NCJ Number
182970
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 67 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2000 Pages: 46-54
Editor(s)
Charles E. Higginbotham
Date Published
2000
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article describes procedures police departments can follow when evaluating and purchasing new technologies.
Abstract
Many police departments have a technology committee to consider existing and new technologies. Representation from various disciplines on such a committee is important. There are essentially two ways to find, evaluate, and purchase new technologies. The first is to have committee members identify the needs of their divisions. The second is to network with other police departments, private companies, individual inventors, academic and research institutions, and Federal agencies. For many reasons, including budgetary ones, police departments must be thorough about testing and evaluation before purchasing something new. Testing a new technology may involve nothing more than proving the technology does not work. Funding may be a major obstacle, vendors who market new technologies must be compared, product demonstration is important, and the impact of the technologies on all aspects of the police department must be assessed.