Alert:
The recent FBI
Law Enforcement Bulletin has been hijacked by
a bunch of futurists--and it's well worth a look
to see how they recommend developing "forecasts
and strategies to ethically maximize the effectiveness
of local, state, federal, and international law
enforcement bodies as they strive to maintain peace
and security in the 21st century."
In
other words, preparing NOW for criminal and terrorist
threats that are just beginning to crystallize out
of today's saturated demographic, cultural, and
technological environments.
There
are articles on:
·
Preparing for the Challenges Ahead: Practical Applications
of Futures Research.
· The Future of Public/Private Partnerships.
· The possible future use of "Augmented
Reality" technologies to assist police in things
like on-site forensic analysis and identification,
capturing fugitives, managing traffic, real-time
language translation, and WMD detection.
· The use of simulation technology to teach
officers how to make good decisions in dangerous
or crisis situations before they get hit with the
real thing.
Some
of the articles are conceptual; some are practical
-- all are frank in assessing the demands and difficulties
of re-tooling law enforcement departments and budgets
and mindsets to embrace new ways of thinking and
doing.
As
for the "Futures Working Group" itself,
it's an interesting partnership of international
educators, researchers, security and technology
experts, law enforcement officials, and other professionals
-- all seriously dedicated to thinking through how
best to protect our future communities. Learn more
about it, its members, its research program and
future studies on the Futures
Working Group website.
Related
Links: The
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, January 2004 |
The Futures Working
Group
