Book excerpt: The potential impact of law enforcement agencies on welfare fraud in California metropolitan counties by the year 2000 is examined. On the basis of three different methodologies, it is determined that most law enforcement agencies are not involved in welfare investigations and fail to understand how the welfare system works and the components of welfare fraud. Expert panels forecast several emerging trends and events that will affect law enforcement over the next decade: the number of people who receive welfare benefits, identification of welfare fraud cases, the use of new technology to track and identify welfare users, and the availability of training classes for law enforcement personnel. Events forecasted to have a strong probability of occurring include installation of an electronic identification system which connects all welfare offices in California, the California budget reaching a $15 billion deficit, county task force forming to investigate welfare fraud cases, and the Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training mandating 8 hours of instruction in welfare fraud investigation. A normative scenario was used to develop a strategic plan that allows law enforcement to have a positive impact on welfare fraud in the future.