Law-enforcement technologyInternet technology to aid police, courts, prisons – but privacy issues must be addressed
New Internet-based technology may aid criminal justice agencies through tools such as better criminal databases, remotely conducted criminal trials, and electronic monitoring of parolees in the community, according to a new study. “The criminal justice field has mostly been reactive to new technology developments such as smart phones and social media,” said the lead author of the report. “We’ve developed a road map of how new Internet-based technologies might help law enforcement in the future, as well as set priorities for the improvements that are needed most.”
New Internet-based technology may aid criminal justice agencies through tools such as better criminal databases, remotely conducted criminal trials, and electronic monitoring of parolees in the community, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
Top criminal justice priorities for new Internet tools include developing a common criminal history record that can be shared across agencies, developing real-time language translation tools, and improved video displays for law enforcement officers to adapt to changing needs, according to the analysis.
“The criminal justice field has mostly been reactive to new technology developments such as smart phones and social media,” said John S. Hollywood, lead author of the report and a senior operations researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. “We’ve developed a road map of how new Internet-based technologies might help law enforcement in the future, as well as set priorities for the improvements that are needed most.”
RAND notes that researchers say that there are many promising technologies that could aid the criminal justice field, but that many of the developments raise issues related to civil rights, privacy rights, and cybersecurity which must be addressed before the improvements can be fully realized.
The RAND report is based upon feedback from an expert panel of sixteen practitioners and technology experts convened to discuss what upcoming Internet technologies may be valuable and what the technology likely will do for criminal justice efforts.
The panel included members from groups such as International Association of Chiefs of Police and the American Probation and Parole Association, as well as technology experts from groups such as IBM and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
The report outlines an array of scenarios in which Web-enabled technology may aid those in the criminal justice system. For example, in the future, police officers may be able to gesture at a self-driving car to bring it to a stop or move a self-driving vehicle that blocks a fire hydrant.
The top law enforcement priority was for help with policies and procedures to interact with driverless vehicles.
“Just how will an officer signal instructions to self-driving cars, such as when officers are controlling traffic at intersections?” Hollywood said. “This and many other questions about law enforcement and driverless vehicles need to be addressed.”
Another priority identified by the panel was the creation of a criminal record that integrates information from multiple agencies.
