Application of the Information Technology in the Criminal Justice System
In the XXI century, the importance of the usage of the information technologies tools should not be ignored both in the regular life and in the criminal justice system. Due to the fact that the technology gains new forms that become much more storable and significant, the information may be stored in the unlimited terms for ages. Additionally, usage of the information technology approximately by everyone allows to reduce the time for prosecution of the offenders and murderers jointly to the fact that the mobile devices have the huge amount of the information about the actions of the person. Accordingly, the criminal justice system in the different states have decided to use the digital evidence as the efficient tool for the resolution of the appropriate cases. The reformation of the criminal justice system towards the usage of the IT was launched in the 1980s (Boguslaw, 1968).Aftwerwards, some decades have changed the framework of the criminal justice system approximately completely. The officers in this system have become aware of such valuable instruments as the DNA typing, analysis of the computer models developed on the social research devoted to the consideration of the theories of the human behavior that may lead to the exposure to crimes. At the same time, the electronic bracelets have been widely used since recent tears in order to trace the movements of the offenders.
Accordingly, the development of the IT has lead to its spread to the main sectors within the criminal justice system. These areas are the following:
Information science where the existence of the computers allows to store information. Moreover, the ownership over the computer in the premises of the prosecution and police offices allow to facilitate the fastening of the investigation process due to the fact that information is collected in one place. In addition, the officers have the opportunities to share information with each other in the convenient manner and should not wait for the response with the important information for ages. Simultaneously, the majority of the officers have the opportunity to consider the outcomes of certain conflict situation and correct it accordingly.
Molecular biology is the second major sphere of the application of the IT in the criminal justice system. Due to the elaboration of the models of the criminal behavior based on the theories of the criminal activity, the officers have the opportunity to evaluate whether the person is exposed to any criminal offences or may refer to recidivism. This technology may also assist in the consideration of the penalty by the judges during the consideration of the case on the murder, etc.
The spread of the information technology leads to the better resolution of the crimes and preparation of the relevant court cases. In this respect, the state authorities should pay attention to the efficient practice of the consideration the cases within the criminal justice system with the usage of the digital evidence. Herein are the most successful cases:
Christian Aguilar
According to the merits of the case, Christian Aguilar disappeared in September 2012. Due to the fact that Aguilar was seen for the last time with one his friend, the police officers believe that Bravo should be the main suspect in this case. Due to the fact that all physical elements showed that Bravo committed the murder of Aguilar, the representatives of the justice system should receive additional reasons to consider him guilty. The police officers have managed to find the blood in the car as well. Besides, with help of application the technologies for the valuation of the digital evidence, the officers have managed to find the piece of information on the fact that Bravo tried to hide his roommate in accordance with the request submitted to Siri via Iphone. Therefore, the judiciaries have all the evidences and facts hinting on the connection of Bravo to the murder of the boy.
Casey Anthony
At the same time, the example of the case with Casey Anthony provides the example that the information technologies should be definitely applied for the consideration of the evidences in deliver the right judgment. In this case, there were no direct evidence as to the nexus between the actions of the mother of the victim and girl’s death. The only thing that police officers have managed to find is the search history in the computer. It was found that the mother was searching for the methods of homicide and any other instruments that may have the connections to the disappearance or the girl. Although, the police officers did not manage to consider all the search engines in order to exclude the participation of the mother in the criminal actions as any other members may hurt the girl. This case presents the evidence that information technology assists in the consideration and proper resolution of the difficult cases while the government should proceed further with the elaboration of the efficient instruments in this sphere.
Philip Welsh
The case with Philip Welsh is quite relevant to the question of necessity of application the information technology in the criminal justice system. Philip Welsh used to work with compute and related technologies approximately every day due to his working activity as the taxi drivers. However, this person did not use computer or telephone in the ordinary life. Being found dead in the house, Philip Welsh left no evidence in digital dimension that may help in the analysis of his actions and tracing the people entering his house. Thus, the police officers failed to discover this case and found the murdered in the end of the day (Redmayne, 2005).
The abovementioned cases represent the application of the digital evidence by the different services in the criminal justice system in order to define the criminal framework and behavior of the person. Accordingly, the digital evidence should be regarded as the particular type of the information that is stores within certain electronic devices. In this regard, the digital evidence is divided into the following groups:
Internet
Computers
Portable electronics
Besides, the receipt of the data supporting the participation of the person in the particular crime requires the special skills. In this regard, the police officers and other prosecution agents may refer to the physical extraction of the mobile and other technological devices in order to receive the evidence with the information about the guilty of the individual. In contrast, stage of logical extraction means the special education so that the professional could extract the information which is not available for everyone. This kind of skill will allow to maximize time for the consideration of the evidences about the present of the person in certain place, his actions within the particular time frame. Meanwhile, extraction of such manner implies the usage of special equipment by the officers of the criminal justice system. In this regard, the state should support financially the usage of the information technologies within the criminal justice system. Furthermore, there are the huge challenges related to the implementation of the digital evidence processing as the part of the IT development in the criminal justice system. They are the following:
The prosecutors should pass the special training in order to have the opportunity to be focused on the digital evidence
The state authorities should provide the comparison between the role of the evidences in the consideration of the case before the court, which type of the evidence prevails
The judges should be taught in what manner it is necessary to treat the presentation of the digital evidence by the parties to the case
Develop the strategies that should help in the effective collection of the evidence (Nash, 2006).
Despite the immediate spread of the information technologies, there is a controversial issue as to whether the intervention of the officers and other representatives of the criminal justice system into the privacy created by the technologies, are in violation of the I and III article of the U.S. Constitution. In this respect, the individual should understand the important fact that the benefits created by the usage of the IT in the criminal justice system outweighs the negative consequences. The people should agree with the fact that monitoring of the offenses in the roads has led to the decrease of the incidents due to the fact that people are afraid of the punishment. The police departments are able to trace any exposure to the violence with the help of online stream from the major events in the region. Therefore, regardless of the lack of financial support towards the development of this sphere, the application of the IT is necessary in order to have the opportunity to decrease the level of criminal actions within the society.
References
Boguslaw, R. (1968). Science, Technology and the Criminal Justice System. Law & Society Review, 2(2), 287. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3052787
Nash, M. (2006). Beyond system failure – tackling violence risks in the criminal justice system. Criminal Justice Matters, 66(1), 18-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09627250608553393
Redmayne, M. (2005). DNA and the Criminal Justice System: The Technology of Justice. Modern Law Review, 68(4), 704-705. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.2005.557_4.x
