Public and police perspectives on digital police-public contact: democratically responsive policing?

• In Event: Neighbourhood policing in transition: perspectives from the police and the public

Abstract

Social changes and technological advancements have brought shifts in the delivery of public services, including policing, which has become increasingly technologically-mediated. We use the term ‘channel shift’ (Wells et al. 2022) to refer to the move of police-public contact online. Public consultation and engagement around the introduction of technologies is important to public confidence in policing, yet often this is limited. In this paper we analyse data from interviews with police (52) and focus groups and interviews with members of the public (29) in urban and rural case study areas in England and Scotland collected as part of the INTERACT project. We explore public experiences and expectations of local policing, alongside police perspectives on the intentions of digital contact. Our analysis draws on the concept of democratically responsive policing (Aitchison et al., 2013) with consideration of equity, delivery of service, responsiveness, participation and accessibility. We explore how the public feel about the different ways the police can be seen and contacted, including digitally and in-person. This is contrasted with consideration of how visibility, accessibility and inclusion feature in police decision making for new technologies. We conclude by discussing implications for policing policy and practice in the UK and beyond.

Authors

• Aston Liz, Edinburgh Napier University

• Estelle Clayton, Edinburgh Napier University

• Helen Wells, Keele University

• Megan O'Neill, University of Dundee

• Will Andrews, Keele University

• Ben Bradford, University College London