Police have generally responded well to the information technology (IT) age. However, this study demonstrated that, while information technology may have enabled police to do some existing tasks better, it had not yet led to major changes in how the Queensland Police Service (QPS) dealt with crime and disorder issues. The experience of the QPS illustrates the point that giving police access to computers, increasing the range and quantity of information that is stored electronically, and automating what were previously manual processes will not change how the business of policing is conducted. If police agencies are to get a better return on their investment in IT, there needs to be a conscious and sustained effort to change the organizational settings into which that technology is being introduced. The article claims that it is very important that the focus for planning for information technology is on assisting policing organizations to get where they should be, rather than simply on streamlining -- and thereby entrenching -- established practices. The study examined the extent to which implementation of IT had modified the accountability structure and the occupational culture of policing and whether IT has significantly altered police procedures at the street, supervisory, and management levels. Abbreviations, tables, notes, figures, appendix, references