Digitalizing the police: the use of digital devices within police organizations and the impact of them on police legitimacy and police-public relations

• In Event: POL Panel 3. Police legitimacy and Trust around the world

Abstract

Preliminary findings of one of the objectives of the DIGIPOL research project, funded by Belgian Science Policy, will be discussed. The project aims to study how the process of digitalization – through technologies like body-worn cameras, multi-tenant platforms and analysis software – affects the everyday work of the Belgian local police. During this presentation, preliminary findings on the use of these technologies, and their impact on police legitimacy and police-public relations will be discussed.

The first period of fieldwork has been done. Activities of frontline police officers and executive officers (supervisors) of two Belgian local police zones (one in Flanders and one in Brussels) were studied in situ. Qualitative methods – such as (policy) document analysis, participant observations and semi-directive interviews were used to fill in the objective. The observations focused on neighborhood police officers, patrol officers of the intervention team, the direct supervisors of these actors, i.e. middle management, and more. The semi-directive interviews were focused on management, middle management and some frontline officers. The observed use of aforementioned technologies, and their impact on police legitimacy and police-public relations will be discussed and will be compared to literature.

Authors

• Lies Vande Meulebroucke, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)

• Lucas Melgaço, Associate Professor -VUB

• Sofie De Kimpe, Associate Professor - VUB