Uncle Bob

I am so excited to go on vacation in Miami, Florida! Best of all, my Uncle Bob is coming with me! Uncle Bob lives in California and is also excited to go on vacation because he has never been out of the state before. Uncle Bob and I were having a great time on our vacation visiting the beautiful beaches and area attractions. In the middle of our vacation, Uncle Bob and I were heading back to the condo we rented when we got pulled over by the Miami Police. Uncle Bob spoke with the officer for a while then was arrested! I couldn’t understand why he was arrested; he was just speeding! Uncle Bob and I had a drink when we at the beach, but that was two hours prior to us leaving so there was no way he was drunk! Uncle Bob had been in some trouble before, but that was in California. Was it possible that his license wasn’t valid? Maybe, but how did a Miami, Florida police officer know enough about Uncle Bob to arrest him? With Uncle Bob’s situation, I have started doing some research of my own; technology has dramatically changed how law enforcement collects, stores, and retrieves information. Law Enforcement personnel are able to easily find information about individuals nationwide. The Miami, Florida Police Department has a fully integrated police records management system which allows law enforcement officers to gather information on an individual’s criminal, probation, court, vehicle, and prison records, as well as local and other agency records. Therefore, the officer who stopped Uncle Bob for speeding was able to access his previous records from the state of California through the use of his mobile office; the mobile radio system, and mobile data computer in his patrol vehicle (Foster, 2005). A Law Enforcement Officer has the ability to access information about an individual by use of their driver’s license or state identification number, or even their name and date of birth. When Uncle Bob and I were pulled over, the officer ran his driver’s license number to check for validation and warrants. If Uncle Bob’s previous charges left him with a suspended license in California, then that would explain why he was arrested here in Florida. Likewise, if Uncle Bob didn’t take care of his responsibilities for the charges in California, he may have a warrant which would also explain his arrest in Florida. However, maybe Uncle Bob didn’t have a suspended license or any warrants issued from California; why did he get arrested then? I know we weren’t in a stolen car because we rented it from the airport when we arrived in Miami. Maybe there was a crime that took place in this area, and a witness gave Law Enforcement a description of the suspect that is similar to Uncle Bob or the rental car? If that’s the case, then the arresting officer must have questioned him of our activities that day to see if we were in the area of which the crime took place. Uncle Bob may have been suspected of being the perpetrator, and was taken to the police department for further questioning. It is also possible that Uncle Bob actually did commit a crime while here in Miami, and that was why he was speeding; to try and get away. However, Uncle Bob has been with me the whole time so I know he didn’t commit a crime here! Perhaps Uncle Bob is still on probation in California, and not allowed to leave the state; if that is so, then the arresting officer could have accessed Uncle Bob’s probation records, contacted his probation officer, and arrested him on a probation violation of leaving the state of California. Also, if he is on probation, the probation officer may have found out that he left California and put out a warrant for his arrest; explaining why he was arrested here in Miami. My last possible thought regarding Uncle Bob’s arrest would be a clerical data entry error. The last time Uncle Bob was arrested; he was incarcerated and served his time. However, the individual entering case information may have incorrectly input his data or input another person’s data with a similar name, under his name, causing Uncle Bob to be wanted in connection with another crime. References Foster, R. E. (2005). Police technology (1st ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/ Prentice Hall. Uncle Bob I am so excited to go on vacation in Miami, Florida! Best of all, my Uncle Bob is coming with me! Uncle Bob lives in California and is also excited to go on vacation because he has never been out of the state before. Uncle Bob and I were having a great time on our vacation visiting the beautiful beaches and area attractions. In the middle of our vacation, Uncle Bob and I were heading back to the condo we rented when we got pulled over by the Miami Police. Uncle Bob spoke with the officer for a while then was arrested! I couldn’t understand why he was arrested; he was just speeding! Uncle Bob and I had a drink when we at the beach, but that was two hours prior to us leaving so there was no way he was drunk! Uncle Bob had been in some trouble before, but that was in California. Was it possible that his license wasn’t valid? Maybe, but how did a Miami, Florida police officer know enough about Uncle Bob to arrest him? With Uncle Bob’s situation, I have started doing some research of my own; technology has dramatically changed how law enforcement collects, stores, and retrieves information. Law Enforcement personnel are able to easily find information about individuals nationwide. The Miami, Florida Police Department has a fully integrated police records management system which allows law enforcement officers to gather information on an individual’s criminal, probation, court, vehicle, and prison records, as well as local and other agency records. Therefore, the officer who stopped Uncle Bob for speeding was able to access his previous records from the state of California through the use of his mobile office; the mobile radio system, and mobile data computer in his patrol vehicle (Foster, 2005). A Law Enforcement Officer has the ability to access information about an individual by use of their driver’s license or state identification number, or even their name and date of birth. When Uncle Bob and I were pulled over, the officer ran his driver’s license number to check for validation and warrants. If Uncle Bob’s previous charges left him with a suspended license in California, then that would explain why he was arrested here in Florida. Likewise, if Uncle Bob didn’t take care of his responsibilities for the charges in California, he may have a warrant which would also explain his arrest in Florida. However, maybe Uncle Bob didn’t have a suspended license or any warrants issued from California; why did he get arrested then? I know we weren’t in a stolen car because we rented it from the airport when we arrived in Miami. Maybe there was a crime that took place in this area, and a witness gave Law Enforcement a description of the suspect that is similar to Uncle Bob or the rental car? If that’s the case, then the arresting officer must have questioned him of our activities that day to see if we were in the area of which the crime took place. Uncle Bob may have been suspected of being the perpetrator, and was taken to the police department for further questioning. It is also possible that Uncle Bob actually did commit a crime while here in Miami, and that was why he was speeding; to try and get away. However, Uncle Bob has been with me the whole time so I know he didn’t commit a crime here! Perhaps Uncle Bob is still on probation in California, and not allowed to leave the state; if that is so, then the arresting officer could have accessed Uncle Bob’s probation records, contacted his probation officer, and arrested him on a probation violation of leaving the state of California. Also, if he is on probation, the probation officer may have found out that he left California and put out a warrant for his arrest; explaining why he was arrested here in Miami. My last possible thought regarding Uncle Bob’s arrest would be a clerical data entry error. The last time Uncle Bob was arrested; he was incarcerated and served his time. However, the individual entering case information may have incorrectly input his data or input another person’s data with a similar name, under his name, causing Uncle Bob to be wanted in connection with another crime. References Foster, R. E. (2005). Police technology (1st ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/ Prentice Hall.