Technological innovation in policing and crime prevention: Practitioner perspectives from London

Abstract

Digital technology now plays a critical role in policing and security management, with policing apps, drones and body-worn cameras potentially being game-changers. Adoption of such technologies is, however, not straightforward and depends upon the buy-in of senior management teams and users. This study examines what obstacles practitioners face in the procurement, deployment and use of crime prevention and detection technologies. The issue is explored through a number of expert interviews conducted with practitioners in London between August 2019 and March 2020. This work expands previous, more theoretical, literature on the topic by adding a practical perspective and advances the understanding of issues faced in innovation processes and their management. We identified a variety of issues and obstacles to technological innovation for policing. These include the deployment of new systems at the cost of old ones, lack of financial and political support, issues in public–private partnerships, and public acceptability. Although individual practitioners may have the expertise and willingness to unleash the full potential of surveillance and crime-reduction technologies, they are usually restrained by institutional rules or, in some cases, inefficiencies. In terms of the latter, this study especially highlights the negative impact of a lack of technical interoperability of different systems, missing inter- and intra-agency communication, and unclear guidelines and procedures.

Latent Class Analysis of Postgraduate Students’ Behavioral Characteristics toward ICT Use: What Are Their Job Creation Differences?

“…For example, (Pichler & Stehrer, 2021) classified ICT users based on their job roles, such as high-level government officials and legislators, firm directors, commercial and administrative leaders, production supervisors, etc. Similarly, other studies have discovered that the adoption of ICT equipment such as computers, the Internet (including social media), mobile phones, closed circuit television (CCTV), security cameras, information extraction, spy satellites and Internet protocol gadgets help in crime reduction (Arisukwu et al, 2020;Laufs & Borrion, 2022;Nagrath et al, 2022;Owan & Ekpenyong, 2022). Software development with systems administration analysis was the focus of the unique user characteristics in this case.…”

The persistent attractions of low-tech: Challenging the efficiency paradigm of forensic technology

“…There is therefore a need to revisit and re-conceptualise the notion of willingness to adapt to technological change, which is described as a key indicator of whether any new tool or method is welcome, actively integrated and successful. Literature suggests that willingness to adopt new technologies depends on the extent to which a new technology interferes with day-to-day tasks and administrative functions (Chan, 2001; Laufs and Borrion, 2022; Schroeder and White, 2009; Strom, 2016). The findings in this article suggest that a willingness to adopt does not depend on whether the implementation in itself is practical or efficient, but on the extent to which the technology protects the integrity of the user.…”

Police Concerns Over Body-Worn Cameras—the Legitimator, the Nihilist, and the Agnostic: A Herald From Cyprus

“…Unsurprisingly, the unequal contexts and settings within which body-worn cameras (BWCs) are deployed (Huff et al, 2020) creates unique risks, tied to legal and social implications (Bromberg et al, 2020;Coudert et al, 2015) that have not been satisfactorily explored, and as such require further attention (Bud, 2016). The dichotomy of benefit/cost of using body-worn cameras by police officers remains at the forefront of many scholarly discussions and reviews (Laufs & Borrion, 2022). And the substance of such (for/against) arguments usually revolves around citizens' concerns about the invasion of their privacy, the cautiousness of the way police act, the examination and monitoring of the recorded material, as well as the concerns of the police officers themselves regarding changes in their working conditions and the protection of their very privacy (Georgitsopoulos, 2018); concepts which are examined accordingly throughout the text.…”