Technological Innovations in Crime Prevention and Policing. A Review of the Research on Implementation and Impact

New technological innovations have been developed to prevent crime and to improve the performance of the police, but we know remarkably little about how and why certain innovations are adopted, and the consequences –both intended and unintended—of technology-driven solutions to the problem of crime. This article provides an examination of a wide range of new technological innovations that have applications in the areas of crime prevention generally, and crime control (by police) in particular. We provide a description of recent technological innovations, summarize the available research on the extent of adoption in the United States, and then review the available research on the impact – both intended and unintended – of each form of new technology on crime prevention and police performance. We also discuss three key issues – (1) militarization of crime prevention and policing, (2) coercive vs. non-coercive technology, (3) public vs. private sector control over crime prevention and policing – raised byboth proponents and critics of what has come to be known as the second technology revolution.