Introduction
The criminal justice system is a system in government involved with practices, whose intentions are to minimize crimes and disciplining those who violate the laws. It ensures that people are socially controlled, with laws enforced. To maintain this many personnel are involved in the system, among which are police, magistrates, attorneys, and other related agents like courts, prisons, jails among others. For the effectiveness of the system in its operation, the system has well set and organized procedures on how to arrest the criminals, how to detect if guilty or innocent, and the procedures required in order to punish those found guilty.
In the United States, a policy was made in 1967 about the Law Enforcement and Justice Administration by the president’s commission, and the aim of the policy was to stop crimes in society. In the criminal justice system, the various agencies are connected by a rule, and they have different tasks, but all are aimed at maintaining law and stopping crimes without a specific method on how to attain this. The police use legal coercion to enhance maintains of law and order. They usually arrest people who go against the law. The offenders are judged in the court of law to determine if guilty or not guilty. Then, if guilty, they are punished according to the crime committed, and among the punishments include being put in exile, jails, or prisons. It’s through giving these punishments that the criminal justice system ensures that the offenders are punished because of their bad behaviors and this ensures that citizens keeping and going up to the law orders, a factor that ensures good relationships among citizens in any given society.
Technology In The Criminal Justice System
The introduction of technology in the criminal justice system has enabled an interpersonal communication transformation. The technology has involved various inventions of new operation methods. Among these is the introduction of the technology in testing drugs. This has been enabled because it is believed that most commuted crimes are a result of drug usage. Among the drugs tested in the United States are cocaine and marijuana, and the common methods and procedures used in testing drugs are bioassays, hair tester, and sweat partners among others.
Technology has also enhanced the detention of hidden weapons that are dangerous, as well as enabling the use of electronic monitors to keep surveillance throughout that ensuring that criminal behaviors are minimized.
The use of Databases in DNA analysis has enabled the testing of DNA easily. DNA is used in the comparison of biological genes between two people. This DNA is not being used in the jurisdiction to provide DNA evidence (Cole & Smith, 2004, P.4)
With the use of electronic monitoring, an individual can be detected in a given place and can enhance restricting of an individual from various places which the suspects are not intended to go. It’s also through the suspects can be surveilled thus ensuring his movements are not only restricted but also tracked.
Stun guns and patrol car video surveillance have been introduced in the criminal justice system as a result of new technology in the criminal justice system. This has been of great use in both law enforcement, and criminal behavior monitoring. However, stun guns have been challenging ethical matters, compared to the patrol car video surveillance in controlling criminal behaviors. This is because when using stun guns, it’s always advised not to hide them and to always ensure it’s ready. The stun gun works by producing an electric charge in the body of the person who has been shot.
According to my, it’s good to have both stun guns and patrol car video surveillance because they ensure that criminal behaviors are reduced thus enforcing the law. The stun guns have an added advantage in that it’s a small weapon, thus easy to carry and its effects on the offender’s body is of short duration, thus causing less damage to the offender’s body. This enhances that the offender is punished, but not completely killed which promotes ethics in society.
Advantages of Technology in the criminal justice system
In the criminal justice system, many methods have come to use after the development of technology. These methods have been of great use in the criminal justice system, and have facilitated a lot in law enforcement and reducing criminal behaviors. The use of electronic monitoring has been of great importance, among these is the reduction of prison population because the method of monitoring can restrict and monitor the offenders’ movement, restricting the offender to a given place. This has lead to the reduced need for prisons, thus reduced costs in the construction of prisons.
The Databases that have been used to Analyze DNA profiles have helped in solving criminal cases associated with paternity, and this has enabled more standard results. The technology associated with detecting hidden weapons has facilitated the tracking of suspected offenders and the ownership of illegal arms. Drug testers have been used in airports and other institutions to test the possibility of a suspected to have used illegal drugs, which are connected to criminal behavior, thus enabling the control of crimes and thus enforcing the law. The patrol car video surveillance has been of great use in monitoring the suspect’s movements and their easy tracking. The patrol cars can easily arrest suspects a factor that ensures that crimes are controlled and the law followed.
Disadvantages of technology in the criminal justice system
Technology has brought a negative impact on the criminal justice system as well as in society. The technology has denied the individual ability to control crime and has not been considering democratic values. This is in cases where the machines are feed with information and they are expected to give results. The technology has also higher financial requirements either in the installation or in the management of the equipment, a factor that has brought a societal influence. An example of this is the DNA analyzers which are expensive to purchase, and brings about bioethical issues.
The electronics used in monitoring tends to be very lenient with offenders as compared to personal reaction towards offenders thus becoming a challenge in the criminal justice system, and at the same time, the electronics can not give full restrain to offenders because they do not have the ability to restrain him or her physically. By the time one puts the electronic intervention, the crime can have taken place thus becoming ineffective.
As per my views, I think technology has contributed a lot to law enforcement and the control of criminal behaviors. For example, the DNA analyzer which helps in sorting crimes associated with paternity can help tell who is related to who, thus ensuring that the offender is known and punished accordingly. This serves as a base to prevent future similar cases and as a result, the crimes are controlled and this gives good relationships in the society people live in.
References
Cole, F., & Smith, E., (2004).Criminal Justice in America, United States: Thomson Wadsworth, Page 4.
Pattavina, A., (2005).Information Technology in Criminal Justice System, New York: SAGE, Page 18.
Siegel, J., (2006).Criminology, Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, Page 510.
Siegel, J., &Senna, J., (2005).Introduction to Criminal Justice, Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, Page 526.