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

Julian Laufs,Hervé Borrion

doi:10.1177/14613557211064053

Julian Laufs, Hervé Borrion

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/14613557211064053

Copy DOI

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.

Highlights

Technology has become prevalent in most areas of society and, in a struggle to keep up with recent advances, public agencies are forced to innovate at an ever-increasing rate
The heated discussion surrounding the deployment of facial recognition around a large multimodal transport hub in London (Sabbagh, 2019) and trials by London’s Metropolitan police work. (Police) Services between 2016 and 2020 are just the tip of the iceberg (Bradford et al, 2020; Fussey and Murray, 2019)
All participants were asked the same questions about their knowledge of new surveillance-oriented security technologies (SOSTs) and smart cities, their interpretation of these terms was highly subjective

Summary

Introduction

Technology has become prevalent in most areas of society and, in a struggle to keep up with recent advances, public agencies are forced to innovate at an ever-increasing rate. This article does not seek to discuss the broad issues where public discussion often invokes images of a surveillance state and ‘big brother’ An example of this is the controversial issue of facial-recognition technologies for policing and security purposes. The heated discussion surrounding the deployment of facial recognition around a large multimodal transport hub in London (Sabbagh, 2019) and trials by London’s Metropolitan Police Services between 2016 and 2020 are just the tip of the iceberg (Bradford et al, 2020; Fussey and Murray, 2019) Against this dystopian backcloth of public debate, academics have been assessing the societal impacts of smart technology and technological innovation in general, often framing them as conflicts between security and privacy or between public order and individual rights. For example, many organisations, including police forces across the world, have initiated a digital ‘transformation’ (ICT) in the hope of reducing operating expenses and improving service effectiveness, accountability and procedural regularity (Adams et al, 2009; Chan, 2001; Crow and Smykla, 2019; Ekblom, 2005; Laufs et al, 2020b; Lum et al, 2017; Weisburd and Braga, 2019)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion