changes in crime in the present period due to the technological advancement in the current period
The co-existence of a population in a single community is not a new phenomenon but instead one of the oldest attributes of human civilizations, as indicated by a body of historical literature. Consequently, enforcing an established moral and ethical code among human cultures is also an integral part of a peaceful and productive co-existence in a shared community. However, human societies’ progress over time is accompanied by a subsequent advancement in their actions and methodologies in both acceptable and unacceptable practices. The sections that follow will discuss the changes in crime in the present period due to the technological advancement in the current period.
General Impact of Technological Advancement on Crime (80)
Technological advancements impact both legitimate and criminal processes simultaneously. However, since criminals stand to gain the most relative to the justice system, the criminal elements within a society are usually the first to innovative technological advancement in their unlawful practices. Subsequently, the police department and justice system naturally adopt the role of catching up (Goodison. et al., 2015) (Police Executive Research Forum, 2018). The first impact of digital technology in criminal activity is enhanced anonymity, which consequently has increased the appeal of cybercrime due to the reduced risk. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Moreover, the methodological approaches used to commit different crimes have also changed significantly (Police Executive Research Forum, 2018). For instance, crimes such as extortion, fraud, identity theft, and blackmail can be committed at the comfort of one’s home or office using corrupt computer programs as opposed to previous periods when it required particular physical processes (Police Executive Research Forum, 2018). Besides, technology has made criminals more efficient and, in turn, the risk of substantial financial losses as opposed to earlier periods.
Impact of Technological Advancement of Criminal Investigation and Justice System Processes
One of the effects of digital technology in criminal investigation operations is that it has increased the difficulty of the investigation and prosecution of illegal activity in multiple ways (Police Executive Research Forum, 2018). For instance, computer-enabled fraud and extortion are likely to involve individuals from different jurisdictions, thus causing a bureaucratic nightmare during the investigation and prosecution processes.
Moreover, digital technology has changed the crime terrain in the US by changing the crime rate trends in the nation by directly reducing particular forms of crimes, especially those categorized under physical crimes like break-ins and car theft (Police Executive Research Forum, 2018). This is especially the case where the interests of the private sector and those of the justice system align. An excellent example is that the improvement and sophistication of automobile security systems in the US facilitated a 53% decrease in car theft between the years 1997 and 2016 (Police Executive Research Forum, 2018). Consequently, the preferences of criminals where it involves automobiles have changes from the vehicle itself or previously priced vehicle accessories like stereos and GPS systems to vehicle registration cards. One of the reasons behind the preference of vehicle registration crimes is the valuable information they contain, which can be used for other forms of crime, such as identity theft.
Besides, digital technology has led to the establishment of online criminal avenues such as dark websites. Consequently, online crime platforms have increased criminal collaboration between criminals without the need for criminals to know each other personally. In turn, criminal collaboration facilitates many different forms of illegal activities like drug trafficking and gun trafficking with high anonymity.
Effective Criminal Investigation while Simultaneously Protecting the Constitutional Rights of Citizens in the Age of Digital Crime
Digital technology has also increased the solution possibilities for crime prevention and justice enforcement agencies. For instance, criminal investigators and prosecutors can presently use digital evidence to build and prove their cases, especially where it involves physical crimes (Goodison. et al., 2015). An excellent illustration was the prosecution of the 2012 Christian Aguilar murder case where the prosecutor used digital evidence to prove that the accused, Pedro Bravo, was at the murder site during the time of death of the victim.
However, in a similar case, the 2011 Casey Anthony murder trial, digital evidence was wrongly used that the accused had a motive to kill the victim (Goodison. et al., 2015). Later on, a closer review of the evidence indicated the errors conducted during the investigation, which exonerated Casey Anthony is the murder of her daughter Caylee.
The difference in the use of digital evidence in the above cases indicates the potential and risks of using digital evidence in criminal investigation and justice system processes (Goodison. et al., 2015). Consequently, criminal investigation agencies and the justice systems should develop methodologies for the use of digital evidence in their operations to facilitate the achievement of the digital technology benefits while simultaneously mitigating the risks associated with the approach.
Conclusion
The above sections have discussed the impact of advancements in digital technology in criminal operations and criminal investigation and prosecution operations. Subsequently, the article has demonstrated the challenges posed by the use of digital technology in crime and also the solution possibilities it harbors. The US criminal investigation agencies and justice system should formulate operation methodologies that utilize the potential of digital technology in solving the crime while protecting the accused from systematic errors and biases.