Under the American federal system, most law is cast as state statutes and local ordinances; accordingly, most law enforcement is the responsibility of state and local agencies. Federal law and federal law enforcement come into play only where there is rationale for it, consistent with the Constitution. Within this framework, a clear role has been identified for federal support of state and local agencies. This report provides findings of a study of technology in use or needed by law enforcement agencies at the state and local level, for the purpose of informing federal policymakers as they consider technology-related support for these agencies. In addition, it seeks to characterize the obstacles that exist to technology adoption by law enforcement agencies and to characterize the perceived effects of federal assistance programs intended to facilitate the process. The study findings are based on a nationwide Law Enforcement Technology Survey and a similar Forensics Technology Survey (FTS) conducted in late spring and early summer2000, interviews conducted throughout the year, focus groups conducted in autumn 2000, and review of an extensive, largely nonacademic literature. Companion reports: Schwabe, William, Needs and Prospects for Crime-Fighting Technology: The Federal Role in Assisting State and Local Law Enforcement, Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND, 1999. Davis, Lois M., William Schwabe, and Ronald Fricker, Challenges and Choices for Crime-Fighting Technology: Results from Two Nationwide Surveys, Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND, 2001.

This report provides findings of a study of technology in use or needed by law enforcement agencies at the state and local level, for the purpose of informing federal policymakers as they consider technology-related support for these agencies. In addition, it seeks to characterize the obstacles that exist to technology adoption by law enforcement agencies and characterize the perceived impact of federal assistance programs intended to facilitate the process. The study findings are based on a nationwide Law Enforcement Technology Survey (LETS) and a similar Forensics Technology Survey (FTS) conducted in late spring and early summer 2000, interviews conducted throughout the year, focus groups conducted in autumn 2000, and review of an extensive, largely non-academic literature.

This report provides findings of a study of technology in use or needed by law enforcement agencies at the state and local level, for the purpose of informing federal policymakers as they consider technology-related support for these agencies. In addition, it seeks to characterize the obstacles that exist to technology adoption by law enforcement agencies and characterize the perceived impact of federal assistance programs intended to facilitate the process. The study findings are based on a nationwide Law Enforcement Technology Survey (LETS) and a similar Forensics Technology Survey (FTS) conducted in late spring and early summer 2000, interviews conducted throughout the year, focus groups conducted in autumn 2000, and review of an extensive, largely non-academic literature.

Most policing in the United States is done by law enforcement agencies at the local level. Although most Americans prefer that policing be controlled locally, there is considerable support for federal help in funding police. One area in which federal funding has been seen as useful is in the development, testing, and implementation of improved technology. An initiative proposed by the Clinton administration would increase funding of state and local law enforcement, with emphasis on technology assistance, technology deployment, crime lab improvements, and training. This report provides information on the current status in each of these, gives examples of what has been accomplished, and suggests prospects for improvements.

Guido Rossi As Chairman of ISPAC, I want to thank all the contributors to this book that originates from the International Conference on Crime and Technology. This could be the end of my presentation if I did not feel uneasy not considering one of the problems I believe to be pivotal in the relationship between crime and technology. I shall also consider that the same relationship exists between terror and globalization, while globalization is stemming from technology and terror from crime. Transnational terrorism is today made possible by the vast array of communication tools. But the paradox is that if globalization facilitates terrorist violence, the fight against this war without borders is potentially disastrous for both economic development and globalization. Antiterrorist measures restrict mobility and financial flows, while new terrorist attacks could lead the way for an antiglobalist reaction. But the global society has yet to agree on a common definition of terrorism or on a common policy against it. The ordinary traditional criminal law is still depending on the sovereignty of national states, while international criminal justice is only a spotty and contested last resort. The fragmented and weak international institutions and underdeveloped civil societies have no power to enforce criminal justice against t- rorism. At the same time, the states that are its targets have no interest in applying the laws of war (the Geneva Conventions) to their fight against terrorists.

This third edition, arriving nearly 12 years after the previous one, is not only timely but overdue. This text offers a welcome and appropriate mixture of knowledge or information about specific types of technology along with empirical studies of certain technology used in various subcomponents of the criminal justice system. This text consists of 12 chapters, with eight completely new and four substantially revised and updated. The text is arranged into two parts: law enforcement technology and public safety technology. Major topics include: technology infrastructure: what it is and how it’s changing; current overview of law enforcement technology; body-worn cameras: the new normal; avoiding the technological panacea of the body-worn camera; examining perceptions of technology-enabled crimes; digital forensics; technological advancements in keeping victims safe; the evolution of offender electronic monitoring: from radio signals to satellite technology; technoprisons: technology and prisons; inside the Darknet: techno-crime and criminal opportunity; securing cyberspace in the 21st century; and assessing the deployment of automated license place recognition technology and strategies to improve public safety. Numerous illustrations and tables highlight the chapter contents. Students, educators, and practitioners will find this new edition most useful as it provides practical knowledge about different technology advances and projections on many levels. This third edition has developed into an excellent resource that allows both neophyte and expert to learn state-of-the-art information.

This book is concerned with the concept of 'technocrime'. The term encompasses crimes committed on or with computers - the standard definition of cybercrime - but it goes well beyond this to convey the idea that technology enables an entirely new way of committing, combating and thinking about criminality, criminals, police, courts, victims and citizens. Technology offers, for example, not only new ways of combating crime, but also new ways to look for, unveil, and label crimes, and new ways to know, watch, prosecute and punish criminals. Technocrime differs from books concerned more narrowly with cybercrime in taking an approach and understanding of the scope of technology's impact on crime and crime control. It uncovers mechanisms by which behaviours become crimes or cease to be called crimes. It identifies a number of corporate, government and individual actors who are instrumental in this construction. And it looks at the beneficiaries of increased surveillance, control and protection as well as the targets of it. Chapters in the book cover specific technologies (e.g. the use of CCTV in various settings; computers, hackers and security experts; photo radar) but have a wider objective to provide a comparative perspective and some broader theoretical foundations for thinking about crime and technology than have existed hitherto. This is a pioneering book which advances our understanding of the relationship between crime and technology, drawing upon the disciplines of criminology, political science, sociology, psychology, anthropology, surveillance studies and cultural studies.