Civil Disputes and Crime Recording Refusals, Disinterest And Power In Police Witcraft

Nick Lynn; Susan J. Lea

doi:10.1093/bjc/azr087

Civil Disputes and Crime Recording Refusals, Disinterest And Power In Police Witcraft

Nick Lynn^*, Susan J. Lea

^*Corresponding author for this work

Psychology

University of Plymouth

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper explores the rhetorical skills or witcraft of police officers as they adjudicate on disputes and crimes reported to them. The first author accompanied officers 'on the beat' to record these interactions with members of the public. A discourse analysis of the data revealed officers regularly use a discursive strategy that we term the that's civil device. Exploiting an epistemological imbalance that exists in police/public interactions, the device not only allows officers to externalize their judgments as matters of law; it also assists them to manage the conversationally and operationally difficult task of refusing. Moreover, it allows officers to resist claims of disinterestedness or neglect of duty as they limit or disbar their involvement in potentially insoluble disputes.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	361-380
Number of pages	20
Journal	The British Journal of Criminology
Volume	52
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azr087
Publication status	Published - Mar 2012

Keywords

stake
witcraft
police
refusals
ASSAULT
power
crime recording

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1093/bjc/azr087

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abstract = "This paper explores the rhetorical skills or witcraft of police officers as they adjudicate on disputes and crimes reported to them. The first author accompanied officers 'on the beat' to record these interactions with members of the public. A discourse analysis of the data revealed officers regularly use a discursive strategy that we term the that's civil device. Exploiting an epistemological imbalance that exists in police/public interactions, the device not only allows officers to externalize their judgments as matters of law; it also assists them to manage the conversationally and operationally difficult task of refusing. Moreover, it allows officers to resist claims of disinterestedness or neglect of duty as they limit or disbar their involvement in potentially insoluble disputes.",

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AB - This paper explores the rhetorical skills or witcraft of police officers as they adjudicate on disputes and crimes reported to them. The first author accompanied officers 'on the beat' to record these interactions with members of the public. A discourse analysis of the data revealed officers regularly use a discursive strategy that we term the that's civil device. Exploiting an epistemological imbalance that exists in police/public interactions, the device not only allows officers to externalize their judgments as matters of law; it also assists them to manage the conversationally and operationally difficult task of refusing. Moreover, it allows officers to resist claims of disinterestedness or neglect of duty as they limit or disbar their involvement in potentially insoluble disputes.

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KW - witcraft

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KW - refusals

KW - ASSAULT

KW - power

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Civil Disputes and Crime Recording Refusals, Disinterest And Power In Police Witcraft

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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