E-Government and the Transformation of Professionalism: The Case of the Police

In this paper we show how E-Government contributes to transform professionalism on the basis of the police work as empirical case. During the last years numerous innovations, particularly for the internal communication of the police as well as for tasks focused on predictive policing or civil security records have been implemented. These innovations coined in the term E-Policing represent a derivation of E-Government since their aim is to achieve a better service for the citizens. Moreover, E-Government tools in the context of work goals towards a more efficient organizational structure and division of tasks. In this process some tasks and with them their required competences and qualifications become obsolete. Thus professionalism and the particular discretion that the professionals should apply also change. Even if this general process is theoretically known from work in the private sector, evidence about the effects of E-Government implementation on professionalism is still missing.