This document discusses the history of technology used in policing from the 19th century to present day. It describes how early inventions like the telephone, two-way radio, and automobile revolutionized policing by allowing improved communication and mobility for officers. The professional policing era from the early 1900s established many modern policing practices. While innovations initially helped address crime, rising populations created new challenges. Recent decades saw a shift to community-oriented policing and new technologies that further aid law enforcement, making officers more efficient and data-driven.

1. The History of Technology in Policing & Modern Technology Used in Policing Today 1
The History of Technology in Policing & Modern Technology Used in Policing Today
The Effects of 20th and 21st Century Technology in Policing
Michael J. Rongo
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

2. The History of Technology in Policing & Modern Technology Used in Policing Today 2
Abstract
This paper explores the research and history of technology used in policing. It
mainly focuses on the groundbreaking technological discoveries that were invented from the end
of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th. It also covers technologies that are used today in
American policing. The relationship between our changing society and the change in policing
over the last 100 years is presented within this research topic.

3. The History of Technology in Policing & Modern Technology Used in Policing Today 3
The History of Technology in Policing & Modern Technology Used in Policing Today
America has overseen many great changes in the way that we communicate over the past
two centuries. With these changes we don’t realize how much they’ve impacted our public safety
because we take them for granted: for example, the inventions of radio frequencies, telephones
and automobiles have extremely impacted our style of policing. These inventions that we refer to
as “simple” have positively rounded our policing system but there’s been way more additions
that have also improved our current style of policing. Over the last two or three decades, the
custodial model has highly influenced our style of policing and has emphasized the ideas of
deterrence, incapacitation and crime control. But how has technology impacted these ideas?
Overall, we’ve seen alleviated and more efficient work for the everyday American citizen in
result of technological enhancements from the last 100 years, but we’ve also situated a safer and
more efficient job style for American police agencies because of these enhancements and
innovations.
Before the turn of the 20th century and the birth of the Professional Model, American
policing was living in corruption and controversy; cities were growing exponentially, and crime
grew with these rising population rates. Corruption was abundant in many police departments; in
result of debauched officers and the popularity of the New York City political machine,
Tammany Hall, American policing was stricken with the lack of leadership and order. It was
evident that America had to make a change in the way they went about public safety, which
brought the idea of public reform within the newly created Professional Model era in 1900 (Katz
& Walker, 2013). This model focused on ridding the government of unwanted political
influences and create what they considered professional police departments (Seaskate Inc.,
1998). Technology that was introduced to police departments during this time period “helped

4. The History of Technology in Policing & Modern Technology Used in Policing Today 4
emphasize discipline, equal enforcement of the law, and centralized decision making” (Seaskate
Inc., 1998). The Professional movement started the “police love affair” with technology (Allison
& Wadman, 2004). Ultimately, the Professional Model era shaped modern policing the most;
considering it implemented two of the most common pieces of police equipment that are still
used today: the widespread use of the two-way radio and the automobile.
Even though the integration of telephone use by police departments occurred twenty-
some years before the Professional Model was constructed, it still held equal influence by the
time the Professional Model introduced the efficient way of policing. By the early 1880s,
America began the widespread use of telephone communication systems in the world of policing
(Stewart, 1994). They accomplished this with the “telephone box” that accurately resembled an
old-fashioned telephone booth. This “box” idea was coined as the “Chicago Signal Box System”
(Allison & Wadman, 2004). With these telephone boxes, citizens were easily able to instantly
contact the municipal police department if they had been a victim or witness of a crime. This
made communication between the general public and the police department much more
accessible and gave the community a sense of trust within their police department.
Over the next thirty years after the Professional Model was introduced, America seemed
to had found their answer. After Alexander Graham Bell connected the world with his invention
of the telephone, but direct contact was a must for precincts to contact their officers. It took too
much time away from police officers pursuing a suspect to stop and find the nearest telephone
box to contact the department. The next step was mobile communication. Gugliemo Marconi’s
ideas and inventions on the radio from the early 1900’s made it possible for police officers to be
in constant contact with their departments (Allison & Wadman, 2004). By 1921, August
Vollmer, Chief of Berkeley Police Department and often referred to as “The Father of Modern

5. The History of Technology in Policing & Modern Technology Used in Policing Today 5
Policing” (Katz & Walker, 2013), implemented two-way radios in police cars for the first time
(Allison & Wadman, 2004). The two-way radio supplemented Bell’s telephone and made it
possible for constant mobile contact between police officers and their precinct. Soon enough, the
use of the two-way radio spread to the United States; by 1933, Bayonne Police Department in
New Jersey were also using the two-way, and became instantly popular among not just police
departments but for military personnel as well (Katz & Walker, 2013). By 1933, the two-way
radio wasn’t the only piece of police equipment that was used on a regular basis: the invention of
the automobile struck American society like a fast wind. Automobiles made everything an
American citizen did much easier and was so much more convenient than walking or horseback.
The widespread use of the automobile in American society made it mandatory for the initiation
of automobile use in police agencies. In result of criminals using automobiles to flee the scene of
a crime and delayed times in response to calls, the automobile became widely used in American
police agencies in the early 1930s (Bellis); it sparked high numbers in the amount of calls taken
and drastically decreased the use of foot patrol. Detroit was actually one of the first police
departments to implement automobiles as a means of transportation for police; 150 Fords
replaced foot beats in 1918 (Allison & Wadman, 2004). During this time, police officers “would
embrace technology more readily than they would embrace Progressive reform” and they would
use the technology positively to fight the “war on crime” (Allison & Wadman, 2004). These
inventions may sound so simple to the young, 21st century reader, but they still hold such an
effective impact on American policing to this day.
After the groundbreaking discoveries of telephone communications, the automobile
invention, and the two-way radio, it seemed to reformers of policing in America that
communication had been perfected; people could instantly call a police department to report a

6. The History of Technology in Policing & Modern Technology Used in Policing Today 6
crime, the police department could immediately request any police officer to report to the scene
of the crime, and the police officer could use an automobile to report to that crime. America had
finally answered and resolved their crime problems. Coincidentally, American society had also
been changing at the exact same time; populations were exponentially rising, and there was just
more availability for crime in general. There’s no doubt that the Professional Model made
policing in America what it is today. However with time, a society can diversify. Like I stated
earlier, the population in America has grown dramatically. According to Matt Rosenberg (2011),
a writer for Geography About, it took the U.S more than 100 years to hit the 100 million
population mark. By 1967, the American census hit 200 million (52 years after the 100 million
mark), and by 2007 (40 years after the 200 million mark), 300 million people were living in
America (Rosenberg, 2011). With population growing more and more each year (Rosenberg
expects 400 million people living in America by 2043 (2011)), policing had to make another
major change. By the end of the Professional Era in the 1960s (Katz & Stewart, 2013), America
hit an all-time low in result of the “social unrest” of the 1960s (Fisher-Stewart, 2007). During
this time, social problems such as urban riots, increased gang violence, and countless
assassinations havocked America from coast to coast (Fisher-Stewart, 2007). In result, the
Community Policing Era was born in the 1970s and was completely embraced in the 1980s
(Fisher-Stewart, 2007). The idea of this generation of policing is to “incorporate the early
community service functions from law enforcement’s origins with the Reform Era’s support of
greater professional development through education and training…to minimize and eliminate
some of the historically negative perceptions of police…and actively seeks to engage citizens in
partnerships with the police to build safer communities through proactive problem-solving

7. The History of Technology in Policing & Modern Technology Used in Policing Today 7
efforts” (Fisher-Stewart, 2007). It’s within this policing generation that we live, and that we’ve
seen some of the world’s most effective technological innovations in policing.
In the 21st century of policing, we’ve grown to almost completely rely on computers and
technology to do almost all of our daily activities as every day American citizens. But
technology holds a bigger influence in public safety to which we’ve often been oblivious.
Technology has grown so quickly and strongly that “it is essential for law enforcement
executives to stay current with ongoing technological developments” (Schultz, 2008). Saying
police and technology is now like saying “bread and butter.” If we were to compare the goals of
innovative technology that was introduced 100 years ago, to the goals that current technology
strive for, the goals would be similar, yet different: technology introduced 100 years ago hold the
goal of making the profession easier for police officers and make them more readily available,
but a lot of today’s technology strive to decrease crime. Innovations in policing technology have
drastically altered the profession and style of a police officer, but have also made communities
safer by helping decrease these crime rates. Crime rate for serious crimes (murder, rape, assault)
have dropped at a record-setting level since 1990, mainly because of “changes in technology and
policing” (Wood, 2012). DNA testing, COMPSTAT, and “hot spot” zoning or crime mapping
are all types of technologies that contribute to putting more offenders away and behind bars each
day.
DNA testing was first discovered in 1985 by Dr. Alex Jefferys of University of Leicester
(Murdock, 2001). Jeffreys, a native of England, discovered that each human being has a specific
“genetic fingerprint” that exists in human blood, skin, semen, saliva and perspiration (Murdock,
2001). Dr. Jeffreys was asked by the Leicester Police Department to use his discovery to see if a
suspect of a double murder-rape case killed both of the murdered girls or just one; they later

8. The History of Technology in Policing & Modern Technology Used in Policing Today 8
found that the man only killed one of them and matched the other DNA sample to arrest the other
murderer (Murdock, 2001). DNA testing provides exact matches for crime scene investigators
and allows forensic crimes to be solved by a quicker manner. DNA testing has been such a
breakthrough for forensic studies; not only does it help catch the criminal, it greatly increases the
chance of catching the actual criminal, and allows police officers and forensic analysts to save
time and contribute that saved to solving and fighting more crime.
Another technology, COMPSTAT (stands for “compare statistics” (Katz & Walker,
2013)), allows police departments to centralize their crime fighting in certain areas. COMPSTAT
is a computer program that, Katz and Walker report, “is used as an organizational tool to achieve
crime control through accountability” (2013). The program continuously collects data from
arrests, calls and complaints and organizes trends. It allows officers to make conclusions on
trends and use ideas such as SARA (Scan, Analyze, Response and Assessment) to create
solutions for ongoing problems in the community. COMPSTAT is a perfect example on why
technology has played such a large part in our public safety. After first being introduced in 1994
in New York City, people have claimed that COMPSTAT has accounted for the dramatic drop in
crime in New York City in the mid 1990’s (Katz & Walker, 2013). Katz and Walker report that
COMPSTAT contributed to the 66% decrease in homicides in New York City (2013). Overall,
COMPSTAT genuinely contributes to overall police performance and allows officers to
brainstorm of new ideas to help decrease crime and disorder in communities. Crime mapping (or
“hot spot” zoning) goes hand-in-hand with COMPSTAT. Crime mapping can be a solution
derived from analyzing COMPSTAT data, where departments will put emphasis on certain areas
of the community where crime tends to occur most. They will enforce their patrol officers to
centralize their focus on such areas to create a better environment and show that the local

9. The History of Technology in Policing & Modern Technology Used in Policing Today 9
enforcement puts effort into solving continuous problems involving crime. Crime mapping can
be used in COMPSTAT to show where crimes, complaints and calls occur.
The last 100 years in policing have definitely been the most impactful; it’s changed the
way that American citizens feel when they walk the streets, when they send their children to
school, or when they leave their home unlocked for a brief moment. But with the sudden burst of
innovation in technology within the 21st century, there’s been so much room for improvement in
policing that makes it a lot easier for police officers to do their job. Police officers are now using
technology that 20 year veteran police officers never would have imagined using when they first
started as patrol officers. Policing in America has properly adapted to our society over the last
100 years. Sometimes it can be hard to compare policing 100 years ago to policing now
considering the day in the life of a police officer has taken a change for the better; now,
American police officers are constantly using technology to help them fight crime and solve
problems. Technology such as COMPSTAT, DNA testing, and crime mapping have ultimately
contributed to modern day policing. Every field of policing uses technology in ways that the
American society can be oblivious to, sometimes not realizing that the “fuzz” is watching them.
If technology wouldn’t have taken the role it held in early-20th century policing, American
policing today would be lacking and wouldn’t correspond with how much our society has
changed over the past century. Without the technology we have now in the world we live in,
corruption and crime would flow through the streets of American society.

10. The History of Technology in Policing & Modern Technology Used in Policing Today 10
References
Allison, William T. & Wadman, Robert C. (2004). To Protect and Serve: A History of Police in
America. New Jersey: 2004.
Bellis, Mary. (2011). Timeline of Police Technology. Retrieved from
http://inventors.about.com/od/fstartinventions/a/forensic_5.htm
Fisher-Stewart, Gayle. (2007). Community Policing Explained: A Guide for Local Governments.
Retrieved from http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Publications/cp_explained.pdf
Katz, Charles M. & Walker, Samuel. (2013). The Police in America: An Introduction. New
York: Mcgraw-Hill.
Murdock, Karen. (2001). The History of DNA Testing in Criminal Investigations. Retrieved from
http://www.ehow.com/about_6136480_history-dna-testing-criminal-investigations.html
Rosenberg, Matt. (2011). The Population of the United States of America. Retrieved from
http://geography.about.com/od/obtainpopulationdata/a/uspopulation.htm
Schultz, Paul D. (2008). The Future Is Here: Technology in Police Department. The Police
Chief, 75. Retrieved from
http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?article_id=1527&fuseaction=d
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Seaskate Inc. (1998). The Evolution and Development of Police Technology. The National
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https://www.justnet.org/pdf/PoliceTech.pdf

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Now. Retrieved from http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2012/0109/US-crime-rate-
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