Some individuals in our society view the Internet as the electronic equivalent to the skid row back alleys of the 90's. They see it as a place where sexual perverts prey on children - where international terrorists share their bomb making secrets - where pornography is readily available - and as an electronic corridor used by hackers to penetrate corporate and government computers. Others see the Internet as a powerful educational tool that has the potential of providing a wealth of information on just about any topic.

They see electronic E-mail as the communications bridge between varied cultures and as an economical way to share information with friends and associates world wide. Which group has the right view? The truth is that both groups have valid points of view. One thing is very clear though. The Internet is here to stay and it plays an important role in government, business and international commerce.

Computer technology has moved at a fast pace over the last ten years. Technological advancements have brought the price of powerful portable computers easily within the reach of most budgets. By way of example, the notebook computer used to write this article has more computing power than the computers that helped put the first man on the moon. According to a recent survey, 37% of all homes in the United States now have a computer and law enforcement agencies are rapidly becoming computerized as well.

In the past, law enforcement agencies have been slow to computerize. This was primarily due to limited government budgets and the lack of a clear cut need to make changes to existing manual record keeping systems. However, times have changes and most law enforcement agencies have computerized and the rest are rapidly moving in that direction. Notebook computers have found their way into squad cars and have proven to be a great tool for report writing. The more advanced law enforcement agencies even rely upon wireless communication and the Internet to transfer reports from the field to headquarters.

Computers have also proven to be valuable tools in the cataloging of evidence found at crime scenes and raid sites. They also make easy work of managing law enforcement evidence rooms. In some departments computers are used to facilitate inter-department communications via E-mail and the most progressive law enforcement agencies have created Internet web sites to promote public relations. Some of the best law enforcement Internet web sites can be found at Here. However, law enforcement use of the Internet is not yet the norm and many law enforcement executives are considering for the first time how the Internet might fit into the needs of their agencies.

Before you enter the site, you may want to watch the ticker above. It will give you an idea about the number of missing kids there are in the US