NCJ Number
168850
Journal
Governing Volume: 9 Issue: 12 Dated: (September 1996) Pages: 63-64
Date Published
1996
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This article discusses use of the Internet and other advanced technology tools by law enforcement agencies.
Abstract
Research has shown that State and local law enforcement agencies spent $992 million in 1995 on hardware, software, and information technology services. A major impetus is coming from the Federal Government, which has made technology a big part of several recent law enforcement initiatives. The FBI's National Crime Information Center, scheduled to go on line in 1998, will allow State and local police departments with a modern telecommunication infrastructure to access more than 43 million digitized fingerprints and conduct speedy database searches of 30 million criminal histories. Other systems being deployed by law enforcement range from equipping squad cars with laptops to Information Collecting Automated Mapping, a system which reveals correlations among victims, offenders and locations. New York City has installed aerial sensors and cameras at busy intersections to catch traffic offenders in the act of running red lights. Law enforcement is well represented on the World Wide Web, with hundreds of sites containing information on subjects from wanted posters to help for domestic violence victims.