NCJ Number
212334
Editor(s)
Laura J. Moriarty
Date Published
2005
Length
333 pages
Annotation
This textbook anthology on the ways technology is impacting criminal justice in the 21st century addresses criminal justice education and technology, law enforcement technology, corrections technology, and criminality and technology.
Abstract
The introductory chapter, which discusses the technology infrastructure of criminal justice, defines "criminal justice technologies" as "the actions and attempts by various agents of the system to use new and existing tools and apply techniques in tricky and ingenious ways to the conduct of crime; the crime prevention and control operations of the police; the judicial processing functions of the courts; and the warehousing, rehabilitation, and monitoring functions of corrections systems." This chapter presents an overview of the kinds of technologies now underpinning criminal justice systems, as well as how these technologies are used by the various actors within criminal justice to achieve goals. The five chapters of Part I, "Criminal Justice Education/Training and Technology," consider the evolution of a discipline that aims to meet the demand for "cyber-competent" criminal justice practitioners and researchers; technological aids for teaching statistics; interactive technology tools that facilitate skill-development for criminal justice personnel; and the evaluation of computer-based training for DNA evidence collection. The four chapters of Part II, "Law Enforcement Technology," include an overview of law enforcement technology; the findings of a national study of the technology and training needs of rural law enforcement agencies; the development of information technology that supports problem-oriented policing; and the evaluation of a mobile firearm simulation system. The two chapters of Part III, "Courtroom and Corrections Technology," address courtroom personnel attitudes toward video conferencing and the use of technology in prisons. The three chapters of Part IV, "Criminality and Technology," discuss computer forensics, computer-crime victimization in the United States, and computer applications by international organized crime groups. Chapter references and author and subject indexes