Strategic policing philosophy and the acquisition of technology: findings from a nationally representative survey of law enforcement

Hendrix, Joshua A.; Taniguchi, Travis; Strom, Kevin J.; Aagaard, Brian; Johnson, Nicole J.

doi:10.1080/10439463.2017.1322966

Cited by 15 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Rapid diffusion of license plate readers equal variances not assumed). This confirms the earlier finding by Lum et al (2010) that LPRs appear to be more concentrated in the largest agencies (a finding affirmed by Hendrix et al, 2017). However, we did not find other significant differences regarding agencies with and without LPRs with regard to common metrics of agency resources (e.g.…”

supporting

confidence: 92%

The rapid diffusion of license plate readers in US law enforcement agencies

Lum

Koper

Willis

et al. 2019

PIJPSM

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to document the diffusion of license plate readers (LPRs) in the USA, examining the variety, evolution and tracking of their uses through a national survey. Design/methodology/approach This study employs a national, stratified, representative survey of US law enforcement agencies with 100 or more officers. Findings LPR technology is currently used by at least two-thirds of larger police agencies, which represents a more than threefold increase in LPR acquisition in the last 10 years. The number of LPRs per agency, while small (about eight on average), has also more than doubled. Federal and state funding, advocacy by law enforcement leaders, and the intuitive appeal of LPRs have likely contributed to this rapid adoption. While LPRs are still primarily used to detect and recover stolen automobiles in patrol, their use has expanded into other types of investigative and security functions. Despite the increased use and numbers of LPRs in policing, their use is highly discretionary and infrequently tracked. Practical implications LPRs continue to be widely used in law enforcement, despite a lack of strong research evidence for their crime prevention benefits. Further studies are needed on the most effective ways for agencies to utilize small numbers of LPRs and the potential return on investment for acquiring larger numbers of the devices. Originality/value This study tracks the history of LPR diffusion and use and goes beyond prior law enforcement surveys by examining specific uses of LPRs and the extent to which agencies track their uses and outcomes.

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supporting

confidence: 92%

The rapid diffusion of license plate readers in US law enforcement agencies

Lum

Koper

Willis

et al. 2019

PIJPSM

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“…Regarding the organizational resources, the survey did not include any questionnaire item that asked respondents to report the agency's resources available for innovation. Although larger agencies with more police officers have larger budgets, funds might be bound to traditional activities, which might explain why this and previous studies (Hendrix et al, 2019;Lawshe et al, 2022;Mrozla and Hellwege, 2020;Nowacki and Willits, 2018;Pyo, 2022) did not find that agency size was a significant predictor of BWC adoption intent. Mohr (1969) argued that narrow organizational goals, workers' resistance to change, and mechanistic decision structures are obstacles to innovation.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 54%

“…Despite the multitude of themes addressed by researchers focusing on BWCs, only a small number of studies (Hendrix et al, 2019; Lawshe et al, 2022; Mrozla and Hellwege, 2020; Nix et al, 2020; Nowacki and Willits, 2018; Pyo, 2022; Smith, 2019) focused on the front end and sought to identify the factors that predict BWC adoption. Considering the fact that recent official data indicate that many US police departments continue to show no interest in adopting this relatively recent technological innovation (Escamilla and Reichert, 2019), it is important to understand not only why police departments adopted or plan to adopt and use the new technology (Smith, 2019), but also why some police departments are reluctant to do so.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of police agencies’ resistance to body-worn camera adoption

Andreescu

Kim

2022

International Journal of Police Science & Management

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Although the use of video-recording technology in policing is on the rise in the United States, not all police agencies in the country are following this trend. Using Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics Body-Worn Camera Supplement survey data collected in 2016 from a nationally representative sample of general-purpose law enforcement agencies, the present analysis identified some of the factors more likely to predict interagency differences in the intention to adopt body-worn cameras (BWCs). Findings show that resistance to the adoption of BWCs is reported by law enforcement agencies that do not think the new technology is needed, report a lack of support for BWC adoption from the agency's leadership and from patrol officers, and have privacy and cost-related concerns. Although the perceived lack of public support for the adoption of BWCs does not differentiate agencies that intend to acquire BWCs from agencies that do not, police departments that registered a higher percentage of complaints for excessive use of physical force are significantly more likely to oppose the adoption of BWCs. Support for BWC adoption is significantly higher in police departments that have acquired other types of recording equipment in the past. Even though recent state-level legislative changes related to BWCs do not have a significant impact on BWC adoption decisions at the organization level, results indicate that law enforcement agencies located in US states with strong police unions are more likely to show resistance to the adoption of BWCs in the near future.

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“…The reasons for such resistance vary widely and include privacy concerns, safety issues, budget problems, the possibility of making their jobs more difficult, or even simple 'resistance to change' /…/ If researchers can identify the causes of these negative reactions towards BWCs, then we may be able to help police departments, BWC manufacturers, and policymakers better address these officer concerns to improve BWC compliance (Goetschel & Peha, 2017, p. 699) The majority of the research focuses on the attitudes and resistance among police officers on operational duties, i.e., those wearing BWCs. The research on management views is very limited (Lawshe et al, 2019;Pelfrey & Keener, 2016Smykla et al, 2016), as is an organizational perspective on BWCs (see Fan, 2018;Hendrix et al, 2019;Kyle & White, 2017;Nowacki & Willits, 2018 for exceptions). Likewise, only one study seems to have targeted 'specialty units' within the police (Gaub et al, 2020).…”

Section: Problem Representation: Police Officer Resistance Towards Use Of Bwcsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Goetschel & Peha, 2017, p. 699)The majority of the research focuses on the attitudes and resistance among police officers on operational duties, that is, those wearing BWCs. The research on management views is very limited (Lawshe et al, 2019; Pelfrey & Keener, 2016, 2018; Smykla et al, 2016), as is an organizational perspective on BWCs (see Fan, 2018; Hendrix et al, 2019; Kyle & White, 2017; Nowacki & Willits, 2018 for exceptions). Likewise, only one study seems to have targeted “specialty units” within the police (Gaub et al, 2020).…”

Section: Policing Problem Representationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Representations of Policing Problems and Body-Worn Cameras in Existing Research

Backman

Löfstrand

2021

International Criminal Justice Review

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In this article, we analyze scholarly publications on body-worn cameras (BWCs) to shed light on scholars’ grounding assumptions about BWC technology and the policing problems assumed to be amended by it. We conducted a systematic search and a double-blind review, including 90 peer-reviewed journal articles, and analyzed how scholars warrant their studies, their findings and their recommendations. We found that BWC research largely investigates the effectiveness of BWCs worn by police officers in the United States and build upon a set of dominant policing problem representations: the police crisis in the United States and the police use of force, lack of oversight and control of police officers, citizen dissatisfaction and lack of police legitimacy, and police officer resistance toward BWC use. Assumptions underlying all four problem representations is that BWC technology will amend these problems and is legitimate and useful if the public supports it. Taken together, this enhances the representation of BWC technology as a self-evident means of improving community relations and police legitimacy in the United States. Finally, we provide recommendations for future research on BWCs, particularly the need for research departing from altogether different problem representations.

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Strategic policing philosophy and the acquisition of technology: findings from a nationally representative survey of law enforcement

Cited by 15 publications

References 29 publications

The rapid diffusion of license plate readers in US law enforcement agencies

The rapid diffusion of license plate readers in US law enforcement agencies

Drivers of police agencies’ resistance to body-worn camera adoption

Representations of Policing Problems and Body-Worn Cameras in Existing Research

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