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Realizing the Potential of Technology in Policing: A Mutli-Site Study of the Social, Organizational, and Behavioral Aspects of Policing Technologies
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... Through the decades, police departments have adopted, and adapted to, technologies in an effort to increase effectiveness and efficiency (Manning 2018). Understanding technological changes and implementation is of paramount importance to police departments across the globe as they consider whether to invest large sums of money with hopes to improve their efficiency and effectiveness (Koper et al. 2015) and keep up with the changing nature of digital crime (Gogolin 2010). How police use and adopt technology has been of great interest to police researchers (Harper 1991, Manning 1992, Mullen 1996, Ericson and Haggerty 1997, Chan 2001, Koper et al. 2015, Egnoto et al. 2017). ...
... Understanding technological changes and implementation is of paramount importance to police departments across the globe as they consider whether to invest large sums of money with hopes to improve their efficiency and effectiveness (Koper et al. 2015) and keep up with the changing nature of digital crime (Gogolin 2010). How police use and adopt technology has been of great interest to police researchers (Harper 1991, Manning 1992, Mullen 1996, Ericson and Haggerty 1997, Chan 2001, Koper et al. 2015, Egnoto et al. 2017). Yet the question of how police use these modernisations in its various facets remains underexploredespecially in the investigative unit. ...
... Police departments have continued to use different technologies to enhance their work, depending on their goals, resources, and culture (Koper et al. 2015). Further, police departments' adoption of technologies is conditional upon organisational strategy (Strom 2017) and varies across jurisdictions (Koper et al. 2015). ...
Technology and social media have increasingly transformed contemporary policing. Yet, scarce research explores how detectives view and use technology and social media in their everyday work. This study of a mid-sized American police department fills this gap in research by exploring how technological frames inform how detectives use technology and social media. First, detectives view technology and social media as tools, yet acknowledge the barriers inherent to using them (i.e. time-consuming). Therefore, the task at hand will determine to what extent detectives use technology. Second, detectives embrace the use of technology and social media and use it more than just in their role as a crime fighter, as their job calls for them to handle a variety of tasks: (1) prioritising suicide threats; (2) acting as a school resource officer; and (3) conducting prostitution stings. I argue that technological frames can contribute to officers overcoming barriers inherent with using technology and social media and encourage proactive policing activities. The findings from this study bring about several practical and policy implications for police departments including how to adapt to technological barriers.
... Technology also provides new promising tools for police officers. However, this does not automatically increase the effectiveness and efficiency of police work or show a positive effect on crime control (Lum, 2010;Gardner, 2015;Koper et al., 2015;Lum et al., 2017;Byrne and Hummer, 2017). The impact of technology on police work and on the effects of this work is not self-evident and often rather complex. ...
... Internationally limited empirical research has addressed the application and implementation of technology within police organizations and the effects on police work and crime (Byrne and Marx, 2011;Terpstra, et al., 2013;Koper et al., 2015;Byrne and Hummer, 2017). A small number of studies have empirically investigated how technology is deployed within police organizations (e.g. ...
... A small number of studies have empirically investigated how technology is deployed within police organizations (e.g. Chan et al., 2001;Manning, 2008;Dozy and Tops, 2009;Allen and Karanasios, 2011;Koper et al., 2015;Meijer, 2015;Sanders and Condon, 2017). These studies differ in applied methodology and scope, yet 12 common factors can be identified that had an effect on the technological innovation processes in police organizations as shown in Table 1. ...
Police organizations internationally explore and experiment with new technologies to improve their performance and in response to new forms of crime. The police in the Netherlands experiment with various forms of innovative technology. Previous research has shown that social, organizational, and technological factors are important for effective use and deployment of technology by the police. However, the precise factors and mechanisms underlying the promotion or inhibition of technological innovations within the police are not clear. This study aims to provide empirical knowledge about these mechanisms by providing insight into the processes through which technological innovation develops within the police in the Netherlands. From January 2017 to February 2018, 13 technological innovation projects were subjected to a longitudinal process study. The results show that innovation processes within the police organization are often inhibited by organizational factors, whereas social factors can stimulate and promote these processes.
... The rapid adoption rates for BWCs centered on their intended impacts in improving citizen-officer relationships and perceptions of law enforcement behaviors and increasing accountability and transparency. Prior research showed that BWC device effectiveness did not provide the empirical results as intended and may, in fact, produce some unintended consequences (Koper et al., 2015;Lum et al., 2017). Widespread employment of the devices happened at rapid paces and often without the opportunity for evidence-based research to provide insight into their impact. ...
... Those tended to be viewed similarly within prior literature that also examined perceptions of BWC devices (Lum et al., 2019;Wooditch et al., 2020). It should also be noted that prior literature on the device's impact on complaints and behaviors were mixed, giving not much footing on the comparisons between the current study and prior literature (Ariel et al., 2015;Koper et al., 2015). The current study sought to examine BWC policies to begin determining whether BWC policies and their contents could lend insight into these mixed findings. ...
The purpose of this paper is twofold. The first purpose is to examine the quantitative aspects of police department body-worn camera utilization as of November 2020. The second part is to conduct a policy content analysis of body-worn camera policies from police departments in the state of Texas. The current dissertation utilized both survey data from 740 police departments on their adoption and utilization of body- worn cameras across the state of Texas, and 218 body-worn camera policies from a sample of those 740 agencies. The dissertation used a mixed-methods approach to better capture a complete picture of the current state of body-worn camera programs in Texas. The results for the descriptive analyses from the quantitative portion show most police agencies who responded (85%) employ body-worn cameras to their officers. Of those agencies, 95% employ cameras to over 75% of their officers. The results for the remaining quantitative analyses point towards the need for additional policy analyses. The qualitative analyses showed BWC policy contents and their specific wordings and how they varied between multiple agency types and sizes. The conclusions and implications showed the importance of increased standardization of body-worn camera policies, of specific wording within policies and how they depict discretionary points, and of the examination of multiple agency types and sizes within police policy analyses.
... To date, there is little evidence, and a paucity of research, to support the case that police investment in technology necessarily leads to extensive performance improvements, and it is not at all clear that it has made policing more effective (Koper et al. 2015). Koper and colleagues found that effectiveness is most often perceived by police themselves as related to enforcement and the "ability to identify people to solve cases and make arrests" (2015: 144). ...
... They also report that officers are most likely to use technology primarily "in a reactive The impact of mobile technology devices on street checks and crime... way, or for on-the-spot investigations of individuals or license plates" (Koper et al. 2015: 200). Studies to date suggest that police use mobile technology to support volume of activity, reactive approaches and enforcement, including street stops (Koper et al. 2015;Lum et al. 2017). We found that this was the case in the use of the mobile technology (and street check app) in the RCT reported in this paper. ...
Objectives
Test the impact of a mobile technology device, including a street check app, on street checks and crime incidents reported.Methods
We used a cluster randomised control trial design, assigning 1227 frontline officers to the experimental condition (assigned device) and 2225 officers to the control condition (not assigned device), clustered by police region. We measured the impact of the mobility device on street checks and crime incidents reported. We used difference-in-difference tests with a negative binomial approach examining time (pre- and post-intervention) and condition (experimental vs control).ResultsWe found a statistically significant interaction between time and condition. Frontline police officers issued with mobile devices recorded significantly more police street checks than those without devices, alongside a small increase in the reporting of summary offence incidents.Conclusions
Efficiency gains associated with mobile devices, including street check activity, need to be carefully managed and translated into policing outcomes that promote proactive, targeted and procedurally just policing practice.
... Crime analysts and those who are researchers within an agency may also be viewed cautiously (Lum & Koper, 2017). Police officers often question the role and the involvement of researchers and analysts in their work (Koper, et. al., 2015). However, many police officers show a willingness to try new approaches and technologies and to work with researchers (Lum & Koper, 2017). ...
This chapter examines the receptivity of evidence-based policing by the police. It finds that the acceptance has not happened as it was envisaged by early advocates of the approach and as the literature reveals, a large number of police officers either have not heard of the approach or are not able to define it. The reasons for this are that officers tend to see research as something for managers and that it is not useful for the operational decisions that they make. This creates a paradox. While officers may be separated from scientific research, they are a natural source of information and a possible ally for the acceptance of evidence-based policing as they have an intimate knowledge of policing. The other reasons as to why evidence-based policing has not been accepted are also examined and analysed.KeywordsEvidence-based policingPolice research receptivityPolice reform
... Modern information technologies are developing at a rapid pace, and sometimes what was impossible to imagine a few years ago, today we can see in many areas of human activity, society and the state. The problem of technical armament of law enforcement officers at all stages of the fight against crime has always riveted the attention of scientists and practitioners (Koper et al., 2015). Its relevance is currently due to a factor in the criminal process, criminalistics, operational-search and administrative-jurisdictional activities. ...
... Increases in computing power and electronic storage capacity, coupled with decreases in the size and cost of these hardware systems have led to a rapid expansion of information technology within policing agencies (Koper et al. 2015, Reaves 2015. Technology's promise of increased efficiency and effectiveness is particularly noteworthy with regard to geography and policing. ...
President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing advised law enforcement agencies to ‘[e]stablish a culture of transparency and accountability in order to build public trust and legitimacy’ (2015, p. 12). Such transparency and accountability may be promoted through increased public access to crime data and measures of police activity. The inherently geographic nature of crime has made online maps one of the more popular strategies for disseminating this information to the public. As more agencies deliver crime maps on their own, or hosted websites, it becomes important for social scientists to evaluate how these communications affect public perceptions. Crime mapping is a complex process requiring many decisions. This includes choices about the type of crime to include or exclude, the type of map used, and numerous design features for the map itself. The field of critical cartography argues that all of these decisions have the potential to shape perceptions about a given geographic location, the people living there, and, in the present context, the people charged with maintaining public safety in the area. This study investigates whether different types of maps (i.e. dot vs. density) affect individual perceptions of safety, police performance and neighbourhood quality. Results indicate that the type of crime map viewed does alter perceptions, illustrating a need for careful and consistent decision-making when preparing crime maps for public access.
This chapter explores and discusses the definition of Evidence-based Policing and its strengths and weaknesses as a strategic method for increasing the effectiveness of policing. It has been found that the original definition of Evidence-based Policing has evolved to become broader and more holistic. The strategy is not only about identifying research to assist with the development of policy or decision-making but is also about identifying methods to analyse and translate research findings or evidence for the police to use. It can also improve the use of Community-oriented and Problem-oriented Policing by including scientific information and analysis to assist with decision-making. However, the strategy is not without its limitations. The main limitation is the over-emphasis for the police to emulate the health profession, which suffers from similar problems in adopting and using evidence-based practices.KeywordsEvidence-based PolicingExperimental criminologyEvidence-based management
This chapter examines and discusses the adoption of evidence-based practices in the health and social care sectors. It explores some of the main factors that relate to the adoption of evidence-based practice by these sectors and whether the approach has been accepted as being able to increase the effectiveness of their service delivery. The police can learn from how the health and social care fields have implemented evidence-based practice especially from the integration processes and the frameworks used. The health and social care sectors found that in order for evidence-based practice to be accepted, the adopting organization needed to provide a supportive atmosphere, and for managers to encourage the use of the practice.KeywordsEvidence-based PolicingEvidence-based practice
This article aims to map the use of technologies by the local police in Belgium. It presents the results of a survey filled out by representatives of 86 (out of 113, hence 76,1%) local police forces in Flanders and Brussels. In addition to general questions about the use of 43 different types of technology, the survey also asked more specific questions about the use of one particular mobile information technology, ‘Focus@GPI’, that is currently being implemented across the Belgian police. The results confirm broad use of many new technologies, including the Focus app. They also show significant variation among local police forces in the use of technology in general as well as of the Focus app specifically. The article concludes with some reflections about the impact of the growing use of these technologies on daily police work.
This Campbell systematic review examines the effects of focusing police crime prevention efforts on crime ‘hot spots’, and whether focused police actions at specific locations result in crime displacement (i.e. crime moving around the corner) or diffusion (i.e. crime reduction in surrounding areas) of crime control benefits. The review includes 19 studies covering 25 cases. Seventeen of the studies were conducted in the USA.
Investing police agencies' limited resources on hot spot policing in a small number of high‐activity crime places will prevent crime in these and surrounding areas, reducing total crime. Problem oriented policing approach allows for developing tailored responses to specific recurring problems in high activity crime spots. Implementing situational prevention strategies that reduce police reliance on aggressive enforcement strategies may also have positive benefits for police‐community relations. The reactions of local communities to hot spot policing must be considered. Residents may welcome efforts to reduce crime. But if policing programmes are seen as heavy‐handed, or focus too much on particular population groups, they may end up driving a wedge between the police and those they are trying to help.
Abstract
BACKGROUND
In recent years, crime scholars and practitioners have pointed to the potential benefits of focusing crime prevention efforts on crime places. A number of studies suggest that there is significant clustering of crime in small places, or “hot spots,” that generate half of all criminal events. A number of researchers have argued that many crime problems can be reduced more efficiently if police officers focused their attention to these deviant places. The appeal of focusing limited resources on a small number of high‐activity crime places is straightforward. If we can prevent crime at these hot spots, then we might be able to reduce total crime.
OBJECTIVES
To assess the effects of focused police crime prevention interventions at crime hot spots. The review also examined whether focused police actions at specific locations result in crime displacement (i.e., crime moving around the corner) or diffusion (i.e., crime reduction in surrounding areas) of crime control benefits.
SEARCH STRATEGY
A keyword search was performed on 15 online abstract databases. Bibliographies of past narrative and empirical reviews of literature that examined the effectiveness of police crime control programs were reviewed and forward searches for works that cited seminal hot spots policing studies were performed. Bibliographies of past completed Campbell systematic reviews of police crime prevention efforts and hand searches of leading journals in the field were performed. Experts in the field were consulted and relevant citations were obtained.
SELECTION CRITERIA
To be eligible for this review, interventions used to control crime hot spots were limited to police enforcement efforts. Suitable police enforcement efforts included traditional tactics such as directed patrol and heightened levels of traffic enforcement as well as alternative strategies such as aggressive disorder enforcement and problem‐oriented policing. Studies that used randomized controlled experimental or quasi‐experimental designs were selected. The units of analysis were limited to crime hot spots or high‐activity crime “places” rather than larger areas such as neighborhoods. The control group in each study received routine levels of traditional police enforcement tactics.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
19 studies containing 25 tests of hot spots policing interventions were identified and full narratives of these studies were reported. Ten of the selected studies used randomized experimental designs and nine used quasi‐experimental designs. A formal meta‐analysis was conducted to determine the crime prevention effects in the eligible studies. Random effects models were used to calculate mean effect sizes.
RESULTS
20 of 25 tests of hot spots policing interventions reported noteworthy crime and disorder reductions. The meta‐analysis of key reported outcome measures revealed a small statistically significant mean effect size favoring the effects of hot spots policing in reducing citizen calls for service in treatment places relative to control places. The effect was smaller for randomized designs but still statistically significant and positive. When displacement and diffusion effects were measured, unintended crime prevention benefits were associated with the hot spots
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
The extant evaluation research provides fairly robust evidence that hot spots policing is an effective crime prevention strategy. The research also suggests that focusing police efforts on high‐activity crime places does not inevitably lead to crime displacement and crime control benefits may diffuse into the areas immediately surrounding the targeted locations.
Generalized Estimating Equations, Second Edition updates the best-selling previous edition, which has been the standard text on the subject since it was published a decade ago. Combining theory and application, the text provides readers with a comprehensive discussion of GEE and related models. Numerous examples are employed throughout the text, along with the software code used to create, run, and evaluate the models being examined. Stata is used as the primary software for running and displaying modeling output; associated R code is also given to allow R users to replicate Stata examples. Specific examples of SAS usage are provided in the final chapter as well as on the book’s website. This second edition incorporates comments and suggestions from a variety of sources, including the Statistics.com course on longitudinal and panel models taught by the authors. Other enhancements include an examination of GEE marginal effects; a more thorough presentation of hypothesis testing and diagnostics, covering competing hierarchical models; and a more detailed examination of previously discussed subjects. Along with doubling the number of end-of-chapter exercises, this edition expands discussion of various models associated with GEE, such as penalized GEE, cumulative and multinomial GEE, survey GEE, and quasi-least squares regression. It also offers a thoroughly new presentation of model selection procedures, including the introduction of an extension to the QIC measure that is applicable for choosing among working correlation structures.
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Community policing is very popular. So popular is the concept with politicians, city managers, and the general public, that few police chiefs want to be caught without some program they can call community policing. In a 1997 survey of police departments conducted by the Police Foundation, 85 percent reported they had adopted community policing or were in the process of doing so (Skogan 2004). The biggest reason for not doing so was that community policing was “impractical” for their community, and my own tabulations of the data found these replies were mostly from small departments with only a few officers. Bigger cities included in the survey (those with populations greater than 100,000) all claimed in the 1997 survey to have adopted community policing – half by 1991 and the other half between 1992 and 1997. By 2000, a federal survey with a much larger sample found that more than 90 percent of departments in cities over 250,000 in population reported having full-time, trained community policing officers in the field (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2003). What do cities that claim they are “doing community policing” actually do? They describe a long list of projects. Under the rubric of community policing, officers patrol on foot (in the 1997 survey, 75 percent listed this), or perhaps on horses, bicycles, or segways. Departments variously train civilians in citizen police academies, open small neighborhood storefront offices, conduct surveys to measure community satisfaction, canvass door-to-door to identify local problems, publish newsletters, conduct drug education projects, and work with municipal agencies to enforce health and safety regulations. © Cambridge University Press 2006 and Cambridge University Press, 2009.
The concept of the 'militarization' of policing has traditionally focused on the way in which military discourse and organizational models have shaped the public police. Generally overlooked in such accounts are the broader social implications of the military's commitment to developing and using high technology. Contemporary military technologies extend well beyond lethal artifacts to include a complex infrastructure of machines for visualization and computation. Such tools spread into wider society either through a 'trickle down' process or a more 'directed' model of dispersion where the state takes an active role in seeking civilian uses for such technologies. One consequence of the global political transformations in the past decade has been the active attempt by the U.S. government to institutionalize a closer military/policing technological establishment. The broad social remit of the police, combined with their commitment to an actuarial model of policing, have made them a valuable site in which to legitimate the 'dual use' character or military technologies. Consequently, the police have been singled out as the potential beneficiary of a multitude of advanced technologies whose genesis can be traced directly to military requirements. Although these tools are often prohibitively expensive, we conclude by suggesting several reasons why is it likely that public funds will be found to develop and institutionalize these new military/policing technological initiatives.