Within seconds, the gang have dialled into the bank's computer and gained top-level access to thousands of accounts. After transferring money the gang leaves, sealing the doors of the home with a foam which turns rock solid in seconds, and makes its getaway in two identical vehicles equipped with anti-reflective number plates to frustrate speed cameras. Rather than coshes and sawn-off shotguns, the criminals of tomorrow will be skilled in crimes that produce high profits but with a fraction of the risk of armed robbery or drug smuggling. To identity the key areas of criminality in the future, you simply have to identify the areas that will be generating the most money. Biotechnology and information technology are the two biggest revolutions of this century, and we have to look at each of them and see where the potential for money is from the criminal point of view.
Kidnapping is thought to be a particular growth area.
This is because new security technologies such as retina scans and fingerprint recognition require a living subject. Long thought to be the stuff of science fiction, such devices are becoming increasingly common. Fingerprint access for staff and visitors exists at Australia's Maitland prison, while palm print recognition is used to speed up passport control at Bermuda airport. Blackmail and extortion are also set to rise. Although banks refuse to discuss the subject, it is believed that there have been at least four instances of blackmail in which criminals have threatened to disrupt the systems of city institutions with high-intensity radiation devices.