Conflicts and congruencies between predictive policing and the patrol officer’s craft

Abstract

ABSTRACT In what ways does the introduction of micro-grid crime prediction technology conflict with or align with patrolling officers’ craft? We investigate this question using qualitative data collected during a randomised experiment carried out in a large urban police department in the U.S. The current investigation responds to earlier scholars lamenting the ‘meaning gap’ in works examining police technology adoption. Researchers rode along with officers in two of the treatment conditions, assignment of marked patrol cars to the predicted grids, and assignment of unmarked patrol cars to the grids. This involved keeping notes, observing, and speaking with officers and supervisors about the experiment. Limitations of the technology, including spatial, temporal, and spatiotemporal inaccuracies and/or unresponsiveness conflicted with officers’ craft-based knowledge. Concerns about the technology marginalising their expertise and interfering with peer-based responsiveness norms surfaced as well. These reported concerns could reflect conflicts generated by the technology between the bureaucratic, normative, and safety orders within police subcultures. Notwithstanding those concerns, some officers pointed out how the prediction technology helped deepen their craft-based knowledge. Future implementations of such technologies, even on a provisional basis, might benefit from a planning process involving an array of internal stakeholders.