Police Officers’ Adoption of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Law Enforcement Practice: Insights From the Theory of Planned Behavior

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) offers transformative potential in law enforcement, but its impact mainly depends on its utilization. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study investigated the factors that influence police officers’ intention to use GenAI in law enforcement practice. An online survey was conducted on 687 police officers across China for data collection. Structural equation modeling (SEM) via AMOS 24 revealed several key findings. Attitude, subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC) exerted significant positive effects on officers’ behavioral intention (BI) to use GenAI. Meanwhile, GenAI literacy significantly and positively influenced SN, PBC, and BI, but its direct effect on attitudes was nonsignificant. The results of mediation analyses illustrated that SN and PBC partially mediated the relationship between GenAI literacy and BI. Meanwhile, fostering positive attitudes, cultivating supportive SN, enhancing PBC, and improving GenAI literacy can effectively promote police officers’ adoption of GenAI tools. These findings offer practical implications for law enforcement agencies in designing training programs and formulating policies to facilitate the effective integration of GenAI into law enforcement practice.