Crime+Scene+Investigation

=__Crime Scene Investigation__=

There are several IT developments in the area of Crime Scene Investigation. They are mainly used to detect or match criminals with the evidence obtained, therefore making investigations more efficient. These developments have made a dramatic drop in crime rate as they are able to prevent and increase the searching efficiency of criminals.
 * Introduction:**

When a foreign traveler receives his visa, he will get fingerprinted and have his photograph taken. The fingerprints and photographs are checked against a database of known criminals and suspected terrorists. When the traveler arrives in the United States at the port of entry, those same fingerprints and photographs will be used to verify that the person who received the visa is the same person attempting to gain entry.
 * Specific Technology Developments:**
 * ID Recognition**

How Facial Recognition Systems work Every face has numerous, distinguishable landmarks, the different peaks and valleys that make up facial features. These landmarks are defined as nodal points. Each human face has approximately 80 nodal points. Some examples of these measured by the software are: § Distance between the eyes § Width of the nose § Depth of the eye sockets § The shape of the cheekbones § The length of the jaw line

How DNA evidence works In the last few years, DNA evidence has started to play a big part in many nations’ criminal justice systems. It has been used to prove that suspects were involved in crimes and to face free people were wrongly convicted. Your DNA is unique to you, this is what makes DNA evidence so valuable in investigations The key to DNA evidence lies in comparing the DNA from the scene of a crime with a suspect’s DNA. To do this, investigators have to do three things: § Collect DNA at the crime scene and from the suspect § Analyze the DNA to create a DNA profile § Compare the profiles to each other

How Fingerprint Scanners work In both crime investigation and security, a fingerprint scanner’s job is to take the place of a human analyst by collecting a print sample and comparing it to other samples on record. A fingerprint scanner system has two basic jobs-- it needs to get an image of your finger, and it needs to determine whether the pattern of ridges and valleys in this image matches the pattern of ridges and valleys in pre-scanned images.

Examples are shown below, __"Two Decades of DNA fingerprints"__ http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3636050.stm

"Since then, the technique has been used to trap criminals, identify victims of war, settle paternity disputes, and prove the claims of clones like Dolly."

__"Hi-tech armoury in war against crime"__ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/uk/2002/cracking_crime/2236807.stm "a new generation of cameras will provide authorities with sharper images than ever before and the opportunity to scan faces of the public to match with convicted criminals." "automatically correlate images with potential matches in a database of 160,000."

How Location Tracking works Location tracking is not one, single technology. Rather, it is the convergence of several technologies that can be merged to create systems that track inventory, livestock or vehicle fleets. Similar systems can be created to deliver location-based services to wireless devices. Current technologies being used to create location-tracking and location-based systems include: § Geographic Information Systems (GIS) § Global Positioning System (GPS) § Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) § Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Any location tracking or location-based service system will use one or a combination of these technologies. The system requires that a node or tag be placed on the object, animal or person being tracked. Other organizations instead relying on Internet service providers to provide agents with information on targeted individuals, including e-mail exchanges and Web-browsing activity. Tracking of credit card use and telephone lines.
 * Monitoring**

An example is shown below, __"Cameras cutting campus crime rate"__ http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/wear/4743308.stm "Crime at a North East university has been reduced by 70% thanks to a hi-tech security system in its grounds." "200 cameras"

These developments are all connected to the area of storing information on individuals or knowing the whereabouts of a target. Therefore most of these developments can be argued to invade the privacy of these people. It can be quite disturbing when you know that all your information is stored and available for use. However, these databases and systems are implemented for a good use and of good intension. These systems can decrease crime rate and therefore provide us with a safer society to live in. An example is shown below, __"Worried about being watched? You already are"__ http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/feb/15/epublic.guardianweeklytechnologysection "What about privacy? ANPR material is treated as personal data under the Data Protection Act. The data is subject to other controls; after 90 days, it can be accessed only for tackling serious crime." "But it shouldn't be used as a tool of mass surveillance, or to target people that the police have a hunch are up to no good" "We only ever use the information for the investigation of crime"
 * Social and Ethical Issues:**

The use of IT have evidently decreased crime rate in areas, especially the increase in the use of ID recognition and monitoring devices. Even though there are drawbacks to these technology developments, such as invasion of privacy and the reliability of such technologies, their main purposes remain positive and proving itself to be very successful. Some examples are shown below, __"Police predict crimes"__ http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/news/042001/05/crime_tech.shtml "GIS can provide detailed maps on crime hotspots, helps trace suspects and allows police analyists to make predications about crime trends. It can even predict where and when future crimes will take place." __"Crime rate decrease"__ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/6906227.stm “Through the use of new tactics and the use of innovative technology, crime is reducing.”
 * Conclusion:**

Ryan Johnson and Kevin Bonsor, "How Facial Recognition Systems work", How Stuff Works, Inc. viewed 03 Sep 07,  Tom Harris, "How wiretapping works", How Stuff Works, Inc. viewed 03 Sep 07,  "How DNA evidence works", How Stuff Works Inc. viewed 03 Sep 07,  Kevin Bonsor, "How Location Tracking works",How Stuff Works 03 Sep 07, 
 * References :**

Average Score of Presentation: This is a graph of the average of scores given by six groups. It is graded under the headings shown below, ranging from 1~5, 1 being the worse and 5 being the best.







TEACHER - VERY GOOD WORK, THE INTRODUCTION IS A LITTLE 'THIN' AND COULD BE IMPROVED. THE EXAMPLES OF EACH ARE GOOD. IT MAY BE WORTH MENTIONING HOW THIS AFFECTS CRIME DETECTION AND COMPLEMENTS THE CONVENTIONAL METHODS. GRADE 7B