The Technological Times Nov. 2013 | Page 4

Our World

4

Advances in Criminal Field

The Criminal Justice Field and System has seen a lot of changes and improvements through the ages. Even though some people on rare occasions still get convicted without the proper evidence or correlation with anything physical, technology has dramically decreased the amount of those people who are convicted without proper forensic testing.

There are several aspects that have gradually become developed to benefit the Criminal Justice Field .One of these innovations that deal almost directly with the Criminal Justice System would be DNA Testing, Drug Testing, and Concealed Weapons Detection.

A powerful technology is DNA. DNA allows law enforcers to match a biological sample to an individual at a level that approaches almost absolute certainty. DNA tests are now frequently used and DNA evidence is admissible in almost all jurisdictions around the country. An example would be of the file cases — O.J. Simpson, Sam Shepherd.

DNA is continually used more frequently to eliminate innocent suspects from criminal investigations, presumably much earlier in the process. More powerfully, DNA is used to convict defendants who are now not convicted.

Drug Testing is also extremely powerful as it can help identify anyone with any trace amount of any illegal drugs.

Airline pilots, police officers, participants in school sports, even federal employees must undergo drug tests as conditions of employment. Other times, it could be used by officers on the field to confirm and seek help for suspects who are convicted of drug use or suspected to it. With those suspects confirmed, help could be given.Taken together, these tests suggest that interventions in the lives of drug users that build upon the apparatus of the criminal justice system can reduce drug use, reduce crime, and enhance prosocial behaviors

Ever since September 11, concealed weapons have been a sensitive subject to speak about in public. Another effect of 9/11 would be increased measures to prevent violent acts of crime just like it.

With machines that can detect or even alert officals about any concealed weapons such as firearms and explosives, reduces the chance of any such crime occuring almost entirely. It helps us maintain a safe environment and reduce the amount of lives that could be loss.

Overall, with these innovations our modern America would be entirely unrecognizable. Individuals would have a higher risk of being convicted even though they were innocent, drug use would be sky rocketing, and events of massive proportations would have a higher percentage of occuring.