Reassembling operative policing: The introduction of drones in the Norwegian police

Abstract

Drones are increasingly being used in various areas of society, including in the police. The drone and its sensors make it possible to collect live images of people, places and situations that are otherwise unavailable or hard to reach. Adding to the already complex assemblage of operative policing, what happens to policing when drones are introduced? Drones provide new forms of information to the police, connecting areas that were previously disconnected, and disconnecting what was previously connected. Recently, a small one-year trial with drones was carried out by the Norwegian Police Service, resulting in drones becoming a permanent fixture in the force. Data for this article were collected through approximately 380 h of ethnographic fieldwork during the trial period. This article explores how drones establish new assemblages within police practices and thus work as reassemblers of operative policing. The technology forms new entities and connections on multiple levels within policing, thus also constructing new dilemmas, as the drone can act both as a problem-solver and a troublemaker.