Crime - Surveillance and Technology

Question: Discuss about the Crime, Surveillance and Technology. Answer: Introduction: Define and explain the core components ofsoft technologies and hard technologies in law enforcement as discussed by Byrne and Marx (2011). Provide one example of ahard technology ofsurveillance, and one example of asoft technology of surveillance. Explainhow onlyoneof these examples ('hard' or 'soft') relates to a strategy of pre-emptive policing in crime prevention, crime control, or counter-terrorism policy. It is imperative to note that all technologies tend to be assemblies that are inclined to coordinate incidents to some given purpose (Williams McShane n.d., p. 68). These said technologies may consist of, utilize or even embody various tools that may be either conceptual, physical, or both. Having this in mind, it is also noteworthy for one to understand that crime, policing, as well as security are facilitated by and co-evolve with other technologies that tend to make them possible. As myriad criminals compete with policing and security officials for technological advantage, eternally complex crime, security, and policing tends to result into relatively confusing and unmanageable threats to the society (U.S. D.o.J n.d., n.p. ). There are two types of technologies in law enforcement that make it possible for the policing and security officials to be in the advantageous position of crime prevention; these include, soft technologies and hard technologies. Hard technologies tend to be physical as compared to soft technologies which are human-mediated processes (Szwak 1995, p. 18). On the other hand, others consider soft technologies to be an assortment of human factors that are necessary additions of hard tools. A strengthened definition as to what makes a given technology harder or softer however, is the extent to which the given orchestration of incidents is actively performed by a given human or humans (McQuade n.d., p 94). Suffice to mention that harder technologies are inclined to involve less human-mediated processes mainly because they exemplify them in toolsets and tools. Moreover, harder technologies tend to be more authoritarian and limited while softer technologies tend to lean towards flexibility and creativity (McQuade 2005, p. 62). They are both needy and flexible, support change and creativity mainly because their pre-existing gaps have to be filled with various processes which are constructed by individuals. In contrast, hard technologies tend to be complete and quite rigid. They contain within themselves the methods as well as processes that are necessary to achieve the respective ends which they were initially designed for. This as a result brings about scalability, efficiency, freedom from error, speed, and replicability (McQuade 2001, p.78). Surveillance simply refers to the monitoring of computer activity and data that is stored on a given hard drive, or data that is being transferred over various computer networks like the internet. There are quite a number of examples that pertain to soft technologies in surveillance, for instance, the FBIs CIPAV and Magic Lantern software which are biometric surveillance software used to monitor criminal activity or detect the criminals themselves (Fuchs 2011, p.135). These surveillance software tend to be critical for law enforcement agencies mainly because one only needs to be at a proximate distance in order to detect and identify a given perpetrator without necessarily giving themselves away to the said perpetrator. An example of a hard technology on the other hand is the Closed Circuit Television or (CCTV) cameras which nowadays tend to be religiously mounted on every building, mall, grocery store, and city street (Fuchs 2011, p. 290). This particular technology as we have discussed above is quite rigid and does not require any form of human input as it already performs its intended tasks. It is important to note that the CCTV hard technology is quite strategic to a strategy of pre-emptive policing and crime prevention in that it allows law enforcement officials to track down suspected criminals with ease. The CCTV cameras enabled law enforcement to efficiently coordinate and relay their intelligence in order to efficiently and effectively apprehend suspects without causing civilian casualties while pursuing the perpetrators (Williams McShane n.d., 26). By utilizing the CCTV cameras, law enforcement can also be able to identify suspects through their respective criminal databases and as such hastily locate the suspects address and quickly apprehend them. Based on the one example you choose,critically evaluatethe 'effectiveness' of the use of the surveillance technology. Does it fulfill the objective that it is being used for? What challenges to privacy does it pose? CCTV programs tend to utilize surveillance cameras in both private and public areas in an attempt to prevent personal and property crime (U.S. D.o.J n.d., n.p. ). Notably, not all CCTV systems tend to be police monitored, however, some are. The CCTV systems are tailor made to increase prescribed surveillance by making it easier for law enforcement to monitor public behavior of citizens, including potential offenders. CCTV is in actual sense intended to dissuade crime through increased risk of detection with regards to criminal behavior. Moreover, CCTV footage can also be utilized in the identification of suspects in offences that are carried out within the cameras view (Szwak 1995, p. 25). According to recent studies carried out in both the UK and US, it was revealed that CCTV has a modest but statistically important impact on crime, with specific effectiveness for minimizing car break-ins and car thefts in garages and parking lots. The use of CCTV cameras has also gone a long way to mitigating and preventing shoplifters from stealing in various department stores. Once the perpetrators footage is captured on the surveillance camera while committing the crime in question, the suspect is apprehended, arrested and charged by the police; this is a closed case because the suspect can not contest the video footage of themselves on the screen (McQuade n.d., p.98). People also tend to feel much safer when they notice the CCTV cameras as they know that someone is watching out for them. This clearly shows that indeed the CCTV surveillance technology is fulfilling its intended objective. There are quite a number of challenges to privacy that are presented by the use of CCTV cameras, for instance, due to the fact that people are aware that they constantly being monitored, they can not be their normal selves; this includes the perpetrators who have now adopted to wearing ski-masks in order to cover their faces (McQuade 2005, p.69). Other individuals also cite that their personal privacy is also being violated especially with regards to the mounting of CCTV cameras in public washrooms, ATM machines, and hotel lobbies. The use of CCTV cameras in internet cafes also present a challenge in that ones access passwords can easily be viewed by a third party thus making ones internet activity susceptible to potential black-hacks. Additionally, it is also possible for law enforcer to be tempted to abuse CCTV cameras for personal purposes (McQuade 2001, p. 89). For instance, a recent investigation be the Detroit Free Press revealed that a database available to the Michigan Law Enforcement was utilized by police officers to assist their friends or themselves to threaten motorists after traffic altercations, track estranged spouses, and stalk women. References Fuchs, C. (2011). New Media, Web 2.0 and Surveillance. Sociology Compass. Pp. 134-147. Fuchs, C. (2011). Web 2.0, Presumption, and Surveillance. Surveillance Society. Pp. 289-309. McQuade, S. (2001). Cops versus crooks: Technological competition and complexity in the co-evolution of information technologies and money laundering . George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. McQuade, S. (2005). Theoretical and social perspectives of cybercrime. Chapter 5 in, Understanding and managing cybercrime . Boston: Allyn Bacon. McQuade, S. (n.d.). Towards a theory of technology enabled crime. Unpublished manuscript . George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. Szwak, D. A. (1995). 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