Essay on Policing in the Post-Millennial Era: Enhanced Processes Through Emerging Technology

Technological progress in the post-millennial era has altered the policing approaches leading to some tools and methods that were used a decade ago, being incompatible with emerging trends. The incorporation of location-monitoring gadgets has enabled police to track fugitives. Crime mapping and predictive analytics software have allowed police to deploy officers in locations anticipated to have high crime incidences. Emerging technology trends have enhanced the processing and collection of data through interoperable web-based devices to improve the link between society and police. Technological developments have enhanced policing capabilities to increase law enforcement. The incorporation of geospatial information systems (GIS) into the police force has provided a better means of deploying officers swiftly to crime scenes and integrating community-oriented policing. The integration of crime mapping, drone patrols, and automatic license plate readers will assist in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of policing.

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The integration of GIS techniques has led to the adoption of computerized crime mapping software. The crime mapping software has empowered police to analyze, visualize, and map crime patterns through spatial analysis. Investigating complaints provides an overview of logical crime paths to display the correlation between complains and previous incidents. Utilizing GIS trends help in identifying crime hotspots and generating graphical representations for the community and police to ascertain the prevalence of crime incidents (Griffiths, 2019). Crime mapping will facilitate the deployment and allocation of police to different locations based on the crime prediction analysis. The increased reliance on spatial analysis has led to increased efficacy of proactive and reactive activities that have reduced social disorder complains, calls-for-service, and reported crime incidences.

Automatic license plate readers play a crucial role in law enforcement due to their efficiency in mitigating auto theft recovery incidents. Besides, they have been used by police to improve their investigations, handle traffic violation incidents despite the various challenges associated with the systems. The installation and maintenance of automatic license plate readers require a substantial amount of capital to establish a flawless infrastructure that captures and analyzes vehicle registration details. Automatic license plate readers will enable police to pinpoint duplicate and false-positive license plate numbers for automobiles that might be registered in different states. Koper, Lum, and Willis (2014) purported that technical difficulties and inadequate information on the proper use of automatic license plate readers have been the significant barriers to police using them effectively. The incorporation of automated license plate readers will reduce auto theft cases and increase the recovery of stolen vehicles.

The integration of drone technology will enhance law enforcement by providing the police with extensive aerial images of various scenes. Critics might oppose the use of drone patrols due to their infringement on their privacy. However, drones have the potential to prevent and solve crime incidences by providing real-time pictures that improve patrolling initiatives (Perry, 2017). Besides, drones can easily access locations that might be dangerous for officers due to the high risk of death or injuries. Additionally, drones can be used to investigate potential bomb threats. They capture images and videos that can serve as evidence in court proceedings. They provide real-time information that crime analysts and police dispatchers can exploit to scrutinize hazardous situations and track crime incidences as they occur. Drones will help police formulate better response tactics to mitigate crime and save lives.

Technological development in the 21st century has transformed policing methods leading to some tools that were used in the recent past being incompatible with emerging trends. The incorporation of crime mapping, drone patrols, and automatic license plate readers will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of policing. Crime mapping software has empowered police to scrutinize and visualize crime patterns using spatial analysis. Utilizing GIS trends will assist in identifying crime hotspots and generating visual representations for the community and police to ascertain the prevalence of crime incidents. The integration of automatic license plate readers will mitigate auto theft cases and enhance the recovery of stolen vehicles. Drones can prevent and solve crimes by providing real-time pictures that will improve policing initiatives.

References

Griffiths, C. (2019). Policing and community safety in northern Canadian communities: Challenges and opportunities for crime prevention. Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 21(3), 246-266. doi: 10.1057/s41300-019-00069-3

Koper, C., Lum, C., & Willis, J. (2014). Optimizing the use of technology in policing: Results and implications from a multi-site study of the social, organizational, and behavioral aspects of implementing police technologies. Policing, 8(2), 212-221. doi: 10.1093/police/pau015

Perry, H. (2017). Policing organized crime: Intelligence strategy implementation. Police Practice and Research, 19(1), 102-104. doi: 10.1080/15614263.2017.1351667