Policing Using New Technologies

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C3187927 Daniel Pazeski                                                                                                Policing Technology Aids

“New” Technologies helping aid police

The law enforcers “police” have upon many obligations to uphold and to reinforce laws, and some rules rigidly/securely and justly. As crime continues, methods to prevent crime and strategies to minimize incidents involving crime also advance, Such as new technologies to help aid police officials. Some of these technologies include “Tasers”, “Capsicum Spray”, “CCTV”, and “DNA Profiling”. These are a few of the many technologies that are in use to help minimize and prevent crime occurring. Crime Prevention refers to the different methods associated with deterring an individual to not commit a crime. Strategies and technologies change and develop which results in a more positive outcome such as crime levels depleting in communities and decreased levels to re-offenders committing again. The positives of using Tasers, and Capsicum spray and other technologies is to be effective in detaining to perpetrator without the use of lethal force such as a hand gun, addition to other technologies to aid the police to be effective with the most minimal amount of force.

Introduction of new laws and successes observed in the use of Tasers in the Australian special police force and other countries such as Canada allowed for Australian Police to get a complete upgrade to handheld weapons for self-defense. Tasers are handheld weapon that when shot send and electrical current which result in uncontrollable muscle contractions, which ceases to allow any voluntary movement. It is used by police officials as a means to detain the individual, it is commonly used as the fourth response from police for the violent individual and to calm violent situations, when fired it administers a 50, 000 volt charge into a person rendering them for a period of time. Over time and use it has been found that Tasers have both adverse and positive affects much the same as guns but far less dangerous. Advantages of the police to be able to use Tasers are a less lethal option of force that a Police officer can use in a dangerous situation like a hostage situation or a fight, they were found to be more effective then guns which are incorporated the by Queensland police to diffuse dangerous situations such as drug and alcohol fuelled fights as they are usually unaware of what they are doing in most situations. Recent Tasers have been fitted with cameras which are activated when the trigger is fired to be used as evidence. They were also found to be cheaper to maintain, “These weapons save lives. We never said they were toys” (Scipione. A.,  2012). Adverse effects were also observed with increased incidents of injuries and deaths due to their inappropriate use and the cases of abuses by police of firing them at unarmed civilians such as the Brazilian man that had been killed by the police who stunned the individual with a Taser. There is fear by some individuals from the public of being intimidated by police, with the view of being fired upon by them. There have also been cases of the Tasers inefficiency such as the issue of flammability in specific areas including specific clothes catching on fire. (Facts about Tasers, Minister media statement, 2008)

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The large increase of the CCTV has brought about mainly for the protection of private property, and to help aid the police officials on the whereabouts of certain criminals. CCTV has become a must for many businesses and has therefore given the Police a huge helping hand in finding criminals as CCTV companies usually wok hand to hand with the Australian Police. Overall the use of CCTV has been positive in both deterring and individual to commit a crime or to reoffend, and as it has also played a vital role in the use as evidence in court cases something ...

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