Collaborative Proposal: Police Department as Organizational Machine: Effects of Body Worn Camera on the Work Dynamics and Performance of U.S. Police Departments

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

The adoption of body worn cameras in US police departments represents a challenge to established ways of policing. This applies to law enforcement agencies as much as officers. For agencies, body worn cameras represent a novel piece of equipment that must be supported through appropriate technological systems and usage policies. Cameras also produce an abundance of video data that policing organizations must manage as well. Considering these demands, this project will identify the impacts of body worn camera technologies on individual work dynamics and organizational operations in US police departments. Specifically, this project will develop a larger IT governance framework to maximize the value of body worn camera technologies for effective policing operations. This project will expand knowledge on the management of public sector organizations that are increasingly enmeshed with wearable Internet of Things technologies like body worn cameras, and research results will inform the development of educational materials in technology management, law and criminology, and information systems. A primary goal of this project is to create an evidence-based organization theory and IT governance framework for public sector organizations that are being increasingly embedded with digital technologies in general and Internet of Things technologies in particular. Specific to the impacts of body worn cameras (BWC) on policing organizations, this project addresses three questions: (1) What individual work dynamics and organizational changes are induced by BWC systems; (2) what technosocial governance mechanisms help maximize the value of BWCs in accomplishing police departments' mission; and (3) what empirical evidence explains the effects of BWCs on the operational and mission performance of police departments. This research activity answers these questions through a three-stage research design. First, the investigators will complete qualitative case studies of police agencies by analyzing data collected from interviews, field observations, and document analyses. Second, drawing upon the results of the case studies and in collaboration with participating agencies, the investigators will develop an IT governance framework to maximize the value of body worn camera technologies in accomplishing police departments' missions. Lastly, drawing from data that will be collected through survey and public sources, the investigators will analyze the effect of body worn cameras on the operational and mission performance of police departments across the US.