The widespread use of cellular phones, fax machines and e-mail, now allows many people to work from a location of their choice. Safety Surveys of locally elected officials in the United States have found safety concerns consistently at the top of the list. Law enforcement officials know they can be more effective in their work if the problem is defined and approached at both the neighborhood and national levels. New technology is being used to develop programs which create new ways for neighbors to work with one another and for nations to work together. But safety issues do not shape themselves neatly across city, state or national lines.
Contemporary solutions call for new thinking.
Many of the most successful new solutions to safety and other issues come from recognizing that a problem does not belong exclusively to a city, a state or a country. The attempt to solve these problems in the age of technology will call for the city, state and federal levels of government to find new ways of working together to shape successful solution strategies. The drug traffic issue provides a helpful illustration. The area along both sides of the border between nations defines the problem and thus a corresponding solution strategy. Yet, it is a problem which suggests that some resources and involvement are needed from each of the three levels of government.