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22 - Critic

The Limits of Police Technology

from Part XI - Technology Policing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 August 2019

David Weisburd
Affiliation:
George Mason University, Virginia
Anthony A. Braga
Affiliation:
Northeastern University, Boston
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Summary

Technological advancements have shaped policing in many important ways over the years. One needs only to consider that the primary police strategy for much of the twentieth century – motorized preventive patrol and rapid response to calls for service – was developed in response to the invention and use of the automobile, two-way radio communications, and computer-aided dispatch systems in policing. In recent decades, there have been many significant developments with respect to information technologies, analytic systems, video surveillance systems, license plate readers, DNA testing, body-worn cameras, and other technologies that have had far-reaching effects on police agencies. Technology acquisition and deployment decisions are high priority topics for police (e.g., Koper, Taylor & Kubu, 2009), and law enforcement agencies at all levels of governments are spending vast sums on technology in the hopes of improving agency efficiency and effectiveness.

Type
Chapter
Information
Police Innovation
Contrasting Perspectives
, pp. 517 - 543
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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