Influence policing: Strategic communications, digital nudges, and behaviour change marketing in Scottish and UK preventative policing

Collier, Ben; Stewart, James; Horgan, Shane; Wilson, Lydia; Thomas, Daniel

Abstract

Influence policing is an emerging phenomenon: the use of digital targeted ‘nudge’ communications campaigns by police forces and law enforcement agencies to directly achieve strategic policing outcomes. While scholarship, civil society, and journalism have focused on political influence and targeting (often by malicious actors), there has been next to no research on the use of these influence techniques and technologies by governments for preventative law enforcement. With grant funding from SIPR and support from The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR), we have studied how this novel mode of police practice is developing through an in-depth study of Police Scotland’s strategic communications unit and a wider systematic overview of these campaigns across the UK.

Citation

Collier, B., Stewart, J., Horgan, S., Wilson, L., & Thomas, D. (2023). Influence policing: Strategic communications, digital nudges, and behaviour change marketing in Scottish and UK preventative policing. Scottish Institute for Policing Research

• Report Type: Research Report
• Online Publication Date: Aug 21, 2023
• Publication Date: Aug 21, 2023
• Deposit Date: Aug 25, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 28, 2023
• Publisher URL: https://www.sipr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Ben-Collier-Influence-Policing-Full-Report.pdf