“Disclosure” of extraterrestrial life refers to any act by governments or authoritative bodies to reveal to the public their knowledge of alien life forms from beyond Earth. Such an event, many consider to be a "black swan event", could have far-reaching ramifications on all aspects of society – religion, science, international relations, public safety.

Governments might choose not to disclose extraterrestrial life for various reasons. National security concerns, fear of public panic and desire to control information flow could all be factors. Furthermore, political considerations like preserving power, avoiding controversy or managing international diplomacy might influence such decisions as well. Furthermore, lack of knowledge surrounding extraterrestrial life's nature as well as any economic, legal, and ethical consequences might contribute to this hesitancy in disclosing.

Disclosure can have grave repercussions for policing. Police forces may face challenges such as maintaining order amid widespread panic, enforcing new laws and regulations, managing crowd control measures and adapting to emerging technologies. Training would be essential in equipping officers for any unique situations they might face, such as dealing with non-human entities and advanced technology.

Worst case scenarios of disclosure could include widespread civil unrest, the formation of new extremist groups or cults, cybersecurity threats, international conflict and biosecurity risks that would strain police resources. Responding effectively would require international collaboration, enhanced cybersecurity measures and new legal and ethical frameworks as well as psychological effects for officers as well as concerns for erosion of trust between citizens and government institutions being addressed simultaneously.

To read a more comprehensive discussion of this highly speculative issue click here.

Editor’s note: Presenting this hypothetical “black swan event” (i.e., an event which is highly unexpected, exceptionally impactful and having lasting repercussions across various domains) does not imply the Future Policing Institute endorses the belief that UFO’s/UAP’s/ET’s are extraterrestrial beings. However, the increasing level of interest in unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) by Congress, the media, social media platforms, etc., sparked in large part by the US Department of Defense’s release of military footage of UAP’s, demands we explore this issue as it relates to the future of policing. Like other possible events in this category, we explore them in the spirit of “what if” possibilities. There’s certainly something going on. What it is, or who it is, remains to be determined. Future policing demands objective explorations of possible future trends or events with a substantive potential impact on policing  – even those that seem to be a bit out there (as in “out there“ in space!).