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Portfolio Project Technology and the Criminal Justice System Intro to Criminal Justice R. Robertson Bryant & Stratton Online College Elizabeth Boy February 28, 201 5 will be showing in this paper how technology is used today to help fight against crime. I will be showing the latest technologies and the different topologies used in these technologies today. Some of the advancements made over the last twenty years has helped to put criminals from the past away and continues to make strides in gathering the evidence that was at one point obsolete.
Today these advancements can take things such as Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA), which is the genetic material of a cell. These samples can be tested today and show results of the possible perpetrator and match them by their samples. Years ago there was no testing for this DNA to match the perpetrator from the past. I will specifically staying on DNA but will touch on some other technologies used in catching criminals also. Another technology I will be touching on will be Advanced Fingerprint Identification Technology (FIT). Ill be doing my investigating by looking into some background information from the Federal Bureau Of Investigation and how each Of these technologies name into play and how they are used for past crime, present crimes and future crimes. In this day and age it is a constant battle to keep up with the ever changing technologies. Being properly educated in this field can mean the difference in catching criminals by using their DNA. Knowing how to properly collect, handle, store, and use for evidence can hasten the process of putting a dangerous criminal away for good.
Knowing where DNA can be obtained from is key. Sweat, skin, blood, semen, saliva & tissue all holds DNA. You can obtain DNA from a number of items such as a cigarette butts, inside f a hat, bandanna, dirty laundry, stamp, envelope, bottle, can, and so many more items too many to list them all. DNA is used to solve crimes in one of two ways. In cases where a suspect is identified, a sample of that person’s DNA can be compared to evidence from the crime scene.
The results of this comparison may help establish whether the suspect committed the crime. In cases where a suspect has not yet been identified, biological evidence from the crime scene can be analyzed and compared to offender profiles in DNA databases to help identify the perpetrator. Crime scene evidence can also be inked to other crime scenes through the use of DNA databases. (United States Department of Justice, 2014) DNA can also be used to clear suspects and exonerate persons mistakenly accused or convicted of crimes. United States Department of Justice, 2014) I am a resident of Buffalo New York where there was a case some years ago where a man unfortunately was mistakenly identified as what they called ‘The bike path rapist/killer”, his name was Anthony Capsize, he served 22 years in prison for a crime that he did not commit. It was not until 22 years later that DNA was used to free him and another man was found to be the actual killer. Without DNA Anthony Capsize would have spent the remainder of his life in prison. Ultimate Sanchez, a factory worker and father of two admitted raping between 13 and 20 women.
He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the strangulation deaths of three women since 1 990, including two, whose bodies were found on bike paths. Sanchez could not be prosecuted for a lot of the rapes because too much time had passed. “This man led one half of his life that was very appropriate,” defense attorney Andrew Lothario said after sentencing. L really believe there was a part of him that hates the other part of him. ” (Thompson, 2007). Without DNA this man more than likely would have continued on his raping and killing sprees and never been found out.
With DNA he is now behind bars and an innocent man lives his life freely again. DNA evidence is generally linked to DNA offender profiles through DNA databases. In the late ass’s, the federal government laid the groundwork for a system of national, state, and local DNA databases for the storage and exchange of DNA profiles. This system, called the Combined DNA Index System (CODES), maintains DNA profiles obtained under the federal, State, and local systems in a set of databases that are available to law enforcement agencies across the country for law enforcement purposes.
CODES can compare crime scene evidence to a database of DNA profiles obtained from convicted offenders. CODES can also link DNA evidence obtained from different crime scenes, thereby identifying serial criminals. (United States Department of Justice, 2014) When used to its full potential, DNA evidence will help solve and may prevent some of Nation’s most serious violent crimes. However, the current federal and state DNA collection and analysis system needs improvement: 1. In many instances, public crime labs are overwhelmed by backlogs of analyzed DNA samples. . In addition, these labs may be ill-equipped to handle the increasing influx of DNA samples and evidence. The problems of backlogs and lack of up-to-date technology result in significant delays in the administration of justice. 3. More research is needed to develop faster methods for analyzing DNA evidence. 4. Professionals working in the criminal justice system need additional training ND assistance in order to ensure the optimal use of DNA evidence to solve crimes and assist victims. United States Department of Justice, 2014) Let us move on to another spectrum of technology used today called Advanced Fingerprint Identification Technology. FIT, deployed on February 25, 2011 , enhances fingerprint processing capacity, and improves system availability. This deployment implemented a new fingerprint matching algorithm which has improved matching accuracy from approximately 92% to over 99. 6%. This improvement resulted in over 900 additional matches during the 5-day really operations period immediately after deployment.
Additionally, the improved accuracy resulted in a 90% reduction in the number of manual fingerprint reviews required by our service providers. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, n. D. ) It used to be fingerprints were collected by putting ink on a finger and pushing down on a paper card. This is known as the “ink-on-paper” method. In this day and age criminal fingerprint systems allow live-scan digital images by sensing the finger surface with an electronic scanner. Both the live- scan and the “ink-on-paper’ methods make a person press his/her finger own on a rigid surface, called touch-based sensing.