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Computers and Software Programs of the Three Branches of Criminal Justice System Police officers are tasked with controlling crime, maintain order, responding to emergency calls, regulating traffic, and so much more including putting their life on the line. The amount of crime and work greatly overshadows the already limited police resources available. Because of this imbalance we look towards technology to giving our officers and Judges the upper hand on the criminals. The use of computers doesn’t Just impact our police officers but all three branches of Criminal Justice
System: Police, courts, and corrections. I’ll be talking about some of the technology that each of these branches use to do their Jobs most effectively and efficiently. Today’s police officer has many computer and computerized tools to help them In their everyday workload. In every patrol car is a in-car camera system used to recorded the going on of the officer in charge of that vehicle. These systems give the officers the ability to record any events from a patrol car perspective. Allowing officers to document any stops or arrest made on video for evidence.
So if someone ride to say that what happened was different from the officers report they can refer back to the video. Also set up in certain stop lights or high traffic areas there are photo enforcement systems. These cameras are used to catch people speeding or running red lights, if It see you doing these things it will snap a picture of you and your license plate. They will be sent to a database where your information will be gathered and ticket sent to you by mall. These cameras free up our officers to do more of their Jobs. Valuable time Is saved thanks to electronic white boards.
Before any information written down on a white board would have to be taken and re electronically transferred to a computer and saved to a database to be accessed any time. With the use of computers officers can recreate crime scenes or collisions in matter of minutes using diagramming programs. Now from the office they can see everything about the scene exactly the way it was. Another big problem especially here in Arizona is the language barriers. But thanks to hand held computerized devices that have speech recognition they can translate different languages.
All these things are used by police officers do their Jobs effectively and more efficiently by eliminating some of the work they do or making the work they do faster. Technology and computers are used to increase the effectiveness in the court proceedings. Inside of the courtrooms many computers are used, you can find computer monitors in the Jury box, witness stands, the Judge’s bench, and the counsel tables. These computers can be used to show evidence or check legal authority on the spot. Having all these monitors allows all the people involved in the receding to see what the counsel is showing and understand what’s going on.
Also everything including court papers can now be electronically filled. And any legal briefs from the counsel can be submitted through the internet. Everything said at the hearing is taken down by a court reporter that is to be keep for the records of the case. Using a real-time electronic transcript everything can be seen by the Judge and counsel to reference or look back to check on anything on the spot when they need it. Using computers and projectors, attorneys can show evidence or animation enactments of a event or automobile accident.
Using devices to scan documents or evidence, they can be turned into a computerized form to be showed using the projectors. As I said before officers use diagramming programs scenes can be recreated so that the Jury can see what it looked like and have a better grasp on what is going on during the case. And now they can even use touch screen devices to highlight or write on the screen, to point out key things in the presentation. This allows the counsel to show the Jury what they really want them to see. Also if a tenets can not be in the courtroom due to any reason, a remote live appearance can be made for witness testimony.
All these things and more help make our courtrooms more efficient and easier for everyone involved. Inside of the correctional facilities there are computers used everyday to keep the prisoners in check or find any information needed. Using computers the officers can keep track of all the inmates and their information. Using databases they keep track of the different gangs and affiliations. They can access any tattoos or signs that show affiliations to keep gangs apart within keeping peace. Bullet proof cameras are set up throughout the Jail systems.
Using computers the officers can access the videos if an event or incident happens. But some prisons have gone beyond Just using video surveillance by using tracking systems. Radio frequency identification tracking (RIFT). Inmates in these prisons wear RIFF bracelets that can track all the movements of the inmate. Officers can track any inmate any time or any where, and if the prisoner enters a restricted area a alarm goes off. Cell phones being smuggled into prisons have become a big issue inside right now. Inmates use cell phones inside of prisons devices that Jams and blocks cell phone signals.
Using computers inside the correction branch have advanced the capabilities of controlling the inmates. In the Criminal Justice System: Police, courts, and corrections are the three branches tasked with protecting the people of the United States. Using technology like computers and the programs we use with them to help them in their everyday tasks. There are many different things being used today but all of it helps.