Towards better policing: achieving norm internalization and compliance with persuasively designed technology

Research indicates that interactions with law enforcement, determinative of access to justice is far from positive for racial minorities and women and is often characterized by suspicion, unfriendliness and dismissal of complaints. This conduct is not easily captured by prohibitive regulation although it can amount to discrimination proscribed by equality laws. Training, monitoring and codes of conduct have had limited effect. This book, therefore, explores another approach to legally compliant behaviour, a lens which focuses on the internalization of norms underlying laws and regulations, through persuasive technology. Drawing from the nudge theory, as well as Lessig's articulation of the influence of norms and architecture on behaviour, this book takes an interdisciplinary approach, rooted in a broader view of the law's impact on human cognition and decision making and technology's impact on behaviour. The inter-disciplinary lens combines an understanding of the cognitive and organizational factors driving discrimination with behaviour change theories such as the social identity theory, and technological artefacts like conversational agents that can influence behaviour, to proffer an alternative solution. This work constitutes the first steps towards addressing discriminatory behaviour by leveraging the ubiquity and versatility of technology to regulate behaviour in accordance with the law and its intentions.