We are reminded daily, through sounds, visuals and experiences, of the impact of technology in our lives. But what about the other impactful aspects of living in this time on earth? Mr. Paul G. Davis, a member of the neighborhood, just celebrated his 99th birthday. Looking back retrospectively, Mr. Davis told me that, long ago, he noted that “Life and intelligence are incompatible” (personal communication, July 18, 2023). We place Mr. Davis’s words in juxtaposition with a 500-year-old proverb, “Necessity is the mother of invention,” which is inextricably linked to the enforcement of laws by the police. In our quest to improve our way of life, we often overlook the impact these changes can foster–climate change, drug addiction, cyber-crime, technology, etc. What began as labor-saving devices, video games for leisure, or ways to keep people from suffering, may lead to unintended consequences, controversy, and a set of outcomes which are adverse to those intended. Need for safety of the public and the officers that protect them is the primary motivation for innovation in our world. In 21st century policing and investigations, where the need is to detect and apprehend criminals and solve crimes in the safest, most efficient ways possible, innovation translates to the development of technology (Weisburd & Braga, 2019).

Law enforcement officers are generally not the inventors here. Their role is more aptly to communicate what they, via experience, need in order to operate more safely and efficiently. Additionally, detectives or forensics specialists may communicate a different need set. An example here might come in the form of enhanced chemical kits to test street drugs (presumptively, in the form of field testing kits they carry, or conclusively, using sophisticated equipment to accurately determine in a laboratory setting exactly what the substance is). The need, in this case, is to properly identify the substance for use in a criminal case, in such a way that it will be admissible as evidence in court.

The listing of ever-evolving technology and advances in the discipline of criminal justice is far too extensive for this textbook. The following examples are provided to demonstrate an array of options for crime fighters, either available or under development.

• automated license plate readers (alpr): License plate recognition technology is normally interfaced with computer equipment that allows the patrol officer to accomplish a variety of routine (parking enforcement, vehicle identification, stolen vehicle identification and recovery) and emergency (attempt to locate individuals, etc.) patrol functions efficiently.
• unmanned aerial vehicles (uav), often referred to as “Drones,” have gained a solid foothold in the equipment repertoire of police agencies (PERF, 2020). UAVs may be deployed to search for missing persons, monitor traffic on busy highways, conduct aerial photography, conduct surveillance, and accurately map collision and crime scenes. Additionally, they may carry essential items into inaccessible or hostile scenes, assist in rescues, deliver medical supplies and food to stranded individuals, and a host of other applications. Challenges facing UAV deployment for departments include making certain privacy rights and Fourth Amendment (U.S. Const. amend. IV) laws are not violated in their use, and that operators are fully trained to prevent injury or damage to property.
• Facial recognition systems: By using technology which compares a human face presented from a video image or photograph, then comparing the result to an existing database of faces, users can either be authenticated or rejected for services, or in some cases, identified for the person’s existence on watch lists. This technology is capable of rapidly sorting individual characteristics, and when coupled with other available science (example, GPS technology), locations of wanted or missing persons can be quickly sourced by the police.
• Biometrics: Research and development companies have been exploring many applications for the employment of biometrics in police patrol applications (Fritsvold, n.d.; Strom, 2017). Having the ability to use a patrol officer’s fingerprint, pupil or even the officer’s breath as a personal method of sure identification has proven quite feasible for use in locking technology such as vehicle doors, certain padlocks, and shared departmental access points. What to this point has been elusive has been the development of a sure method for quick and certain method of locking the trigger mechanism to a firearm to one individual to the exclusion of persons outside the department.
• less-lethal equipment: Whole segments of research and development of public safety equipment are devoted to safe and efficient methods to control hostile crowds and to conduct one-on-one suspect apprehension. Products emerging for public safety use in this realm are based upon three main platforms: chemical (one example is OC (pepper) spray) , kinetic (example: rubber ballistic bullets or bean-bag rounds discharged from a shotgun), and conducted energy (example: Taser® or other electronic control device).
• artificial intelligence (ai): Harnessing “Big Data” in such ways as to accurately predict crime trends, crowd movement, surveillance, etc. will make policing more efficient in the future. One cutting-edge field of study is in facial recognition (U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2023), where potential threats might be quickly identified and interdicted before harm is carried out. The ability to be combined with closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems or even drones to scan landscapes, crowds or busy intersections for inconsistencies or anomalies are also a function of how AI might assist law enforcement in future decades (PERF, 2024).
• Communications devices: Whether it is in the form of radio communications, encrypted digital systems, or covert, micro-sized cameras and microphones, communications devices are some of the fastest-evolving elements of law enforcement technology. Smartphone technology, including forms of digital forensic software, has expanded to be able to more accurately locate, recover and document digital evidence which is associated with electronic crimes including credit card fraud, identity theft and child pornography. Finally, after decades where local, state and federal agencies struggled to communicate with one another due to radio frequency blocks, radio technology has advanced to the point where multi-agency conversations can now happen on a single radio, where, for example, an officer may communicate with his department on a VHF signal, and with a simple switch to a neighboring agency’s UHF frequency, can speak with an officer responding from that jurisdiction to provide mutual aid.
• Evolution of Patrol Vehicles: As officers receive more and more equipment to assist them with their duties and responsibilities, carrying capacity of their vehicles has increased to the point where practicality is no longer arguable. Some officers patrol in areas subject to frequent inclement weather, rugged terrain, and where they operate largely on their own. In these cases, officers are more likely than not to be outfitted with Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV) or pickup truck platforms. Both may have essentials such as four-wheel drive, winches, trailer hitches, etc., attached as needed. Movement for a more energy-efficient patrol vehicle has also caused manufacturers to develop electric or hybrid vehicles with contemporary police packages (prisoner transport screens, emergency lighting systems, etc.). Finally, where some twenty years ago on-board computer systems were fairly rare (IACP, 2004), almost all departments now have mobile data terminals (MDTs) installed. This move is also a step toward efficiency in that officers may conduct their own vehicle registration and operator license checks, freeing the radio for urgent or emergency radio traffic.
• Uniforms and associated equipment: As stated previously in this chapter, technology has literally “lightened the load” officers carry in terms of the weight of next-generation soft body armor. Tighter woven Kevlar® products, ceramics, and other protective surfaces have increased available threat protection to a Tactical Level 4 (able to withstand and protect against many common rifle ballistics) while reducing the weight of the garment.

Due to the numbers of belt weapons, tools and other items, and considering their weight, many individual officers and departments are opting for external ballistic carriers that incorporate pouches, rings, etc. so that the weight of the duty gear is borne by the shoulders and not the lower back. If an officer chooses, a method of reducing the stress of the belt weight can come in the form of tactical suspenders.

• body-worn cameras: While not new, body cameras are constantly improving in terms of clarity, image capture and storage of end-product. What sometimes struggles to keep pace with the implementation of body-worn cameras are the departmental policies necessary to meet the courtroom’s forensic criteria and to withstand litigation.
• DNA Database Options and Improvement: Even decades ago, investigators would collect items of evidence believed to contain bits of the DNA makeup of a targeted person (missing person, unknown victim, crime perpetrator, etc.). Much of this evidence languished in storage lockers for many years because databases for comparison were largely incomplete or had not even been designed and constructed as yet. DNA collected properly is considered some of the most irrefutable evidence available to investigators.

Legislation at the federal and state levels have created opportunities for investigators to harvest DNA from people accused or convicted of certain crimes. Expansion of existing databases through the introduction of new DNA profiles became more robust, and investigators made greater effort to enter DNA samples expediently in new cases, as well as reopening cold cases to check for identifications. Finally, court decisions have opened the door for using open-access genealogical databases by police for the purposes of identifying potential suspects based upon “family tree” DNA comparisons (Memmott, 2013).

• Gunshot detection technology: in some cities, police department heads have advocated for the strategic placement of devices which can accurately detect gunshots in real time. Doing so may lead to quicker police response, allowing for a prompt medical aid response to potential gunshot victims, and to assist in the apprehension of criminal shooters. As this text is written, the cities of Seattle and Tacoma are contemplating purchase of gunshot detection technology in an effort to reduce gun violence in their cities (Cabahug, 2014; Hunt & Robertson, 2024).

Wherever technology is employed, great care must be given so as to not inadvertently discriminate against individuals in the community. As an example, in the early deployment of facial recognition software, the accuracy of such technology came under fire when it was found that the majority of facial recognition algorithms were far more likely to misidentify racial minorities than whites (Fontenot, 2020). In a study of racial bias in facial recognition technology, it was found that Asians, Blacks, and Native Americans were particularly susceptible for misidentification.

Electronic data sharing and case collaboration occurs in fusion centers, real-time crime centers, and interconnected police departments have the ability to share information in real-time to identify associates, locate suspects, and better resolve crimes than ever before.

Attributions

1. Figure 7.7: Phantom/GoPro Camera Quadcopter Drone by Keving Baird is released under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0