A material narrative of policing: Letting the patrol car tell the story
A fundamental part of police research is defining and understanding what the police do, and what policing is, in its core. Analysis of these matters often derive from observation and interviews with officers, or from registered data from incidences and cases handled by the police. In this project I also ask what policing is, but I want to explore how ideas and stories of policing are manifested in the material objects the police bring along on the beat. I want to let the patrol car do the talking: The patrol car is essential for all operative police work, and here I ask what material narratives of policing the police car and its content present.
This project will study the vehicles used by the Norwegian special patrols called UEH (utrykningsenheter). UEH were established as local antiterror units. They do regular patrol work but are also prepared for more serious events. The content of their vehicles is the result of a standardized list, created by the Norwegian Police Directorate. The list shows what should be packed in the car as the watch begins, as well as the placement of these items. Here, I want to explore what you bring along illustrates what you prepare for, and what you expect to encounter on the beat. And as important as the items included in the list, are those left out as a result of limited space. Thus, the list of items and the placement of them, also present a story of likely events and possible futures in policing.
In this project, the standardized list is the starting point for the analysis, which will be supplemented by participant observations and interviews with UEH personnel, as well as with those are working with establishing and developing the list of content, using STS as a starting point for exploring how artefacts and objects present a material narrative of policing, preparedness and risk. As objects and artefacts are also shaping the social world of policing, these items will influence how the police see themselves, their work, and the world they encounter. This will contribute to a more theoretically founded aim in the project, to explore how other narratives, such as political, judicial, or social ones, can be contrasted, complemented, or contradicted, by such material narratives.
Jenny Maria Lundgaard is an Associate Professor at Politihøgskolen in Oslo. She has a background as criminologist and received her Ph.D. from The University of Oslo in 2019, with a thesis on police control room practices and decision-making. Her field of interest is the becoming of knowledge and use of technology, especially within operative policing. Read more about Lundgaard here