Report - Guardian

The LSE Identity Project Report: June 2005 123uncertain and contradictory role of police officers in a democratic society and to portraythem as functionaries with a standardized task that relies on documentation andcoordination. 330There is also the risk of leaving decisions about the practical administration of justice tosystem designers who know little about operational realities. A leading expert 331 statesthat there are four modes of policing conduct implicit in the design of technology thatdo not reflect the practice of policing:“the primary objective of the police is crime control, police activity isone of the primary determinants of crime levels, the police areorganized and operate as a rational bureaucracy and police strategiesare primarily those of deterrence”. 332Accordingly if technologies are not properly viewed, managed and used they can shiftpolice attention to inappropriate measures, raise misleading public expectations, andimpose restrictions on police operations. 333Our own fears are leading us to encourage the police to adopt technologies that theybelieve they need. But by doing so we are transforming the police and facilitating theend of discretion, a key component of British policing culture. According to one leadingexpert,“The good cops were street-corner politicians who controlled theirbeats in the common interest by selectively enforcing the rules,sometimes letting off people for behaviour for which others werearrested. The not-so-good cops were those who either retreated fromthe confusion and dangers of the street altogether or mechanicallyapplied every rule as the law required.” 334Although one might not agree with this particular definition of the good cop, theconcept of the not-so-good cop resonates in light of the previous discussion. It furthersuggests that the current drive towards optimisation, standardisation and surveillancemight not produce the most attractive environment in terms of citizens-police relations.This is supported by the most notable difference between continental and British policesystems: the surveillance of the civilian population. 335 Thus, historically, the Britishpolice have been concerned with preserving the liberties of the population, not only inactual terms, but also symbolic terms.The implementation of ID cards and the national register is likely to involve substantialimplications for policing in Britain. Often it is assumed that the increased use oftechnology will aid policing, but this ignores the fact that the use of technology330 Goldstein, H. (1990). Problem-oriented policing. Philadelphia, Temple University Press.331 Hough, M. (1980). ‘Managing with Less Technology: The Impact of Information Technology on PoliceManagement.’ British Journal of Criminology 20(4): 344-57.332 Ibid, p. 351-52.333 Sparrow, M. (1991). ‘Information Systems: A Help or Hindrance in the Evolution of Policing?’ The Police Chief58(4): 26-44.334 Wilson, J. Q. (1989). Bureaucracy. New York, Basic Books, p344.335 Chapman, B. (1970). Police State. London, Pall Mall.; Tobias, J. (1972). ‘Police and Public in the UnitedKingdom.’ Journal of Contemporary History 7(1): 201-19.