DOI: 10.3886/icpsr37582
title: Common Operational Picture Technology in Law Enforcement: Three Case Studies, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Camden County, New Jersey, Chicago, Illinois, 2015-2019
title: Archival Version

description: The use of common operational picture (COP) technology can give law enforcement and its public safety response partners the capacity to develop a shared situational awareness to support effective and timely decision-making. These technologies collate and display information relevant for situational awareness (e.g., the location and what is known about a crime incident, the location and operational status of an agency's patrol units, the duty status of officers). CNA conducted a mixed-methods study including a technical review of COP technologies and their capacities and a set of case studies intended to produce narratives of the COP technology adoption process as well as lessons learned and best practices regarding implementation and use of COP technologies. This study involved four phases over two years: (1) preparation and technology review, (2) qualitative case studies, (3) analysis, and (4) development and dissemination of results. This study produced a market review report describing the results from the technical review, including common technical characteristics and logistical requirements associated with COP technologies and a case study report of law enforcement agencies' adoption and use of COP technologies. This study provides guidance and lessons learned to agencies interested in implementing or revising their use of COP technology. Agencies will be able to identify how they can improve their information sharing and situational awareness capabilities using COP technology, and will be able to refer to the processes used by other, model agencies when undertaking the implementation of COP technology.
description: The report's sole purpose is to provide the law enforcement community with an overview of common operational picture (COP) products available at the time the data was collected. The report is meant to assist public safety practitioners who are considering this type of technology for their agency.
description: CNA will begin this project by conducting a technology review of common operational picture (COP) technology and COP technology vendors. Researchers collated a list of off-the-shelf COP technology as well as vendors offering custom COP technology for law enforcement agencies. CNA will also include vendors and COP technology intended for closely related public service agencies like emergency management and fire departments to compare these offerings with those for law enforcement. This list of COP technologies will be used to inform the development of the final survey questions and response options.
description: Response Rates: Researchers identified a total of 52 vendors producing common operational picture products during our initial research. 25 vendors completed a product questionnaire of features and capabilities, for a response rate of 54.3 percent.
description: Presence of Common Scales: none
description: Common operational picture (COP) technology products were found via three methods. First, researchers used resources available from the federal government, public safety organizations, and law enforcement periodicals to collect data and information about COP technology vendors and their products. Second, researchers attended national-level law enforcement conference trade shows to identify and make contact with COP technology vendors and determine which products are available and promoted on a national scale. Finally, a web search was conducted to compile a list of COP technology products. In addition to gathering names of vendors offering COP technology for law enforcement, included in the compiled list vendors whose products are intended for use in closely related industries such as firefighting and emergency response. The research team selected the three case study sites purposively, drawing from their knowledge of agencies with advanced COP technology implementation and recruiting agencies willing and able to support our on-site data collection and publication of findings.
description: Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: Market Review Results DS2: NVivo Coding Counts
description: Smallest Geographic Unit: City
description: mixed mode; web scraping; on-site questionnaireThe interview transcripts referenced in the P.I. documentation are not part of the Version 1 ICPSR release.