Discussion 2

Discussion: Predictions

If you used a flip phone in the early 2000s, would you have known that the idea of being able to carry a phone in your pocket would evolve into the reality of carrying a powerful computer in your pocket? Would you have seen how this technology would affect law enforcement in profound ways? For example, the ability to track a suspect by their cell phone use created many benefits for law enforcement, while also raising privacy issues. Perhaps you could predict the ability to pinpoint a location via a cell tower signal, but you may not have been able to predict the privacy implications. In this Discussion, you choose a significant feature or tool of modern policing and predict its long-term effects.

Post a response to the following:

• Identify one significant event or decision from the “modern” era of policing.
• To what degree do you believe the long-term implications of that event or decision were known at the time?
• To what degree do you think unintended consequences—positive or negative—could have been predicted
• Support your response with an article or other academically appropriate resource.