scholarly journals Police officers’ perspectives on state (police) violence: A sociomoral and psychological-driven study on disengagement

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-204
Author(s):  
Mónica Soares ◽  
Mariana Barbosa ◽  
Raquel Matos

This paper comprises a theoretical and empirical incursion into the phenomenon of state violence, namely police violence. Although extensively explored in different perspectives within and outside academia, police violence is complex and has not been sufficiently problematized yet. In our understanding, this phenomenon requires a dialectical and dynamic discussion wherein both the development of state powers (macro-perspective) and how these powers affect the subjectification of those who act on their behalf (micro-perspective) are articulated into a critical analysis. In more concrete terms, the present study contributes to such analysis by shedding light on the main processes of moral disengagement (cf. Bandura, 1990, 1999, 2004) disclosed in the internal perspectives of six Portuguese police officers about common daily work-related situations. To legitimize the resort to police violence, police officers rely heavily on different mechanisms of moral disengagement. For instance, sanitizing language (anchored in a police technical jargon) is typically used as a linguistic mechanism to disguise violent actions; advantageous comparisons with other law enforcement agencies or with the recipient’s conduct are typically employed; non-lethal violence is usually minimized and portrayed as innocuous; and the recipient of violence is usually dehumanised and seen as responsible for the acts of violence. The findings are discussed based on the moral disengagement theory (Bandura, 1990, 1999, 2004); on the denial approach (Cohen, 2001, 2003); and on the impact of organizational, legal and socio-cultural dimensions of police organization (e.g., Fassin, 2011; Huggins, Haritos-Fatouros, & Zimbardo, 2002).

Multilingua ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Angouri ◽  
Marlene Miglbauer

AbstractIn multinational corporate companies, multilingualism is often a daily reality for employees and the negotiation of language practices for work and social purposes, a routine. Despite the role of English as a lingua franca, the linguistic ecology of modern workplaces is dynamic, rich and diverse. While English is often used for communication between a company’s headquarters and its subsidiaries, language choice is dynamically negotiated between the interactants in informal meetings and everyday interactions in the workplace. Against this backdrop, the article discusses the lived experience of the multinational workplace. We draw on interview data with 40 employees in senior and junior management posts in 12 companies situated in Croatia, Greece, Italy, Serbia, Sweden and the UK where English is the official corporate language. Special attention is paid to the employees’ perceptions of the role of languages in their daily work life. We focus here on three discourses that have emerged from the analysis of our data: multilingualism and the use of English, multilingualism and cosmpolitanism, and challenges and expectations of multilingualism. Our findings show that the employees draw on a range of linguistic resources in order to manage their work-related interactions, and dominant ideologies in relation to language use come to the fore. We close the article by focusing on the profile of the ‘global’ employee and the impact of the ‘modern’ workplace on the working realities of the participants.


Author(s):  
Martine B. Powell ◽  
Peter Cassematis ◽  
Mairi S. Benson ◽  
Stephen Smallbone ◽  
Richard Wortley

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore police officers’ perceptions of the challenges and work stressors of working in Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) investigation. Design/methodology/approach – Participants were a heterogeneous sample of 32 ICE investigators across nine Australian jurisdictions. Officers’ perceptions of ICE work were elicited via individual, open-ended, anonymous, telephone interviews, which focused on both the nature and impact of work-related stressors and challenges. Findings – Thematic analysis revealed that viewing ICE material was not perceived to be a major stressor or particularly traumatic facet of ICE investigation. Rather, the challenges related to three areas; work relationships, workload and resources and the physical environment. Participants also suggested some improvements to their work environment which could reduce the impact of these challenges. Practical implications – The stressors identified by ICE investigators in this study place physical, psychological and social restrictions on investigative capacity. Modifications to the workplace environment that facilitate more effective professional collaboration, reduce workload and enhance investigator efficiency and functionality of the physical work environment would likely reduce the potential for harm associated with ICE investigation and improve ICE investigators’ capacity to perform their role. Originality/value – This is the first study to use a broad research framework to examine the full range of stressors that ICE investigators face (both organisational and operational). The findings are important for developing comprehensive theories regarding workplace traumatisation as well as holistic intervention models to assist the prevention and management of stress related to ICE investigation.


Work ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Brendan Hanson ◽  
Sherry Steele Cooper ◽  
Taryn Tegarden ◽  
Logan Tipton ◽  
Andrew G Freeman ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Emergency personnel operate in environments that put them at higher risk of injury to the musculoskeletal system. These injuries result in lost workdays, medical costs, and decreased productivity, all which impact emergency response systems. OBJECTIVE: This study serves to assess the causes, costs, and disability of common work-related musculoskeletal injuries within the police, emergency medical service (EMS) workers, and firefighters of Ohio based on data from the OBWC (Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation). METHODS: Our dataset included all OBWC injury claims involving a shoulder, low back, or knee from 2010 through 2014. Police and Firefighter leaders were analyzed separately from those not in a leadership role, and workers with combined Firefighter/EMS roles were analyzed separately from “pure” Firefighters and EMS personnel. Data were organized through univariate analysis of variance with post-hoc Tukey tests and analyzed based on the job of the individual and whether the individual was in a leadership role. RESULTS: Police officers had the highest number of total injuries in the dataset, followed by Firefighters and Firefighters/EMS workers. Police officers and Firefighters injured their back and knees more often than their shoulders, while EMS workers injured their backs and shoulders more often than their knees. CONCLUSIONS: The mechanisms through which injuries occur are also dependent on the job. Police officers experienced a higher percentage of motor vehicle related back problems, while firefighters had a higher percentage of injuries from overexertion. Musculoskeletal injury claims in these emergency personnel resulted in opioid prescriptions approximately 10%of the time.


Author(s):  
Milad Mirbabaie ◽  
Stefan Stieglitz ◽  
Felix Brünker ◽  
Lennart Hofeditz ◽  
Björn Ross ◽  
...  

AbstractOrganizations introduce virtual assistants (VAs) to support employees with work-related tasks. VAs can increase the success of teamwork and thus become an integral part of the daily work life. However, the effect of VAs on virtual teams remains unclear. While social identity theory describes the identification of employees with team members and the continued existence of a group identity, the concept of the extended self refers to the incorporation of possessions into one’s sense of self. This raises the question of which approach applies to VAs as teammates. The article extends the IS literature by examining the impact of VAs on individuals and teams and updates the knowledge on social identity and the extended self by deploying VAs in a collaborative setting. Using a laboratory experiment with N = 50, two groups were compared in solving a task, where one group was assisted by a VA, while the other was supported by a person. Results highlight that employees who identify VAs as part of their extended self are more likely to identify with team members and vice versa. The two aspects are thus combined into the proposed construct of virtually extended identification explaining the relationships of collaboration with VAs. This study contributes to the understanding on the influence of the extended self and social identity on collaboration with VAs. Practitioners are able to assess how VAs improve collaboration and teamwork in mixed teams in organizations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 142-149
Author(s):  
Roland K. Yeo

Purpose The paper aims to discuss the transformation of a multinational organization, Global Co, through the deployment of an operational excellence system at a time of turbulence and complexity. It illuminates the opportunities and challenges of implementing the system from the perspective of learning and change. Design/methodology/approach A case study method was utilized in the research based on a four-year longitudinal study. Formal and informal interviews, unobtrusive observations and archival records formed the core of the data collection that led to key insights reported in this paper. Findings A structured approach to managing work processes is essential for ensuring efficiency and reliability in work output. Performance improvement is sustained by operational discipline that strives for consistency in daily work practices. Organizations develop self-healing mechanisms to help address work-related gaps and issues, turning constraints into enablers for improvement. Originality/value The paper provides a wider dimension of organizational performance from the learning and change perspective. It considers organizations as organisms with self-healing properties supported by operational discipline. It redefines the impact of operational excellence through organizational significance.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen L. Amendola ◽  
Maria Valdovinos Olson ◽  
Julie Grieco ◽  
Teresina G. Robbins

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to initiate the development of a police-specific measure of work–family conflict (WFC) to assess spouse and/or partner perceptions of the impact of WFC on them, their family and/or their personal lives by tapping existing dimensions of WFC and proposing three dimensions that may be specific to the policing profession. This developmental and exploratory work will serve as the basis for sample data collection with spouses of police.Design/methodology/approachFor over five decades, researchers have examined the construct of WFC, a phenomenon that refers to the impact of work-related issues on the family of the worker. Despite the fact that policing is a high-stress profession, now under considerable scrutiny and increasing public pressure, much less is known about WFC in police families and the perceptions of spouses and/or partners of police officers regarding WFC. The methodology for developing this scale follows that recommended by psychometricians in the construction of reliable and valid scales for use in both descriptive and predictive research.FindingsThe data reported were generated from an initial content validity study relying on 14 subject matter experts with backgrounds in policing, police research and/or psychometrics and approximately 20 spouses/partners (significant others of police officers). The findings provide preliminary evidence for six potential dimensions of WFC totaling 34 items.Originality/valueWhile some researchers have assessed the extent to which certain work-related factors impact police officers' family members, none have tapped additional domain-specific items for police while also surveying spouses and/or partners of officers.


2020 ◽  
pp. 0032258X2094680
Author(s):  
Andreas Santa Maria ◽  
Christine Wolter ◽  
Burkhard Gusy ◽  
Dieter Kleiber ◽  
Babette Renneberg

The aim of the present study was to examine if work effort is associated with burnout among police officers and if job rewards and healthoriented leadership can mitigate the potential adverse effects of high work effort on officers’ mental health. Data were collected in a German police department (n = 573). The results indicated that high work effort was associated with higher levels of burnout while job rewards and health-oriented leadership were associated with lower levels of burnout. Additionally, health-oriented leadership buffered the effects of work effort on police officers’ burnout levels while job rewards showed no buffering effect. The results emphasize the importance of leadership for health promotion in policing.


2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 1580-1603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henk Sollie ◽  
Nicolien Kop ◽  
Martin C. Euwema

This study provides an in-depth analysis of the resilience of crime scene investigators (CSIs) in the Netherlands and how they perceive and cope with daily work stressors. Observational studies within five CSI teams and 35 semistructured interviews with investigators revealed that administrative accumulation, long and irregular working hours, confrontations with human suffering, decision making, and dirty and physically demanding circumstances at the crime scene can be very stressful. By employing strict management of thoughts, visualization, focus on sensemaking, sharing of emotions and responsibilities, and avoiding potentially distressing working situations, CSIs overcome the strain of forensic investigations. However, successful implementation of these resilience-enhancing strategies depends on the availability of several individual, team, and organizational resources. To reduce the risk of health problems and to stimulate positive functioning, these resources require permanent investment by police management and CSIs themselves.


2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciano Romeo ◽  
Margherita Brondino ◽  
Gianluigi Lazzarini ◽  
Elisabetta Farise ◽  
Margherita Pasini

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document