Digital technologies have moved rapidly from novelty to normality. Now a routine feature of everyday life, smart doorbells, journey cameras, mobile phones, wearable devices and connected home technologies are changing how evidence is generated, captured and shared.
Our new report, launched at the Emergency Services Tech Show in Birmingham, argues that this shift should be understood as more than a technological development. Rather, it represents a new form of public participation in policing.
Citizens have long contributed to public safety through witness reporting, Neighbourhood Watch and Community Speedwatch. What is different today is their growing ability to provide digital evidence of events as they happen. Digital citizen evidence gives public participation a scale, permanence and immediacy that previous forms of engagement could not achieve, creating both opportunities and challenges for policing.
The scale of this shift is already significant. A nationally representative YouGov survey commissioned for this report found that half of adults (50 per cent) own and regularly use at least one technology capable of generating digital evidence, while nearly one in three (31 per cent) own and regularly use a smart doorbell camera. Public attitudes towards these technologies are also broadly positive: 69 per cent of adults believe smart doorbells improve their personal safety and security, while 58 per cent believe journey cameras improve personal safety on the roads.
Crucially, the public appear willing to use these technologies in support of public safety. Three quarters (75 per cent) say they would be likely to share footage of suspicious activity outside their home, while nearly three quarters (73 per cent) would share footage of dangerous driving. Even where incidents do not affect them directly, many citizens appear willing to contribute evidence when they believe it could help make their communities safer.
Citizens are already generating and sharing digital evidence at scale. Policing now needs the capacity, governance and public trust required to receive, assess and respond to that evidence effectively. When people submit evidence and can see that it has been reviewed, acknowledged or acted upon, participation is reinforced. When evidence appears to disappear into a black hole, confidence can be undermined and future participation discouraged.
Realising the benefits of digital citizen evidence will depend on appropriate safeguards and governance. Questions about how evidence is collected, retained, shared and used are central to maintaining public trust. If citizens are concerned that their information is being used inappropriately, retained unnecessarily or handled without sufficient transparency, there is a risk of creating a chilling effect that discourages participation and weakens confidence in policing.
The report concludes that technology and evidence-submission portals, while important, are only part of the solution. Equal attention must be given to the principles, processes and governance arrangements that determine how citizen-generated evidence is received, assessed, and acted on. To support this, we propose ten principles for the effective, proportionate and trusted use of digital citizen evidence.
Digital citizen evidence is already here. The public are willing to participate. The challenge now is whether policing can create the systems, standards and safeguards needed to ensure that participation strengthens both public safety and public confidence.
Read the full report: [link]