Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Department
Politics and Economics (CGU)
Publication Date
2012
Disciplines
Defense and Security Studies | Military and Veterans Studies | Political Science | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
Abstract
This chapter will provide an overview of adversary weaponry that will be utilized by criminals and opposing forces (OPFORs) which U.S. law enforcement personnel may encounter domestically. The projected time frame will cover the futures period from 2009 through 2025. Criminal weaponry use will be analyzed using a criminal threat continuum that starts with minimal threats and increases in severity. OPFOR weaponry use will be analyzed using a similar continuum. It should be noted that OPFOR threats, like criminal threats, are illicit in nature and derived from individuals and groups that can be designated as engaging in criminal behavior or are criminal organizations. The fundamental difference between these threat continuums (See Fig. 1) are that they are based on the severity of threat derived from intent. Criminals will not typically seek to engage U.S. law enforcement directly or take actions that can be viewed as engaging in private warfare. OPFOR groups intentionally engage in private warfare and actively seek to engage U.S. law enforcement personnel in direct firefights or indirectly by means of ambushes and the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) designed to maim and kill them. Prior to this treatment of adversary weaponry use, however, a short overview of weaponry targeting and effects will be provided along with an overview of the weaponry pool available to law enforcement adversaries. This overview of the weaponry pool will incorporate projections concerning the impact advances in the sciences will have on weaponry evolution and its operational use.
Rights Information
No known copyright restrictions.
Recommended Citation
Bunker, Robert J. “Adversary Weaponry to 2025.” The Future of Law Enforcement: A Consideration of Potential Allies and Adversaries. John P. Jarvis and J. Amber Scherer, eds. Vol 7. Washington, DC: Futures Working Group, US Department of Justice, September 2011: 179-190.
Included in
Defense and Security Studies Commons, Military and Veterans Studies Commons, Political Science Commons
Comments
The content of this document represents the views of Robert J. Bunker and does not represent the official position of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.