unit3 x
Using the feedback you received from your instructor and colleagues over the last few weeks, you will now revise your rough draft into your final research paper. As you revise, feel free to continue to expand your paper by adding additional supporting evidence and analysis where you see a need. Have you incorporated the information related to technology, corrections, and any theories or policies related to the issue you are researching?
Your final draft must be no less than 4 pages, not including the reference page. It must be longer and more refined than your Unit 3 Individual Project. This paper must follow APA style format, and include in-text citations and a reference page. Be sure to proofread your final paper and run the spell and grammar checkers before submitting.
Running Head:
UNIT 3 CAPSTONE IP
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UNIT 3 CAPSTONE IP 5
UNIT 3 CAPSTONE IP
CRJS 499
Policies, Technologies, and databases that may help to bring those accused of Crimes to Justice and bringing change to the legal landscape in the United States
Technology has become a transforming agent in the criminal justice system. For example, the public and private endeavor, the work of police agencies, court systems, correctional institutions, and other institutions that constitute to the technological change. Government agencies have already begun embracing the promise of technological change in the criminal justice system and for the past decade major advances have been experienced in a powerful criminal justice tool. These developments have changed the law requirement scene. New policies have also been adopted to determine which wrongful behaviors require sanctions under criminal law and ensure that the rights of suspected and accused persons and victims are protected. Laws, policies, and technology designs have structured people’s relationships with the social institutions and this has led to individual privacy now facing new threats and new opportunities. Shifts in the economic, technical, and policy domains have been experienced that has seen a new landscape being formed that is more variegated. These shifts have facilitated personal identity and protection, data protection laws, and rapid globalization of policy process.
According to the U.S Department of Justice, DNA has been a data base that can be used to identify criminals with incredible accuracy when biological evidence exists. For example, it can used to clear suspects and exonerate persons mistakenly accused or convicted of crimes. DNA technology can therefore ensure accuracy and fairness in changing the landscape of the criminal justice system in the United States. It has enabled solve crimes, for example it can link a suspect through DNA evidence to lest say many sexual assaults and robberies. Many accusations of crimes cannot be rightfully brought to Justice despite the employment of large a large law enforcement task force but through the use of the DNA technology, evidence can be provided to give a breakthrough in a series of crimes that may have remained unsolved. Cases can be used in two different ways using the DNA evidence. The first is where the suspect is already identified and his DNA can be compared to evidence from the scene of the crime. The results obtained enable determine whether the suspect committed the crime. The second is the suspect is not already identified and biological evidence needs to be analyzed and compared to the offender’s profiles in DNA databases in order to identify the actual perpetrator. Databases enable link the evidences of the crime scenes and countries like the United States needs to have a well-established Forensic DNA database (Cole &Dejong, 2016).These databases have presented hopes for identifying perpetrators especially in domestic criminal cases.
DNA analysis can also include fingerprinting where a test is distinguished from traditional skin fingerprinting. Fingerprinting has helped to acquit and convict suspects in many of the most violent crimes, including rape and murder. Forensic science has enabled and made it easier to use fingerprint analysis technologies for crime investigation and bringing those accused of crimes to justice. Fingerprinting is a very easy method as it only involves acquiring fingerprints from a crime scene and comparing it with that of the suspect and this is mainly because fingerprints are always present in the epidermal ridges due to the natural secretions of sweat from the eccrine glands, and this is usually made possible by the adoption of forensic science. In order to make fingerprinting an effective crime investigation policy, the Legal landscape in the United States should therefore ensure that they have a scientific, technical, and specialized team that that has knowledge to assist the Trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue (McGuire, 2012). This is because evidence should be based on sufficient facts or data. The United States can use Fingerprinting especially to deal with cases of terrorism in the country. With the patterned residue of natural skin secretions or other contaminated materials such as blood or dirt that was present on the fingertips at the time of contact with any objects at the crime scene. Fingerprints can be used to identify terrorists especially if their fingerprints match those of visitors to the United States.
With the use of Fingerprinting and DNA databases, technology has been seen to affect the investigation of crime and the legal landscape of the United States. Computer technology has made it easy during crime analysis and crime mapping and has permitted the law enforcement officials in the United States to gather, store, and analyze data (Cole). Despite the advantage of the development in technology accuracy on the information stored should be observed and also the methods that also permits information to be accessed efficiently by the criminology department of investigation. DNA profiling being a powerful forensic tool can therefore be used to quickly eliminate a suspect and save time that could have been used in looking for perpetrators. Its evidence can be so much compelling and guaranteed of conviction support with a reduction in the chances of wrongful conviction (Ismaili, 2010). The testing labs should therefore be equipped with the entire DNA testing technological equipment as the DNA profiling has become an important tool in the criminal justice being facilitated by the use of science for the investigation of crimes.
References
Cole, G. F., Smith, C. E., &DeJong, C. (2016). Criminal justice in America. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Ismaili, K. (2010). U.S. criminal justice policy: a contemporary reader. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
McGuire, M. (2012). Technology, crime, and justice: the question concerning technomia. New York, NY: Routledge.