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Austerity Policing, Emotional Labour and the Boundaries of Police Work: An Ethnography of a Police Force Control Room in England

Lumsden, Karen; Black, Alex

Authors

Karen Lumsden

Alex Black



Abstract

© The Author(s) 2017. This article discusses the changing role of policing in an era of austerity from the perspective of frontline civilian police staff (call handlers and dispatchers) in a force control room (FCR). It draws on a symbolic interactionist framework and the concept of emotional labour in order to explore the emotional responses and strategies engaged in by staff when responding to 101 non-emergency calls and 999 emergency calls. The clash of public and police expectations, and the emotional labour expended when managing this clash, provide a valuable insight into the frontline staff perspective on the changing role of the police under austerity. Data are drawn from ethnographic fieldwork in the control room of a police force in England.

Citation

Lumsden, K., & Black, A. (2018). Austerity Policing, Emotional Labour and the Boundaries of Police Work: An Ethnography of a Police Force Control Room in England. British Journal of Criminology, 58(3), 606-623. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azx045

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 20, 2017
Online Publication Date Aug 10, 2017
Publication Date 2018-05
Deposit Date Oct 10, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal The British Journal of Criminology
Print ISSN 0007-0955
Electronic ISSN 1464-3529
Publisher Oxford University Press (OUP)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 58
Issue 3
Pages 606-623
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azx045
Keywords Pathology and Forensic Medicine; Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous); Law; Social Psychology
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2796954
Publisher URL https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/58/3/606/4080314