UTILISATION OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE

MANAGEMENT OF SERIOUS CRIME

Assistant Commissioner Paul Dickson APM

SOME QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

• Does technology help us to solve serious crime?

• How effective is technology?

• Where is the evidence?

• What is the impact of technology on our investigators?

• What do we need to do when implementing technology?

• What are the Obstacles?

• Has technology changed the skills of the serious crime investigator?

• The Future!

DNA TECHNOLOGY

DRUG TESTING TECHNOLOGY

META DATA TECHNOLOGY

AUSTRALIAN BALLISTICS

INFORMATION NETWORK (ABIN)

DOES TECHNOLOGY HELP US TO

SOLVE SERIOUS CRIME?

• Of course it does, how could DNA, advances in fingerprinting and

ABIN technology not help officers investigating serious crime?

These technologies are critical tools in policing.

• However where is the proof?

HOW EFFECTIVE IS TECHNOLOGY?

• A national study of the impact of Science and Technology on the

process of Criminal investigation in Law Enforcement Agencies

funded by the National Institute of Justice found that despite of the

large investments in information technology by police departments,

those investments may not have a direct impact on clearance rates.

• Limited knowledge to identify if a technology is actually working is a

reason for concern as it is impossible to effectively

apply technology in policing without proper evaluation.

• How do we compare one DNA technology against

another if the technology hasn’t been evaluated in

a policing context?

WHERE IS THE EVIDENCE?

• As police investigators we continually rely on solid evidence to prove

our investigations and to improve our skills and abilities.

• Where is the evidence that technology supports investigations?

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY

ON OUR INVESTIGATIONS?

• Studies on criminal investigations have consistently found that the

quality of preliminary investigation and information collected at this

early stage are critical factors for the outcome of the investigation

• The management of this information which can be vast is critical to

the investigation process. There is an implication that technologies

help police to better process information and that these technologies

are an important factor in solving crimes.

WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO WHEN

IMPLEMENTING TECHNOLOGY?

• Realising the value that technology promises within law enforcement

can only be achieved through proper planning, implementation,

training, deployment, use and management of the technology and

appropriate evaluation.

WHAT ARE THE OBSTACLES?

• The most important considerations when thinking about acquiring

new technology is not the technology at all – it is the nature of the

organisation, which will ultimately determine the output and the

success of that technology.

HAS TECHNOLOGY CHANGED THE

SKILLS OF THE SERIOUS CRIME?

INVESTIGATOR

• With all this technology what skills do we need to ensure that our

serious crime investigators have?

THE FUTURE!

QUESTIONS?