Throughout this course, you will be utilizing and applying tactics, strategies, concepts of project management, and strategic planning in conjunction with a research project. All criminal justice agencies experience programs, planning and research that deal with current or future issues. Most organizations ask their leaders to develop initiatives for the current and future timeframe, which will help the organization achieve its objectives and goals. In your final assignment, you will conduct a research and analysis project about an initiative you would implement based on a topic of your choice.

Your project will entail:

• Identifying a criminal justice/ law enforcement initiative to be planned for this project
• Conducting the research, including gathering quantitative data from a suggested web site, which you will evaluate, collate, analyze and synthesize.
• Outlining the process you will follow utilizing research, your education, and life experiences you have obtained up to this point, resulting in a plan of action to implement your project
• Determining an evaluation of the project based on your expectations and those of the stakeholders.

The final product will be a paper that is 10-15 double-spaced (no less, no more!), APA formatted pages, including an abstract page.

The requirements for your Criminal Justice capstone are:

• Propose a non-experimental research topic rooted in a criminal justice/ law enforcement issue. (See the suggested topics provided below for inspiration) 

  Identify an agency or organization, where you would like to implement a criminal justice/ law enforcement initiative with an organization in the private or public sector organization such as a police department, an educational/civic – police partnership, state or federal agency, etc. (it may also be a generic organization such as “a local police department”).
  Provide a description of this organization (size, demographics, jurisdiction, purpose)
  The need for this initiative.
  Define the stakeholders of the initiative, including the target audience.

• Literature Review and Data Presentation 

  Identify the data you will need to collect.
  Conduct and write a literature review highlighting the pertinent trends, thresholds (tolerances) and research appropriate for your initiative.
  Collect data and provide a descriptive analysis of that data, which supports the need for the initiative.

• Summary of the meaning of your literature review and data analysis
• Plan for implementing your initiative
• Evaluation plan

Running head: CRIME ANALYSIS 1

CRIME ANALYSIS TECHNOLOGY 2

Crime analysis is a function that usually involves the systemic analysis in identifying as well as analyzing the crime patterns and trends. Crime analysis is very important for law enforcement agencies as it helps law enforcers effectively deploy the available resources in a better and effective manner, which enables them to identify and apprehend suspects. Crime analysis is also very significant when it comes to arriving at solutions devised to come up with the right solution to solve the current crime problem and issues as well as coming up with the right prevention strategies. Since the year 2014, crime rates in the USA have increased steadily as per a study done by USAFacts, which is a non-partisan initiative (Osborne & Wernicke, 2013). With this increase in crime rates, which has majorly resulted in massive growth in technology, it is essential to come up with better means and ways of dealing with the increased crime rates. With the current advancement in technology, better law enforcement tools developed, which has enabled better crime deterrence in better and efficient ways. All this has been facilitated by the efforts of crime analysts who have come up with better tools and thus enabling the law enforcers to better deal with the crimes (Osborne & Wernicke, 2013). In this paper, I will consider the application of crime analysis technology and techniques in fighting crimes. Application of crime analysis technology and techniques used to make crime analysis more accurate and efficient.

Currently, the two technological tools that are used in predictive policing software have enabled security agencies to effectively use predictive policing (“Crime Analysis: Fighting Crime with Data,” 2017). Application of this software has enabled better crime prevention as with data obtained in the previous crimes have been used to predict possible future severe crimes in a specific area.

Through the adoption and use of crime analysis, law enforcement agencies have been able to fight against crimes as when compared with the past effectively. The use of crime analysis comes at the right time, where there has been an increase in crime rates in the current digital error. In a survey done by Wynyard group in 2015, the study revealed that for every 10 law enforcement officials 9 of them believe that the use of current technology in crime analysis has had positive effects in helping the agencies in solving crimes as they can identify essential links and trends in crimes (“Crime Analysis: Fighting Crime with Data,” 2017). In the same way, other sectors have benefited from data analysis with spreadsheets, databases, and mapping, law enforcers have been able to use data analysis to come up with a better decision. Crime analysis has had many positive impacts in different areas, which includes robberies and arsons with pattern examining as well as reviewing events sequence (Santos, 2012).

Use crime analysis technology is very useful in fighting terrorism activities through analysis of previous crimes and thus predicting any intended cyber-attacks. One of the most important federal agency mandated to deal with terrorist activity is the FBI. Therefore, be essential to implementing the initiative to the FBI agent. FBI is a U.S. domestic security and intelligence service. The FBI operates under the United States department of justice jurisdiction and usually reports to the director of national intelligence and attorney general. FBI is the United States leading organization when it comes to matters aimed at countering terrorist activities as well as investigation of criminal activities. The FBI formed in 1908, the organization currently has about 35,204 employees, and its headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Having being involved in both law enforcing responsibilities as well as intelligence, the FBI is unique as it has dual responsibilities and thus significant agency in the U.S. Some of the vital roles includes ensuring the United States has protection from terrorist activities as well as foreign threat activities. In addition, it mandates upholding and enforcing criminal laws of the U.S. as well as providing criminal justice services and leadership to both federal, state, international agencies as well as municipal. Implementing a better law enforcement initiative in the FBI is therefore very important, as it will strengthen the ability of the FBI when it comes to dealing with the terrorist as well as ensuring the nation has protection from other foreign threats. To ensure the success of the initiative, most of the stakeholders will be technological companies. Technological companies will ensure the success of the action reaches achievement. The target audience will be the leaders of the FBI agents, as this will ensure that the information reaches the rest of the FBI fraternity.

Peer-Reviewed Article Analysis

Technology has evolved over the years in various sectors, with new technological innovations being developed. One of the areas that has witnessed great applications of technological evolution is in the detection and prevention of crime. This article will analyze the various technologies that are used to prevent and detect crime.

Byrne and Marx (2011) in their article reviews the topic in detail and gives insight in the role of technology in combating crime.

The key data that will be used in this research is secondary data from various peer-reviewed sources that review the topic of Crime Analysis Technology from various perspectives. Byrne and Marx (2011) presents various data on crime and the use of Information Technology in crime detection and prevention. For instance, it highlights that the percentage of schools in the United States that deploy metal detectors is approximately 2%. The article also approximates that as of 2006, one million CCTV cameras had been deployed in the United States, although the article does not provide current estimates on the same.

The article plays a great role in my final research. It gives a highlight of the various technological applications for crime prevention and detection. This can provide a background for further research, especially the technological innovations that are currently being developed. The article also presents figures about various elements of technology in crime prevention and detection such as the number of CCTV cameras, the crime rates such as the registered sex offenders, among others. Projections can therefore be made to the future.

The article mentions several significant facts. First, it classifies technological innovations in criminal justice as hard technology versus soft technology. Hard technology innovations include hardware and materials while soft technology innovations include information systems and computer software. Examples of hard technology is the CCTV cameras, metal detectors, and security systems at homes and schools. Examples of soft technology include predictive policing technology, crime analysis techniques, software, and data sharing techniques, among others. Both of the two categories of technological innovations are important in criminal justice. Another fact is the new technology of policing. The article identifies hard policing technological tools such as non-lethal weaponry and technologies for officer safety. It highlights soft policing technologies such as data-driven policies in policing and information sharing. Another important fact that the article mentions is the issues that should be considered in technological innovations in criminal justice. Some of the issues mentioned in the article is that policy should be determined by research and evaluation and using evidence-based practice should be used to develop new programs or remodel the existing ones.

Overall, the article provides a good background for further research in technology in criminal justice system. More innovations may be included in further research due to ongoing technological innovations for crime prevention and detection. For example, further research should look at technological innovations to curb cyber-bullying due to the huge impact of social media.

Literature Review

Crime detection and prevention has been a significant challenge for law enforcement officers across the world. The threat of crime to citizens, organizations, and governments is increasing daily because of an increase in the use of the internet for commercial activities and communication. Criminals are using information, communication, and technology to carry out activities such as breaking into individual bank accounts and robbing people. Over the recent past, technological advancement has enabled the covering of loopholes that exist in the criminal justice system. The use of technology by law enforcers can greatly promote their service delivery to the public and prevention of crime. This literature review aims to look at how technology facilitates crime detection and prevention.

Technological advancement has offered law enforcement officers with new strategies and perspectives to make use of various innovations in different sectors. The study by Fatih and Bekir (2015) reveals that technological advances improve the effectiveness and efficiency of policing. For instance, social network analysis is used as an essential tool in law enforcement to discover, analyze, and envision criminal activities (Fatih and Bekir, 2015). In addition, police to assess the crime incidents in a particular area and identify any possible criminal relationship can use crime mapping. Additionally, biometric technology is essential in law enforcement as it helps in comparison of sensitive information in different databases to verify the authenticity of individuals.

The advancement in technology has not only changed the community in how it carries out its activity but has also led to a rise in crime rate. Nuth (2008) highlights that because of the increase in complex criminal activities; crime fighters have opted for ICT to help them to be efficient in their policing efforts. New technologies have been of advantage and disadvantage to both the criminals and law enforcers (Nuth, 2008). Although called for, practical territorial-based laws often do not help because of the borderless ICTs that inhibit rigid regulations and functionality of criminal laws. Therefore, Nuth (2008) suggests that the use of new technologies should be intertwined with international laws to help in dealing with crime.

The use of artificial intelligence techniques has also helped in the detection and prevention of crime. In the study by Dilek, Cakir, and Aydin (2015), it is evident that artificial intelligence techniques have great applications in the fight against crime because they offer learning abilities and flexibility to Intrusion Detection Systems software. This method has become widely used in cyber defense and various processes of making decisions. Artificial intelligence provides bio-inspired computing techniques that help in detecting and preventing cybercrime (Dilek, Cakir, and Aydin, 2015). Techniques applied in artificial intelligence include the use of the genetic algorithm, intelligent agent, and artificial neural network, among others.

Forensic science has become an essential tool used by crime investigative agencies to carry out investigations on a crime. In the literature review by Cyprian (2010), the criminal justice system can identify crime with impartial evidence analyzed by chemists, serologists, and ballisticists. These techno-scientists use sensor technology to analyze biological, chemical, and physical pieces of evidence that are linked to a criminal (Cyprian, 2010). An example of techno science is the use of fingerprints and DNA to identify a criminal.

A thorough review of the literature revealed that technology has been essential in the effort to detect and curb the rising level of crime rates. The evidence from the study by Fatih and Bekir (2015) and Nuth (2008) revealed that technology has improved policing efforts with various innovative tools and knowledge. Moreover, Dilek, Cakir, and Aydin (2015) and Cyprian (2010) have demonstrated the use of artificial intelligence and forensic science, respectively, in dealing with crime.

Strom (2017) presented a report on the impact of technology on policing in the 21st century. He presented data on various aspects of the use of technology on policing. Examples of the issues he presented in the report are descriptive statistics on the prevalence of technology in law enforcement, how the prevalence vary by agency characteristics, most important technological advancements, among others. For instance, the agencies that reported the use of car cameras nationally was 70% and social media was 68%. The agencies that used cell-phone tracking software was about a third of all the agencies. These statistics are in Exhibit 9 of the report. The technologies that had the low usage percentages were predictive analysis software at 4%, rapid DNA technology at 2%, among others. Ninety six percent of agencies have implemented at least one technological tool in law enforcement. Large agencies used more technology than smaller ones. The report indicates that there are significant gaps of technology use that need to be implemented. Technological tools such as predictive analytics and rapid DNA technology still have low prevalence rates in the law enforcement systems. Therefore, more resources need to be channeled to law enforcement agencies to address the numerous gaps. There is also a difference in technology use in the criminal justice systems between different regions. The disparity needs to be addressed by the relevant bodies to ensure equity across the different regions. We conclude, from the evidence, that application of the current technology advancement in the criminal justice system will significantly transform the world into a better place.

References

Crime Analysis and Patterns. (n.d.). The International Crime Drop. doi:10.1057/9781137291462.0014

Crime Analysis: Fighting Crime with Data. (2017, June 12). Retrieved from https://www.floridatechonline.com/blog/criminal-justice/crime-analysis-fighting-crime-with-data/

Crime Analysts Fight Crime From Behind a Keyboard. (2019, July 29). Retrieved from https://online.campbellsville.edu/criminal-justice/crime-analysts/

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): History, Role & Purpose. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/federal-bureau-of-investigation-fbi-history-role-purpose.html

Osborne, D., & Wernicke, S. (2013). Introduction to Crime Analysis: Basic Resources for Criminal Justice Practice. London, England: Routledge.

Santos, R. B. (2012). Crime Analysis With Crime Mapping. SAGE.

The United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.). The FBI Story.

Byrne, J. & Marx, G. (2011). Technological Innovations in Crime Prevention and Policing. A

Review of the Research on Implementation and Impact. Retrieved from

https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/238011

Cyprian En, O. (2010). Technoscience in Crime Detection and Control: A Review. Journal of Applied Sciences, 10(17), 1873–1884. https://doi.org/10.3923/jas.2010.1873.1884

Dilek, S., Cakır, H., & Aydın, M. (2015). Applications of Artificial Intelligence Techniques to Combating Cyber Crimes: A Review. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence & Applications, 6(1), 21–39.

https://doi.org/10.5121/ijaia.2015.6102

Fatih, T., & Bekir, C. (2015). Police use of technology to fight against crime. European scientific journal, 11(10).

Nuth, M. S. (2008). Taking advantage of new technologies: For and against crime. Computer Law & Security Review, 24(5), 437–446.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2008.07.003

Strom, K. (2017). Research on the Impact of Technology on Policing Strategy in the 21st Century, Final Report. Retrieved from

https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/251140