Prevalence and Predictors of Surveillance Cameras in Law Enforcement

• Date: 01 February 2017
• Published date: 01 February 2017
• DOI: 10.1177/0887403415570631
• Subject Matter: Articles

Criminal Justice Policy Review

2017, Vol. 28(1) 41 –60

© 2015 SAGE Publications

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DOI: 10.1177/0887403415570631

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Article

Prevalence and Predictors

of Surveillance Cameras

in Law Enforcement: The

Importance of Stakeholders

and Community Factors

Amie M. Schuck1

Abstract

Using data from more than 2,500 law enforcement agencies, the goal of this study was

to identify predictors of advanced surveillance technologies. The findings suggest that

the adoption of modern surveillance cameras is neither uniform nor comprehensive

and that the adoption process is ongoing with agency officials implementing and

discontinuing technologies over time. Most important, stakeholders both inside

and outside the organization have the greatest influence on the adoption process,

and cameras in vehicles and mobile devices are most prevalent in improvised

communities. As cameras become smaller and less expensive, they have the potential

to democratize surveillance and equalize the relationship between the police and

the public during encounters. However, the democratization effect will only occur if

implementation is widespread and all segments of the community have an equal voice

in the process. The research findings suggest that significant progress still needs to

be made in these areas.

Keywords

cameras, community policing, collective bargaining, LEMAS, organizational

differentiation, police accountability, S-curve, stakeholders, surveillance technology,

union

1University of Illinois at Chicago, USA

Corresponding Author:

Amie M. Schuck, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 West Harrison Street, MC141, Chicago, IL 60607,

USA.

Email: amms@uic.edu

570631CJPXXX10.1177/0887403415570631Criminal Justice Policy ReviewSchuck

research-article2015

42 Criminal Justice Policy Review 28(1)

Although scholars and policymakers have raised concerns about the implementation

of advanced surveillance technologies, including issues related to privacy, the milita-

rization of the police, and the implications of private verses public control (Byrne &

Marx, 2011), in general, there is widespread support for the use of surveillance equip-

ment in law enforcement, and many researchers agree that technology-driven forms of

policing are growing in popularity (Ratcliffe, 2008; Willis, Mastrofski, & Weisburd,

2007). Between 1995 and 2002, more than 1.3 billion dollars was distributed to law

enforcement agencies for technology-related hardware and software (Groff &

McEwen, 2008). Between 2000 and 2005, the Community-Oriented Policing Services

(COPs) office awarded 21 million dollars to state law enforcement agencies to pur-

chase in-car cameras (International Association of Chiefs of Police, 2004). In a survey

conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF; 2011), 70% of police

executives reported using some type of advanced technologies to prevent crime and

reduce violence, and almost 90% reported planning to increase their use of technolo-

gies related to predictive policing over the next 5 years. Furthermore, there is growing

evidence that if implemented correctly and used in tandem with other law enforcement

strategies, such as hot-spot policing or problem-orientated policing, technologies can

help improve police performance (Braga, 2006; Koper, Taylor, & Woods, 2013; Piza,

Caplan, Kennedy, & Gilchrist, 2014; Ratcliffe, Taniguchi, & Taylor, 2009).

In light of these facts, the question remains, “Why do all law enforcement agencies

not use advanced surveillance technologies?” The purpose of this study is to identify

which agencies are utilizing modern surveillance equipment. More specifically, the

goal is to understand the organizational, community, and political factors associated

with the adoption of in-car and mobile cameras. Scholarship that evaluates the adop-

tion of advanced surveillance equipment is important because new developments in

technology have the potential to influence organizational change and restructure police

work. Surveillance technologies have the potential not only to reduce crime and vio-

lence but also to improve institutional transparency and increase police accountability.

Studying the adoption of emerging technologies in law enforcement is important

because it elucidates key policy implications for police executives and the communi-

ties that they represent.

Background and Literature Review

The adoption of advanced surveillance technology by police agencies is a function of

complex interactions between the characteristics of the technology, the cultures within

the organizations, and other factors in the larger social-structural environment.

Technology shapes the way people interact with the world around them; however,

people and the larger social-structural environment also influence the structure and

function of technology. To understand the adoption of technology in law enforcement,

we need to move beyond a purely rational approach and take more of an interpretive

approach. From this perspective, the adoption of specific devices results from the

interplay among organizational needs, completing technologies, stakeholders’ con-

flicting goals, and chance events (Ackroyd, Soothill, Harper, Hughes, & Shapiro,