First, the compelling need to address the multitude of issues related to counter-terrorism in a way that local police forces have never had to deal with before, and finding innovative ways to work with the business community to protect our neighborhoods and economic infrastructure;

Second, we are now firmly in the era of "information-led policing," which means that the need for real-time intelligence, analytics, and information about crime patterns is now guiding both the strategy of local police departments and the allocation of law enforcement resources;

Third, we are also entering an era of "regional policing." Neither terrorism nor crime has any respect for municipal boundaries. To be effective today, police departments must overcome their traditional reluctance to share information beyond their own borders to an unprecedented degree. Interestingly enough, the New York Police Department was perhaps the original experiment in "regional policing" in that it is one urban police department serving five different counties -- almost completely contrary to the typical structure across the rest of the country; and

Fourth, we are very fortunate to be in an era of sustained reductions in crime, which has brought numerous advantages to our community. The police have been extremely successful in reducing crime and improving public safety and this gives us the opportunity to address other relevant interventions which are not strictly the province of police, but could have a major impact on criminal activity, for example:

• Addressing the problem of high rates of recidivism (repeat offenders who are released from jail only to commit more crimes) through careful and sustained discharge planning and other interventions;
  
  
• Carefully studying the relationship between mental health and crime to provide resources necessary to help individuals in need and to protect the community;
  
  
• Breaking down the barriers between government agencies --"silo busting" -- to deliver comprehensive interventions that deter criminal behavior; and
  
  
• We must be vigilant about the ever-present scourge of guns in our community and think creatively and comprehensively about ways to stop illegal guns from flooding our neighborhoods. Using cutting-edge ballistic fingerprinting technology, coupled with strong law enforcement networks that investigate illegal gun trafficking at its source, we can greatly reduce the number of illegal guns.

Richard Aborn