Technology In Policing

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Technology and Communication systems are critical tools in policing. The rate of technological change in recent years is so fast that I personally believe that is safe to predict that in a mere few years from now, current technology will be substantially improved if not obsolete. Technology is constantly changing the way police departments operate in many ways. When I first started in EMS 20 years ago, I had intended to use dispatching as a gateway into policing (instead of Emergency Medicine.) Back then, Computer Aided Dispatching was ground breaking technology, GPS did not exist, tracking of units was done with paper, graphs, whiteboards and bulletin boards. Units would radio updates on their status and positions, request back-up, request …show more content…

It is not a simple as assigning the next available unit. A dispatcher must be able to consider a number of factors such as; appropriate resource for the call, closest available unit, whether or not a unit physically closer become available sooner than an available unit further away from the call, will multiple resources be needed, and will a supervisor be required, among many other …show more content…

GPS technology allows dispatcher to discern which appropriate units are closest to respond to a call or request for service. 'GPS technology is at the heart of commercial in-car navigation systems and fleet-tracking software, and it is increasingly being incorporated into monitoring brace-lets that are issued to offenders who are placed on probation, parole or are registered sex offenders.' As monitoring equipment technology improves and cost decreases, agencies will be have the greater ability to track crime and, in partnership with other members of law enforcement and policing, determine where offenders are located. With availability of proper and effective equipment, and with adequate data storage and retrieval capabilities, it is possible to determine where and when these offenders violate conditions of supervision. Agencies can monitor whether the offender fails to return to their residences after curfew, whether they enter restricted zones, or by consorting with other felons, or even whether or not the monitoring agent has moved at all over a period of time (indicating

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