Law Enforcement and the Public: Designing Effective Public Safety Crowdsourcing Initiatives

ABSTRACT For law enforcement agencies tasked with keeping citizens safe, the decentralized nature of the Internet presents both structural and cultural challenges. At the same time, advances in information and communication technologies (ICT) have expanded the capacity of law enforcement to monitor and respond to criminal activity in both online and physical environments. This paper explores how crowdsourcing initiatives, as a form of online collective intelligence, can support law enforcement. Drawing on a systematic literature review, the paper examines the design elements of these initivates and, using a morphological approach, presents a conceptual framework for designing and assessing such initatives. In doing so, the paper highlights the potential for crowdsourcing law enforcement initiatives to improve public services, foster policy innovation, enhance citizen engagement and strengthen government legitimacy.