Erison and Haggerty’s (1997) Policing the Risk Society is probably the key recent study of policing and technology, not least because it argues that the development of new information and intelligence systems has an importance far beyond the discussion of efficiency and effectiveness. The book’s central theme is that techno­logical innovation transforms routine police work into a form of knowledge work, whereby officers are increasingly responsible for transmitting information about risk across the networks of agencies engaged in policing.

Gill and Spriggs’ (2005) Assessing the Impact of CCTV is a Home Office research study based upon an extensive study of the effectiveness of surveillance cameras in 14 sites, including town centres, residential areas, hospitals and car parks. The study used control group areas to assess the impact that CCTV had on local crime rates and examined public attitudes to the systems. The findings showed a very mixed picture. CCTV proved reasonably effective in certain areas (particularly those with controlled and fixed entry and exit points, such as car parks) and in relation to certain types of crime. In other areas, such as residential locations, and in relation to crimes such as violent assault, the study suggested that CCTV had little impact.

Innes’s (2013) book provided a fascinating case for integrating information technology more centrally within community policing. He argued that techno­logical innovations, coupled with parallel developments in financing, professional­ism and globalisation, meant that front-line officers could make decisions based upon intelligence and professional analysis. This will contribute to more effective policing that is more closely aligned to community expectations.

The College of Policing (www.college.police.uk) was established in 2012 and provides professional development, training and expertise intended to spread ‘best practice’, encourage innovation and to raise the standard and quality of police services.

The National Institute of Justice is a sub-division of the US Department of Justice and its website (https://nij.gov/Pages/welcome.aspx) provides a wide-range of material on crime mapping and hot-spots policing. The principles and practices of crime mapping are outlined in detail and supporting research is analysed. The site includes software programs used by crime analysts.

Privacy International is a pressure group campaigning on surveillance issues such as data protection, communication surveillance, border technology, ID cards, and others. The group’s website (https://privacyinternational.org) contains a wide range of resources, including country profiles.

Chan identified the impact on technology on police work, both in organisational terms and in relation to the culture of policing: Chan, J. (2001) ‘The Technological Game: How Information Technology is Transforming Police Practice’, Criminal Justice, 1: 139–59.

Barnard-Wills and Wells provide a useful overview of contemporary debates about surveillance in policing in their introduction to a special edition of a journal contain­ing a range of useful articles: Barnard-Wills, G. and Wells, H. (2012) ‘Surveillance, Technology and the Everyday’, Criminology and Criminal Justice, 12: 227–37.

Results of one of the few studies of covert policing are discussed in: Loftus, B. and Goold, B. (2012) ‘Covert Surveillance and the Invisibilities of Policing’, Criminology and Criminal Justice, 12: 275–88.

The practical and political implications of crime mapping are explored in: Ratcliffe, J. (2002) ‘Damned if You Don’t, Damned if You Do: Crime Mapping and its Implications in the Real World’, Policing and Society, 12: 211–25.