Four Characteristics of Policing as a Practice

Four Characteristics of Policing as a Practice

Rafe McGregor | Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice

Abstract

"The purpose of this article is three-fold: (1) to provide an analysis of autoethnography as a method in policing research; (2) to distinguish between policing as a practice and policing as an institution; and (3) to outline the characteristics of policing as a practice. I deploy an autoethnographic method to identify the characteristics of the practice of city policing in democracies. These characteristics—heroic struggle, edgework, absolute sacrifice, and worldmaking—draw attention to a crucial mismatch between policing as a practice and policing as an institution. I conclude by suggesting ways in which the characteristics of the practice can provide a firm foundation for further research into the contemporary problems of policing as an institution."

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Four Characteristics of Policing as a Practice, Rafe McGregor, Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 2021