Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.46672/zsl.8.9.12
Foreign experiences of police digital competencies and perceptions of police officers in Croatia
Ivana Radić
; PU požeško-slavonska, Hrvatska
Abstract
This paper aims to identify the digital competencies necessary for the uniformed police officers
in Croatia during the COVID-19 pandemic when a part of police communication was
shifted to cyberspace. The paper consists of two parts: it first provides an overview of relevant
foreign examples attempting to regulate the digital competencies of uniformed police
officers, followed by a presentation of qualitative research conducted in Croatia. Four focus
groups, each with 10 research participants, were held between December 2022 and January
2023: three in the Osijek-Baranja Police Administration and one in the Požega-Slavonija
Police Administration. The results of semi-structured interviews indicate that uniformed
police officers require two categories of digital competencies: (1) digital literacy and internet
usage, and (2) cyber hygiene and cyber security. Both categories are needed at the first
two levels of digital literacy and internet usage. The primary limitation of this study is that
it was conducted only in one part of Croatia, resulting in prospects for future research in
two directions: repeating the same study with police officers from other police administrations
in Croatia and exploring the digital communication channel needs of citizens in
specific parts of Croatia. This would provide a comprehensive understanding of the need
for digital police communication in Croatia and, consequently, the requirements for digital
competencies for police officers.
Keywords
digital competencies; police; COVID-19 pandemic; Croatia
Hrčak ID:
312487
URI
Publication date:
28.12.2023.
Visits: 686 *