We propose a project which will explore how new media technologies and behaviour change

approaches might feature at the frontline of preventative policing in a future Scotland.

Police services in the UK have been rapidly (along with the rest of the public sector) developing advanced new media communications practices. Such as using targeted advertising and more covert means of influence to attempt to prevent crime. This involves ‘behaviour change’ approaches, often targeted at those deemed at-risk of breaking the law or at broader communities. This is part of a broader shift to preventative and public health models of service delivery. In addition to enforcement, intervention, surveillance, and support, direct attempts at behaviour change are being made – through channels often used to fulfil the information duties of democratic policing. Aided by new media technologies, this is potentially a very powerful approach for preventative policing – exerting a cultural force to shape behaviour and in some cases directly intervene in forms of crime where effective guardianship is impossible through traditional means (such as cybercrime). These technologies are likely to form part of the future of policing – for better or worse. The aim of this project is to support better outcomes through understanding of if, when, how, and under what governance these technologies should be used.

There is increasing evidence of targeted advertising being used in preventative policing in a variety of ways, particularly through the NCA’s ‘Cyber Choices’ programme. Early indications are that targeted advertising can sometimes be an effective tool to prevent crime (Collier, Thomas, Clayton, Hutchings 2019), particularly for weakly-associated illicit communities without a strong set of cultural values binding them together (Collier, Clayton, Hutchings, Thomas 2020). These approaches can involve informative advertising which reminds Internet users who search for illegal content or services that these things are prohibited in law, or deeper campaigns which aim to shift narratives around particular harmful behaviours. The targeted nature of these adverts takes these strategies beyond communications and the management of corporate identity and into the heart of online policing and crime prevention. Despite the opportunities which these strategies present for engaging and diverting at-risk populations away from offending, they present a number of potential issues: namely, how they can be incorporated into the frameworks for accountability, responsiveness and democracy which attend other forms of policing, and how unintended consequences can be predicted, measured, and avoided (Collier, Stewart, Thomas, Flynn 2021).

While these techniques have significant potential to support crime prevention, they also carry huge reputational and other risks. Careful assessment is required if these techniques are to be

part of the future of policing. What are the potential opportunities? Where might issues of bias, responsiveness, accountability fall? What about the power and responsibilities of the platform intermediaries which this all relies on? What are the appropriate structures of governance, transparency, and accountability to ensure legitimacy? How can this influence policing be community-led and supported, not imposed from above. Who should deliver this – internal communications practitioners, SMEs, media consultancies, or big corporates? And how might this link up with Police Scotland’s digital strategy and innovation plans? These technologies are increasingly controversial in their extensive use in the private sector and by malicious actors; should the state also use these tools to provide a presence in the digital world that mirrors its physical presence?

Our end goal is to produce and consolidate evidence of what works for both deployment and governance of targeted advertising and other new media communications approaches for preventive policing. This work will contribute to the first stages of exploring what the role of these technologies might be in a future Police Scotland, and whether they fit with the core values of democratic policing. We propose to use this grant for an initial exploratory study which would lay the foundations for a much larger project that would provide the robust evidence base required.

We will deliver this foundation through exploratory research (WP1), stakeholder engagement (WP2), and by network building (WP3). Our deliverables will be an interdisciplinary network of researchers and stakeholders (D1), a funding proposal for the programme of work required (D2), an exploratory paper (D3), and a report for Police Scotland/SPA on the potential futures of the use of these technologies in police work.