Experts see autonomous technology shifting the way cops operate As autonomous-vehicle technology inches forward?with new testing sites and proposed government regulations signaling that the once fantastical idea of a driverless car is being taken more seriously by companies and policymakers?it?s being viewed by many as a source for major social change. Everything from roadways to cities will be reshaped.
The coming autonomous future may also significantly change our interactions with the police. According to the most recent Bureau of Justice statistics, traffic stops account for 42 percent of interactions between the police and the public. Increasing automation has the potential to radically reshape the role of cops in our cities, according to two experts. Due to the day-to-day realities and challenges of maintaining and running police departments in big cities, as well as the uncertain road to driverless cars, this shift is far from the forefront of police planning.
?We see investigative traffic stops radically diminishing or being eliminated altogether,? says Joseph A. Schafer, the criminal justice department head at Southern Illinois University, a member of Police Futurists International, and co-author of the book The Future of Policing.
?Some things we regulate may not be enforced in the same way, such as speed limits. There may not be speed limits depending on the way that cars are programmed. Speeding itself may not even be an offense.?

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