Exploratory Study of a Mobile Location-based Real-time Notification System for Frontline Police Officers

The police organization is highly dependent on information. Frontline police officers are working on the streets and need the right information at the right time. Mobile technology can provide location-based information and could be of great assistance to them. We developed a mobile location-based real-time notification system and conducted an exploratory study in two real-life experiments. The system provides information on a point of interest (PoI) when frontline police officers are close to that PoI. Usability, recall of information, and situational awareness were measured to assess the impact of the system on police work. The results show that the system usability was adequate, recall of information varied between police officers working with the system and without, whereas little difference in situational awareness was found. Interviews suggest that awareness regarding PoI’s was increased and new behaviour was triggered by the system. Future research will evaluate further developments of the system and its impact on police work.

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