Historically, law enforcement was all about a sheriff with a badge, a gun, and the town posse and policing was a dangerous act. With time, law enforcement evolved into what is known today. Currently, police departments are more complex than in the past. The police are not only accountable for the traditional responsibility like calls for service and investigating crimes, their mission has expanded to include crime prevention and reduction of crime rates. Modern law enforcement calls for proactive approaches to the issues that the police face. In this case, Law enforcement tries to source data from disparate sources analyze the data and use the results in anticipation, prevention and responding to crime. Policing can be categorized into three eras; political, professional and community eras. In the three eras, there has been a significant advancement in technology. In this paper, the author dwells on the history of technology in policing in the three eras and the way it changed policing methods
Police and Technology
Police have relied on technology to enhance their effectiveness. The emergence of fingerprinting and crime laboratories in 1900 and 1920 respectively enhanced the police capabilities to solve the crime. Similarly, the use of the two-way radio and the use of automobiles in the 1930s further intensified their ability to respond to incidences. Progress in technology, however, has been slow as well as uneven. In some instances, law enforcement lagged behind other sectors in benefiting from technology. Only recently did agencies acquire computers to automate their activities in addition to finding information technology helpful. Some of the uses include computerized crime map.ing, fingerprinting database and record management among other tasks. Many technologies used by the police are adapted from the marketplace yet they have a need for unique technologies that rare to find. Some of the equipment needed by police include devices that have less lethal force for controlling fleeing vehicles and unruly people, tools for detecting concealed weapons and contrabands using nonintrusive techniques (Foster, 2005; Hooper, 2014).
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The Political Era
The political era received its name from the close ties that the police had with politics. It was the period from 1840 – 1920. Law enforcement was connected to the social and political environment in the ward. Law enforcement was armed with two forms of technologies; gun and nightstick. The police have continued to rely on this equipment to date. Some of the technological advancement includes the telegram, telephones, call boxes and the use of the Bertillon in 1880 for criminal identification. Fingerprint system was highly employed to help in the criminal investigation. Initially, patrols were on foot and horsebacks but with technology, policing was enhanced as communication improved and transport became efficient (Foster, 2005; Hooper, 2014).
The Professional Era
It is the period from 1920 – 1970 when reformers tried to disconnect the government from undesirable political influences and create a professional law enforcement department. The technology was used to emphasize equal enforcement, discipline, and centralized decision making which are the hallmarks of professional policing. Technologies like the polygraph, handwriting classification, and fingerprint were championed. August Vollmer was the champion if the model and policy technology. He started a crime laboratory in California which was a model and training ground for the country. The FBI in 1932 inaugurated a comprehensive and technologically advanced forensic lab. Police in adopted the use of the automobile and two-way radios in the 1930s. The advancement in technology in this era enabled police officers to enhance their patrols using automobiles and improved communication that helped them to deal with the incidences as they arise. The police became more effective in their work and managed to deal with crime in a timely manner (Foster, 2005; Hooper, 2014; Manning, 2011).
The Community Era
It is the period that started from 1970 to date and corresponds roughly to the introduction of computers. According to Lee P. Brown a former chief police executive who served in New York City, Houston, and Atlanta, computers are critical to community policing. He once wrote that high technology equipment and application are used to effective community policing. Lack of high technology impairs the capability of the officers to offer the required services. Computer-aided dispatching, patrols automated fingerprints system, as well as online offense reporting, are some of the technologies that are gaining popularity in an agency that conducts community policing (Foster, 2005; Hooper, 2014).
Dennis E. Nowicki who is a chief of the Charlotte- Mecklenburg is building a knowledge-based community-oriented policing system worth $10 million for his department. The system will focus on the needs of a problem-solving officer in the street. According to Nowicki, they are designing an information system that supports problem-solving not as a management information system. He supports a class of police chiefs who have faith in computer technology and its impact on police work. His vision is to give a police officer a radio, weapon, and laptop computer (Foster, 2005; Manning, 2011).
According to William Bratton, a former police commissioner in New York City computers offer police with important technological advances, for instance, computer mapping is a useful element for pinpointing crime. Other technologies in this era include; geographic information system, global positioning technology, radio frequency transmitter chip, transponder systems and DNA technology. Technology changed policing methods from the traditional practices where patrols were conducted using automobiles and radio calls to the use of modern technologies where computers can be used to locate a crime and send important information to different control centers thus leading to better handling of the issue (Foster, 2005; Hooper, 2014; Manning, 2011).
References
Foster, R. (2005). Police technology . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Hooper, M. (2014). Acknowledging Existence of a Fourth Era of Policing: The Information Era. Journal Of Forensic Research And Crime Studies . http://dx.doi.org/10.17303/jfrcs.2014.103
Manning, P. (2011). The technology of policing . New York: New York University Press.
