NCJ Number
212673
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 53 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2005 Pages: 46-47,49-50,52,55
Date Published
December 2005
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article describes many anti-police Internet sites and explores the implications for police officer safety.
Abstract
The Internet has made all types of knowledge much more accessible and the first amendment has guaranteed freedom of speech for all American citizens. Among the types of knowledge available on the Internet are sites specifically designed to spread anti-police propaganda. While much of the information available about police management and tactics has always been public information, the Internet has made this type of information much more accessible and has provided anti-police and anti-government demonstrators with a large platform from which to speak. The article goes on to describe scores of Internet sites that are anti-police and anti-government in nature; these Internet sites are categorized according to the threat they pose: sites that pose a threat to police; anti-police sites encouraging protest; anti-police sites offering reports and databases on officers; police brutality sites emphasizing race and rights; and anti-police sites by area. The Internet sites are named and the information contained in them is analyzed in terms of the threat it poses to officer safety. Police agencies are encouraged to keep abreast of these anti-police Internet sites in an effort to guard the safety of law enforcement officers.