There are many theories and ideologies concerning the future. But it seems that nothing about the future is set; change may be the only constant. This may seem disconcerting when a majority of good police work and crime fighting, centers around trying to predict the future. That is not to say that law enforcement is helpless. Indeed, ;aw enforcement officials have many tools at their disposal. One of the most powerful, may not necessarily predict the future, but it may provide am educated guess. The tool of trend analysis takes available data, analyzes it, and makes educated guesses about what may happen in the bigger picture. In this way, law enforcement may be able to make reasonable assumptions about what may happen and help determine the best way to prepare for the possible future. …show more content…
One trend that has invaded America, is the threat of terrorism. Terrorism used to considered a far away threat, one that would reach America. The terror attacks of 9/11 proved otherwise. Since then, terrorism and the threat it represents has only grown. A prime example of this is the terror group known as ISIS (or ISIL). ISIS is now recognized as an army. One whose leaders have stated outright and openly that they will “drown all of you (the America people) in blood”. When factoring in they currently have, and continue to amass great wealth and power in the form of number (estimated to be in the tens of thousands); they are not only a force that has be dealt with, they are also re-writing the proverbial book on terrorism for future potential terrorist organizations (Feinstein, 2014). The trend here being, that terrorist will continue to evolve and become a larger and more power threat that must addressed by law enforcement both now and in the