Wireless Broadband for Municipal Police: Evaluating Clearance Times of Calls for Service

Abstract

Though research has explored impacts of mobile computing and information technology on police operations, the literature lacks exploration of large-bandwidth data-sharing technologies that enhance the utility of mobile computing terminals. As part of a federally funded project, the present study employs a longitudinal pre- and postdesign utilizing 7 years of computer-aided dispatch data from a medium-sized municipal police department in the New England region. Pooled time series analyses are employed to examine the effect of wireless broadband implementation on clearance time of calls for service. Findings offer tentative support that clearance times for service calls decreased with the implementation of a wireless broadband network. Implementation did not appear to generate differential effects in areas that had experienced past challenges with cellular communication signals. Implications are provided, with an emphasis on the development of additional knowledge on technological evaluations.