Criminal Justice Changes for the Future
CRJ 201
December 11, 2011

Over the next 50 years we could see many changes in the field of criminal Justice. There is no way to predict the future, there are many things pointing in the direction of change. There are so many new developments that take place in technology, science and many different tools for investigations. These changes means that we have to make changes in the way we handle things, and this means that the field of criminal justice have and will change with the times. In a recent NIJ sponsored symposium, several experts offered their views of what Criminal justice would look like in 2040. (Ritter, 2006) The experts were Bryan J. Vila, a former chief of the NIJ’s Crime Control and Prevention Research Division; Christopher E. Stone, a professor of practice of criminal justice at Harvard, and David Weisburd, professor of criminology at the University of Maryland. (Schmalleger, 2011) Vila said that he believed that the future crime fighters will need to understand what he calls the co evolution of crime commission and crime fighting. (Ritter, 2006) Technological advances will have a profound effect on crime fighting, according to Vila. (Schmalleger, 2011). Developments in surveillance, biometrics, DNA analysis and radio frequency will have a great influence on crime fighting. According to Vila, the future will bring improvements in systems that will allow officials to talk electronically to one another in cases of emergencies and other situations that require the need. (Ritter, 2006). He has the belief that the connections between the citizens and agencies will lead to a decrease in criminal opportunities. (Schmalleger, 2011). DNA profiling or DNA fingerprinting makes use of the human DNA for purposes of identification. The DNA is found in people’s blood, saliva, skin tissue, hair, bone and semen. The Justice Department notes that DNA evidence is playing a larger role than ever before in criminal cases throughout the country. This has been used not only to convict criminals but also to allow the ones incarcerated to be exonerated of crimes they did not commit but were convicted of. (ncjrs.gov). Over the years there have been many databases that have been developed to profile cases. This helps officials find a profile for a criminal that has been fingerprinted. The ability to analyze DNA is becoming more and more prevalent over the years. The ability to be able to verify DNA relativity to a case in a timelier manner will make for quicker conviction. Some terrorist organizations are seeking to obtain weapons of mass destruction involving possible chemical, biological radiological and nuclear threats. (Schmalleger, 2011). Computer information theft, as well as attempts to gather classified information from the government’s computers is very common. There are numerous viral computer worms that terrorists attempt to use trying to shut down government systems and military systems. (Schmalleger, 2011). There are new ways of making weapons that are proving to be harder to detect. It is becoming easier for criminals to get around the deterrents that we have now, and as time goes by it seems that there are always changes being made. It seems that the criminals are always one step ahead of the law enforcement. There are many changes that will have to be made in the future in order to keep up with the changes in technology and the continuous growth in crime. As stated before there are crimes that seem to be one step ahead of the solutions. As law enforcement is able to make the changes with technology and make things easier for them, they will be able to make changes in the way we find the crimes and address them. I think there will be many things that will make law enforcement more effective. I think that there is very little change that will be detrimental to law enforcement. However, I believe that with change there comes more change. There will never be an end to what needs to be done to follow the change.

References
Ritter, Nancy. (2006). Preparing for the Future: Criminal Justice in 2040. Retrieved on December 11, 2011 from http://www.nij.gov/journals/255/2040.html
Schmalleger, Frank J. (2011). Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century, 11th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions. Copyright © 2011