Computers, technology, and modern forensics have revolutionized policing by making police more effective. The document discusses several technologies used by police, including computer-aided dispatch systems, fingerprint technology, DNA profiling, and databases like NCIC. It also covers how computers are used for crime analysis and investigation through tools like CompStat. Mobile technologies now allow officers access to databases from patrol cars through laptops and other devices.

1. Computers, Technology,
and
Criminalistics in
Policing
After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:
Describe Computers in Policing.
LO2 Discuss Fingerprint Technology.
Discuss Modem Forensics or Criminalistics.
Discuss DNA Profiling (Genetic Fingerprinting),
Computers, technology, and modern forensics or criminalistics
have revolutionized policing and have made die police more
effective in crime-fighting and other duties. Modern technology
is very familiar to the students reading this text. However, many
might not be aware diat little was known of this technology on
the day they were bom. The past few decades have seen
advances in technology that most of us would never have
foreseen. The computer chip has revolutionized society. The
criminal justice system and die police, in particular, have
benefited greatly from this technological revolution. This
chapter will discuss computers in policing, fingerprint
technology, modern forensics or criminalistics, and DNA
profiling (genetic fingerprinting).
Describe Computers in Policing
In 1964, St. Louis was die only city in die United States with a
computer system for its police department. By 1968, 10 states
and 50 cities had computer-based criminal justice information
systems. Today, almost every law enforcement agency uses
computers in many phases of their operations. Computer use in

2. police work has increased exponentially since 1964.
The following sections discuss the most commonly used
applications of computers in police work.
Computer-Aided Dispatch
Before the computer revolution, the police communications
system was slow and cumbersome. A citizen would call the
police with a seven-digit telephone number. A police telephone
operator would take the information, write it on an index card,
and put the card on a conveyor belt, where it would travel to die
dispatcher's desk. The dispatcher would then manually search
maps and records for the police car diat covered die area from
which the call originated and then call the car, giving die
officer all the information from the index card. All records were
kept manually.
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Computers, Technology, and Criminalistics in Policing 197

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computer-aided dispatch (CAD)
System that allows almost immediate communication between
the police dispatcher and police units in the field.
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(
196
)The 911 emergency telephone number system was introduced
by American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) in 1968. The
most recent available data indicate diat 92 percent of local
police departments and 94 percent of sheriffs offices
participated in an emergency 911 system. In addition, 73
percent of local police departments and 71 percent of sheriffs'
offices had enhanced 911 systems, capable of automatically
displaying information such as a caller's phone number, address,
and special needs. (U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of
Justice Statistics 2; Hickman and Reaves, Local Police lj
Hickman and Reaves, Sheriffs Offices 1)
Today computi allows almost immediate communication
between the police dispatcher and police units in the field.
Numerous CAD system software packages are available for
purchase by police departments. With typical CAD systems,

4. after a 911 operator takes a call from a citizen, the operator
codes the information into the computer, and die information
immediately flashes on die dispatchers screen. The CAD system
prioritizes the calls on the dispatchers screen,
Critical Issues in Policing
putting more serious calls (such as crimes in progress and heart
attacks) above less serious calls (such as past crimes and
nonemergency requests for assistance). The system verifies the
caller's address and telephone number, as well as determining
the most direct route to the location. The system also searches a
database for dangers near die location to which the officers are
responding, calls from the same location within the last 24
hours, and any previous history of calls from that location. The
CAD system constandy maintains the status of each patrol unit.
In this way, the dispatcher knows which units are available and
where all units are located. The system also determines which
patrol unit is closest to the location needing police assistance.
Some CAD systems have automatic transponders within patrol
units. These enable dispatch personnel to monitor visually all
patrol vehicles via a computer monitor and to assign them in
coordination widi this computer-generated information.
Enhanced CAD (Enhanced 911, or E911) The technology
director for the National Emergency Number Association
reports that 96 percent
Computers, Technology, and Criminalistics in Policing 197
of the nation is covered by dispatch centers that have enhanced
911 capabilities. (Alford)
With an E911 system, when a person calls 911 for assistance,
vital information is immediately flashed on a screen in front of
the operator. The screen gives die exact address of the
telephone being used; die name of the telephone subscriber;
whedier it is a residence, business, or pay telephone; the police

5. patrol beat it is on; the nearest ambulance; and the closest fire
department. This system gives the police the ability to assist
people at risk even if they cannot communicate because of
illness, injury, or an inability to speak English. For example, if
a sick or injured person initiates a call to 911 for assistance and
dien passes out or can no longer continue the conversation for
some other reason, the police, having the information in the
computer, are still able to respond with assistance.
Some enhanced CAD and enhanced 911 systems, use mobile
digital tisials (MDTs) in each patrol unit. In systems using
MDTs, voice communications are replaced by electronic
transmissions that appear on an officer's MDT, a device put into
a police vehicle that allows the electronic transmission of
messages between die police dispatcher and the officer in the
field. Officers receive messages via a computer screen and
transmit messages via a keyboard.
The combination of geographic information systems (GIS),
global positioning systems (GPS), and automatic vehicle
location (AVL) widi CAD and MDT software has increased die
ability of departments to control and monitor dieir patrol
functions. A department can quickly trace an officer's vehicle
location when an officer is incapacitated and cannot verbally
communicate his or her
location. These systems also enable dispatchers to quickly
determine which patrol units are nearest to a reported
emergency incident so die closest can be dispatched to the
scene.
Cell Phone Technology Today, nearly half
of all 911 calls are placed from a cell phone, and most
sophisticated 911 systems have the ability to trace the cell
phone or get a location from which die call is coming. This aids
the police greatly. As an example, in July 2006, an 18-year-old
woman was taken from die deserted streets of lower Manhattan
in die early morning hours to a seedv hotel I in Weehawken,

6. New Jersey, where she was raped and murdered. The suspect
stuffed die victims body into a suitcase and dumped it in a trash
bin behind an apartment building two blocks away. He then
drove back to New York Cits and registered into another hotel.
Police were able to find the suspect because he had taken the
victim's cell phone and used it to make some calls to his mother
and girlfriend. Police started their investigation by tracking her
cell phone, which led them to the people the killer had called.
The cell phone number appeared on caller IDs on the phones die
killer had called. The police were able to take him into custody
shortlv thereafter. (Baker Al, B5)
R911 is a way for the police to contact the community by
telephone in the event of an emergency or serious situation, by
a simple digital click—much more quickly and over a larger
area than if die officers had to go door to door to notify
residents. This technology was first used in DuPage County,
Illinois, in 1996 and has been utilized by many municipalities
since die terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It was used
very successfully in Arlington, Virginia, following die terrorist
attack on the Pentagon and enabled die rapid mobilization of
off-duty officers. (Daigneau 44-45) During the California
wildfires of
October 2007, San Diego mobile digital terminal (MDT) city
officials implemented A device put into a police a reverse
911 system with vehide ^ ^ automated warning calls
electronic transmission of going to residents, urging
mesSages between die police diem to evacuate. (Time 35)
dispatcher ^ &e officer
in the field.
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National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
National Crime Information Center (NCIC) Computerized

7. database of criminal information maintained by the FBI.
automated crime analysis
The automated collection and
analysis of data regarding c
rime
(when, where, who, what, how,
and why) to discen criminal
patterns and assist in the effective
assignment of personnel to
combat crime,
m
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)Automated Databases
As we have come into the twenty-first century, computer
technology is doing dungs previously unimaginable in policing.
The availability of automated databases has revolutionized
police work. An automated database is an enormous electronic
filing cabinet diat is capable of storing information and
retrieving it in any desired format.
The FBI created a major automated database, the
National Crime Information Center (NfCIC) in 1967.
The NCIC collects and retrieves data about people wanted for
crimes anywhere in the United States; stolen and lost property,
including stolen automobiles, license plates, identifiable
property, boats, and securities; and other criminal justice
information. The NCIC also contains criminal history files and
die status (prison, jail, probation, or parole) of criminals. The
NCIC has millions of active records, which are completely
automated by computer. The NCIC provides virtually

8. uninterrupted operation day or night, seven days a week.
Although the NCIC
is operated by the FBI, approximately 70 percent of its use is by
local, state, and other federal agencies.
In 2000, the NCIC was renamed NCIC 2000 and provided a
major upgrade to the services mentioned above, and extended
these services down to the patrol car and the mobile officer.
With this system, a police officer can identify fugitives and
missing persons quickly using automated fingerprint
identification system (AFIS) technology, which will be
discussed later in this chapter. The officer places a subjects
finger on a fingerprint reader in a patrol car, and the reader
transmits the image to the NCIC computer. Within minutes, the
computer forwards a reply to die officer. A printer installed in
patrol cars allows officers to get copies of a suspects
photograph, fingerprint image, signature, and tattoos, along
with composite drawings of unknown subjects. The printer can
also receive images of stolen goods, including cars. The new
system provides for enhanced name searches (based on
phonetically similar names); prisoner, probation and parole
records; convicted sex offender registries; and other services.
Two other major automated forensic databases are discussed
later in this chapter: die Integrated Automated Fingerprint
Identification System (IAFIS) and the Combined DNA Index
System (CODIS).
Automated Crime Analysis (Crime Mapping)
Numerous software application programs aid the police in
automated c analysis or crime mapping. Crime analysis entails
die collection and analysis of data regarding crime (when,
where, who, what, how, and why) to discern criminal patterns
and assist in die effective assignment of personnel to combat
crime. The most basic use of crime analysis is to determine
where and when crimes occur so that personnel can be assigned
to catch perpetrators in die act of committing the crime or to
prevent them from committing it.
The forerunner in the use of modern sophisticated automated

9. crime analysis was the New York City Police Departments
CompStat program. CompStat provides instant statistical
updating of all reported crimes, arrests, and other police
activities, such as traffic and other citations. This program and
its movie screen-type visual displays provide the framework for
the weekly crime analysis meetings at the New York City Police
Department (NYPD)'s headquarters during which precinct
commanders must account for all increases in crime and provide
strategies to combat these crimes. The keynote of the NYPD
reengineering program of the mid-1990s and the envy of police
departments diroughout the world, Comp-Stat is a process that
began to evolve in early 1994 when, after changes in the
leadership of many of the NYPD's bureaus, disturbing
information emerged. It appeared diat the NYPD did not know
most of its own current crime statistics, and diere was a time
lag of three to six months in its statistical reporting methods.
Upon learning this, the department made a concerted effort to
generate crime activity data on a weekly basis. CompStat has
been credited witii causing crime in New York City to drop to
levels not seen since die 1960s. Numerous cities are now using
CompStat programs and other forms of automated crime
analysis and crime mapping.

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Critical Issues in Policing
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computer-aided investigations (computer-aided case
management)
The use of computers to perform case management
and other
functions in investigations.
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Computer-aidetl investigation and
are
revolutionizing the criminal investigation process.
Since the 1990s, British police have operated a computer-aided
investigation system called the Home Office Large Major
Enquiry System (HOLMES, which is a reference to the
legendary fictional detective Sherlock Holmes). It is a
sophisticated computer program developed for British
investigators to aid them in managing complex investigations.
(In Great Britain, an investigation is called an enquiry.)
HOLMES is a complete case management system that can
retrieve, process, organize, recognize, interrelate, and retrieve
all aspects of information on a case. It also keeps track of
ongoing progress, or die lack of it, in investigations. The
system was created in response to the infamous Yorkshire
Ripper case, in which 13 women were killed between 1974 and
1981. When the perpetrator was finally apprehended in 1981, it
was discovered that he had been detained and questioned by at
least six different police departments in connection widi the
attacks. Because sharing of information on related eases was so
cumbersome for the neighboring forces at that time, the

13. connection was never made. (Sutter 50-52)
Despite the computers influence in the investigative process, it
will never replace the investigator. The successful investigation
of crimes and other police incidents will always primarily
depend on the intelligence and hard work of investigators and
police officers. As a prime example, recall the 2002 Beltway
Sniper case, a series of random shootings that terrorized
Washington, D.C. and its suburbs. The Beltway snipers killed
ten people and wounded another three. Despite using geographic
profiling and other computer models in one of die most intense
manhunts in U.S. criminal history, the suspects were identified
based on leads provided by one of the snipers about a seemingly
unrelated case in Alabama. Moreover, despite the formation of a
massive law enforcement dragnet for the suspects, diey were
caught after an alert motorist saw diem sleeping in their car 50
miles from die closest crime scene. (National Institute of Justice
Journal 11-13)
Mobile Technology
The concept of mobile computing was introduced several
decades ago with the development and use of CAD and MDTs
(discussed earlier in this chapter), which supplied officers with
computer-aided dispatch data. Since then, mobile
computerization and technology has expanded exponentially.
Current systems give patrol officers the tools they need to
function as if they were in an office while remaining out in the
community performing police work. These systems provide
patrol officers with records management systems (RMS),
computer-aided dispatch, mobile data terminals, mobile wireless
report entry (MRE), AVL/GPS mapping, and many other
capabilities once only available in traditional offices. Mobile
technologies enable patrol officers to access real-time data and
file reports via laptops in patrol vehicles or through personal
communication devices, such as a personal digital assistant
(PDA) or BlackBerry. Mobile technology minimizes routine
paperwork that must be done at the station house or police
headquarters, thus

14. reducing the amount of time that officers must be "out of
service."
One of die latest mobile technological innovations is
Computers, Technology, and Criminalistics in Policing 190"
Computers, Technology, and Criminalistics in Policing 199"
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roof of a patrol vehicle or in its light bar. (Gordon and Wolf 8-
13)
LPR technology was initially designed for use in parking lots
(to record die time a vehicle entered), for access control
(allowing authorized vehi
cles into a secure area), and for paying tolls. This technology is
now also being used for border control and traffic fine
enforcement.
lOi
Discuss Fingerprint Technology
Fingerprints have historically offered an infallible means of
personal identificatio
n. Criminal identification by means of fingerprints is one of the
most potent factors in apprehending fugitives who might
otherwise escape arrest and continue their criminal activities
indefinitely. This type of identification makes possible an
accurate de
termination of a persons pre
vious arrests and convictions, which results in the imposition of
more equitable sentences by the judiciary. In addition, this
)
license plate recognition (LPR) technology
Employs cameras and computer software to discern the letters

15. and numbers of vehicle license plates and then compares them
with records contained in state and federal databases, including
records from the department of motor vehicles and NCIC,
inked prints (ten-prints)
Result of the process of rolling each finger onto a ten-print
card.
latent prints
Fingerprint impressions left at a crime scene.
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License Plate Recognition (LPR) camera.
license plate recognition (LPR) technology. LPR technology can
be used to search for stolen vehicles, vehicles listed in AMBER
Alerts, or vehicles driven by wanted persons. This technology
employs cameras and computer software to discern the letters
and numbers of vehicle license plates and then compares them
with records contained in state and federal databases, including
records from the department of motor vehicles and the NCIC.
Imaging cameras can be placed on the front or
system of identification enables die prosecutor to present his or
her case in light of the offenders previous record. It provides
probation officers and parole board members with definite
information upon which to base their judgment in dealing with
criminals in their jurisdiction.
Fingerprints may be recorded on standard fingerprint cards or
recorded digitally and transmitted electronically for
comparison. By comparing fingerprints at the scene of a crime
with the fingerprint record of suspects, officials can establish
absolute proof of the presence or identity of a person.
Basic Categories of Fingerprints
There are two basic categories of fingerprints: inked prints or
ten-prints, and latent prints.
+ Inked prints or ten-prints are the result of the
process of rolling each finger onto a ten-print card (each finger

16. is rolled onto a separate box on die card) using fingerprinting
ink. Inked prints are kept on file at local police departments,
state criminal justice information agencies, and the FBI. When a
person is arrested, he or she is fingerprinted and those inked
prints are compared with fingerprints on file of known
criminals. Inked prints or ten-prints are also taken for numerous
other types of investigations such as employment background
and license applications.
+ Latent prints are impressions left on evidence. These prints
may be "lifted" and dien compared with inked prints on file in
order to establish the identity of the perpetrator. Latent prints
are impressions produced by the ridged skin on human fingers,
palms, and soles of the feet. Latent print examiners analyze and
compare latent prints to known prints of individuals in an effort
to make identifications or exclusions. The uniqueness,
permanence, and arrangement of the friction ridges allow
examiners to positively match two prints and to determine
whether an area of a friction ridge impression originated from
one source to the exclusion of others.
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Critical Issues in Policing