R/ProtectandServe: an exploration of the virtual canteen culture regarding police misconduct

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study examined a specific online community of verified law enforcement personnel to uncover how police officers frame issues of police misconduct among other law enforcement on the social media website, Reddit. This study engaged in three stages of grounded theory analysis on 223 posts from the subreddit, r/ProtectandServe. This study found four major themes that emerged from conversations within this subreddit of verified law enforcement personnel and their perceptions of police misconduct: (1) negativity towards the media and politicians, (2) trust in their police administrators and organisations, (3) solidarity with fellow police officers, and (4) scepticism (at minimum) towards civilians. How officers use the Reddit platform and what they gain is consistent with the characteristics of police culture found within the existing literature, including solidarity with colleagues, the ‘us versus them’ mindset, the code of silence, and ‘canteen culture’ at the police station but in an online format [Waddington (1999). Police (canteen) sub-culture. British journal of criminology, 39 (2), 287–309, Skolnick (2011). Justice without trial: law enforcement in democratic society. New Orleans, LA: Quid Pro Books, Van Hulst (2013). Storytelling at the police station. British journal of criminology, 53, 624–642, Alpert, Noble, and Rojek (2015). Solidarity and the code of silence. In: R.G. Dunham, and G.P. Alpert, eds. Critical issues in policing: contemporary readings. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc, 106–121, Kappeler, Sluder, and Alpert (2015). Breeding deviant conformity: police ideology and culture. In: R.G. Dunham, and G.P. Alpert, eds. Critical issues in policing: contemporary readings. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc, 79–105] – with some notable nuances. Likewise, these officers apply an aggressive scepticism toward the civilians with whom they interact online and within the stories they tell. In conclusion, police officers are using informal, online spaces to take control of certain police narratives different from official departmental pages while simultaneously cultivating a space where they can offer topical commentary on policing issues and build virtual solidarity. More research is needed in these informal, online spaces where law enforcement personnel are the focus.