To Investigate the use of Smartphones in Rendering Police Services: A case study of selected Police Stations in Lusaka

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of smartphones by the Zambia Police in rendering services to the Zambian community. The objective of the study were: To establish if the Zambia Police use smartphones in rendering services to the Zambian community; to establish if the Zambia Police have an ICT policy in rendering their services to the Zambian community; to find out the types of technologies used by the Zambia Police in rendering their services to the Zambian community; and to establish the challenges faced by Zambia police when it comes to the use of smartphones in rendering police services to the Zambian community. The study used descriptive survey design for the quantitative and qualitative research approaches. A total of 58 respondents participated in the study. Cluster and purposive sampling were used to select respondents. The interview guide was used to collect data from one IT personnel from the Lusaka division and all the officers in charge from all the selected police stations. The data was analysed using SPSS and thematic analysis. The results were presented in themes, diagrams, charts, and percentages. The study revealed that 74% of the respondents admitted of using smartphones in rendering police service to the community, 24% of the respondents denied of using smartphones in rendering police service while the rest were not sure. This shows that smartphones are used in rendering police services to the Zambian community. According to the results on the presence of an ICT policy on the use of technology in rendering police services, the study revealed that, 66% of respondents admitted to have an ICT policy in rendering police services to the community while 34% denied of not having a policy of using ICTs in rendering police services to the community. This shows the presence of an ICT policy is there that supports the use of a smartphone in rendering police services to the Zambian community. In trying to find out what types of technologies used by the Police in rendering their services to the community, the study revealed that computers are the most frequent used technologies followed by smartphones. According to the results, scanners and printers are the least types of technologies used by the police. Furthermore, with respect to finding out possible challenges faced by police when it comes to the use of smartphones. According to the results, 36% of the respondents said that police officers have a negative attitude towards the use of technologies; these were followed by 32% who claimed that using smartphones is a challenge because of the inability to pay running costs. And the remaining 16% was shared by two groups of respondents who said there is lack of ICT skills and lack of government support. However, the dominant suggested possible solutions were that, police officers need to be trained on the use of ICTs, to improve financial and technical support from the government and an effective policy in the use of ICTs. Based on the findings, the study highly recommends that the government should provide sufficient funds for training and ICT infrastructure development in the Zambia Police and other related agencies to enhance information sharing between the Police as well as the public. The government should also provide new information technologies promoting better performance in law enforcement agencies.