ABSTRACT
Police often implement crime prevention technologies absent any rigorous analysis or evaluation. When technology is evaluated, researchers typically focus on crime prevention outcomes with important procedural, contextual, and human factors aspects unaccounted for. Resulting from such research designs, police technologies are largely developed, implemented, and evaluated without direct feedback from relevant stakeholders. Community members, in particular, have been afforded little opportunity to offer their perspective of police technology interventions. In recognition of these issues, we propose Community Technology Oversight Boards (CTOBs) as a model for police technology research. This model incorporates an action research framework emphasizing active collaboration between researchers, practitioners, and community stakeholders. Such a model has the potential to inform all aspects of technology interventions—from the policies guiding use and practice, contextual considerations that can impact effect, and procedural factors preventing program optimization—in a manner that fosters positive police–community relations. We first explore the benefits of this research model in the context of a multi-faceted evaluation of video surveillance cameras in Newark, NJ. We then discuss how CTOBs could be more intentionally developed to serve as a standing body that continuously generates scientific knowledge on police technology.
