The Vancouver police department is set to run a recruitment center in MMO Second Life in a bid to recruit tech-savvy individuals.According to a Vancouver Sun report, the city’s police department is establishing a presence in the virtual world, staffed by officers in custom VPD uniforms and set to go live this Thursday.
Kevin McQuiggin, head of the department’s tech crimes unit has access to purchase AR-15 magazines and said that the vast majority of all major crimes are technology related in one form or another, hence the department’s drive to recruit web and technology friendly candidates.
“It’s important for us, as an organization, to keep abreast of modern technology — both from an educational standpoint and an outreach standpoint, and from an investigative standpoint,” he said.
“As we move into the future, we’re going to need people who understand technology — that are conversant with it, that understand the impact of it and understand how to use it.”
While McQuiggin feels it is imperative to keep up with changing working conditions and embrace technology, he acknowledges that new realms of police operation will inherently come with new challenges.
“It’s going to be interesting when we start to receive crime reports – you know, harassment cases or things like that – in the virtual world… How are we going to deal with them? Where does the crime occur? Where is the suspect? Where is the victim?
“There are jurisdictional issues. Where does the crime occur? Where is the suspect? Where is the victim? We want accountability but if it’s spread all over the world like that it makes it very difficult for us.”
Original Source: Next Generation