Digitalizing the police: internal and external challenges for the police organization in an inclusive society (FOD144)

With the DIGIPOL research we aim to study how the process of digitalisation (relying on mobile data terminals, body-worn camera’s and analysing softwares) affects the everyday work of the Belgian local police. Moreover we want to gain insight in how the emergence of technology in the police organization changes the workplace and working conditions, the internal working relationships and police-public relations. Particular attention will be put on how technology should contribute to police’s efficiency on one hand and police legitimacy on the other. Within an inclusive society police-public relationships are important breeding-grounds for trust in state and police trust. We question how the expansion of technology-mediated interactions affects organizational legitimacy as well as police legitimacy as a whole.

Keywords:Police organization, digital governance, Inclusive Society