engleski

The circle of change: technology impact on LEAs

Over the last decades, law enforcement agencies (LEAs) have implemented many technological advancements that are assumed to have significant potential for enhancing their work and improving citizens' safety. Implementation of those innovative technologies provides new opportunities, initiates changes in LEAs, modifies their interactions with citizens, and faces LEAs with specific challenges. Given the assumed technology potential, this study aims to review the current state of empirical research on innovative technology adoption by different LEAs’ jurisdictions in Europe in the period 2014 – 2021. In total, 28 studies that represents both LEAs and public perspective on technology role and usage, as well as experienced challenges, barriers, and needs were analyzed. Most of the analyzed studies were conducted in the UK, and respondents were mainly police officers (POs). All analyzed studies were cross-sectional, and the majority were qualitative, using interviews as the data collection method. Consequently, data were mainly collected on convenient, small samples. The majority of studies analyzed the implementation of technology in general, and the implementation of social media and smart borders. There are optimistic views among European LEAs regarding technology implementation and adoption. Help to police officer routine works, and technology capacity to obtain and analyze information faster and more error-free were perceived as the most significant assistance to their work. The main obstacle to technology acceptance is officers’ uneasiness of getting used to new work methods that disrupt their working roles. At the organization level, technology implementation faces problems related to insufficient guidance, support, and management, while lack of a transparent and standardized legal framework leads to delay of its’ adoption at the (inter)national level. Citizens’ empowerment and engagement with police, accompanied by informed usage of technology and preservation of their privacy, are factors contributing to its’ better acceptance

police, technology, citizens, perception, LEAs

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