In 2015, the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing published its final report. This task force was created to “strengthen community policing and trust among law enforcement officers and the communities they serve.” The Professional Research Pool (PRP) for Criminal Justice Science has used these principles to guide the research focus and create a place for practitioners and researchers to collaborate on them. Each of the six pillars is described (summaries from the Task Force report) along with links to resources with more information.
PILLAR THREE: TECHNOLOGY & SOCIAL MEDIA
The use of technology can improve policing practices and build community trust and legitimacy, but its implementation must be built on a defined policy framework with its purposes and goals clearly delineated. Implementing new technologies can give police departments an opportunity to fully engage and educate communities in a dialogue about their expectations for transparency, accountability, and privacy. But technology changes quickly in terms of new hardware, software, and other options. Law enforcement agencies and leaders need to be able to identify, assess, and evaluate new technology for adoption and do so in ways that improve their effectiveness, efficiency, and evolution without infringing on individual rights.