RCMP Gazette Human Rights and Policing - Alberta Hate Crimes ...

ON ThE lEADiNG EDGEmajor all-hazards events), respondents wereasked to indicate whether each capabilitywas important to their job function, aswell as whether they were confident inperforming the tasks associated with eachcapability. In comparing the results of thesetwo variables, training needs were revealed.The top five target capabilities thatrural law enforcement officers consideredmost important to their job functions, yetwere not confident in performing the tasksassociated with those functions, wereweapons of mass destruction (WMD) andhazardous materials (HAZMAT) responseand decontamination (48.6 per cent);intelligence analysis and production (47.1per cent); chemical, biological, radiological,nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) detection(45.7 per cent); environmental health (45.7per cent); and isolation and quarantine (43.8per cent).One of the key findings among thelaw enforcement discipline was theoverwhelming indication of unmet trainingneeds in the area of WMD and CBRNEemergencies.Interestingly, this area was not citedby law enforcement officers as an unmettraining need in the original RDPC trainingneeds survey (RDPC, 2006), which maybe indicative of it having become a moreprominent training need within the last fewyears.As with the response to anddecontamination of a WMD incidentor HAZMAT release discussed above,two additional (target) capabilities relateto the response to homeland securityrelatedevents. In fact, these capabilities(“environmental health” and “isolationand quarantine”) directly relate to a healthemergency or outbreak. Not only dothese two capabilities fall under the sameTCL (Target Capabilities List) missionarea as the capability discussed above,interestingly, they highlight the need for an“all-hazards” approach to training for lawenforcement officers.To accessthe full report, visit:www.ruraltraining.orgCrime risks of three-dimensionalvirtual environmentsby ian Warren and Darren Palmerfor the Australianinstitute of CriminologyThree-dimensional virtual environments(3dves) are the new generation of digitalmulti-user social networking platforms.Their immersive character [whichgenerates a three-dimensional imagethat appears to surround the user] allowsusers to create a digital humanizedrepresentation or avatar, enablinga degree of virtual interaction notpossible through conventional textbasedInternet technologies. As recentinternational experience demonstrates,in addition to the conventional range ofcybercrimes (including economic fraud,the dissemination of child pornography andcopyright violations), the “virtual reality”promoted by 3dves is the source of greatspeculation and concern over a range ofspecific and emerging forms of crime andharm to users.This paper provides some examples ofthe types of harm currently emerging in3dves and suggests internal regulation byuser groups, terms of service or end-userlicensing agreements, possibly linked toreal-world criminological principles. Thispaper also provides some direction forfuture research aimed at understandingthe role of Australian criminal law andthe justice system more broadly in thisemerging field.In a decentralized and highly technicalenvironment with high levels of user“responsibilization” [a process wherebysubjects are rendered individuallyresponsible for a task that previouslywould have been the duty of another]for harm identification, prevention andthe development of appropriate normsof good conduct, there is considerableuncertainty surrounding the role of thecriminal law in these multi-user platforms.This uncertainty is compounded by thewide range of regulatory choices availableto users, confusion over the real-worldimplications of much of the behaviourwithin 3dves, the transnational appeal andjurisdictional uncertainties associated withthese emerging media, and the broader lackof empirical research documenting how3dve users perceive issues relating to harm,risk, safety and governance.The body of knowledge on each of theseissues is so recent that it is premature tospeculate on the ideal role of the criminallaw in this field. Nevertheless, a basictypology of harms associated with 3dve usecan help to clarify the various regulatoryand harm-prevention strategies available toindividuals, user communities and formaljustice agencies.This paper outlines a graded series ofharms associated with 3dve use, rangingfrom behaviours with purely in-worldimplications considered too trivial to warrantformal action, to those with clearly actionableconsequences under the criminal law.Within these extremes, a grey area ofinter-real harms bridges the virtual andthe real.Inter-real harms differ from conventionalcybercrimes due to the immersive characterof 3dve technologies. How 3dve users viewthe severity of these harms is the mostappropriate measure of the ideal regulatoryapproach in any given case. ▪To accessthe full report, visit:www.aic.gov.auGazette Vol. 72, No. 3, 2010 33