Criminal Identification 1 Criminal Identification procedures in the 21 Century CJA 364 Everything in life evolves and takes another form Crime is no exception it does the same thing as well Crime is changing in the modern world we live in today and criminals are more sophisticated and intelligent then before The computer world has brought many technological advancements and even the criminal justice system has benefit from it One of the most useful gifts that was given to the system was fingerprint and palm print This advancement brought with Criminal Identification 2 it advantages and disadvantages The effects of these advances on the constitution can be surprising The advances also effect the efficiency of the criminal justice system from the perspective of crime control These crucial findings can lead to recommendations concerning the use and reliance on these advances The act makes it a federal offense to knowingly transfer or use without lawful authority a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit or to aid or abet any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of federal law or that constitutes a felony under any applicable state or local law Schmalleger 2010 ch 9 Advantages and Disadvantages Fingerprint based criminal checks can be a valuable tool to help mitigate risk in an organization s background screening program Sferry 2009 More organizations would probably utilize this tool except for the simple fact that access to state and federal fingerprint databases for employment purposes requires legislated permission Sferry 2009 The ability to use fingerprinting as a means of proving identity was revolutionary What this did was offer an infallible means of ability to be able to verify personal identification This made the recording of criminals and their identities a common practice and method to be able to determine their culpability and involvement as suspects in future crimes Fingerprinting and now palm printing are practices that have been in place for over 100 years to provide accurate identification for criminals In all of this time no two finger prints have ever been recorded to be identical in billions of human and automated computer scans and comparisons They are the most commonly used forensic evidence in the world today and they continue to be the most common method for identifying persons as the database of finger and palm prints grows They remain an advantage Criminal Identification 3 for many reasons Of all human characteristics they are one that never changes They are a single unique attribute that can only belong to the single individual and can guarantee an absolute match Unlike names or faces they can t be changed The biggest advantage is why they are still in use today and considered the most effective means of identification if a finger print matches you have successfully identified the person it belongs to without question In our criminal justice system we live by a rule that has made this country great you are considered innocent until proven guilty If your fingerprint is found on a murder weapon you are very close to being proven guilty The biggest disadvantage with this method is that the majority of the records on file are from criminals If a match comes back and the person with the print has no record then you have no way to find that person because they have never been caught as a criminal Finger and palm printing databases only consists of individuals who have committed crimes and have criminal records And even this may not be true in all cases some jurisdictions choose to only fingerprint specific types of crimes Even then if a person has had their finger or palm print matched to their criminal records the identified print check needs to still be validated by the prosecuting jurisdiction to ensure that the record is accurate and up to date These types of databases like most databases can be heavily flawed The biggest disadvantage that these methods have to offer is that only criminals are recorded Assessing the Effects Fingerprints and palm prints have been used for at least a century but has recently become computerized to help identify people whether or not involved in a crime or any other situation The Automated Fingerprint Identification System AFIS technology is used to show all of the ridges and dots and any other information that can be determined from the fingerprints and palm Criminal Identification 4 prints The Automated Fingerprint Identification System has the capability to store a large number amount of fingerprints and palm prints which are sent to a repository so they will be on record with the federal and state governments Biometrics August 2006 Some people think that all of the fingerprints and the palm prints flow the same direction throughout the pattern of the fingerprints and or palm prints Once the fingerprints and palm prints are taken and stored if the prints that come up in any investigations then they will be on record so they are available to identify the victim and possibly the suspect Criminal procedures can also be a double edged sword for the public and the police Criminal procedures encompasses several major stages that law enforcement prosecutors and defense attorneys abide by The first involves law enforcement interrogating searches and making a lawful arrest which consist of probable cause When it comes to the government s improperly intruding on the private homes of its citizens the Fourth Amendment must at least mean to ensure basic preventive protections to the individual who gave the government its power in the first place Indianapolis Business Journal 2011 Many TV shows mislead the public into believing what they see on TV is fact Interrogations conducted by police officers cannot take place without an individual being advised of his or her legal rights A defendant has the right to ask for legal counsel and does not have to answer any questions asked by the police In that instance the defendant is protected by the law There are situations where the tide can change and the defendant gives up that right and tells the police what happened That particular situation does not always happen but when it does it helps law enforcement tremendously In return law enforcement will provide the defendant with a plea bargain This is a good example of how both sides can work together and still gain The second stage involves the granting of bail and the pretrial motions This gives the