NCJ Number
152131
Journal
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology Volume: 27 Issue: 2 Dated: (September 1994) Pages: 111-132
Date Published
1994
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This article draws on Bob Hoogenboom's concept of "grey policing" and constructs a structural understanding of Australian police cooperation with other agencies.
Abstract
The discussion focuses on one facet of, to use Hoogenboom's terminology, the emerging "police complex"; namely, information exchange between the police and various agencies as well as their personnel. One section of the article addresses the mechanics of the "complex" or "network" itself, rather than making claims about the form and nature of the police complex as a whole. The article then analyzes the trend in information sharing among agencies. Traditional explanations of information exchange that have centered on the concept of an "old boy network" and interchange of personnel are insufficient in an era that continues to juggle the conflicting pressures of traditional rights with the intrusive capabilities of information technology. Literal interpretations of disclosure and secrecy provisions ignore the informal or human factors that are an integral part of agency cooperation. Information exchange between agencies is propagated by formal and informal personnel contacts and by developing technological capabilities, while being constrained by the uncomfortable relationships within and between organizational interests and the rule of law. Current trends toward increased data-matching reflect the establishment of close cooperation between police and other agencies and confirm what Hoogenboom refers to as the "police complex." 36 references