous offenders are given maximum care and separated from other parties. Therefore, they are effectively rehabilitated and reformed for a common good.
The ICS technology ensures the inmates’ rights are protected as well as protecting them from liability. The jails are modeled and inclined to observe objective methods to handle and manage inmates (Austin, 2003). On the other hand, the prisoners’ rights are protected from deterioration by minimizing inmate isolation, providing at least restrictive environment and provision of rehabilitation programs.
Conclusion
The databases, technologies, and policies in the penitentiary and correctional facilities are for common good to ensure the criminal justice system process achieve their purpose. The database and technology Help in the effective management of the inmates in the interest of society. The database and technology ensure that the inmates are effectively rehabilitated.
References
Austin, J. (2003). Findings in prison classification and risk assessment. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Dror, I. E., Wertheim, K., Fraser‐Mackenzie, P., & Walajtys, J. (2012). The impact of human–technology cooperation and distributed cognition in forensic science: biasing effects of AFIS contextual information on human experts. Journal of forensic sciences, 57(2), 343-352.
Hardyman, P. L., Austin, J., & Tulloch, O. C. (2002). Revalidating external prison classification systems: The experience of ten states and model for classification reform. US Department of Justice, National Institute of Corrections.
Ratha, N., & Bolle, R. (Eds.). (2003). Automatic fingerprint recognition systems. Springer Science & Business Media.
