Distributed Cognition in Police Operations
Ryan McMaster, Chris Baber · 2023
In this paper, we report an investigation into the structure of the command and control network within West Midlands Police, principally focussing upon the role of police control rooms within this network. We present an analysis of police responses to emergency incidents using the systems-level approach of distributed cognition. The study found that the “OASIS” information system plays a key role within the command and control network, enabling communications and the flow of incident information across the various control rooms; from a distributed cognition perspective, the OASIS system is a key artefact, performing a number of roles which support the coordination of police activities.