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Criminal behavior evolves as technology evolves. Many offenders use new technologies in order to commit crimes, and often such behaviors have not been previously defined as being criminal. Criminal laws must be changed or created to account for these changes. The Office for Technology Assessment of the U.S. Congress notes, “What is judicially permissible and socially acceptable at one time has often been challenged when technology changes.” When agencies of the justice system use cutting-edge technology, it inevitably provokes fears of a future in which citizens’ rights are abrogated by advancing science. Individual rights, equal treatment under the law, and due process issues all require constant reinterpretation as technology improves. However, because some of the technology available today is so new, few court cases have yet directly addressed the issues involved. One hundred years ago, American police officers walked beats or rode horses and communicated by whistles and shouts. Criminal investigation was less scientific than intuitive, court cases were often resolved more on the popularity of the defendant than on the weight of the evidence, and American prisons were bleak edifices immersed in the industrial prison era. Today, American police officers walk beats or ride horses—or use automobiles, motorcycles, Segways, bicycles, boats, or aircraft. They have instant communication with other patrol members, their leaders at the precinct or departmental headquarters, the mayor, the governor, the Pentagon, or the president, if necessary, via an incredible communications network using satellite and computer communications. All manner of forensic and scientific resources remove guesswork from criminal investigations. Court cases are far more informed by precedent and constitutional considerations than ever before, but they continue to be strongly influenced by the economic status of the accused.
Criminal Justice Today
An Introductory Text for the 21st Century
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