Deck 14: Computers, Technology, and Criminalistics in Policing

Question 1

What are less-than-lethal weapons?

Answer 1

Police departments are using technological devices to stop and disable armed, dangerous, and violent subjects without resorting to the use of firearms. The term less-than-lethal weapons, or nonlethal weapons, is used to identify innovative alternatives to traditional nonfirearm weapons (for example, batons and flashlights) and tactics (for example, martial arts techniques and other bodily force techniques, including tackles and choke holds). Nonlethal weapons can be seen as shooting-avoidance tools because these weapons can control unarmed but resisting suspects early in a confrontation, before they have the opportunity to become armed and attack an officer. Some examples of nonlethal weapons are chemical irritant sprays (such as pepper spray) and Tasers or stun guns. Many departments have integrated these weapons into their use-of-force policy.

Question 2

How has the computer revolutionized policing?

Answer 2

The criminal justice system and the police in particular have benefited greatly from the technological revolution. In 1964, only one city in the United States had a computer system in its police department; today, almost every law enforcement agency uses computers in many phases of its operations, including record keeping, crime analysis, communications, personnel allocation, investigations, administration, and training. In addition, police work has been greatly enhanced through state-of-the-art surveillance technology, including surveillance vans, vehicle tracking systems, night vision devices, global positioning systems, surveillance aircraft, and electronic video surveillance, as well as advanced photographic techniques such as digital photography, mug shot imaging, age-progression photographs, and composite sketches. Other advances in forensics and criminalistics, biometric identification, videotaping, and robotics also have had an impact on how police do their jobs.

Question 3

What is DNA profiling?

Answer 3

DNA profiling, also called genetic fingerprinting or DNA typing, has shown exponential progress in the last decade. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, "DNA evidence arguably has become the most well-known type of forensic evidence, probably because it can be uniquely identifying and because it is the genetic blueprint of the human body." Portions of the DNA structure are as unique to each individual as fingerprints. DNA technology has changed rapidly, and technological advances have made DNA more reliable and efficient in terms of turnaround time for processing samples. DNA profiling has helped investigators solve crimes and ensure that those guilty of crimes are convicted in court.

Question 4

How has crime lab accreditation helped enhance the credibility of crime labs?

Question 5

Computers and other pieces of technology have drastically helped law enforcement detect, deter, and fight crime. For example, computer-aided dispatch, or CAD, allows almost immediate communication between a police dispatcher and officers in the field. The FBI developed Advanced Fingerprint Identification Technology, or AFIT, to enhance fingerprint and latent processing services, increase the accuracy and daily fingerprint processing capacity, and improve system availability.
As technology increases, though, so does the sophistication of certain crimes and criminals. It is a constant struggle for police forces to keep up to date with emerging technologies, which can be cost prohibitive for certain low-funded departments.
This scenario focuses on technology used in police work.
You are a police officer for a moderate-size suburban police department. You are working your normal afternoon shift when your dispatchers assign you to an armed robbery that just occurred at the local bank. They inform you the suspect is a white male, about 30 years of age, driving a red Honda Accord, license ABC123, which is listed as a newly stolen vehicle equipped with OnStar location technology. As you are responding to the crime scene, you are assessing the escape route of the suspect and trying to determine your best course of action.

-License plate readers are an example of what type of technology?

A) mobile technology
B) automated crime analysis technology
C) robotics technology
D) spyware technology

Question 6

Computers and other pieces of technology have drastically helped law enforcement detect, deter, and fight crime. For example, computer-aided dispatch, or CAD, allows almost immediate communication between a police dispatcher and officers in the field. The FBI developed Advanced Fingerprint Identification Technology, or AFIT, to enhance fingerprint and latent processing services, increase the accuracy and daily fingerprint processing capacity, and improve system availability.
As technology increases, though, so does the sophistication of certain crimes and criminals. It is a constant struggle for police forces to keep up to date with emerging technologies, which can be cost prohibitive for certain low-funded departments.
This scenario focuses on technology used in police work.
You are a police officer for a moderate-size suburban police department. You are working your normal afternoon shift when your dispatchers assign you to an armed robbery that just occurred at the local bank. They inform you the suspect is a white male, about 30 years of age, driving a red Honda Accord, license ABC123, which is listed as a newly stolen vehicle equipped with OnStar location technology. As you are responding to the crime scene, you are assessing the escape route of the suspect and trying to determine your best course of action.

-What technology allows almost immediate communication between a police dispatcher and an officer in the field?

A) CAD
B) R911
C) NCIC
D) GPS

Question 7

What Would You Do?
You need to predict the escape route of the suspect vehicle. Over the last year, your department has acquired a large number of new computer technologies aimed at assisting officers in solving crimes. Given the sizeable financial investment, your superiors have requested that officers utilize them as much as possible.
-What would you do?

Question 8

Choosing a likely escape route for the suspect with your license plate reader on seems like a good idea. You have increased the likelihood that the suspect will be captured quickly. However, it is a good idea to have dispatchers inform other officers involved that they should use their LPRs while heading to the scene from other directions.
You locate the vehicle and, after a brief car chase, the suspect crashes the car and runs into nearby woods. You contact all other officers in the area and begin a grid search of the woods to find the suspect.

-What is the name given to fingerprint impressions left on evidence at a crime scene?

A) latent prints
B) inked prints
C) ten-prints
D) Live Scan

Question 9

Choosing a likely escape route for the suspect with your license plate reader on seems like a good idea. You have increased the likelihood that the suspect will be captured quickly. However, it is a good idea to have dispatchers inform other officers involved that they should use their LPRs while heading to the scene from other directions.
You locate the vehicle and, after a brief car chase, the suspect crashes the car and runs into nearby woods. You contact all other officers in the area and begin a grid search of the woods to find the suspect.

-What is the name of the advanced technology that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employed, starting in 2011?

A) Advanced Fingerprint Identification Technology (AFIT)
B) Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS)
C) Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS)
D) Repository for Individuals of Special Concern (RISC)

Question 10

What Would You Do?
You are unable to locate the suspect on foot. You decide to investigate the car for clues to the identity of the suspect and where he might live.
-What would you do?

Question 11

Summary A
You have been trained in fingerprinting and collect the fingerprints yourself as it may save time. Although you know how to do it, if the fingerprints are difficult to capture, technicians may need to come out and Live Scan the fingerprints to get a better quality sample. If this is the case, you will have wasted time doing them yourself.
To learn more about fingerprinting, see "Fingerprint Technology."
Summary B
You have been trained in fingerprinting so you could collect the fingerprints yourself as it may save time. However, although you know how to do it, if the fingerprints are difficult to capture, technicians may need to come out and Live Scan the fingerprints to get a better quality sample. Having crime scene technicians use Live Scan is a good idea because they will get a faster response from AFIS.
To learn more about fingerprinting, see "Fingerprint Technology."
Your investigative skills have paid off: your dispatchers have located the suspect vehicle on camera. However, as you close in on the vehicle, it flees the area, and you lose sight of it. A few minutes later you come upon the vehicle and see it has crashed into a pylon in an abandoned parking lot. The suspect has fled on foot. You call in crime scene investigators to assist you in processing the crime scene.

-What is the name given to fingerprint impressions left on evidence at a crime scene?

A) latent prints
B) inked prints
C) ten-prints
D) Live Scan

Question 12

Summary A
You have been trained in fingerprinting and collect the fingerprints yourself as it may save time. Although you know how to do it, if the fingerprints are difficult to capture, technicians may need to come out and Live Scan the fingerprints to get a better quality sample. If this is the case, you will have wasted time doing them yourself.
To learn more about fingerprinting, see "Fingerprint Technology."
Summary B
You have been trained in fingerprinting so you could collect the fingerprints yourself as it may save time. However, although you know how to do it, if the fingerprints are difficult to capture, technicians may need to come out and Live Scan the fingerprints to get a better quality sample. Having crime scene technicians use Live Scan is a good idea because they will get a faster response from AFIS.
To learn more about fingerprinting, see "Fingerprint Technology."
Your investigative skills have paid off: your dispatchers have located the suspect vehicle on camera. However, as you close in on the vehicle, it flees the area, and you lose sight of it. A few minutes later you come upon the vehicle and see it has crashed into a pylon in an abandoned parking lot. The suspect has fled on foot. You call in crime scene investigators to assist you in processing the crime scene.

-What is the name of the advanced technology that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) employed, starting in 2011?

A) Advanced Fingerprint Identification Technology (AFIT)
B) Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS)
C) Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS)
D) Repository for Individuals of Special Concern (RISC)

Question 13

What Would You Do?
Crime scene investigators arrive at the location of the suspect's vehicle. They examine the vehicle in hopes of finding a fingerprint, but they are unsuccessful. You interview the teller of the bank that was robbed, and she tells you the suspect put his left hand down on the counter as he was reaching over the counter with his right hand to grab the money.
-What would you do?

Question 14

After a 911 operator takes a call from a citizen, the operator codes the information into the computer, and the information immediately flashes on the dispatcher's screen using which typical type of system?

A) computer-aided dispatch (CAD)
B) mobile digital terminals
C) VoIP
D) IP

Question 15

What can locate a person's location from a cell phone call, NOT just a landline call?

A) R911
B) E911
C) FATS
D) LPR

Question 16

What is the other term for inked fingerprints?

A) latent prints
B) plastic prints
C) 10-prints
D) visible

Question 17

Which Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) system can be used to match stored fingerprint data for millions of individuals against latent prints taken from a crime scene?

A) NCIC
B) RCAGIS
C) VoIP
D) IAFIS

Question 18

What can be used against unarmed suspects with only short-term damage to the suspect?

A) legal firearms
B) chokeholds
C) less-than-lethal weapons
D) traditional weapons

Question 19

Aerosol subject restraints (ASRs) can cause eye irritation, coughing, and _________.

A) loss of muscle control
B) debilitating pain
C) blood poisoning
D) permanent lung irritations

Question 20

Recent studies have shown that less-than-lethal weapons result in fewer officer and suspect injuries. Which of the following statements about Tasers is also correct?

A) They emit a 500-volt charge that temporarily incapacitates subjects.
B) They have been linked to deaths nationwide.
C) They are less effective than the other forms of nonlethal force in subduing a subject.
D) They may be used without warning the suspect.

Question 21

Vehicle tracking systems can use radio frequency, cell phone tracking, or ________.

A) GPS
B) night vision devices
C) Live Scan
D) UAV

Question 22

Concerns about drones being used by police are primarily about __________.

A) accidental injuries
B) privacy rights
C) global positioning
D) pilot ability

Question 23

Which system digitizes a picture of a suspect and stores the image on a computer so that it can be retrieved later?

A) digital photography
B) age-progression photos
C) mug shot imaging
D) latent print photos

Question 24

What capability does the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI's) age-progression software have that enables it to create more accurate images of how a missing child may have aged?

A) It draws on statistical probabilities.
B) It can incorporate pictures of family members.
C) It uses hand-drawn sketches to incorporate more subtleties.
D) It ensures that privacy rights are not violated.

Question 25

The ballistics section of the crime lab conducts scientific analyses of guns and bullets. Ballistics is the science of the study of __________.

A) ball-shaped objects
B) structural design
C) objects in motion and at rest
D) objects forged or molded from metal

Question 26

The mother of a crime victim is angry with the police for taking so long to run DNA samples. She thinks it should be done before the end of the day, like on her favorite crime shows, and is surprised to hear that it could take months. She is exhibiting __________.

A) irrationality
B) modern forensic expectations
C) the CSI effect
D) crime lab accreditation

Question 27

What type of forensics is used to identify, collect, and analyze evidence from electronic devices?

A) serology
B) digital forensics
C) criminalistics
D) document analysis

Question 28

Which organization certifies forensic laboratory employees?

A) American Board of Criminalists (ABC)
B) American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD)
C) International High Technology Crime Investigation Association (IHTCIA)
D) International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)

Question 29

Jamal has been jailed for many years for a murder he did not commit, with a death sentencing approaching. All his attempts at appeal have been denied. Jamal decides to contact an organization that freed more than 200 people since 1992 by using DNA evidence. What is the name of the organization Jamal decided to contact?

A) the ACLU
B) IBIS
C) the Innocence Project
D) the International Association for Identification

Question 30

Why can cold cases benefit from the use of mitochondrial DNA (MtDNA)?

A) MtDNA is only inherited on the maternal side, making identification more specific.
B) MtDNA analysis can derive evidence from very small or degraded quantities of DNA.
C) MtDNA has passed the Frye test, which PCR-STR and RFLP have not yet done.
D) MtDNA is the only form of DNA accepted into the National DNA Index System (NDIS).

Question 31

Which term describes a DNA sample collected from a crime scene that ties an unknown suspect to the DNA profile of someone in the national or a state's database?

A) evidence sample
B) Frye test
C) cold hit
D) DNA polymorphism

Question 32

Which type of identification distinguishes one person from another and includes fingerprints and palm prints as examples?

A) isometric
B) biometric
C) genetic
D) criminalistic

Question 33

What percentage of the American public supports the police wearing body cameras according to a 2016 CATO Institute survey?

A) 65 percent
B) 71 percent
C) 92 percent
D) 81 percent

Question 34

The advantage of in-car police video recorders is that ____________.

A) they provided reliable, unbiased evidence of wrongdoing by both suspects and officers
B) the officer can turn them off at any point during a traffic stop
C) many officers turn off their body cameras, but the in-car recorders continue to function
D) they stream in real time to police headquarters

Question 35

Which of the following do law enforcement officers consider a valuable ability for a robot to have?

A) the ability to complete incident reports
B) the ability to find drugs by smell
C) the ability to translate languages
D) the ability to climb stairs

Question 36

What type of technology can take X-rays, photograph packages, search suspect locations, and place explosive devices into a transport vessel, thus keeping personnel safely away from the immediate area?

A) bomb robots
B) drones
C) cell phones
D) computer forensics devices

Question 37

Sandy has been arrested for growing marijuana in her backyard. The evidence was obtained by police helicopter that flew over her property and photographed her garden. Martina's lawyer says this is a violation of her constitutional rights. How has the Court ruled in cases like this?

A) The Court has ruled that this is not a violation of Sixth Amendment rights.
B) The Court has ruled that this is a violation of Sixth Amendment rights.
C) The Court has ruled that this is not a violation of Fourth Amendment rights.
D) The Court has ruled that this is a violation of Fourth Amendment rights.

Question 38

Carol Roses of the Massachusetts American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has said, "We don't know all the potential uses of DNA, but once the state has your sample and there are no limits on how it can be used." These vast uses could result in __________.

A) peacekeeping advantages
B) crime prevention benefits
C) health benefits for American citizens
D) civil liberty violations