Officer perceptions of the impact of mobile broadband technology on police operations

ABSTRACT

Research examining police departments' use of technology is underdeveloped relative to other areas of policing. This gap in the literature is troubling as policing models are becoming more data-driven and thus, relying more heavily on information technologies. Arguably, the most commonly utilised technology in policing practice, and examined in policing research, has been mobile computers. However, there has been little insight into the technological advancement in data communications that directly influence the functionality of mobile computers. This research seeks to inform this shortcoming by examining a police department that implemented a dedicated wireless mobile broadband system. A mixed-methods approach is employed within a medium-sized department in the northeast region of the USA. Survey data were gathered from 76 uniformed police personnel. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key personnel to further contextualise survey results. Survey results suggest tentative support for improved time savings and execution of job tasks after the implementation of wireless broadband. Perceptions of mobile broadband impacts on information flow, quality, and accessibility appear positive. Considerations for future research and study limitations are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Mobile broadband
• mobile computing
• technology adoption
• police operations

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the National Institute of Justice for their financial support of this research. The authors would also like to thank Dr. Nancy Merritt, Joseph Heaps, Phil Harris, Fred Frantz, and Scott Wilder for their insights in shaping this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. This research is based on data from the National Institute of Justice award number 2010-IJ-CX-K023. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice. The authors have no vested interests in commercial communication technology products, processes, or services.

2. For more information visit: http://www.nij.gov/topics/technology/pages/working-groups.aspx

3. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines broadband as 4 Mbps download speeds and 1 Mbps upload speed (Federal Communications Commission 2012). Until 2010, the commission defined broadband as 200 Kbps in both directions, and then adopted the current 4 Mbps/1 Mbps definition for the last three broadband progress reports.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice [2010-IJ-CX-K023].