Criminology: The Case of Uncle Bob

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To effectively fight crime, the law enforcers need to have prompt access to the data of individuals who have violated the law. This is captured in the 1967 Commission report, which urged for rapid adoption of information technology (IT) to make the criminal justice system operate efficiently and fairly (Ridgeway, 2018).

Since then, significant strides have been made especially in using big data technologies. To prevent errors, Lee (2019) suggests that the information collected should be accurate and that the correct software must be used when dealing with different agencies. The objective of this paper is to exemplify the case of Uncle Bob, who has a record of crime in California, his residential state, and was caught speeding during his vacation in Miami.

First, it is necessary to understand the facts about the case to appreciate data sharing and access across legal entities. The field police in Florida had basic information that could identify Uncle Bob even though he had no history of crime in that state. The officer arrested him after a conversation, implying that he gave out information that matched the details in their records. Therefore, in addition to Uncle Bob’s over-speeding, it was established that he was a fugitive or had stolen property since such is the information stored by the National Crime Information Centre (NCIC) (Kilfeather, 2016). The Florida police knew about Uncle Bob’s past offenses by accessing the shared database to verify the information that he had provided during the conversation (apprehension).

Notably, the data was available to the Miami Police department because there was National Information Exchange Model (NIEM). Specifically, the federal government acts as the center for sharing information with different local agencies. For instance, the National Data Exchange (N-DEx) System hosts data in the cloud and contains a search engine to allow police officers in the field to find data easily as long as they have an internet connection.

The two states have provided the analytical capacity to authorized persons to access the data they need to prevent or control crime. Kilfeather (2016) states that information is also accessed through the in-case index, which locates small details and matches a specific numbered report. Thus, the officer can easily connect information that appears unrelated because the technology has proprietary algorithms features. Moreover, the officers have access to guides that can help relate data and make trustworthy conclusions about an individual suspected of an offense.

Accordingly, the information available to the Miami Police Department includes biographic data and criminal history, all of which flow from the local agencies to the federal center and back. Officers can easily access the details such as name, height, weight, and birth date from the NCIC (Chan et al., 2020). Worthy to note, the NCIC contains criminal justice data on stolen properties, fugitives, or missing persons. The flow followed case indexing, which is a strategy used by the law enforcement officers to enter records of individual offenses they encounter while on duty. Upon entry, the data is routinely combined in the department master index through particular equipment such as call detail record (CDR).

There are many ways in which information is shared between federal and local agencies. First, there is the Regional Information Sharing System (RISS) which provides a secure environment for officers to submit, retrieve, and share data on crimes. The RISSIntel can be accessed through RISSNET communication and offers real-time federated search for different states without demanding an officer to log into the system. Second, information is shared through the records management systems (RMSs) which provide specific case histories such as the offenses that Uncle Bob did in the past. Third, the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) infrastructure stores records of calls made on suspected violations; hence it is also effective in retrieving basic details.

In addition, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also has a Law Enforcement Online (LEO), which allows the public to share information that can then be accessed by the law enforcers when needed. If the previous crimes committed included firearms, then the data can come from the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).

Several issues about the case make it suspicious, indicating that Uncle Bob was probably escaping past crimes. For instance, he was over-speeding, which is not typical for people on vacation. The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and other technologies such as global positioning system (GPS) and Digital Aerial Photography (DAP) are useful in racking offenders on the run. Uncle Bob was probably running away after breaking the law and will possibly be charged with crimes such as stolen vehicles, securities, or foreign fugitives. Interestingly, the police apprehended Uncle Bob and then searched their database for related crimes, which verified that it was not his first time breaking the law.

The ability of the Florida police agency to obtain the information depends on the level of technological advancement, level of inter-state cooperation, and training of the officers. Implementing federal and state information-sharing systems needs significant investments in modern IT, which is expensive. The other challenge is the lack of trust and knowledge on how to transfer and store data (Kilfeather, 2016). Personal competencies of the officers in using strategies such as case indexing to link information and establish a narrative. In this case, Miami officers are bound to receive all the information that they need.

Conclusively, there has been significant improvement in information access and sharing between states and the national government. Many technologies are now available for reporting data and indexing for central storage by federal agencies such as the NCIC. Officers in the field can then access the information if they have an internet connection. Uncle Bob was over-speeding, but his details probably matched those of a fugitive, lost person, or stolen item, hence, leading to his arrest. Law enforcers must continually strive to invest in sound technologies, training, and trustful collaboration to prevent crimes and ensure justice.

References

Chan, J., Logan, S., & Bennett Moses, L. (2020). Rules in information sharing for security. Criminology & Criminal Justice. Web.

Kilfeather, R. F. (2016). Managing and coordinating major criminal investigations (2^nd ed.). CRC Press.

Lee, J. (2019). How data sharing between agencies can reduce crime. Police1. Web.

Ridgeway, G. (2018). Policing in the era of big data. Annual Review of Criminology, 1(1), 401-419. Web.

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Criminology: The Case of Uncle Bob

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