Situating Policing in a Late Modern Society: The Ontology of Police Identity

Abstract

As individuals we interact and make decisions that shape both us and those around us. This view holds true of policing, a field dominated by functionalist approaches to research. This paper questions functionalism and presents a sociological perspective of policing research, incorporating a social construction of identity. Whilst functionalists argue that crime is deviance against the dominant group, it provides no opportunity to question norms or identity. In an era of globalisation and connectivity, an interpretivist ontology in policing research is more appropriate, allowing the representation of identity through an analysis of culture and discourse. Culture and identity are sociological influences on police action, negotiated through hegemonistic power struggles.