I am currently working with Criminology
professor, Dr. Linda Merola, and one of her graduate students, Amanda, on a
research project relating to privacy and police technology. We are interested
in how these technologies have been portrayed in the media. In the beginning,
we searched through various online databases for news articles that referenced
police technologies such as body cameras and automatic license plate
recognition. We then developed several different categories for our content
analysis that focus on whether the articles reference the benefits of the
technologies, the capabilities of the technologies and concerns that
people may have in relation to privacy
and other legal rights.
On a weekly basis, I am given articles to code
based on the categories mentioned above. I also try to keep up with the newest
trends as well as updates on the various police technologies. During my time on this project, I have
discovered the implementation and use of more recent police technologies such
as the Shotspotter, which detects and locates where a gunshot originated from
and the Stingray phone tracker device. I have also learned more about the
debate between privacy rights and public safety issues in relation to these
technologies. I feel that this project
has helped cement my interest in criminal justice-based issues and research in
general. I do hope to attend graduate
school after I graduate from Mason and I believe this research opportunity gives
me the experience and skills that will help me stand out and eventually succeed
in the future.
