Database Reference
In-Depth Information
9.4.7 Sustaining Trust
The way the police handles the above issues of data-collections, the sensor-
network, privacy, discrimination, and group-think, all add up to trust: trust of po-
lice officers working within an augmented reality; and trust of citizen in police
operations.
To start with the first, where in their daily practices police officers are utterly
aware of the subtleties of language, context, and antecedents, this sensitivity
seems to be absent when dealing with digital data (Innes et al. 2005). Artifacts,
however, often lack context and history, unless such awareness functions are ex-
plicitly incorporated in its code. Ultimately an artifact acts as a 'finite state ma-
chine' (Arbib 1969): it does what it is programmed to do. If virtual reality is to be
integrated into the reality of policing practices, these limitations of artifacts have
to be engraved in the psyche of police officers whose reality is being augmented.
During decision making each virtual representation of reality has to be validated
and valuated against the context of that moment. Not complying with this baseline
may severely impact the safety and security of police officers and the public, as
decision making and action may be compromised by 'objective' yet erroneous
signals. Thus, as (non-critical) artifacts are situated in practice, their agency has to
be controlled by officers that are aware of the abilities and limitations of the arti-
facts used.
In democratic nations, citizens' trust in police operations is of utmost impor-
tance for the legitimacy of police organizations (Tyler and Wakslak 2004). At the
moment most civilians (in the Netherlands) seem to experience the control meas-
ures of the government as soothing rather than undermining their sense of privacy
(Boutellier 2007). This trust, however, has to be earned on a daily basis. By dis-
cussing the above issues we have tried to demonstrate that the development of
augmented reality in police operations is a delicate enterprise. In our opinion, in
contemporary society, in which the physical and the virtual world are becoming
more and more interwoven, the question is not if the police should engage in aug-
mented reality, but how it can do so in a responsible manner. To ensure that the
benefits (catching more criminals through less control actions) outweigh the risks
(culminating in public trust decay), this on-going development should be embed-
ded in public debate. Moreover, efforts should be undertaken to formally regulate
and supervise its use, obvious candidates being the Public Prosecutor and the
Dutch Data Protection Authority (Cbp). To this end we discuss some legal issues
related to acting within an augmented reality, followed by two considerations for
future legislation.
9.4.8 Consequences for Legislation
Using augmented reality within the context of actions along roads is legally com-
plicated. We will explain this based on the case described (see grey box).
In the Netherlands, the inspection of vehicles on roads is organized in the Road
Traffic Law (Wegenverkeerswet). Possession of drugs, on the other hand, is or-
ganized in the Law on Opium (Opiumwet). If someone is suspected of carrying
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