Toward cyber-centric management of policing: back to the future with information and communication technology

A number of external and internal forces are influencing policing efforts to service the community. These external forces include public expectations for traditional services, and the State government’s push towards new public management practices. Internal forces include legacy management practices and inappropriate asset holdings. While there have been a plethora of companies from the private sector that have successfully used information and communication technology (ICT) to address similar influences and ameliorate their performance, this has not been the case in the policing environment. To obtain the strategic, tactical and operational benefits that can be acquired through the adoption and widespread implementation of ICT, a framework is presented to enable virtual policing in Western Australia.