Working in criminal justice means having an opportunity to utilize GPS systems, robots, advanced cameras, and high powered computerized systems. These technologies have improved the outlook of the criminal justice system in investigation and analysis procedures. Criminal justice comprises of a variety of fields or areas that are very essential. The first area is law enforcement which is normally carried out by police officers. The next field involves the prosecution which is carried out by lawyers. This is followed by the court system where judges preside over the cases presented. The last field of criminal justice is known as correction centres where criminals are jailed for a particular period of time. All these fields have evolved with new technologies to reduce paperwork and errors. This paper will analyze the technologies available in criminal justice to limit the use of paperwork and increase their efficiency in maintaining law and order in the country. Criminals also use advanced technologies, so the law enforcers must remain one step ahead in technology to effectively combat crime.
Police officers play a major role in new technology to effectively enforce laws and combat crimes. One method applied by the law enforcers is database and information exchange. Currently, there are database systems that comprise of DNA profiles, fingerprints and high-level crime mapping systems. A few decades ago every information was written down in files making it difficult for states to exchange information. Now it’s easily accessible and distributable thanks to the computer databases (Moriarty, 2017) . These DNA profile database systems have been expounded not only to include the people who previously committed a crime but also the innocent people who have been related to crime scenes. The DNA collected in the scene of the crime is analyzed and the sequences compared with the DNA profiles present in the police database. This helps the police to identify the person who was in the scene of the crime and exonerate the innocent. Fingerprinting has advanced in the past 10 0r 20 years. The image systems have been enhanced to make clear prints (Findlay, Odgers & Yeo, 2015) . The biometric tools are now more portable to allow the officers take prints in the field.
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Another technology used by law enforcers is Automatic license plate recognition (ALPR). ALPR are cameras inside the cars used by police and automatically run every license plate the camera sees. An officer immediately identifies if the car was stolen. This method has eased the work of the officers which was previously time-consuming and tedious work of frequently comparing the vehicle's plates with the list of stolen cars. Another technology used is GIS and GPS systems. The officers use GPS/GIS in getting to the scene of the crime using the most effective route and pinpoint where the suspect is located. Additionally, GPS is also to track fleeing criminals without engaging in the dangerous high-speed race (Moriarty, 2017) . GIS is used to track police vehicles so the departments can easily know where the vehicle is located. The use of GPS and GIS has reduced use of maps to locate the area where the scene of the crime has happened.
Another technology used by police officers is robotic cameras, robots, and flying drones. Instead of sending officers to check a dangerous situation. Flying robotic drones give officers view of the scene of the crime without having to go up in the air to view the crime scene. Criminals are also easily identified in a crowded place using cameras in the flying drones. Flying drones can be used to access any potential explosive device thereby avoiding the police officers from being exposed to the possible hazard (Siegal & Worrall, 2018). All these technologies have increased the efficiency police officers and their mobility without carrying written records.
Technology has also been applied in the prosecution of the criminals and in the court system to improve speed, efficiency, and reduce cost. Online dispute resolution (ODR) technology is a method used by lawyers to solve client dispute without even leaving his/her office. Negotiations can be recorded for future reference without writing the information thereby limiting paperwork. Another technology involves the use of DNA profiles in the courtroom to provide indisputable evidence. This technology of DNA profiling can be challenged by defence layer based on the validity of matching by identifying issues on evidence collection, cross-contamination, storage, and poor handling practices. Another promising technology that could be used in the courtroom is brain imaging. This technique applies functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the criminal brain and detect a change in blood flow and identify which part of the brain is active. Scientists identify the use of fMRI as a promising technology whether the suspect is guilty, as it automatically detects whether a person is lying with 70% to 90% accuracy (Neubauer & Fradella, 2015) . Some argue that in cases where accuracy fall close to 70% science is too unreliable to stand in the court of law (Neubauer & Fradella, 2015) . Others argue that brain scan can be an improvement over widely used witness testimonies which are extremely fallible.
E-court room has been adopted using an array of new technologies. This includes of webcasted testimonies, interactive screen displays, dual screens that display several documents to the judges and personal screens for the suspect in the jury box. These technologies have reduced paperwork both from the judges and defence lawyers. Additionally, expert testimony through video conferencing allows the witness to give a testimony at trial without physically being present in the courtroom. Video conferencing creates an interaction between witness and those present in the courtroom especially when the witness or the defence lawyers are many kilometres apart for example, between states (Neubauer & Fradella, 2015) . Videoconferences can be recorded for future court session rather than writing the whole information in files. Some judges and layers are hesitant in adopting the new technology while others praise new technology as it offers a presentation of a multitude of evidence and accommodates a high tech expert testimony. These new technologies have reduced paperwork drastically because references are readily available on the screen.
Technology has also advanced in correction centres. Safety, maintaining good records, and jail security are paramount for staff, inmates, visitors, and volunteers. To achieve maximum security technology employed include database system, robot cameras, biometrics, inmates tracking, radio frequency identification, and video visitation. The use of high computerized database systems is to keep good records on the number of inmates, the DNA profiles and biometric data (Cole, Smith & Dejong, 2018) . This reduces paperwork and information can easily be shared among different correction centres efficiently. Robot cameras are used to promote security through intensive surveillance on the inmates. These technologies in the correction centres have been outweighed by the high maintenance cost.
Technology has created a new outlook on criminal justice. The level of crimes has reduced drastically through effective law enforcement to the judicial systems. Majority of police officers have embraced the use of technology to ease in crime investigation. The new technology has reduced paperwork used in the past decade to record the crimes by the use of the computerized database. The judicial systems have also embraced the use of new technology but still, much emphasis should be put on the importance of technology since some judges and layers are reluctant. The courts which have embraced technology has seen its fruit through proper record keeping, efficiency in court proceedings and easy retrieval of recorded information in future. Technology in correction centres has been embraced although financial constraints have hampered its effective implementation. The future of technological advancement in criminal justice need to be updated regularly and allocated sufficient resources by the government.
Reference
Moriarty, L. J. (2017). Criminal justice technology in the 21st century . Charles C Thomas Publisher.
Findlay, M., Odgers, S., & Yeo, S. M. H. (2015). Australian criminal justice . Oxford University Press.
Neubauer, D. W., & Fradella, H. F. (2015). America's courts and the criminal justice system . Cengage Learning.
Cole, G. F., Smith, C. E., & DeJong, C. (2018). The American system of criminal justice . Cengage Learning.
Siegel, L. J., & Worrall, J. L. (2018). Essentials of criminal justice . Cengage Learning.
