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Digitalisation of police in Belgium
Thu, September 4, 1:00 to 2:15pm, Communications Building (CN), CN 2113Abstract
Digitalisation broadly refers to the transformation of social processes, relations, and institutions through digital technologies. As demonstrated by Balbi (2024), there is a tension between the promises and realities of digitalisation. Several authors (f.e. Terpstra et al. 2022, Tange 2020, Mahieu 2018) have already studied the transformations, along with their promises and challenges, within police organisations. Police services increasingly focus on efficiency, calculability, and mechanisms for surveillance and enforcement, arguing that digitalisation will help them achieve these goals. However, potential changes may occur in work relations (communication and contact) between police officers and between officers and their chiefs. The increased reliance on IT in internal working relations enhances the formalisation of organisational and work processes, which can devalue professional knowledge, police craft, and discretion in handling practical situations and problems.
This presentation questions what transformations are being caused within Belgian local police organisations. What technologies (hardware or software) are identified by the back-office of local police forces in Belgium as being a form of digitalisation? Why have these technologies been adopted, and what are the main challenges of this transformation on the police organisation?
The study is part of the Digipol project, a collaborative effort between NICC, VUB, and ULB, aimed at understanding the impact of digitalisation on local police forces. Funded by BELSPO, the project seeks to provide insights into the impact of digitalisation on local police forces. The methodology for the NICC partner involves over 70 qualitative interviews with back-office personnel in five different local police forces. This back-office personnel consists of ranking officers, strategic analysts, ICT, HRM, and DPO. Based on Actor-Network Theory (ANT), the analysis will provide a grounded perspective on the impact of these digital technologies on policing.