Summary
"Forthcoming broadband communications technologies
could provide dramatically increased capabilities for law
enforcement. In September 2015, the RAND Corporation
convened an expert panel for the National Institute of Justice
(NIJ) to discuss how law enforcement can best leverage future
communications capabilities anticipated to be fielded over the
next 10 to 15 years while mitigating potential risks. The Broadband
Communications Workshop assembled 41 experts on
both law enforcement operations and broadband technologies,
and collectively identified 68 needs for technology initiatives,
including both technical and non-materiel requirements. The
top ten needs identified at the workshop are listed below.
The most prominent theme of the workshop was supporting
the emergence of a future broadband network in which law enforcement users will be able to seamlessly and securely
communicate over whatever local point of access is the best fit
at any specific location, time, and situation. The second major
theme dealt with being able to filter, prioritize, and make
sense out of all the new data sent over this network. A common
concern was the danger of information overload and how
to manage and curate information to make it most useful for
various areas of law enforcement, ranging from officers in the
field to operations centers and public safety answering points.
Specific needs in support of these themes included architectural
development, developing guidance for agencies on acquiring,
managing, and using new technologies, and conducting
research and development on a range of technologies related
to bringing about the future hybrid networks and information
prioritization."--Pages 1-2.