New Technology of Crime Law and Social Control Essay

New Technology of Crime Law and Social Control - Essay Example Byrne and Rebovich (2007) classify technology into two broad categories: hard and soft technologies. They give examples of hard technologies used by the police in crime prevention to include: closed circuit television cameras (CCTV), street lighting, citizen protection devices, metal detectors, and ignition interlock systems. They also give examples of soft technology which include: threat assessment instruments, risk assessment instruments, bullying ID protocol, sex offender registration, risk assessment prior to involuntary civil commitment, profiling potential offenders, and facial recognition software used in conjunction with CCTV. Byrne and Rebovich argue that hard technology has led to improved police protection devices, improved new weapons, less lethal force, computers in squad cars, mobile data centers and video in patrol cars. They outline advantages of soft technology to include: crime mapping, crime analysis, criminal history data systems enhancement, information sharing within criminal justice systems and private sector, new technologies to monitor communication to and from targeted individuals, amber alerts, the creation of watch list of potentially violent offenders and gunshot location devices. CCTV and street lighting are the most commonly used hard technologies in crime prevention. CCTV is more significant in reducing property crime than street lighting (Welsh and Farrington, 2007). Great investments go into implementing CCTV but its rewards are tremendous. Cameras enable surveillance, making police work much easier. In conjunction with street lighting, cameras intensify security in the streets. During public events, cameras enable the police to monitor security details and ensure people’s safety. When criminals know that they are being watched, they shy away from committing a crime.