ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the fields with particular reference to approaches and theories in science and technology studies and the philosophy of technology. It reports on their main findings regarding the role of technology in society. The chapter introduces a particular theory of technology and applies it to an analysis of the role of technology in crime and law enforcement. It argues that computers initially qualified as cognitive artifact, since their function in the 1960s and 1970s was to process and produce information within scientific research, education, administration, and defense, amongst other fields. The chapter identifies the main classes of actors in crime and law enforcement, their intentions, and the relation between these intentions. It classifies technologies used by these actors and their role in realizing the actor's intentions. The chapter also provides historical analysis of the role of technology in crime and law enforcement that aims to assess how technologies strengthen the powers of criminals and law enforcement.
