Technology and Law Enforcement: From Gumshoe to Gamma Rays - Tapa dura

"Snow, Commander of the homicide branch in the Indianapolis Police Department, takes an accessible tour through the new tools of law enforcement, starting with new officer training methodologies and improvements to vehicles used in police work, from SWAT trucks to lab vans. He describes improved communication and dispatch, increased expectations for technical expertise from personnel, better lie detection and evidence processing, DNA analysis and computerized forensics, not only to analyze physical evidence but to evaluate financial records, create perpetrator profiles, and create prevention and intervention strategies." - Reference and Research Book News "Advances in technology have provided assistance to society in numerous ways. The same is true in the field of law enforcement. Snow provides an overview of police-related technological advances in a concise yet descriptive and interesting manner that includes real-life examples and firsthand anecdotes....the author addresses modern-day police technology beginning with academy training and progressing through police vehicles, dispatch, uniformed officers, and detectives. He also discusses modern-day SWAT and bomb squads, lie detection, fingerprinting, DNA, and the wide-scale use of computers. Snow concludes by praising the importance of technology in policing while also suggesting that great care must be taken to avoid abuse and infringements to constitutional rights. In summary, while the passing of time may diminish this work's value, given the constant advances in technology, at present it is a good addition to libraries needing an overview of current technology in law enforcement. Recommended. General readers, lower- and upper-division undergraduates, two-year technical programs, and professionals/practitioners." - Choice

Although for much of the mid-20th century police departments across the U.S. had been reluctant to embrace new technology, depending instead on traditional police techniques, detectives in Los Angeles finally departed from this practice when they found themselves stymied in their attempts to solve the infamous Night Stalker serial murder case. This murderer and rapist had gone on a deadly rampage during the spring and summer of 1985, and though the police used every traditional police technique, they could not solve the crime. Finally, in desperation, they decided to do something different: use what was then the latest, cutting edge-technology. This new technology, the laser print finder, worked perfectly and the police arrested the Night Stalker the next day. Following this astonishing success, police departments across the nation suddenly began clamoring to obtain all kinds of new technology to assist them in solving crimes. This rush to embrace the latest technology hasn't slowed in the intervening 21 years. This book takes readers through every major branch of law enforcement and shows how technology has radically changed police department operations during the last two decades. It also shows how these changes continue today as technology advances and refines techniques already in practice. Beginning with the Night Stalker case, the author illustrates how the use and reliance on new technologies in solving crimes has made policing and detective work more accurate and efficient in capturing and convicting criminals (and courts more recently in releasing innocents convicted of crimes). Capitalizing on the interest in all things forensic, this book illuminates the behind the scenes technologies that go into solving crimes and keeping dangerous criminals off the street. Snow covers DNA and fingerprint technologies, vehicle technologies, undercover work, bomb detection, and other methods. Using many real life examples and first hand anecdotes, he shows how technology has become part and parcel of criminal justice efforts to solve crimes.