The Internet and Law Enforcement

Linda Watson

 

 

Does the Internet assist Law Enforcement or hinder their efforts?  Due to lack of government budgets and the sluggishness of transferring manual records to computerized records, law enforcement agencies are one of the last of government agencies to enter into the use of the Internet as a tool in crime prevention, statistics/data and crime solving.

 

Change is rapidly approaching. Police squad cars are now equipped with computers, police stations can search for the background of a criminal in a matter of seconds, judges and attorney can peruse the Internet for new laws and/or changes to laws.  The average consumer can search the many law/crime related websites for up-to-date information on everything from local, national news and general information of what crimes etc. may be occurring in your very own community.[1]

 

Once upon a time, writing a crime report meant hours on a typewriter, using a lot of carbon paper for copies.  Today, writing a police report consists of sitting down to a laptop or desktop computer and inputting the information into a pre-established form and printing as many copies as needed, saving time for the officers and allowing the officers more time where they are needed i.e. preventing crimes etc. Computers have also proven to be valuable tools in the cataloging of evidence found at crime scenes and raid sites.

 

Recently, the Internet provided law enforcement with the necessary tools in solving a heinous crime.  A woman who went to inquire about a nanny job advertised on Craigslist.com was found dead in the trunk of her car. Police were able to locate the murder suspect by tracing the suspect’s ad online.[2] 

 

Copseek.com (www.copseek.com) is one of the largest Police & Law Enforcement search engines. The website features a Members Network, WebSites Directory, and Discussion Forums, Police Job Center, even a Gift Shop.

 

The list of law enforcement websites continue to grow:

• The Crime Library www.crimelibrary.com.
• Cyber Tip Line  www.cybertipline.com.

• Amber Alert (Missing children website) www.amberalert.com.
• Department of Justice www.justice.gov.
• FBI Official Site www.fbi.gov.
• FindLaw.com (find information on just about any laws in the United States) www.findlaw.com.
• Sex Offender Registry www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/cac/registry.
• Los Angeles County Sheriff www.lasd.org.
• Lapdonline (Los Angeles Police Department Official website) www.lapdonline.org.

 

One of the down-sides to law enforcement and the internet would be the availability of the same information becoming available to criminals as well as law-abiding folks. Therefore, this may give the upper-hand to some criminals when searching for ways to commit crimes, hide their crimes and/or hide themselves from the law i.e. wanted criminals etc.

 

 

The overall future of law enforcement looks bright as law enforcement agencies begin to utilize the many technological tools available to them.