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E-Policing in Police Services - Definitions, Issues and Current Experiences

This project was undertaken to explore, and provide information about, an issue or topic. Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or the Government of Canada.

Executive Summary

E-policing is the transaction of services and information between the police and citizens via the Internet. A recent review of police service models and call management suggested that use of the Internet to report calls for service was an emerging trend. This study, carried out by Research and Evaluation and Urban Policing, CCAPS, addressed these questions pertaining to e-policing:

  • What does e-policing mean from an organizational perspective?
  • How it is used and where?
  • What are the challenges and obstacles to successful implementation and their impact on police services, citizens and police activities?

E-Policing - The State of Knowledge

Description of E-Policing

The Internet is increasingly central to public access and information. Secure reporting of non-urgent incidents is one Internet application that is proving useful. Online crime reporting allows the public to file police reports for some incidents and crimes via the Internet, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Police departments can retrieve these reports when police resources are available. This frees up patrol officers who would otherwise spend time tracking down these incidents.

E-policing expands our channels of communication through the Internet but it does not replace telephone or face-to-face contact, which remain important. Developing an e-policing initiative requires:

  • development of a strategic vision and direction
  • evaluating impacts of related legislation
  • evaluation of technology options
  • projection of all costs, including planning, implementation and operation
  • identifying such barriers to success as lack of strategy, resistance and delays in requirements

Identified Benefits of E-Policing

For the community:

  • Reporting incidents does not require face-to-face contact with the police
  • Better access for those in rural or remote areas
  • Ability to ask questions and get answers when convenient
  • Ability to exit the process at any time without difficulty or repercussions

For the police

  • Online forms assure that identical-screening questions are asked
  • Ability to schedule work more evenly through the day
  • Ability to deliver 24/7 police services conveniently and cost effectively without a physical presence – possibly establishing a virtual police station in crime spots and remote areas
  • Improved linkages with local organizations and partners

In Summary

  • E-policing opens new ways of doing business for the police, not only through newly available tools but also by creating an interactive flow of information between the police and the citizen. E-policing fosters two-way communication and provides better access for both the public and the police.
  • E-policing enables initial public contacts to be handled electronically. This delivers information to the police when it is “fresh” and decreases public inconvenience of waiting on the telephone or in line at the police station to report in person.
  • E-policing signals that police are in synch with current technology.

Electronic Transactions in Canada

Because e-policing depends on computer use and Internet access, we examined Canadians' access to and use of computers. Surveys show that Internet use is increasing in Canada.

  • In 2005 an estimated 16.8 million adult Canadians, or 68 percent used the Internet for personal non-business reasons. But only 58 percent of residents living in rural and remote areas accessed the Internet (Statistic Canada , 2006). In 2003 Internet use was lower among household outside the 15 most populous census metropolitan areas but 85 percent of rural youth reported almost daily computer use at libraries, compared with 4 percent of students in cities (Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2005). It means that rural Canadians have improved their situation.
  • Adult users, over the age of 18 (14.5 million) spend an average of 37 hours online per month.
  • The Internet was used at home for e-mail (91 percent compared to 32.2 percent in 2003), general web browsing (84 percent , 48.5 percent in 2003) and electronic banking (58 percent , 30.8 percent in 2003), to name just a few activities. The categories of crime prevention, public security or crime, were not included in the 2003 survey but a search for information about governments which could somehow fit in the category is 52 percent. (Statistic Canada , 2006; 2004).
  • As it can be noticed, the Internet as a means of communication is definitely integrated among the Canadian population. Internet users are represented in all age groups up to 65 and more. There is no over representation of any age group users. This means that citizens in general access the Internet and are therefore potential users of public security websites. It was also pointed out that the vast majority of Canadians accessed the Internet at home for non-business reasons, which means that the police can use this as an opportunity to link electronically with them. However, figures also show that public security/safety web sites are not are not frequently accessed. At the moment, it seems there is no research to document this.
  • By comparison, Davies (2004) notes that 53 percent of households in the UK are connected to the Internet and about 70 percent of people use it occasionally. Davies compares the Internet to a new community with rules resembling democratic constitutions.

E-Policing Consultation

If citizens use the Internet regularly, would they communicate online with the police? This question was evaluated through a public consultation. Group discussions with a cross section of citizens and RCMP police officers were held in different divisions across Canada .

From its inception, the RCMP has continuously adapted to meet the changing needs of society and technology. Topics discussed in this consultation included:

  • What components or tools are going to be required by the police to satisfy citizens' needs?
  • What might disrupt the process or destroy the tools or in some way hinder the process?
  • What online services would participants like to see in their communities?
  • How might the quality of police service be affected if everyone reported online and did not see a police officer?
  • What types of crimes are being committed or could be committed in the future that involve technology itself?

Discussion Highlights

There was no doubt for participants that the majority of police services would still be delivered face-to-face. However, they also thought that initial contact and many routine tasks could be handled electronically. For participants, conventional access to services and face-to-face contact were equally important as electronic access.

Why should the police be involved in e-policing? The police must adapt and evolve with society. Examples from the banking industry or private sector were given as examples to follow and learn from.

In terms of expected services, e-policing definitely opens up two-way communication: police to citizens and citizens to police. Many participants saw that the police could be more effective at the level of service delivery. Expectations are that online reporting could reduce the demand on front line officers, switchboard and front counter staff.

  • For participants, online reporting meant enhanced services such as responding to minor incidents like bicycle theft that were otherwise unmet.
  • Citizens would have better/easier access (24/7) to the police from their location to report a crime, to get police information, to check on latest crime news, to send text messages or to send digital pictures. (Distance would not be an issue.)
  • Police would retrieve the online reports when they had resources available but could access files 24/7. This would allow police to organize some work according to the Internet activities.
  • Online reporting would allow the police to compile information better, map problems and see patterns of crime by zones, areas, etc.
  • Web links could be developed with the business community and with other agencies for emergency for example. Using automated translation on the web, it would be easy to report and to read police information in one's own language.

Two major questions surfaced regarding privacy issues

  • How willing will people be to give police personal information over the Internet?
  • How will we control the collection, storage and sharing of information obtained from the web? What are the accountability issues? What legal restrictions pertain to police use of information given over the internet?

In terms of future development, the evolution of technology was described as rapid and irreversible in all spheres of society. Participants used the penetration of Palm Pilot, Blackberry, iPOD and home computers as examples. In the near future they assumed these systems would be integrated and connected.

Participant police officers noted that 15 years ago almost every front-line activity feedback was written by hand. Now everything is computerized, from laptops in police cars to databanks, etc. The police have evolved. However, contrary to what was expected, time spent writing reports has increased, especially with the implementation of PROS (Police Reporting and Occurrence System). IT implementation has not created more time for higher priority police activities.

Suggestions for best results and success included:

  • Educate citizens on how to access the Internet.
  • Let people know through publicity and advertising that the service is available.
  • Educate the public when it is best to report online (small events) and when it is better to pick up a phone.

Citizens are willing to contact the police online and expect to see e-policing implemented soon. How much are police responding to this expectation for two-way communications? We surveyed police web sites to find out and, in particular, whether these sites incorporated online crime reporting.

Police Web Site Survey

All police services selected for this survey had a web page, usually separate from the municipal web page. However, not all police services in Canada have web sites. There is no standard information architecture determining features and structure, or design protocols for presenting information. Devices ranged from icons to underlined hyperlinks and simple listing of information.

Electronic communications between the police and the public are underutilized. Although 45% of Canadian police web sites offer at least one e-mail contact address there is little available above that level. Figures are not more impressive in Europe or in the USA .

Online crime reporting for minor crime is only available on one Canadian police web site. However, economic crime can be reported online, sometimes without providing personal information, through the Phonebusters or Ricol programs. However, economic crime is not always a “minor crime” from the victim's viewpoint.

There are a few other applications for e-policing such as online bicycle registration or online registration for crime prevention programs such as Neighbourhood Watch. In some cases, it is possible to “tip off” police to crimes in progress, prostitution or traffic violations.

Online crime reporting case studies

E-policing through online crime reporting is almost exclusively used in the UK where it is well developed. Very few studies on “e-policing” have been done in North America or elsewhere, which explains the lack of literature and evaluation studies on the subject. The fieldwork done for this study in association with police services in the UK , Vancouver Police Department ( British Columbia ) and Tracy Police Department ( California , USA ) shows how online crime reporting really works day-to-day.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom the initiative came from a government white paper requiring local councils to have their services available electronically by 2005. PITO, a non-departmental organization under the responsibility of the Home Office was created for procurement of IT systems and hardware to the police forces. A data management system – the Portal – was developed as a single point of entry for information.

The Portal has three major modules:

  • Message broadcasting (e-mails, telephone, text messages)
  • Notification of minor crimes
  • Intelligence reports

It is not mandatory for police forces to connect to the Portal, however there is no charge for to police forces for using it.

The Suffolk Constabulary experience shows how in less than 12 months, the police and the citizens learned to use the system for their specific needs:

  • Four to five broadcast messages are sent every day
  • Each message has the potential to reach 10,000 registrants, each of whom on average forwards the information directly or indirectly to 64 others
  • A survey of public opinion recipients (by telephone and the Internet) of broadcast messages reveals not only that the public has high trust and positive opinion of their local police but that:
  • 99% deem broadcasted messages useful
  • 53% say that the messages make them feel safer
  • 90% feel more informed about policing in their area
  • 61% are satisfied with the message system
  • 70% of the population receive messages by e-mail

Lessons Learned

Online crime reporting is no longer seen as a big issue. However, communication is. Since its implementation, the level of information traffic has not changed, yet the portal has changed the public/police relationship by allowing online/real time communication between the police and the public.

Whether people have computers at home or not is not an issue. There are Internet cafes, computers in public libraries, etc. The portal fits in with the current/future use of technology. The issue is more how the police can manage this relatively new source of information efficiently.

As is the case for any technological adaptation, training and planning are required before implementation. One of the police forces observed during our field study was not using the Portal to its full capacity because they did not realize its potential. There had been no strategic planning of any sort and only crime prevention initiatives had been transferred into the Portal.

The UK case study suggested that technology such as Internet portals can connect the police with segments of the community in a two-way communication process. We observed that the police had developed a new approach whereby the police authority was sending messages directly to the community or to some part of it (for example, a request for information and reply from citizens). The UK police have access to a communication network that can accommodate electronic messages in the form of illustrations, photographs, text messages and e-mails from concerned citizens or informed sources.

  • There is now tangible evidence that unprecedented volumes of messages can be delivered by the Portal simultaneously.
  • Experience shows that Portal broadcasts achieve higher penetration than traditional methods.
  • Broadcasted messages can deliver specific information to targeted groups such as taxi drivers, pub landlords, nurses, etc.
  • Surveying shows that broadcast messages are well received by the public.
  • The Portal gives society many thousand of eyes watching compared to a two eyes in a police car.

Vancouver Police Department ( British Columbia )

Vancouver Police Department (VPD) implemented its online crime reporting in 2001. In 1999 VPD reviewed service delivery and concluded that Internet reporting would be ideal for public reporting of minor property offences and non-emergency incidents. The online crime reporting system did not prove to be demanding or time-consuming for the staff dealing with the submitted forms. Dealing with service calls from the public only required a simple reorganization of schedule, no additional staffing.

The VPD web page explains the six-step process required to fill and submit the form, the time required and a list of reportable crimes. Senders are promised a response within five working days; most (62%) are notified the same day. Police review takes three to six minutes and 80 to 85% of reports require little or no modification. Once the review is complete, the sender is e-mailed an incident number. Data from valid reports are automatically transferred into the records management system (RMS).

Identified benefits

  • The system generates the incident number; there is no manual data entry into RMS.
  • The process is quick and easy; police no longer have to rely on administrators' interpretation of events.

Tracy Police Department ( California )

Tracy Police Department worked with a private company that had developed an online crime reporting system. The online crime reporting system operates in an ASP environment, connected to an independent server that receives the information sent online, processes the information and forwards it to the police server on a secure connection. Tracy PD pays a set annual fee, which makes it easy to budget. The security and system updating are the supplier's responsibility.

Each report is reviewed by staff dealing with calls for service. The process takes about five minutes. Notification is done electronically. There was no need for training or new personnel.

The web site invites the public to submit reports for crimes that are commonly not investigated, such as minor theft. Users receive online assistance to help write reports, which can be submitted in many different languages. The system uses automatic translation to render the report in English. Usage of online crime reporting is slowly increasing every year. TPD estimates that each online form received saves an estimated US$40 (no dispatch, no trips to the field, no phone calls, no duplication of work).

Lessons learned

TPD sees online crime reporting as an easy process for citizens to use and easily integrated with their own workflow:

Conclusion

E-policing is not about technical issues; it is more about cultural changes within police organizations. Are organizations ready to work with citizens with electronic tools?

Value and Definition

  • E-policing is electronic collection, storage and sharing of complaints and information from citizens
  • E-policing includes requesting information/tips on crime/terrorism etc. from the public, including particular communities of interest

Issues Related to Process

  • Users and decision makers must be involved in development and planning this still-innovative approach to police-public communications.

Other issues to be addressed before adopting online crime reporting include:

  • Ease of access to forms developed for the police
  • Types of reportable crimes and incidents
  • Penalties for false reports
  • Security of the reporting system
  • Thank you reply

Problems that may surface with online crime reporting include:

  • Crimes reported are not from the jurisdiction
  • Police may have to rewrite reports coming from the web
  • False reporting

Challenges

  • To collect and store data on minor crimes that previously were unreported and unrecorded.
  • The UK experience shows that e-policing can be an efficient two-way communication process. However, it must accommodate all new forms of electronic messages, such as text messaging or digital photos sent from cell phones.

Benefits

Online crime reporting offers benefits for both communities and the police. As described in the literature but seen differently during field work, e-policing is reputed to provide:


To obtain an electronic copy of the complete report (PDF), please send a request by e-mail to the Research and Evaluation Section (Community, Contract and Aboriginal Policing Services) of the RCMP research_evaluation@rcmp-grc.gc.ca