The Role of Technology on Work Practices in Police Departments

技术进步使得有效的知识管理（KM）成为许多组织和行业的需求。随着这些技术和应用变得越来越普遍，利用这些技术进行知识共享和影响工作成果的能力变得更加迫切。这种紧迫性在公共部门，特别是执法部门表现得最为明显。由于2001年9月11日的事件，我们看到执法机构加强了分享知识和合作的努力，以促进对国土防御和地方社区安全的关注。通过更好地了解警察如何使用现有的新知识管理技术，这些变化可能会得到改善。同样，我们需要评估这些技术将如何影响警察工作的性质。本研究以坚实的理论基础为基础，利用现有的沟通与知识共享、个体差异、组织文化、群体特征、激励制度和技术等方面的知识来理解警察部门的组织变革。本研究的三个主要目标是：(1)了解影响警察部门工作实践的个人、群体和组织因素；(2)了解技术变化如何影响工作实践；(3)了解工作实践中的这些变化如何影响个人、群体和组织因素。本研究运用实证社会科学和行为研究等多种方法，对我国公安部门警务工作影响因素模型进行了验证。这项研究将对社会心理学、组织科学、信息系统和犯罪学等学科产生理论影响。研究成果将特别适用于执法机构、研究公共部门机构的学者、组织变革理论家和知识管理实践者。本研究分为三个阶段。第一阶段是基于先前关于个人、群体和组织因素影响的文献来评估我们的原始模型。第二阶段建立在我们的模型之上，调查知识管理技术实施对工作实践的影响。第三阶段通过观察知识管理技术对警察部门中潜在的个人、团体和组织因素的影响，调查组织随时间变化的问题。通过关注警察部门的一些最紧迫的问题，这项研究可能对整个美国的警察部门和国家国土防御机构产生重大影响。

Technological advances have made effective knowledge management (KM) a requirement in many organizations and industries. As these technologies and applications become more ubiquitous, the ability to use these technologies for knowledge sharing and to impact work outcomes becomes even more urgent. This urgency is nowhere more evident than in the public sector, specifically in the law enforcement community. As a result of the events of September 11, 2001, we have witnessed an increased effort of law enforcement agencies to share knowledge and collaborate to promote attentiveness for homeland defense and the security of local communities. These changes may be improved by a better understanding of how police use new knowledge management technologies now available to them. Similarly, we need to assess how these technologies will affect the nature of police work. Based upon a solid theoretical foundation, this research draws upon existing knowledge about communication and knowledge sharing, individual differences, organizational culture, group characteristics, incentive systems, and technology to understand organizational change in police departments. The three major objectives of the proposed research are: (1) to understand individual, group, and organizational factors that influence work practices in police departments, (2) to understand how changes in technology impact work practices, and (3) to understand how these changes in work practices affect individual, group, and organizational factors. The research uses multiple methods from empirical social science and behavioral research to validate our model of factor that influence police work in police departments. The research will have theoretical implications for the disciplines of social psychology, organization science, information systems, and criminology. The research outcomes will be particularly applicable to law enforcement agencies, academics studying public sector institutions, organizational change theorists, and knowledge management practitioners. The research is organized in three phases. The first phase serves to evaluate our original model, based on previous literature on the effects of individual, group, and organizational factors. The second phase builds upon our model to investigate the effects of KM technology implementation on work practices. The third phase investigates the issue of organization change over time by looking at the impact that KM technologies can have on the underlying individual, group, and organizational factors in police departments. By focusing on some of the most pressing issues for police departments, this research could have substantial impact on police departments throughout the United States and national homeland defense agencies.