By David J. Roberts, Senior Program Manager, IACP Technology Center
|Editor’s note: This column is the first of two columns about technology’s role in policing. The second column, which will examine role of technology in building and sustaining
By David J. Roberts, Senior Program Manager, IACP Technology Center
|Editor’s note: This column is the first of two columns about technology’s role in policing. The second column, which will examine role of technology in building and sustaining community engagement with law enforcement and also assess the impact of technology on policing, will appear in the February 2011 issue of Police Chief magazine. The source for the figure and the table appearing in this column is Brian A. Reaves, Local Police Departments, 2007, NCJ 23117, Bureau of Justice Statistics (December 2010).|
echnology, in a very real sense, is transforming policing in fundamental respects. New and emerging technologies are playing an increasingly crucial role in the daily work of frontline police officers, equipping them with enforcement and investigative tools that have the potential to make them better informed and more effective.
Law enforcement use of computer technology has expanded substantially over the past two decades. Given the increasing power and diminishing costs of technology, the extensive growth in mobile communications infrastructure, and the expansion of innovative applications available, computer usage continues to increase in law enforcement agencies throughout the United States.According to the 2007 LEMAS survey recently released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice,1 local police departments report using computers for a variety of law enforcement functions, including records management (79 percent), crime investigation (60 percent), information sharing (50 percent), and dispatch (49 percent). All larger police departments (that is, those serving populations of 250,000 or more) reported using computers for crime analysis and crime mapping (100 percent), and these functions were also automated in a vast majority of midsized agencies (that is, those serving populations of 25,000–249,999).
More than 90 percent of agencies serving populations of 25,000 or more reported having access to automated fingerprint identification systems (AFIS) and using infield computers (for example, mobile digital computers, terminals, and laptops) (see figure 1). In addition to the broad availability of infield computers, officers also had access to an expanding array of information including vehicle records (88 percent); driving records (81 percent); warrants (81 percent); protection orders (66 percent); interagency information sharing (60 percent); calls-for-service history (60 percent); and criminal history records (50 percent) (see table 1). Police departments of all sizes were much more likely to use electronic methods to transmit criminal incident reports to headquarters, with 60 percent of all agencies in 2007, compared to just 38 percent in 2003. Automating the transmission of incident reports is a critical element in building timely, accurate information and information-sharing capabilities.
In addition to infield computers, two-thirds of police departments throughout the nation reported regularly using video cameras, and well over half (61 percent) reported using video cameras in patrol cars. The deployment of in-car video cameras has increased markedly since the year 2000 in agencies of all sizes.
Technology and the Law Enforcement Officer
Police patrol cars throughout the United States are among the most technologically sophisticated and well-equipped vehicles on the road today. Configured with laptop computers or mobile digital terminals/computers, in-car cameras, automated license plate readers, multiband radios, RADAR/LIDAR devices, automated vehicle location, emergency lights, sirens, and much more, the cockpit of the typical police car might appear to the uninitiated to be nearly as complicated as that of a jet airplane and every bit as crowded.
The technology of the police vehicle is further augmented by that which is often carried or worn personally by the officer. Increasingly officers are wearing or carrying a variety of new technologies, including a smartphone,2 a less-lethal weapon, and perhaps a body-worn video camera,3 in addition to the standard complement of a firearm, handcuffs, extra ammunition, a baton, a flashlight, and other items.
Technology has empowered officers in the field by giving them the ability to initiate queries of multiple justice-related databases. Officers are also increasingly able to access and query an expanding array of databases that can greatly assist in determining the identity of the person with whom they are dealing; that person’s legal status (for example, wanted, on probation, on parole or on pre-trial release); as well as historical information regarding the address to which officers are dispatched and whether there are any warnings regarding the location or its occupants.
The result is a much more “wired” officer. The technology is designed to make the officer more efficient, more effective, more knowledgeable, and better able to spend time on patrol interfacing with the community by improving reporting capabilities and eliminating the need to return to headquarters to complete and submit reports.4 Moreover, infield computers and other mobile technologies also help improve the quality of data by building edits into data entry systems to ensure accuracy and completeness of reports and by building mobile interfaces to enable more timely completion and submission. Mobile technology implementations among police forces throughout the United Kingdom have also demonstrated substantial benefits, including improvements in efficiency and effectiveness of police officers, enabling greater visibility within the community, broader access to local and national databases, and more accurate data collection and time savings.5
Technology and the Law Enforcement Agency
Beyond the impact of technology on the individual officer patrolling the street, technology is also having a transformative impact on law enforcement agencies. Contemporary law enforcement agencies have implemented a host of technologies to enable expanded