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Crime is on the decline in the United States. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s annual “Crime in the United States”1 reports serious crime in 1999 dropped 7 percent from 1998 and 16 percent from 1995. Compared with totals for 1998, both violent and property crime totals diminished 7 percent, while murder and robbery together decreased 8 percent from 1998 to 1999. Aggravated assault figures fell by 6 percent, and rape statistics fell by 4 percent. In 1999, the number of violent crimes was 20 percent below the 1995 figure and 21 percent below that recorded in 1990. The 1999 crime index rate — 4,267 offenses per 100,000 population — was 8 percent lower than in 1998. Compared with the 1990 rate, 1999’s was more than a quarter lower at 27 percent, and 19 percent lower than the 1995 rate. Overall, the FBI has recorded eight straight years of crime-rate decreases. Experts point to a variety of factors that likely are driving the decreasing rate, including a strong economy, changing demographics, advanced technology and innovative law enforcement tactics such as community policing. Equally important has been the upgrade and integration of information technology used by law enforcement and criminal justice organizations. Particularly in the last five years, law enforcement has been applying new IT (Information Technology) tools and techniques that automate record keeping and facilitate information sharing on arrests, convictions and criminal profiles with colleagues across time and geography. The biggest impact of information technology on law enforcement is putting information in the hands of key decision-makers at critical points. The more technology that law enforcement deploys, the more the quality of information available is improved. Because it’s breaking down barriers, technology is changing the way law enforcement operates. It’s cheaper, more powerful, more available, and more mobile. IT improvements may soon drive more of those decisions down to the street level, as patrol officers and investigators work to prevent lawbreaking in the first place and quickly apprehend perpetrators once crimes have occurred. Increasing prevalence of wireless, Internet-enabled systems and inexpensive mobile computing allows real-time access not just to a central computerized repository of an offender’s record of arrest and incarceration, but also to his or her movements across areas. Some of the most advanced systems feature monitoring of parolees or those under house arrest, who can be outfitted with electronic devices that are tracked by the Earth-girding array of global positioning satellites. According to Tommy Sexton, director of the Justice Department-affiliated National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center, Southeast Region, in Charleston, S.C. of the 18,769 local law enforcement agencies in the United States, 80 percent are using computers, according to Ninety-five percent of the nation’s police officers work in or around departments where computer use is routine. “It’s uncommon today to find local law enforcement without at least some automation,” Sexton said. “The next step will be movement toward regional systems and analytical tools to help improve day-to-day operations.
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