Sci-Fi Police of the year 2049 AD

[hal]

Hello Folks,
I thought it might be interesting to open up a thread that details some of or even most of the equipment that a police officer might have at their disposal in the year 2049.

For example, in today's real world times, police officers are starting to require the use of body armor when they go on the streets and deal with tense situations. Using the Pyramid Articles about armor, it might be interesting to see just what kind of armor might prove useful on the streets. Perhaps police officers might be wearing head protection in the form of helmets so as to have all around protection at all times. Maybe the police forces do NOT want their police to be thought of as faceless soldiers and mandate that the police wear helmets of sorts, but not fully sealed helmets that permit the people to see the faces of their protectors.

Maybe the police wear portable computers in a box that provides DR 10 protection. The computer projects its data onto the HUD in the helment, and the voice activated computer may have Siri like capabilities and functionalities as long as the computer is connected to a police tactical net.

In my near future campaigns, I eschew the use of caseless ammunition largely because after all this time, Caseless ammunition is still not quite ready for prime time use. Toss in various factors such as "logistical supply" necessary for military units, and I largely think that governments today will find it VERY difficult to switch to caseless ammunition with all the money the government has spent on stockpiling ammunition supplies for their own military.

Nothing keeps you from contributing to this thread saying "Ok, but if caseless does become the rule of the day - this is how it might go down" and take it from there.

Don't neglect to examine the ammunition types and even come up with your own ammunition types for yourselves.

For example? What if buckshot was developed that contained RFID chips in the core of the shot. It may not be sufficient to penetrate armor, nor perhaps even do major wounding damage to the person who gets shot. On the flip side, the target is now carrying about a lot of RFID chips on him that might betray him to nearby scanners as the police hunt the perp down.

As always? Keep a running tab on the cost factors involved in outfitting our police officer. Want to have an augmented dog as a patrol companion for the police officer? Figure out what it takes to have that dog all tricked out and then describe how that Police departments might take a shine to such an optional package for equipping their officers on the streets.

If today's military utilize dogs with cameras and body armor - imagine what they might do with a dog in the year 2049 using TL 9 equipment.

In the meantime, I'll do some more research into what it takes to run Optical recognition software, and try and decide just big of a computer system the police may require for their private intra-net for their own tac-net.

Just thinking/musing aloud as it were.

[naloth]

I'd break it down by CR or some other measure of how authoritarian/oppressive that area is. Officers hopefully have a different mandate than the military and would use equipment that fits the mandate.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by naloth

I'd break it down by CR or some other measure of how authoritarian/oppressive that area is. Officers hopefully have a different mandate than the military and would use equipment that fits the mandate.

Yep. A traffic cop gives tickets, checks documents, and manages crashes (including being the primary witness of what happened). What can he do with more cameras? What CAN'T he do with more cameras? (sending the reckless drunk a ticket in the morning doesn't seem like an adequate response) How prevalent are self-driving cars, and does he have tools to monitor those? or use them for monitoring? or turn on auto-pilot in law-breaking vehicles?

Compare this with a detective, who gets a different set of toys. Can he mount a camera that run's facial recognition and a background check on every one he speaks to automatically? What new forensic tricks does he have? Can he get a chem sniffer than costs $500 instead of calling in the dedicated dog handler?

And contrast both with a swat member.

The different specialties go on and on.

[awesomenessofme1]

To go along with your idea of the face being visible, I think one reasonable idea could be helmets with a transparent faceplate made of some kind of ultratech bulletproof composite. This would allow the face to be both visible and protected, and also allow the wearer to have a HUD.

To go along with your idea of guns that fire tracking pellets, I think a better idea might be some kind of paste either containing trackers or emitting a mild radiation that can be easily tracked.

If it's available, cops will definitely have smart guns that have biometric ID and keep track of shots fired.

Depending on how advanced cybernetics is, some kind of neural implant allowing silent communication might be something to consider.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by hal

Nothing keeps you from contributing to this thread saying "Ok, but if caseless does become the rule of the day - this is how it might go down" and take it from there.

An option that might occur because it didn't require a sharp break is going from copper alloy cases to plastic ones. I saw a add for them in the last gun magazine I read. They have a website of course...

https://www.truevelocityinc.com/

....and are already making claims about potential military deals.

What might prinicply drive such a change is the price of copper and as people are tryign to get the lead out of their bullets copper is one of the more practical alternatives so there's a double-ended sort of price pressure.

I've also seen ads for plastic-jacketed bullets and shorter shotgun shells (1.75 inches) that achieve comparable ballistics by using higher chamber pressures.

I've also posted here about a high pressure pistol that pushes a 7.5mm bullet past the P- barrier. However, my search fu is failig me todayy.

So, even if your PCs don't see radical differences they might see lots of little changes.

[tshiggins]

Given current trends, I think it quite likely most reasonably affluent urban areas will have moved pretty far along the path toward "Smart Cities," and that means pervasive surveillance in public spaces.

As such, I think the police will have the ability to access real-time camera feeds, and replay video up to an hour old, from any camera.

I also think those same video recordings will be available to defense attorneys (at least in nations that value individual rights and liberties, and the rule of law), but probably won't be available to the general public. That's a lot of expensive bandwidth.

Given other trends, I think most police departments will require that all officers wear cameras, all the time. Detectives might be able to turn them off when speaking to witnesses and snitches, but regular officers will need them functional, at all times.

I also think access to those recordings will require court orders.

Finally, the general public will react to ubiquitous surveillance in public places with "sousveillance" of their own.

Every car will have cameras that record, in all directions. Advances in video technology -- combined with increasingly ubiquitous social media -- means every cop gets recorded any time he or she contacts a member of the public for any reason, and that video transfers to a social media account, real-time.

All of this will change policing far more profoundly than any advance in weaponry or body armor.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by tshiggins

All of this will change policing far more profoundly than any advance in weaponry or body armor.

I agree... with one caveat. The footage will still be unsteady, it will never be from the angle you want, the critical action will be hidden by some stupid happenstance, and lawyers will have careers based on disqualifying it.

I mean, we can't ever get decent footage of what happened during penalties in football games, which are giant camera fests with dedicated cameramen.

[khorboth]

I had a chance to talk with a police chief recently about trends in future law enforcement.

One idea is a very lightly equipped officer. Perhaps only a ticket book and communications equipment. BUT there is also a mobile armory for backup. Given the era in question, possibly a drone-dropped quick-deploying body-armor and lethal weaponry combo. Even power armor. This would allow the officer to appear friendly and approachable, but quickly respond when necessary.

I think a lot will have to do with what transportation looks like. Will the car still be central? Are drones going to become ubiquitous?

[Black Leviathan]

I think police are still going to need to use their faces in order to communicate with the public and be able to clearly read situations. Regardless of the armor they wear helmets would continue to be something that are put on when the situation requires it. But those helmets could be very fancy with HUD information, Drone views, possibly even targeting assistance.

Depending on how police violence goes in the next few years 2049 police may not have a lethal weapon. Less-than-lethal technology will continue to get better constantly and dead suspects or bystanders is a huge liability for the police. I could definitely see police either not having killing arms or having them locked in their patrol car released only upon authorization.

I think given the number of suspects that are injured or killed by restraint holds that suffocate them or cause serious injury we may see a serious change in how police restrain suspects by 2049. Perhaps cuffs that are smarter and more adjustable to different frames that can be applied more quickly and feature more utility to position or manage suspects.

I don't think we're going to have many car chases in 2049. Increasing automation in cars means that the police will likely have the ability to obtain control of your vehicle and control it to lock it's doors and slowly safely pull over. Disabling driver's override would be a crime most likely and police will likely have specialized pursuit vehicles or drones that will outrun modified vehicles and shut them down through other means. Imagine a drone that can drive 100MPH so low to the ground that it can speed under the suspension of other cars on the road, get under a suspect's car and disable it's battery or motor. If a driver is erratic or dangerous to other drivers, just send out a mass command to pull them all off the road or pull them over on the side of the street.

I think a worn computer is inevitable as more and more of our security apparatus involves facial recognition or RF-scanning. Police would need a tool on hand they can use to digitally read and capture information like a criminal's tracking implant or the chip on a suspects driver's licence. This will also be useful for controlling drones or receiving visual references like the floor plan of a building being searched or photographs of stolen items.

I think by 2049 There's a strong chance that police robots will be a normal part of law enforcement. They're willing to do very tedious jobs without exhaustion or discouragement. While expensive they're less costly than a human life. They're also have the impression of being unbiased even if directed by a human. Robots may not be armed and may not even be allowed to apprehend a suspect but they can open doors that could be booby-trapped, or photograph crime scenes or keep people back from an investigation. They likely won't have an AI sophisticated enough to make complex decisions so each robot would likely have a human handler that gives them instructions in perimeters they understand.

Whether or not Robots are a part of 2049 Law Enforcement Drones will feature heavily. Spotter drones with sophisticated scanners will likely work every call, launching from the squad car for an areal view weather officers are responding to a noise complaint or a report of armed robbery, drones will help spot suspicious activity, track fugitives, recognize dangerous conditions or threats and identify every person in the area to help recognize dangerous persons or locate innocent bystanders. Drones probably can't violate your civil rights by just following around random people to spy on them, but they could hover over events or locations where crime is a higher risk for added security and to discourage crime. Imagine a police drone housed on the roof of an armored car that records each stop the truck makes, or a drone-caddy that keeps a few drones patrolling over a neighborhood street fair at all times to coordinate officers on the ground.

[awesomenessofme1]

Originally Posted by Black Leviathan

I don't think we're going to have many car chases in 2049. Increasing automation in cars means that the police will likely have the ability to obtain control of your vehicle and control it to lock it's doors and slowly safely pull over. Disabling driver's override would be a crime most likely and police will likely have specialized pursuit vehicles or drones that will outrun modified vehicles and shut them down through other means. Imagine a drone that can drive 100MPH so low to the ground that it can speed under the suspension of other cars on the road, get under a suspect's car and disable it's battery or motor. If a driver is erratic or dangerous to other drivers, just send out a mass command to pull them all off the road or pull them over on the side of the street.

I think a worn computer is inevitable as more and more of our security apparatus involves facial recognition or RF-scanning. Police would need a tool on hand they can use to digitally read and capture information like a criminal's tracking implant or the chip on a suspects driver's licence. This will also be useful for controlling drones or receiving visual references like the floor plan of a building being searched or photographs of stolen items.

All of this sounds extremely dystopian to me. That's not to say it couldn't be true in this setting, or even that it couldn't happen in real life, but it really rubs me the wrong way.