Criminology

Our criminal justice system is constantly and rapidly advancing in hopes of developing a safe society. Through new technology advancements in law enforcement, officers are able to reduce time and money spent to track criminals. Taking criminals into custody require many methods of attack. Among the new advancements now being utilized are license plate recognition, GPS tracking, surveillance drones, fingerprint recognition and polygraph testing.

Automatic License Plate Recognition

Automatic license plate recognition gives officers the ability to check license plates rapidly. This technology can help locate stolen vehicles, have expired insurance, expired registration and belong to persons of interest. The software works by identifying the car then algorithms are used to scan the vehicles license plate, unless the car is being operated by someone other than the owner, a person of interest can then be recognized. The average license plate reader cost about $20,000 each. They have the ability to capture plate information on cars that are going a speed rate of 150 miles per hour. Images from the plate are can be recorded along with the GPS time and coordinates. The information recorded is then stored in a database for future use when tracking a criminal or paying tickets. Searching algorithms are used to compare plates with each other to find out if plates are connected with illegal activity or criminals.

GPS Tracking

GPS is a satellite based technology using twenty four satellites and their ground stations that provide the location of given objects. GPS tracking can determine time, direction vehicle speed and vehicle location. Law enforcement can use data from current time or from six months ago. GPS tracking is based on trilateration. GPS receivers must know two things to have the ability to track an object. Receivers must know how far apart satellites are and where at least three satellites are located above the area in question. When a piece of GPS...