‘Channel shift’: Technologically mediated policing and procedural justice
| Author | Helen M Wells,Elizabeth V Aston,Ben Bradford,Megan O'Neill,Estelle Clayton,Will Andrews |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14613557221132962 |
| Published date | 01 March 2023 |
| Date | 01 March 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Original Research Articles |
‘Channel shift’: Technologically mediated
policing and procedural justice
Helen M Wells
School of Social, Political and Global Studies, Keele University, UK
Elizabeth V Aston
School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, UK
Ben Bradford
Department of Security and Crime Science, University College London, UK
Megan O’Neill
School of Social Sciences, University of Dundee, UK
Estelle Clayton
School of Applied Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, UK
Will Andrews
School of Social, Political and Global Studies, Keele University, UK
Abstract
In recent years, police forces in the United Kingdom have introduced various technologies that alter the methods by which
they interact with the public. In a parallel development, many forces have also begun to embrace the concept of procedural
justice as a method through which to secure legitimacy and (in turn) public compliance and cooperation. What has not
received sufficient attention, within policing or academia, is the extent to which these two trends are compatible, with the
procedural justice literature still predicated on an assumption that police–public ‘contacts’or ‘encounters’are in-person.
The effect of technologically mediating police–public contacts on ‘policing by consent’, is therefore unknown. In this article,
we focus specifically on the possible implications of the Single Online Home (SOH) (a portal through which the public can
report crime, get updates on cases, give feedback and pay fines, among other things, which is currently being rolled out across
forces), considering ‘interactions’between police and public where there is no physical co-presence. Noting the unique context
that is policing, we draw on the limited existing research on procedural justice encounters in technologically mediated contexts
to explore whether procedural justice theory is ‘future-proof’for a policing context increasingly reliant on such encounters.
We conclude that, through empirical research, we must update our conceptual understanding of what ‘contact’can mean, and
accept that current developments may in fact be transforming relationships rather than simply facilitating existing ones.
Keywords
Policing, police, technology, visibility, contact, procedural justice, legitimacy
Submitted 6 Jun 2022, accepted 9 Sep 2022
Introduction
In a context of rapid societal and technological change, com-
bined with pressure to operate more efficiently, police forces
Corresponding author:
Helen M Wells, School of Social, Political and Global Studies, Keele
University, Staffordshire, ST55BG, UK.
Email: h.m.wells@keele.ac.uk
Original Research Article
International Journal of
Police Science & Management
2023, Vol. 25(1) 42–52
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/14613557221132962
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