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

Karen Lumsden* (Corresponding Author), Alex Black

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

45 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)606-623
Number of pages18
JournalThe British Journal of Criminology
Volume58
Issue number3
Early online date10 Aug 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2018

Bibliographical note

The study was funded via a College of Policing/HEFCE Policing Knowledge Fund (Grant No. J04)

Keywords

  • austerity
  • civilianization
  • control room
  • emotion
  • ethnography
  • policing
  • domestic abuse
  • emotional labour

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