Stop to think about this for a moment: in the next two months we’ll change the calendar over to the year 2020. 2020! When I was growing up we had television shows like “Space: 1999,” “Star Trek” (the original series) and movies such as “Back to the Future!” Obviously, one was set in 1999 and involved a moon base, space shuttles and laser weapons. “Back to the Future” sent Michael J. Fox’s character to the year 2015 which had hover-boards (instead of skateboards), holographic movie marquis and a bottle of soda that cost… well, never mind. “Star Trek” is on that list even though it was set in the year 2260 (roughly). We’re nowhere close to that yet but so much of that science fiction has become science fact that I’m including it anyway. What’s my point? 2020 can be an amazing year if we make it so.
There’s no doubt that in law enforcement as a whole, we’ll see continued development in communications and data technologies. Our dependence on such to perform our day to day jobs never seems to shrink and, indeed, seems to continue to grow almost faster than the infrastructure we use can support it. With the growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in software suites, the need for “big data” access is greater than ever and to support fast processing of data, even faster data transmission has to occur. Alongside that growth and evolution, the continual research and development of more efficient force tools—both lethal and non- or less-lethal—will continue.
But that’s all on the commercial front. What about for us, here, behind the scenes at the Officer Media Group? 2020 looks to be a banner year for us as we continue in our efforts to provide you all—our readership and the warriors here on our front lines in America—the latest on best practices, information, systems development and more. Between our website (Officer.com) and our two print publications (Law Enforcement Technology, and Law Enforcement Product News) we have the capability of providing you all the best information on the widest variety of platforms. No other media group in the industry does it as well and we carry that responsibility with a sense of pride moderated with our sense of duty to service.
In 2020 we’ll be attending more industry shows, generating more informative content and starting up some truly unique information delivery platforms to better serve those who serve behind the badge. We’ll also be presenting several surveys, the answers to which we will data mine and analyze so we can provide insight into the state of our industry and the surrounding support services, thereby empowering contemporary law enforcement leadership to better plan and budget for 2021 and beyond.
In other words, as usual, we’ll be doing what others won’t so that in the future we can do what others can’t. This is how we view our mission: to support all aspects of the law enforcement family and to empower the Thin Blue Line to operate more efficiently as we all serve and protect our communities. In 2020, just like every other year we’ve been in existence, we will strive to provide as much accurate information as we can in as efficient a manner as possible. Our editorial team is unlike any other as we actually have a police officer and a forensic evidence technician as part of that team. Combined with our journalistic expertise and editorial integrity, our commitment is to you—our readership—to support you in your efforts to perform your duties but to always go home at the end of your shift.
Stay safe.
