Police Technology and Accountability Project
Technology adoption, procurement, governance, and public trust in U.S. policing
How is police technology adopted and governed?
Police technology can expand surveillance, change officers’ work, and introduce new forms of oversight. PTAP documents these technologies and how they are governed through a dataset of U.S. police departments and sheriff’s offices. We also administer surveys and experiments with the general public and police leadership.
Technology adoption
Why do some agencies adopt a tool while others do not? We track current, previous, and planned use of body-worn cameras, license plate readers, drones, facial recognition, and AI-assisted report writing, alongside vendors and agency characteristics.
Governance and oversight
Who decides whether a tool is appropriate, and who can scrutinize its use? We examine procurement, staff responsibilities, public reporting, and external audits, together with written policies governing particular technologies.
AI and public trust
Surveys and experiments examine what people expect from police AI, including tools used to predict crime or review officer conduct. We investigate how support varies with the agency involved, the purpose of the technology, and the agency’s resources and expertise.