MODERN TRENDS IN POLICING

Introduction

1. The policing will be transformed far more in the ten years between 2015 and 2525 than in several preceding generations. The most significant trend will continue to be the application of technology to law enforcement, manifest in nearly every facet of policing. Technology will help solve crimes, prevent crimes, and facilitate crimes that haven’t yet been conceived. Evolving human factors will equally impact law enforcement as the nation’s population ages.

2. One major key element of our society is the Scientific and technological progress Police responsibilities and the way they are performed should always be viewed in economic circumstances and developments. Any changes in these areas are very much likely to lead to subsequent changes in the general framework for the police service and police work. The police service as an organization needs to react to that. This paper deals with the challenges that the future holds for the police. 3. The police being integrated into society are also involved in this process of change. Changes affect police responsibilities. In other words: challenges and expectations regarding the way in which the police should perform their duties. New challenges and new phenomena should be identified in time and should be analyzed, whether there are new forms of crime, changing security needs of the general public, coping with new societal trends, migration or changes in the internal organization.

Aim

4. The aim of this dissertation is to analyse the modern trends in police

Preview

5. The subject matter will be dealt with in the following parts :-

(a) Part I: Modern trends in policing.

(b) Part II: Modern techniques in investigation.

(c) Part III: Recommendations.

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PART I : MODERN TRENDS IN POLICING

Hi-tech Crime Fighting

6. Almost every high-level police, the core of intelligence-led policing is identification of specific criminal activities or specific criminal populations and targeted enforcement against the highest-risk crimes or criminals to achieve overall reduction in the impact of crime in a community

7. The human element of intelligence-led policing involves the intelligence analyst. As we move into the next decade, intelligence analysts will become more common at smaller- and mid-sized police agencies, and are already absolute requisites for effective larger agencies. The hi tech terror attacks and subsequent terrorist efforts awoke police to the need to understand the infrastructures in community food and water supplies, power grids, telecommunications, transportation systems, and even financial institutions as those entities will became prime terror targets.

8. Not only does that mean that police administrators and command staff must develop new areas of familiarity and forge new networks, but it also implies that the increasingly professional intelligence analyst will continue to gain prominence in the police agency. As police agencies make basic changes in gathering, assessing, communicating and sharing information, the analyst will be at the center of systems development and management.

SURVEILLANCE CAMERA

9. The decrease in cost and increase in quality of surveillance cameras, coupled with a greater public acceptance of street surveillance, will push the trend toward more cameras in high population centers and particularly in high vehicle- and pedestrian-traffic areas. Great Britain, with an estimated four million public surveillance cameras in operation, has led this trend. A spree of Irish Republican Army bombings in the early nineties fed the appetite for mass public surveillance. In some areas of Great Britain, a new camera cluster called The Bug is undergoing extensive testing. This device features an array of eight cameras. The cameras are supported by software that prompts them to scan for suspicious behavior, such as running or sudden and violent body movements, and then lock on the suspect and track the suspect on camera. How long will it be before we see similar devices in metropolitan subways and busy street corners in major Indian cities?

USE OF NANO TECH

10. What lies ahead in video surveillance? Among other things, there will be surveillance systems a generation beyond ‘The Bug’ that recognize the patterns of a particular crime, such as an assault or robbery, and instantly dispatch police officers. Facial recognition systems that identify known criminals or wanted persons and telegraph their location and travel direction to officers are already available. One developer is working on small surveillance drone aircraft that can actually follow suspects and record and transmit their movements and actions. Also under development are nanotechnology devices that will detect the components of

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explosive, chemical and biological weapons. These devices would be deployed in high-threat target areas and would function as constant, real-time passive detectors.

DNA TECH

11. Though perhaps the trend has moderated, the public has become increasingly tolerant of privacy intrusions following 9/11. Courts are just beginning to struggle with the legal implications of new privacy intrusions. Lawyers and judges are trying to shape new provisions in evidence rules to accommodate the expansion of electronic surveillance and security searches. The Innocence Project estimates that mistaken eyewitness identification contributed to the wrongful conviction in 75 percent of the cases where DNA evidence conclusively exonerated the convicted defendant. This has lead courts to carefully scrutinize how police administer line-ups and show-ups and to promote the use of technology to record identification procedures.

MOBILE SURVEILLANCE

12. The latest tech in fighting against the crime fighting is mobile surveillance. A lot criminal has been caught because of this tech. Despite the fact that it is intrusion in the privacy of a common man

IN-CAR VIDEO SYSTEMS

13 Though in-car video systems have been around for some time, several agencies in Great Britain and Europe are experimenting with wearable video recording devices that are capable of recording an officer’s activity for an entire shift. Constant electronic recording of police activity may become the new core of police accountability. TASER International launched the AXON “tactical computer” that features a tiny, high-quality wearable camera that snugs around the ear, much like a wireless cell phone headset. The camera can also be mounted on other parts of an officer’s uniform or equipment. Whatever the officer sees in front of him, the AXON’s camera captures. One prosecutor recently credited the AXON for clearing an officer involved in a fatal shooting of a man who pointed a gun at him during a domestic violence call. So more and more hi tech wearable cameras will soon be available.

COURT RULES ARE ALREADY RAPIDLY CHANGING IN THIS AREA.

14. Police officers are trained to remember that “if it isn’t in the report, it didn’t happen.” Soon, perhaps, the new maxim will be, “if it isn’t on your daily video log, it didn’t happen.” In the past few years, the courts have strongly encouraged audio or video recording of interrogations. In the coming years, it is expected that this trend will grow.

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PART II: MODERN TECHNIQUES IN INVESTIGATION

Forensic Informatics

15. In today's society, most people have at least one computer in their home, and that has become another forensic tool for investigating crimes and catching perpetrators. A computer trail can be likened to leaving digital footprints in a sense. Child pornography rings can be located through people's use of Internet sites, for example, and examining a person's hard drive can uncover other evidence to crack a case. In murder investigations where pre-meditation is suspected, the forensic team may find evidence of searches on how to kill people or on poisons, or they may find incriminating email communication that helps to convict a suspect.

Computer forensic

16. Computer or digital forensics is the study of how technology is used to commit crimes. Computer forensic specialists use computer hardware and software to recover information from machines that could be used in criminal trials.

Crime Scene Investigation

17. Crime Scene Investigation is the field of collecting information from a crime scene for the goal of recreating a crime and using the evidence in criminal trials.

Cyber Security

18. Cyber Security is the area of forensics that is devoted to actively protecting information. Cyber security specialists use computer hardware and software to track data thieves, thwart e-terrorists and protect sensitive electronic information.

Forensic Accounting

19. A forensic accountant uses basic accounting and investigative skills to find defects in financial statements that may be indicative of criminal activity. They perform audits on financial and legal files and present their findings in trials.

Forensic nursing

20. Forensic nurses learn how to identify and treat victims of violent acts such as abuse and rape. Forensic nurses are also trained on how to gather and present evidence of these actions in court.

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Forensic Science

21. Forensic Science is the general study of how science can be used for legal purposes. Forensic scientists range from biological researchers to psychologists and have many specialized skills.

Forensic Psychology

22. The study of Forensic Psychology specializes in how criminals and their victims behave and how it affects them emotionally and mentally. Forensic psychologists are often asked to present findings in court, especially in cases where mental illness could be a cause of violent acts.

TECHNIQUES

Automated Fingerprint Identification System

23. It is much easier to identify fingerprints left at crime scenes in modern times thanks to the automated fingerprint identification system, also known as AFIS. In the past, suspects were fingerprinted using black ink. The updated method involves rolling fingers and palms of suspects onto a glass plate on a scan terminal. An identification technician sends the print images to the AFIS to be compared with millions of fingerprints in a database. The AFIS identifies any matches to a person that was previously arrested or someone who has a warrant out on them within a matter of minutes.

Body fluid test

24. A variety of tests are used in cases of sexual assault and homicide to identify body fluids at the scene of a crime. Body fluids include saliva, semen and blood. Forensic technicians test for semen using acid phosphatase. When this enzyme is applied to semen, it will turn a purple colour. Blood is identified by applying the "Kastle-Meyer" test. This involves using phenolphthalein, which is clear but turns pink when blood is detected. Another modern blood detection chemical is luminol. Crime investigators will spray luminol around a room and then turn the lights off. Even tiny droplets of blood will be revealed. To test for the presence of saliva, technicians use the Phadebas Amylase test. When saliva is present on an article of clothing or bedding, a blue dye is released due to the amylase being present.

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DNA Analysis

25. One of major updates in criminal investigation methods is the use of DNA analysis. Since the late 1980s, advances involving DNA technology have helped to convict criminals and eliminate innocent suspects from suspicion. DNA analysis is used on skin tissue, blood, saliva, semen and hair and is now considered a reliable tool in linking criminals to crimes they committed. DNA analysis is used today by defence lawyers, prosecutors, police and courts.

Computer forensics

26. The latest tech of checking cyber crime is digital copy of HDD, digital foot print, incriminating mtrl/mail and search history

Trace evidence

27. It is the importance facet of crime scene investigation which includes residual traces like gunshot, paint, glass and traces of illicit drugs

Conclusion

28. The emergence of new and unforeseen security threats has led to a breaking down of Boundaries between police and military. New internal security threats include the need to maintain social inclusion in a rapidly changing society, by addressing entrenched social problems and behaviours. If the above reqmts are met, not only will the police be better prepared but also be a much more motivated force which would also contribute to the overall health of society