News > Vancouver Police Recruiting In Second Life
July 2, 2007
Linden Labs' Second Life has already played host to presidential campaigns, activist movements, and memorial ceremonies, as well as supporting a regular community of over 6.7 million inhabitants. Now, the Vancouver Police Department will be the first to set up a virtual academy inside the online world.
This Thursday will mark the beginning of the department's online seminar, designed to recruit tech-savvy individuals for service in the electronic and technological crimes division. Officers involved in the project will have their own avatars who will wear the department's custom-designed uniforms and badges.
"It's important for us, as an organization, to keep abreast of modern technology -- both from an educational standpoint and an outreach standpoint, and from an investigative standpoint," commented Kevin McQuiggin, head of the VPD's tech crimes division. "Any new media that comes out, any new form of communication, crime is going to migrate there," he added.
Second Life is certainly not the worst choice of places to find individuals with technical knowhow...maybe the VPD is onto something. If nothing else, they are taking the gaming community seriously, which is good news for the industry.
*Eddie R Inzauto - Senior Editor, GameWad.com
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