Eliciting personal constructs to distinguish prevailing D/discourse in police training

This paper describes the application of the rank-order repertory grid technique to elicit personal constructs in order to distinguish prevailing D/discourse in police training. Traditionally, the repertory grid has been used as a quantitative method for data collection, correlation, and analysis, however, in recent years it has been applied as a qualitative method. This research combines the use of the repertory grid as a quantitative method for data collection and initial statistical analysis with a discourse analytic framework for final theoretical analysis. This research is in informed by a literature review of police culture, police training, gender, “Othering”, and inherent D/discourses in police organisations, and inspired by the researcher’s professional experiences in a police organisation. Anecdotal evidence and studies reveal that pedagogical training methods are predominantly used in police training with concerns identified as to their educative value. These concerns are supported by Australian and international studies into police management education which reveal a ‘resistant anti-intellectual subculture’ and a set of unconscious and unchallengeable assumptions regarding police work, conduct, and leadership which prevents critical thinking. An examination of D/discourse in police training is timely and pertinent given the Australasian agenda for policing to become a profession.

Pedagogy, police training, D/discourses – “truth” and situated identities and meanings

Qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this research to distinguish the prevailing D/discourses (words, tools, beliefs, thinking styles) in police training and to analyse the ‘discourse-practice’ (Cherryholmes 1988, p.1) framework of policing in a training environment. The manifestations, functions and consequences of the D/discourses raise concerns about the efficacy of training (its doctrinal intent and value versus its educative intent and value) and its implications for individuals’ identity, subjectivity, agency, learning, and “membership” within the policing community. The literature revealed that police training acts as a formally sanctioned vehicle for police culture, subcultures, and D/discourses. This is complicated by (a) the predominance of pedagogical training practices that support a trainer-centred approach and standardised lecture format for training, (b) police training focusing predominantly on law enforcement at the cost of higher-order conceptual skills, and (c) Australian and international studies of police management education which reveal a subculture resistant to theoretical analysis and critical reflection, and a set of unconscious and unchallengeable assumptions regarding police work, conduct, and leadership. A backdrop to this research and findings is the agenda of Australian and New Zealand police services for police to become a profession.

Pedagogy, police training, D/discourses – subcultures and situated identities and meanings

Qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this research to distinguish the prevailing D/discourses (words, tools, beliefs, thinking styles) in police training and to analyse the ‘discourse-practice’ (Cherryholmes 1988: 1) framework of policing in a training environment. The manifestations, functions and consequences of the D/discourses raise concerns about the efficacy of training (its doctrinal intent and value versus its educative intent and value) and its implications for individuals’ identity, subjectivity, agency, learning, and “membership” within the policing community. The literature revealed that police training acts as a formally sanctioned vehicle for police culture, subcultures, and D/discourses. This is complicated by (a) the predominance of pedagogical training practices that support a trainer-centred approach and standardised lecture format for training, (b) police training focusing predominantly on law enforcement at the cost of higher- rder conceptual skills, and (c) Australian and international studies of police management education which  reveal a subculture resistant to theoretical analysis and critical reflection, and a set of unconscious and unchallengeable assumptions regarding police work, conduct, and leadership. The agenda of Australian and New Zealand police services for police to become a profession provides a backdrop to this research and findings.

Improving police officers' perceptions of sexual offending through intensive training

We examined whether specialist police training on the dynamics of sexual offending can modify officers’ victim-blaming attitudes and negative perceptions regarding likely case authorization. The sample included 77 Australian police officers specialising in sexual assault investigation. The training, delivered face to face over 4 weeks, included focus on identifying elements of grooming in offending relationships and how these elements can be elicited from victims and suspects within a narrative interviewing framework. Officers’ perceptions of cases were assessed immediately pre- and posttraining using a series of case scenarios. For each scenario, officers rated (on a 10-point Likert-type scale) their confidence that the case should be authorised to proceed to prosecution and the responsibility attributable to the victim. For each case, officers also listed up to 5 factors to justify their case authorization decision. Overall, confidence in case authorization increased from pre- to posttraining, whilst perception of victim “responsibility” decreased. The pattern of results, including the qualitative evidence to justify officers’ decisions, support that the attitude change was due to greater understanding of the dynamics of sexual offending. The implications for police trainers, and directions for future research, are discussed.

Dry your eyes princess : an analysis of gender and 'other' based discources in police organisations

This paper examines the literature relevant to an analysis of gender and discourse in police organisations with a view to testing it through research. Much of the literature on policing can be divided into four key topic areas: the features and construction of police culture; women’s integration into policing; organisational structures and styles of police leadership; and debates about the nature of police work. An examination of the literature has revealed a deficiency of research in discourses within policing and in particular, the impact of discourses on gender and police training. Assumptions underpinning the research project and supported by literature include: formal and informal structures and practices within organisations produce and reproduce gender relations; power, gender relations and masculinity are characteristics of police culture; discourses are products and resources of interactions which establish particular truths; and police organisations have been slow to respond to anti-discrimination legislation and to integrate women into police services. Critical to any analysis of culture, power, gender, discourses, difference, and subjectification is the dynamic and complex nature of culture. Applying Shearing’s and Ericson’s definition of culture as ‘figurative logic’ has resonance in police organisations where symbols, rhetoric and metaphors function as vehicles for discourses.

Investigative interviewers' perceptions of the value of different training Tasks on their adherence to open-ended questions with children

Prior research has highlighted the considerable difficulties investigative interviewers have in adhering to open-ended questions in child abuse interviews. Although improvements in interviewing can be achieved by providing training that incorporates multiple practice opportunities and feedback, currently little is known about the way in which these elements are best administered. The current study extends debate and research on this issue by examining the perceptions of 15 trainee interviewers (police as well as social workers) regarding the relative value of various practical training exercises experienced in a recent training program. The findings indicated that although practice in interviewing was deemed essential, not all tasks were perceived to be equally beneficial. The two most favoured exercises were (a) simulated interviews involving trained actors playing the role of the child, and (b) self-evaluation of a transcribed interview using an objective coding protocol. A summary of the participants' perceptions is provided along with a discussion of the implications for trainers and researchers.

State police in a state of change : remaking the entrepreneurial officer

Questions concerning how to govern police practice have never been more pressing or more fluid. This study locates contemporary developments in police accountability techniques within a broader analysis of the historical circumstances shaping the changing techniques for governing police. The recent pluralisation of police accountability pr.ocesses and structures is examined through the application of governmentality studies. Drawing on a comparative analysis of two Australian States the book provides a detailed account of the development of governmental techniques for 'making up' the entrepreneurial officer. While such a governmental project is not implemented unproblematically the book concludes that the attempt to shape the development of the entrepreneurial officer through the managerialisation of governing presents distinct possibilities for a new 'politics of policing' that fosters deliberative and reflective police practice.

State police in a state of change: remaking the entrepreneurial officer

We are currently at a point in time in Australia where questions concerning how to govern police have never been more pressing or more fluid. Systemic corruption has been identified in several states; a range of new accountability mechanisms have been established internal and external to police and in Victoria police corruption has been linked with a violent 'gangland war'. This thesis locates these contemporary developments within a broader analysis of the historical circumstances shaping the changing techniques for governing state police. More specifically, this thesis engages in a detailed comparative study of the changing techniques of governing police in Queensland and Victoria. The theoretical tools to conduct this analysis are drawn from 'governmentality studies'. This refers to a broad grouping of theoretical scholarship concerned with the changing ideas - or 'political rationalities' - on how to govern some thing or some activity, and the underlying reasoning, justifications and ambitions contained within the practical tools or 'techniques' used to govern. Central to the thesis is an argument that a new politics of policing has emerged recently, one that extends the dyad of the old accountability - 'police powers' and 'external accountability' - to a pluralisation of accountability processes and structures. The thesis argues that governmentality studies offer new insights into ways of analysing the techniques for governing state police, increasingly shaped by the managerialisation of governing and embodying efforts to make police innovative, risk-taking problems-solvers. This is what I refer to as an open-ended normative project for re-making the entrepreneurial officer. However, a detailed examination of the development of governmental techniques for 'making up' the entrepreneurial officer indicates that such a governmental project is not implemented unproblematically. Nonetheless, the thesis concludes that the attempts to remake the entrepreneurial officer through the managerialisation of governing presents distinct possibilities for a new 'politics of policing' that fosters deliberative, reflective police practice within a new framework of police accountabilities

Negotiating discursive positions within a police culture: critical reflections of a student researcher

I traverse a number of identity boundaries every day within a work context. This paper discusses the blurred boundary of two identities - (1) a part-time PhD student undertaking a cross-jurisdictional study of police training and education and (2) a full-time, ‘unsworn’ employee advising on education and training at a police academy. Study and work are concurrent. I describe myself as a token insider – different, partly accepted, yet tolerated, or alternatively as an outsider-insider. It is taxing to maintain an outsider’s standpoint in a police organisation. My role regularly places me in a position of challenging the dominant ideology, D/discourse (words, beliefs, thinking styles) and subcultures whilst experiencing the imposition of power by the dominant to accept the status quo. Frustration combined with a desire to name and reframe everyday experiences has led me to engage in critical reflection, enlist a critical friend, and undertake doctoral research. As an outsider- nsider, critical reflection is a tool that enables me to negotiate discursive positions by questioning my engagement and subject position within and against the taken-for-granted and unquestioned dominant D/discourses.

Deconstructing pedagogies of professional practice and learning for police officers.

This research applied qualitative and narrative methodology to investigate police officers' professional practice and learning. Analysis of the data revealed three thematic frameworks of power-knowledge relations, practice and knowledge, and gender and (dis)embodied practice that harboured doubtful matters (aporias) and blind spots (lacunae). The potential for change and the possibility of different perspectives and new learning was evident. Paradigmatic shifts in thinking, learning and practice are needed for police officers to develop reflexive practice that is social, relational, agential, and embodied, however, limitations and constraints exist based on the strength and resilience of dominant pedagogies influenced by social, cultural, institutional and occupational practices and discourses.

An evaluation of a self-intiated practice exercise for investigative interviewers of children

The current study extends debate and research on the important role of practice in promoting and sustaining complex skills in investigative interviewing. Specifically, we explored the use of self-initiated practice as one avenue for facilitating ongoing development of professionals who interview children about abuse. A group of 40 investigative interviewers were required to organise and administer their own practice opportunities and to document these sessions in a diary. The professionals were aware of the important role of practice and what constitutes best-practice interview guidelines; however no instruction was given about the desired format, structure and timing of the practice sessions. A combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed poor adherence to self-initiated practice, and the practice (among those who adhered to this model) had negligible impact on performance. Overall, these findings highlight the need for careful monitoring and evaluation of all interviewer practice tasks.

Investigative interviewing of suspected sex offenders : a review of what constitutes best practice

Research on the topic of investigative interviewing of suspected sex offenders is still in its infancy, with the majority of work to date focusing on developing theories underlying confessions, and reflecting on the value of specific interview techniques that have been observed in the field. This paper provides a synthesis of the literature in order to produce a preliminary guide to best practice for the interviewing of this particular interviewee group. Specifically, this review is structured around five elements that should be considered when planning for and administering the interview. These elements include: (a) establishing rapport, (b) introducing the topic of concern, (c) eliciting narrative detail, (d) clarification/specific questions and (e) closure. The unique contribution of this paper is its practical focus, and its synthesis of findings across a variety of streams, including the general eyewitness memory literature, legislation and case law, therapeutic literature, and research specifically related to the interviewing of offenders (including confessions). At the conclusion of the review, recommendations are offered for further research.

Evaluation of the questions used to elicit evidence about abuse from child witnesses : Australian study

This study provides one of the first objective evaluations of the performance of a group of Australian police officers when conducting interviews about child abuse. The interviews included 136 videotaped child witness statements, conducted between 2001 and 2007 by police officers from two jurisdictions of Australia. The results indicated many positive aspects of the interviewers' performance, including the use of ground rules at the outset of the interview, commencement of the free-narrative account by seeking the children's understanding of the purpose of the interview, and avoidance of suggestive questions. But the interviewers tended to raise issues of contention when the child did not provide an initial disclosure, and the proportion of open-ended questions was low relative to specific cued-recall and closed questions. Further many closed questions raised specific details not yet mentioned by the child. These behaviours were exhibited irrespective of the recency of interview or time since training. The implications of these findings are discussed.

What themes trigger investigative interviewers to ask specific questions when interviewing children?

Recent research has established that investigative interviewers have difficulty adhering to openended questions and instead ask specific questions when interviewing children about abuse. The current study aims to examine the themes in abuse-related interviews that trigger investigators to ask specific questions. Twenty police officers who were authorised to conduct investigative interviews with children completed a mock interview with an expert in child abuse interviewing who had been trained to play the role of an abused child. During the interview, the officers were stopped by a researcher and asked to reflect on why they had asked specific questions. Overall, the results revealed five areas where the officers deviated from open-ended questions. These related to: (1) the identity of the alleged offender; (2) the meaning of terms used by the child to describe genitals; (3) whether or not penetration occurred; (4) the offender's intent and motives; and (5) the timing of the abuse and where it occurred. Each of these themes is discussed, along with the implications for trainers and researchers in child abuse interviewing.

Shifts in thinking and practice: reflecting on an applied learning programme

The implementation of the first iteration of a curriculum for an applied learning programme for police trainers received a hostile response from participants. It was perceived as irrelevant and supplanting, rather than augmenting, trainers’ fixed and untested training practices. This paper presents the reflections on my journey as a nonpolice person straddling an outsider-insider position while challenging that which is taken-for-granted and introducing an educative intent, as opposed to a doctrinal, technical intent, to police training. On a daily basis I simultaneously work within and against the prevailing D/discourses and dominant subcultures, while establishing and nurturing relationships with police trainers: being teacher, coach and ‘critical friend’. The response to the second and now third iterations of the learning programme has been increasingly positive, revealing shifts in trainers’ thinking and practice.