Essay on Technology and Law Enforcement

How Technology Has Changed the Work of Law Enforcement

Innovations and technological advancements have been changing the law administration landscape since the 19^th century. For instance, the introduction of thermal imaging knowledge has automatically improved law prosecutions. Based on the research conducted by Law Enforcement Technology in 2015, innovation and technology are considered as multi-edged sword that promotes significant reforms in law application. Since from 19^th century, home security and law enforcement have been influenced by technological advancements, thus enabling safety in the community (Snow, 2007). If there were no technical innovations, most governments could haves faced adverse negative effects, especially on social stability and civil liberties. Even though technology has promoted positive reforms in law enforcement, terrorists and criminals have seen tremendous opportunities to use sophisticated tools and weapons to perform crimes against innocent people. The aim of this article is to discuss how technology has changed the work of law enforcement, the types of crimes behind this new technology, and ethical issues emanating from new technology.

Types of Crimes Caused by New Technology

The emergency of new technology, such as social media platforms and Internet has made it easy for criminals to facilitate illegal activities. For example, the innovation of smartphones and laptops technology continues to assist criminals to prosper in online crimes and terrorism. Despite that new technology is inseparable in today’s lives, criminals have benefited from cyber security vulnerabilities, primarily through the use of computer technology (Brey, 2017). In most cases, the whilst uses computer technology as the best channel perform terrorism and crime. According to the research, the most common technology crimes include Ransomware crime. This type of crime is based on malicious applications that prevent users from retrieving a computer system by encrypting or freezing a computers’ system unless the ransom is purchased. Internet social Networking crimes, as technology evolves, computer technology has promoted convenience internationally because people of different ages can quickly obtain information from social media, thus establishing closer liaison with relatives and friends. E-banking fraud is another common crime that has led to massive losses to the banks. Most hackers find vulnerabilities to the online banks, thus making unauthorized transactions from other people’s accounts.

Ethical Issues Resulted from Technology Change in Law

In matters of law enforcement, new technology has created new ethical situations which did not exist before. Putting in mind ethics is a set of moral rules that govern groups or individuals, technology has promoted positive ethical issues, which has fascinated humanity. In other words, modern technology may have reflective impacts on people’s behavior as far law enforcement is involved. Technological advancements in law enforcement give people ethical capabilities to create a conducive environment and situations that specifically focus on addressing ethical issues in law enforcement (Baro & Burlingame, 2008). Any government with a master’s new technology has high chances of gaining power, especially in law enforcement, unlike the government that does not appreciate and value modern technology. An excellent example of an ethical issue in law enforcement is the code of ethics. This law document highlights a set of tolerable behaviors for social groups and professional law departments. Another example is intellectual property, and this ethical issue has been deeply affected by modern technology, thus changing law enforcement.

Ethics of code related to technology

A code of ethics is essential in modern technology. In code ethics preparation, it’s necessary to include six universal moral values. This indicates the trustworthiness of modern technology as its related to law enforcement. Ethics in information technology is crucial since it promotes a culture of integrity, responsibility, excellence, and trust in resources. Therefore, the inclusion of a code in ethics is likely to promote confidentiality and privacy information and illegal access to computer networks, thus helping to prevent conflict and dishonesty. For instance, law enforcement is good to practically exercise accountability, fairness, and openness in every aspect of new technology. To sum up, applying new technology in law enforcement has promoted positive changes compared to early periods.

References

Baro, A. L., & Burlingame, D. (2008). Law enforcement and higher education: Is there an impasse?. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 10(1), 57-73.

Brey, P. (2017). Theorizing technology and its role in crime and law enforcement. In The Routledge Handbook of Technology, Crime and Justice (pp. 17-34). Routledge.

Snow, R. L. (2007). Technology and law enforcement: from gumshoe to gamma rays. Greenwood Publishing Group.