This article examines new technological innovations that have been developed to prevent crime and improve the performance of the police, while exploring the how and why certain innovations are adopted and the effects of technology-driven solutions on the problem of crime.
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 unintendedof 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. The authors 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. The authors also discuss three key issues - 1) the militarization of crime prevention and policing, 2) coercive vs. non-coercive technology, and 3) public vs. private sector control over crime prevention and policing - raised by both proponents and critics of what has come to be known as the second technology revolution. (Author Provided Abstract)