Assignment: Integrating New Technology in Law Enforcement Practice

The desire to incorporate innovation in every aspect of life might be something you’re familiar with, whether it be through your own professional experience, or the word innovation worked into countless articles and advertisements. Though it may seem that innovation happens with the snap of a finger, it actually can take many years for a new technology to be developed, be practical enough for wider use, or be widely adopted for a specific use. For example, consider that two-way radios existed in the 1950s and early 1960s when call boxes were still in use.

For this Assignment, imagine that you are a law enforcement officer who would like to see your department integrate a new or evolving technology into practice. Your colleagues support the idea, but you need to convince superiors that this particular innovation in technology adoption and use is worth it from a training, cost, and public relations standpoint.

To prepare:

Imagine that you are making a proposal to a superior to integrate one of the following technologies into your department:

Body cameras

Social media (from both a communication perspective and an evidence source perspective)

Digital evidence management (e.g., how to protect, introduce, or find)

A technology of your choosing (Note: You must have this choice approved by your instructor.)

Find 5–7 academically appropriate sources to support your response.

Create a PowerPoint presentation of 10–15 slides. Your presentation should include the following:

Identify the new technology of your focus and explain how it works in general terms.

Explain how the new technology works in, or is adapted for, law enforcement practice.

Explain how the new technology is affecting current law enforcement practice.

Evaluate the expectations and reactions from citizens to the use of this technology.

Are citizen expectations reasonable?

Why might citizen expectations be unreasonable?

Do citizens understand the legal implications?

Predict how this technology will affect law enforcement practice in the future.

Support your responses with evidence from the academically appropriate sources that you find. Include references for your sources on the last slide, which does not count toward the 10- to 15-slide requirement.