Knowledge Management in Policing and Law Enforcement: Foundations, Structures, Applications

Citation

Palmiotto, M.J. (2008), "Knowledge Management in Policing and Law Enforcement: Foundations, Structures, Applications", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 722-723. https://doi.org/10.1108/13639510810910643

Geoff Dean and Peter Gottschalk introduce to police managers the concept of knowledge management. Both authors are qualified to write about knowledge management. Dean is a registered expert with Europol at the Knowledge Management Centre and also a former police trainer. Gottschalk is a Professor of Management in the Norwegian School of Management and teaches knowledge management at the Norwegian Police University. The concept of knowledge management has been an integrated part of management, specifically business management, for a while. These two authors expose police managers to a concept that is long overdue. The traditions of policing concepts are adopted from the fields of business management or public administration, but rarely does the policing field originate a management concept and has been a follower in management concepts developed by other fields of study.

There are numerous books on knowledge of management and journals available to managers. A search of the Wichita State University library reveals that there are more than 20 books on knowledge management, along with several journals, yet it seems that knowledge management is a concept unfamiliar to a majority of American police administrators. The American police manager should not assume all the criticism. How many American universities and colleges that offer criminal justice degrees have a course in knowledge management?

Knowledge management is a hot topic in the business world but has not been introduced into the law enforcement field. C.W. Holsapple, in Handbook of Knowledge Management, states that “a critical aspect of knowledge management is that of assimilation”. Knowledge can be captured or created but until it is assimilated it is not likely to receive extensive use (Holsapple, 2003).

Dean and Gottschalk take the concept of knowledge management and apply it to policing. They provide a foundation of knowledge management that law enforcement managers can apply to their organization. This book can be compared to Paul Jeffcutt's edited book The Foundation of Management Knowledge (Jeffcutt, 2004) for the business community. Knowledge Management in Policing and Law Enforcement is an intellectual book on how the police can assimilate and apply knowledge management to policing. The authors describe how knowledge works. For example, they recognize the importance of information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) and explain them in terms that a lay person can understand. An understanding of these two concepts and how they relate to knowledge management will be important for law enforcement's comprehension of knowledge management. To clarify IS and IT the authors explain the technological stages in knowledge management. To make the understanding of technological stages clearer the authors provide figures which simplify their explanation of the technological stages.

Dean and Gottschalk divide their book into ten chapters. Each chapter covers an element of knowledge management that instructs the police manager of its value, importance and how to assimilate the concept into the police field. Chapter One covers how “knowledge works”. Chapter Two brings out the reality, noting that while much has been written about knowledge management, the literature on the application of knowledge management is sparse. Chapter Three provides practical information to the police manager. This chapter covers policies, practices and themes that the law enforcement manager can put into practice. The fourth chapter discusses approaches to knowledge management. Each of these approaches is valuable to the police manager since they are compared and contrasted to provide what each of these approaches can provide the police. The fifth chapter examines what types of knowledge management are relevant to the police. This is a valuable chapter for the law enforcement manager who has no or limited information about knowledge management. For police managers who have limited knowledge of technologies, Chapter Six allows those managers to get up to speed. Chapter Seven deals with a concept law enforcement manager would probably not be familiar: the system knows as Cross+Check (C+C), which is designed to deal with investigative problems. This chapter explains how to get the police officer involved in the system. There are many figures and charts to help clarify the C+C system to assist the manager in comprehending it. The eighth chapter explains “investigative pathways” (IP), a mapping application system based on four investigative thinking styles. The authors break down the system so the law manager can put it into operation. The practical aspect of the IP system is to train police offers on how to think as an expert investigator. Chapter Nine is a timely chapter since it deals with terrorism, a concern of not only law enforcement but of society as a whole. A model on terrorism is developed by the authors, showing how it evolves, develops and operates. The authors provide a visualization process and provide a figure to clarify it for the reader. The final chapter provides a review of the nine chapters.

The subtitle of this book is accurate. It truly is a foundation book for law enforcement managers, as it provides structure for knowledge management and it provides applications to assist the manger in implementation. Knowledge Management in Policing and Law Enforcement is a tedious book to read. For those not familiar with knowledge management it may even be considered a difficult read. This book is a handbook for police managers. They need to study the structure and applications of knowledge management and to incorporate it into their organization.

Knowledge Management in Policing and Law Enforcement is recommended for all police and law enforcement management, as well as for anyone interested in law enforcement management.