© 2003 Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1 Chapter 17 The Future of Criminal Justice.

© 2003 Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1

Chapter 17

The Future of Criminal Justice

© 2003 Prentice Hall, Inc. 2

Technology and Criminal Justice

A New Era of Criminal Justice

new crimes like software piracy, illegal access to computers, electronic security violations, e-fraud, and electronic theft of digital information


• The criminal justice system of the future will rest on traditional constitutional mandates and will be responsible to court

precedent.• It will be structured in terms of

police, courts, and corrections.



Examples of Systems of Personal IdentificationTang Dynasty (618-906 AD)• Inked fingerprints were being used in China

as personal seals on important documents.

• There is some evidence that the Chinese had classified patterns of loops and whorls found in fingerprints and were using them for identification of criminals as much as 1,000 years ago.



Bertillion System • first “modern” system of personal

identification• combined physical measurements

with emerging field of photography• replaced by fingerprint identification

in police departments by 1920’s



Believed that certain bodily aspects did not change substantially after physical maturity was reachedfor example:• eye color• skeletal size and shape• ear form



Sir Francis Galton• Galton popularized the use of fingerprints to

identify defendants.• By 1901, Scotland Yard officially adopted

fingerprinting.

Original Scotland Yard



Cal-ID: automated fingerprint identification system - California State Department of Justice• uses optical scanning and software

pattern matching to compare suspect fingerprints

• new technologies in ballistics, forensics, and voice print analysis



Emerging TechnologiesDNA Profiling• uses biological residue found at scene of a

crime for genetic comparisons in aiding the identification of criminal suspects

• DNA Identification Act of 1994• uses computer hardware/software, which

attempts to duplicate decision-making processes used by skilled investigators in analysis of

evidence


Emerging Technologiesuses computer program known as “inference engine,” which makes comparisons between user input and stored information


Computers also used for crime scene analysis.

Psychological profiles are computer generated.

Emerging Technologies


Daubert Standard• 1993 Supreme Court case -

Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

• Test of scientific acceptability applicable to the gathering of evidence in a criminal case.



• Whether it has been subject to testing.• Whether it has been subject to peer

review.• Whether there are known or potential

rates of error.• The existence of standards controlling

application of techniques involved.

Emerging TechnologiesFactors that may be used to determine whether any form of scientific evidence is reliable:


Computer-aided Investigations• LA-HITMAN is a department-wide

database to help detectives solve violent crimes.

• Also, there is another LA database to keep track of approximately 60,000 gang members.



• cybercrime: new white collar crime• insider trading scams• savings and loan fiasco• Canadian stock fraud

• occupational crime

• corporate crime



Computer and High-Technology Crime

hackers - Hobbyists or professionals generally with advanced programming skills.

hackers - Hobbyists or professionals generally with advanced programming skills.

Today, this group includes individuals bent on illegal accessing of computers of others or those of corporations or governments to cause damage or collect information.


viruses - Programs designed to secretly invade systems and modify the manner in which they operate or alter the information they store.



software piracy - The unauthorized duplication of software, which is one of the most prevalent computer crimes in the world.



Combating Computer Crime• Computer criminals are young, well

educated, aggressive, and technically

sophisticated.• They are highly skilled, and their

crimes are difficult to detect.• In 1998, identity theft became a

federal crime under the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act.


Combating Computer CrimeThe development and use of “smart cards.” • Credit-card-like devices that hold

secure and unalterable information about a person.

• They can be used to combat identity theft and terrorism.


Terrorism “A violent act, or act dangerous to

human life, in violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any state to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”

Source - FBI


Features of TerrorismFeatures of Terrorism

• no rules - no moral limitations upon terrorist violence

• no innocents - no distinctions between soldiers and civilians

• economy - kill 1, frighten 10,000• publicity - which encourages terrorism• meaning - makes terrorists significant• no clarity - terrorists goals unclear

Terrorism


• domestic terrorism• international terrorism• cyber terrorism

TerrorismTypes of TerrorismTypes of Terrorism


Controlling Terrorism

• passed in 1996• limits federal appeals in death

penalty cases• bans fundraising in U.S. for

international terrorist organizations

• provides $1 billion for enhanced terrorism-fighting measures

Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty ActAnti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act


• permits foreign terrorism suspects to be deported

• makes it a federal crime to use the U.S. as a base to plan

attacks overseas• requires taggants to be added to

plastic explosives to facilitate identification




Title VIII: Strengthening the Criminal Laws Against Terrorism, created a number of new terrorism offenses under federal law.

USA PATRIOT Act of 2001USA PATRIOT Act of 2001


Technology and Individual Rights

Technology and:• First Amendment• Second Amendment• Fourth Amendment• Fifth Amendment• Eighth Amendment• Fourteenth Amendment

© 2003 Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1 Chapter 17 The Future of Criminal Justice.

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Transcript of © 2003 Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1 Chapter 17 The Future of Criminal Justice.