"The Diffusion of Information Technology in Policing." Police Practice and Research:
An International Journal, 6 (No 5, December), 2005, 401-418.
This study examines the diffusion of innovation among municipal police departments in northeastern
Illinois. The opportunity to adopt an innovation arose when the Chicago Police Department opened access
to elements of its new centralized Data Warehouse to other criminal justice agencies. There is a long history
of research on the diffusion of innovation, and a number of recent projects have applied this work to policing.
Like innovation studies generally, this paper presents the shape of the diffusion curve that describes the
pace of adoption, and it examines factors associated with adoption and the extent to which the innovation
was actually used. Adoption and extent of utilization proved to be largely independent processes.
Involvement in cosmopolitan networks, experience with using databases for law enforcement, and the
human capital capacities of the organizations influenced the adoption decision, while organizational
resources and experience in using the system drove the level of actual use. The rapid growth of system
utilization was apparently due to three factors: the active role played by the ‘evangelist' representing the host
department; the fact that access to the system was free; and because it primarily empowered detectives–
who enjoy a privileged position in policing–and did not challenge the traditional mission and organization of
participating agencies.
An International Journal, 6 (No 5, December), 2005, 401-418.
This study examines the diffusion of innovation among municipal police departments in northeastern
Illinois. The opportunity to adopt an innovation arose when the Chicago Police Department opened access
to elements of its new centralized Data Warehouse to other criminal justice agencies. There is a long history
of research on the diffusion of innovation, and a number of recent projects have applied this work to policing.
Like innovation studies generally, this paper presents the shape of the diffusion curve that describes the
pace of adoption, and it examines factors associated with adoption and the extent to which the innovation
was actually used. Adoption and extent of utilization proved to be largely independent processes.
Involvement in cosmopolitan networks, experience with using databases for law enforcement, and the
human capital capacities of the organizations influenced the adoption decision, while organizational
resources and experience in using the system drove the level of actual use. The rapid growth of system
utilization was apparently due to three factors: the active role played by the ‘evangelist' representing the host
department; the fact that access to the system was free; and because it primarily empowered detectives–
who enjoy a privileged position in policing–and did not challenge the traditional mission and organization of
participating agencies.
Information Technology
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