This site is hosted and managed by the University of Central Florida through faculty membership and participation in the Futures Working Group (FWG), through a memorandum of understanding between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Police Futurists International. Members of these organizations contribute to the site, however, the organizations themselves are not jointly or individually responsible for the content. Rather, the content is solely attributable to individual authors and contributors. As such, The University of Central Florida, the Federal Bureau of investigation, the Department of Justice, and the United States Government are not responsible for the content contained herein.

Futurist in Residence

The Training & Development Division of the FBI is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Joseph Schafer as the FBI’s 2007-2008 Futurist in Residence (FIR). Dr. Schafer is Associate Professor with the Center for the Study of Crime, Delinquency, and Corrections at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He is past president of Police Futurists International (PFI) and has been a member of the PFI/FBI Futures Working Group since 2003. This is Dr. Schafer’s second term as a Futurist in Residence.

The FIR program was established in 2004 to allow researchers and practitioners an opportunity to conduct original research. Selected projects match researcher interests with FBI resources and needs to further academic and practical insights into policing concerns. Previous Futurists in Residence include Bernard Levin and his work on police human resource issues and Robert Bunker’s work on the evolving threats of laser weapons. The program is currently housed and administered within the Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA.

Dr. Schafer’s prior research has focused on police organizations, officer behavior, police leadership, law enforcement intelligence and emergency planning, the future of policing, and communities and crime. His research has appeared in a variety of academic journals, as well as the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Police Chief, and the National Academy Associates magazine. Dr. Schafer has made presentations to a variety of state and national professional associations. For the Futures Working Group, he has edited volumes on Policing 2020: Exploring the Future of Crime, Communities and Policing and Policing and Mass Casualty Events.

During his tenure Dr. Schafer will extend the research he initiated during his first FIR appointment by studying aspects of police leadership. Work products associated with both of these FIR appointments will be announced on the Futures Working Group website.

The Futures Working Group is a collaboration between the FBI and Police Futurists International. Its mission is to provide innovation in policing. Members of the FWG have completed projects on topics including, but not limited to, the use of augmented reality technology, neighborhood driven policing, homeland security, and the future of policing.