The views about Big Data among professionals of police forces: A scoping review of empirical studies
| Published date | 01 June 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14613557231166225 |
| Author | Laura Neiva,Helena Machado,Susana Silva |
| Date | 01 June 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Original Research Articles |
The views about Big Data among
professionals of police forces: A scoping
review of empirical studies
Laura Neiva
Communication and Society Research Centre, Institute for Social Sciences, University of
Minho, Portugal
Helena Machado
Department of Sociology, Institute for Social Sciences, University of Minho, Portugal
Susana Silva
Department of Sociology, Institute for Social Sciences, University of Minho, Portugal Centre
for Research in Anthropology, University of Minho, Portugal
Abstract
There is a growing tendency toward the introduction of Big Data in police departments to improve the prevention and
investigation of crime. However, there is little systematic knowledge about the perspectives of professionals in police
forces regarding this technology. This article fills this gap by presenting a scoping review that systematizes empirical stud-
ies of the views of professionals in police forces about Big Data in the field of policing and criminal investigation. Fourteen
articles were analyzed following a descriptive–analytical method. Optimistic and oppositional views about Big Data among
professionals in police forces were then described. Optimistic views focused on the potential of Big Data to improve the
objectivity and efficiency of policing and better manage police resources by providing new capabilities and strategies by
which to perform crime predictions, risk assessments, criminal investigations, crime analysis, risk management, cooper-
ation and data exchange. Oppositional views related to the police’s awareness of Big Data’s biases, the lack of a regulatory
landscape, misuse of data, privacy threats, data security, misplaced trust in technology, the absence of major changes in
work practices, and practical barriers. Analysis of the co-presence of optimistic and oppositional views adds a compre-
hensive and interpretative argument that might contribute to critical reflections on the technological feasibility, societal
usability, and desirability of Big Data technologies in police departments.
Keywords
Big Data, police forces, optimism, opposition, expectations
Submitted 8 Nov 2022, accepted 12 Mar 2023
Introduction
There is a growing tendency toward the introduction of Big
Data technologies
1
in police departments, with the aim of
preventing crime by generating predictions of where
crime is likely to occur and the suspects are likely to be
Corresponding author:
Laura Neiva, Communication and Society Research Centre (CECS),
Institute for Social Sciences, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar,
4710-057, Braga, Portugal.
Email: lauraneiva@ics.uminho.pt
Original Research Article
International Journal of
Police Science & Management
2023, Vol. 25(2) 208–220
© The Author(s) 2023
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DOI: 10.1177/14613557231166225
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