The effect of socio-demographic characteristics on the information-seeking behaviors of police officers

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the information-seeking behaviors of police officers who work in police stations in the context of staying current. Leckie et al.’s (1996) model of the information-seeking behavior of professionals is tested. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative research design was employed for data collection. The sample includes 642 cases. It is both descriptive and exploratory. Findings – Police officers first rely upon their personal knowledge and experience, then their colleagues and then official documents. On the other hand, they rarely consulted informants, libraries, journals, books, and attendance at conferences as information sources. There were significant differences in the information sources used by police officers based on their gender in the context of staying current. Lastly, the results of this study indicated that service years in policing and the roles in police station were significantly correlated with the information sources used by police officers regarding staying current. Originality/value – This study, being the first, provides a huge theoretical base for future studies. It contributes to the discipline of information science by validating a theoretical model in a different context. In addition, it contributes to public safety by understanding the frontline police officers’ information needs and information-seeking behavior.

The information practices of law enforcement: Passive and active collaboration and its implication for sanctuary laws in Washington state

“…Primary sources of investigation cases were consultants and informants, internet searches, access to personal data, transcribing conversations, and surveillance. Related, in Turkey, Guclu and Can (2015) examined Turkish police officer's information seeking practices and found that officers primarily sought information from their coworkers, departmental manuals, and internet websites. Information seeking practices in this study was motivated by an officer's desire to remain current, and more experienced officers were more likely to use diverse information sources to achieve that aim.…”