Researching Police in/under Protest - Peter Ullrich - ipb working paper 1/2018 - Institut für Protestund ...
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Peter Ullrich
Researching Police in/under Protest
Police Research as a Journey of Discovery with Obstacles
ipb working paper 1/2018
Autor
ipb working papers | Berlin, März 2018 Peter Ullrich
Institut für Protest- und Bewegungsforschung
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Ullrich, Peter. 2018. Researching Police in/under Protest. Police Research as a Journey of Discovery
with Obstacles, ipb working paper series, 1/2018. Berlin: ipb.
Abstract Table of Contents The police, in particular the riot police, can be a Introduction 1 rather inaccessible object of investigation, Outlook 1 whose reservations towards research are ana- lysed with reference to five “barriers on the way The police - still a “hermetic institution”? 2 to the police”: 1) police control of access to the Data and methodology 3 field, 2) the doubly asymmetric research rela- tionship, 3) steering attempts by the police, 4) Five barriers on the way to the police 5 the sceptical attitude of interviewees and 5) the Gatekeepers: entry restrictions 5 restrained discussion behaviour. However, A (dis)joint path 6 what appears as a hurdle from a research per- Maintaining control: the police at the wheel 8 spective rather allows structures of the object Aversion to travel 10 itself to be reconstructed and is explained here Driving with the handbrake on 11 as a result of organisational characteristics and Travel destination: the ‘innocent’ police 13 of police culture. These include a prevalence of Diminution strategies: the ‘powerless’ police 14 narratives of police “innocence” and “power- Taking the focus off rule deviations 14 lessness” with which resistance against external aspirations for control is buttressed. The police Arrival 17 views itself from its perspective as constantly Travel tally 17 being unjustly publicly criticised. The basic atti- Future travel plans 18 tude of reserve if not hostility towards research Travelling ethically, critically or all-inclusive? 19 leads to the definitional power of the police in References 20 its field of action partially being transferred also to the research. However, police interference has its limits, and there are counterstrategies that will be set forth. Most data used are from a GTM project on protest policing, based primar- ily on group discussions and expert interviews with riot police.
Introduction relevant specifics of the case (Germany) and field
(protest policing).
There is a theme that runs through the interna- The paper—following a journey metaphor—
tional methodological literature on police. Espe- analyses challenges for police research, their
cially the massive field access problems for re- methodological implications, and their analytical
searchers prompted much reasoning about the potential with respect to the research object itself
(im)possibility of doing police research. These as “five barriers on the way to the police”. Specifi-
problems are not just rooted in the typical se- cally, these are:
crecy interests of organisations in the field of in-
ternal security. They rather touch upon a basic 1) police control of access to the field,
problem of organisational sociology: in general, 2) the doubly asymmetric research relation-
one can assume that organisations do not have an ship,
interest per se in being objects of research, as 3) attempts by the police to steer,
long as the questions asked do not serve their 4) the sceptical attitude of potential interview-
own purposes. Accepting or supporting research ees
would entail costs, e.g. time and other organisa- 5) the restrained discussion behaviour.
tional efforts, and even more potential costs in The research process being analysed is in a
the future, because the output of research and its sense reminiscent of an arduous journey with ob-
implications for the organisation are unpredicta- stacles and adventures as well as fascinating dis-
ble. Lamenting this situation in police research is coveries. It is shown how a goal can be reached
absolutely justified, because there is a strong after all, albeit along a different route and with
public interest in controlling the holder of the considerable delay. The barriers that arise on the
state’s monopoly of the legitimate use of force. researcher’s path were erected by an organisa-
Nevertheless, lamenting is futile, as long as the tion whose organisational purpose and funda-
situation is as it is. Yet, there are two obvious mental rationality of action consists in establish-
ways to go beyond moaning. The first is to collect ing authority.1 This obviously implies that the or-
experiences, and thus conditions, of how to suc- ganisation is disinclined to provide insight into its
cessfully research police. The second and perhaps work beyond its control. For the holder of the mo-
more important way to make the best of it is to nopoly of the legitimate use of force and thus the
analyse the research object’s resistance as data embodiment of state order is loath to be “the crit-
about it, to answer the following question: What icised police” (Frevel & Behr 2015b, own transla-
do the actual encounters between researchers tion). These are thus reflections of a journey to a
and police as well as the police reaction to these foreign land, in which more and more potential
scientific pretensions disclose about the charac- travellers are taking an interest and which in its
ter and structure of this organisation? own way – and by no means monolithically – is
All three aspects (lament, solution strategies trying to find how to deal with this.
and object-related interpretation of field experi-
ences) shall receive due attention in the following Outlook
reflections on research experiences in the field of In the following, I will give an overview about the
political and protest policing in Germany. This will methodological literature on researching the po-
add knowledge, firstly, to the general interna- lice (Section 2). I then briefly introduce the re-
tional literature of police research about common search projects, including data and methodology,
problems, and, secondly, to the literature about used for the reflections in this article (Section 3).
Section four analyses the five barriers on the way
_____
1
There is a rich literature on authority and its safe- Thomassen 2014; Bettermann 2015). Attacks on
guarding as central organisational imperatives of these imperatives, for example through disrespect,
the police, (cf. e.g. Bittner 1967; Wilson 1968; Feest can trigger role insecurities and even abuse and
& Blankenburg 1972; Rubinstein 1980; Behr 2008; overpolicing (Bettermann 2015; cf. Behr 2008, p.
Loftus 2010; Wilz 2012; Fekjær, Petersson, & 96; Feest & Blankenburg 1972, p. 70 ff.)
1
to the police mentioned above. Section five ex- Early on, it was discussed that the police as a
plores possible explanations for the police’s re- field of research – if the research is not genuinely
sistance to research, specifically their hesitant for the police – is characterised by strong organi-
way of coping with being under public scrutiny sational closure and thus erects high access barri-
and criticism. The final section (6), besides sum- ers for researchers (Lundman & Fox 1978, p. 88;
ming up, offers practical advice how to methodo- Fox & Lundman 1974). The “‘blue curtain’ of se-
logically tackle the challenges analysed and con- crecy that screened most police organizations”
siders ethical implications of police research un- (Niederhoffer 1967, p. 4) is at the centre of meth-
der the circumstances described. odological reflection on police research even to-
day (Reiner 2010; Rogers 2014). Further dis-
cussed aspects are usually closely associated with
The police - still a “hermetic this closure, such as the large amount of time to
be spent on networking (Cockbain 2015, p. 24 ff.),
institution”? the mistrust on the part of the field (Brewer 1990;
J. Brown 1996, p. 178), interventions of the police
Various authors identify phases – slightly varying leadership and even accusations of censorship
from country to country, but similar in principle – (Fassin 2013; cf. also Brewer 1990). The method-
of dominant currents in police research (J. Brown ological literature also treats the restrictive effect
1996; Garry, Rogers, & Gravelle 2014; Reichertz that moral and ethical conflicts have on re-
2003; Reiner 2010, p. 11 ff.; cf. Squires 2016 for a search,2 which result e.g. from close proximity to
current typology): After the beginnings of empiri- the sensitive field (Marks 2004; Punch 1989; Rog-
cal police research in the social sciences in the ers 2014; Skinns, Wooff, & Sprawson 2016) and
60s, in particular in Anglo-Saxon countries, con- potential security problems for the researchers
troversies arose. These were fuelled, particularly (Brewer 1990; Martin & Graham 2016, p. 158). Ef-
in the 70s and 80s, by the conflict between Marx- fects of the personality of the researchers on the
ist-inspired critical police research and the affirm- research relationships are also investigated (J.
ative assumptions of the organisation police Brown 1996; Laycock 2015), e.g. with respect to
about itself. This phase was followed by thriving their gender in the masculine police culture
police research in the social sciences that is still (Brewer 1990; Marks 2004). The researcher’s
developing today and that views itself much more stance in and towards the field is generally taken
as value-neutral. The last decades also saw the to be crucial for the specific space of possibilities
development of increasingly dominant security that presents itself to different types of in- and
research with an interest in police issues, which is outsiders (J. Brown 1996; Greene 2015). Re-
predominantly originating from within the police searchers may be perceived as intruders or in-
itself and its research institutions and is accord- spectors but also as “accomplices” in different re-
ingly police-oriented in its questions (J. Brown lationships of proximity and distance, depending
1996, p. 179; Dijk, Hoogewoning, & Punch 2016, on their position (Behr 2008, p. 50 ff.). Detailed
p. 29). This culminated in the recent call for a methodological reflection, as in the work of
“shift in ownership of police science from the uni- Punch, Brewer, Marks and Behr mentioned above
versities to police agencies” (Weisburd & Ney- and particularly in van Maanen (1981), is so far
roud 2011). The instrumental interest of this kind mainly occurring with respect to ethnographic
of research is, in contrast to fundamental socio- fieldwork and is for the most part strongly ori-
logical research, simply “to accumulate a ented towards the specific case under considera-
knowledge base […] to reduce crime” (Wortley tion. Books with a methodological orientation (or
2015). at least aspiration) have only recently appeared
_____
2
Just to give one instructive example: A colleague the precarious field contact. Moreover, the com-
privately reported having witnessed clearly illegal plaint would have had no chance of success due to
police violence in the field. On the one hand, the re- the strong cohesion in the police unit. Due to the
searcher should have filed charges; on the other assured anonymity, the incident was not even men-
hand, this would have resulted in immediate loss of tioned in publications.
2(Brunger, Tong, & Martin 2016; Gravelle & Rogers Funk, Narr, Kauß, & Werkentin 1988, p. 35, own
2014). They, too, mostly deal with substantial translation)? In view of some existing work and
studies or focus primarily on the applied police re- my own experience, this dictum seems exagger-
search “that can inform and improve police” and ated. Rather, the possibility of research appears
that is accordingly easier to carry out (Cockbain & to also depend on the topic. As will become ap-
Knutsson 2015a, quote from p. 1). Given also the parent, particularly the political character of the
lack of reviews, the research literature remains field of protest policing has a strong restrictive ef-
“fragmented and dispersed” (Cockbain 2015, p. fect. But precisely for the specific characteristics
22). of this subfield no methodological reflections
have been published, neither for Germany nor in
The situation is fundamentally similar in Ger-
the English-language literature, and most sub-
many. Here, too, what little police research there
stantially relevant publications lack methodologi-
is in the social sciences has often been viewed
cal reflections (e.g. Wood 2014). The following ex-
sceptically from within its field of research. Ex-
position therefore proceeds, with a consciously
perts emphasise that the research was mostly
anti-deductive stance, mainly from the very con-
limited to statistical data and restricted field ac-
crete “travel experiences”, in order to interpret
cess when the research aspiration came from out-
them in the knowledge of the specificity of the
side and did not offer a concrete added value for
field while also considering them with a view to
the police (Behr 2006, p. 17 f.; Christe-Zeyse
general tendencies in the literature.
2012, p. 21 f.; Reichertz 2003, p. 414 f.).3 Here,
too, this is most likely also connected with a fun-
damental mistrust of the organisation towards a
research tradition critical of the police.4 For this Data and methodology
reason, the police time and again successfully
“kept the supposedly hostile social scientists at The empirical material underlying the following
bay” (Reichertz 2003, p. 414, own translation). exposition is manifold. It derives mostly from a re-
The widespread mistrust towards research and search project on current protest policing with a
the field-specific interest in closure and secrecy grounded theory design (Strauss & Corbin 1998)
are complemented not least also by the factual and a focus on video surveillance of demonstra-
power to enforce this interest vis-à-vis the re- tions (“ViDemo”), which was carried out between
searchers. From this position of powerlessness, 2011 and 2017 with group discussions, interviews
police researchers both within and outside the and field observations. It aimed at analysing the
police turned to the public a few years ago with logic of the police use of cameras in a process per-
an appeal for more police research (Arbeitskreis spective and in their interaction with surveilled
Empirische Polizeiforschung 2012). protesters.5 This project is supplemented by a
study whose subject area includes police percep-
But is the police still a “hermetic institution tion and handling of anti-Semitic hate crimes, for
that plays its cards close to the chest” (Busch, which expert interviews with higher police
_____
3
An example is afforded by Weitemeier (2002, p. 4; practise “alchemy” (699), “manipulation”, “quack-
see also Buerger 2010), who, while calling for re- ery” (698) or “charlatanry” (697) and thus bear re-
search, complains that these “results then need to sponsibility for attacks on police officers as well as
be interpreted with great effort within the police”. “yesmanship” and a “profound crisis of legitimacy”
He therefore suggests to focus on what is “manage- (698, own translations).
5
able for police practice [own translation]”. How- “Video surveillance of assemblies and demonstra-
ever, this rigorous instrumentalism is foreign to the tions. Practices and forms of knowledge of police
logic of fundamental research in the social sciences. and protesters [own translation]”, funded by the
4
See exemplarily Pick’s (1995; c.f. Reichertz 2003, German Research Council (ViDemo, GZ: UL 389/3-
p. 415 f.) rant against research about police. The au- 1); for more details cf. Ullrich (2011, 2014, 2017;
thor, at the time a senior officer, uses terms like sci- Arzt & Ullrich 2016).
ence in quotation marks or preceded by “sup-
posed”, portraying science as merely the “arro-
gance of monopolists of truth” (ibid. 698) who
3officers and document analyses were conducted different organisations. For example, it can be as-
in 2013 at the political department of a German sumed that all kinds of organisations have no in-
state criminal police (LKA) and analysed using terest per se to be objects of research.10 Other
qualitative content analysis (Mayring 2000).6 Irri- problems, however, and in particular three spe-
tations, long delays and other difficulties in the cific contextual conditions of the data used, have
course of the research kept placing the question concrete limiting consequences for generalisabil-
of the conditions of the possibility of police re- ity.
search into the focus of the reflection whose re-
1) Most of the interviewees were members
sults are presented here.
of paramilitary units of the riot police, in-
One very important source is formed by the cluding many officers responsible for
experiences with field contact initiation and pre- video surveillance, some of them from
paratory conversations documented in field specially trained arrest units (BFE units).
memos. Further sources are the then collected Others are in senior staff positions, not al-
verbatim data themselves, among them group ways in the riot police, but generally in
discussions from the ViDemo-Project7 and semi- the context of demonstrations or political
structured expert interviews (Meuser & Nagel offences. Thus, the statements made re-
2000) from both projects with police officers fer explicitly to this subject area: political
about their work, in particular at demonstrations, and protest policing, mainly by riot po-
which were carried out in three German federal lice, in Germany. To be sure, there are
states, and from field notes, which were pro- certain parallels to other countries, other
duced on various occasions8 most of them protest fields of police activity and other kinds of
events.9 police formations. However, the extent
to which this paper’s considerations can
The problem complexes I am dealing with here
be applied to such other fields is limited
are, as mentioned, not exclusively characteristic
(cf. P. A. J. Waddington 1996 on the moral
for the research field of protest policing or the se-
ambiguities of policing in this specific
curity sector in general. Some are of a more fun-
field).
damental nature and may arise also in entirely
_____
6
For details see the study report “Anti-Semitism as implicit or “conjunctive-habitualised” practices
a Problem and a Symbol. Phenomena and Interven- (Mensching 2008, p. 84, own translation). For a
tions in Berlin [own translation]“ (Kohlstruck & more detailed discussion of methodology, I should
Ullrich 2015; Ullrich & Kohlstruck 2017). refer to the several publications on the subject mat-
7
Cf. Lamnek (1998). Participants in the discussion ter from the ViDemo project (up-to-date infor-
groups were usually given a short video stimulus mation on the project website
from a demonstration in which many police cam- http://bit.do/videmo2).
8
eras were present, and they were asked to freely For details on the field observations, including the
discuss what they saw and how this relates to their observation manual, cf. Knopp & Müller-Späth
usual work experiences at demonstrations. If the (2017).
9
discussion faltered, interviewers asked participants All data were coded according to the grounded
for more details on aspects already mentioned in theory procedures, with successive open and axial
order to stimulate further self-sustaining talk and coding (Strauss & Corbin 1998). Restrictions in the
then ended the discussion (which mostly lasted theoretical sampling related to properties of the re-
around 60-90 minutes) with reflective and wrap-up search object are a subject of the extensive elabora-
questions. Group discussions are the ViDemo pro- tion in the following text and therefore not detailed
ject’s most important source, as they allow for the here.
10
analysis of the shared knowledge and practices of Cf. Nedela (2005, p. 228) for the security sector
the riot police members (who also act in small and Pender et al. (2009) for organisation research in
groups when on duty) as opposed to their individual STS (science and technology studies). Thus, what is
views. Of course, this method comes with re- specific for the police cannot be determined focus-
strictions related to group dynamics like hierarchies, ing only on the question whether research was pos-
group pressure, conformity etc. (see Sections 4.4 sible, but needs a detailed analysis of how the re-
and 4.5 on these issues). The restriction to com- spective organisation reacts.
municable knowledge also restricts access to
42) Secondly, limits arise from the substantial re- Five barriers on the way to
search themes of the underlying studies,
which are politically and morally charged. the police
Antisemitism is one of the most salient neg-
ative symbols of German political culture
Gatekeepers: entry restrictions
and is highly controversial (Ullrich & Kohl-
struck 2017). Also, how the police deal with The degree of organisational closure of the police
protest and in particular with the complex of manifests in strict membership rules as well as in
video surveillance is linked to debates on the communication with the environment of the
“repression” and “surveillance society”. police. The formal access points are limited to
Thus, it is safe to assume that this sensitivity corresponding functional roles. These include
problem (Brewer 1990) reinforces existing press officers, who would usually have little to
tendencies of the police towards closure. Re- contribute to the research question in their role
search on, say, investigations into burglaries and are rather tasked with presenting the “sunny
might have met with fewer reservations. side [own translation]” of the organisation, i.e. an
3) Thirdly, the author of the text entered the image that the organisation wants to produce
field as a protest researcher and a researcher that is oriented towards ascriptions of legitimacy
on anti-Semitism. With respect to the field, from the environment (Kühl 2014, p. 333). That
he is an “outside outsider” in Brown’s (1996) leaves only the most senior level in the various
classification of researcher types. Moreover, police administrations. Ordinary members of the
he personally takes a rather critical stance organisation do not provide statements on offi-
towards the societal function and practice of cial matters without authorisation from their su-
police – as it were a “typical” former consci- periors. Thus, the obligatory official channels
entious objector with little taste for uni- largely monopolise field access. There are hardly
forms, weapons, orders, obedience, strict hi- any alternatives for this way through the “gate” if
erarchies, male shows of force, etc. At least the police is not merely to be observed in the pub-
some subjective and symbolic aspects of the lic space (cf. Fox & Lundman 1974; Busch et al.
following portrayals need to be read in the 1988, p. 478 ff.). Even observations in the public
knowledge of this speaking position. Accord- space are not necessarily accepted.11
ingly, some of the situations described To initiate research in the ViDemo project, re-
would turn out differently in a different con- quests to facilitate interviews and/or group dis-
stellation. cussions were submitted to nine state police de-
A word about quotes from verbatim material partments (press office, specified contact per-
used throughout the text: They are not general- sons, etc.). In only three of these cases was it pos-
isable proof in themselves, but are rather either sible to carry out research activities to a varying
interpreted at length to elaborate on certain extent. Only in two of them did group discussions
structural dimensions behind the specific utter- and interviews with the actually intended target
ance (like types of officers or strategies) or serve group come about through the official channels.
the purpose of giving lively impressions of police In the third federal state, a detour via the police
reality. Throughout the text, statements are only college allowed two group discussions to be car-
presented as being typical for the entire field if ried out with master’s students, who had been
comparable statements occur in a majority of deployed in riot police units and partly dealt with
group discussions and interviews with no or only the subject of interest before their studies, which
marginal opposing positions. make them eligible for rising into the elevated
_____
11
Observers of demonstrations were often referred police obstruction of observations of demonstra-
to very critically by officers and were explicitly char- tions, journalists, etc.
acterised as an illegitimate disturbance. The prob-
lem is also apparent in a number of incidents and
sometimes subsequent court rulings that criticise
5and higher law enforcement service.12 Further quite separate research context, who ordered
contacts internal to the organisation were then that the project be supported by the police. In the
established from within this group. In two federal second case it was a dedicated police officer with
states there was an explicit rejection or the con- an unusually critical perspective on her own or-
tact was terminated after the request was for- ganisation who did not rest until the group discus-
warded in various ways within the organisation. sions at the college had been approved. The mu-
In two states there was no response at all to the tual trust established in the course of these dis-
formal requests. In two further states, where pri- cussions in turn allowed respondents to advocate
vate contacts within the police found and con- the further survey to their superiors and thus in-
tacted people to speak to, there were also no pos- directly made it possible to interview the actual
itive results. target group (active riot police).
Thus, out of nine state police departments These reactions illustrate that the police is not
contacted in various ways, research could be ini- per se interested in supporting external research
tiated in only two, with limitations in three fed- and that it can reject it without further ado.
eral states. The official channel to be navigated Strong motives of individual members of the or-
varied in duration, was usually not transparent ganisation in suitable functions are required to
and sometimes comprised several loops between breach this barrier.14 Thus, field access is the cen-
offices of the requested riot police unit, the press tral challenge, places extraordinary demands on
office, the local police headquarters and possibly time (cf. Brewer 1990, p. 582) and requires impro-
further authorities. The preparatory communica- visational skills against immense resistance. Par-
tion up to the first actual interview usually took ticularly tangible consequences lie in the compo-
several months. These temporal structures hardly sition of the sample that comes about in this man-
fit with those of project-oriented research (cf. ner, which is under limited control and in the final
Brewer 1990; Fassin 2013). And even in case of analysis is strongly influenced by factors exterior
success, a distant and sceptical attitude of the po- to the research (similary in Tränkle 2015, p. 144).
lice towards the research remained, sometimes Federal states whose police departments would
even being articulated explicitly, though seldom have held the promise of an informative contrast
as poignantly as in the following quote from a could not be included in the investigation; where
press officer: interviews took place there were non-transpar-
ent processes of participant selection on the part
"We actually approach the subject very
of the police contact persons (see 4.3), and inter-
cautiously. So, as I said, you can consider
views were also carried out with less central ac-
yourself lucky that we actually received
tors in order to obtain any data at all in certain
you today and pushed this through [at the
areas. The case selection is thus less systematic.
police headquarters]" (006_GD).13 Generalising theoretical assertions on the subject
Thus, it is no surprise that only in one federal of police are severely limited by these re-
state the mere official request allowed the re- strictions.
search to take place. In the other two, the official
channel only ran its course because existing con- A (dis)joint path: the doubly asymmet-
tacts advocated for the project within the organi- ric research relationship
sation. In one state, it was a person at the highest
Problems with the surveys can of course not be
management level of the state police, with whom
traced to the properties of the organisation police
contact had been established in a thematically
_____
12
Cf. the similar sampling strategy through detours protocol/memo. Emphasis is added in boldface, and
in Ohlemacher et al. (2002, p. 133) and Tränkle inaudible or hardly audible parts are enclosed in
(2015). double parentheses.
13 14
The source reference of the primary sources al- Apparently the openness for research varies
ways provides first the document number and then across the federal states, which is also confirmed by
an abbreviation. INT stands for expert interview, GD other researchers.
for group discussion and FP for field
6alone, as there are at least two sides to the inter- 2006, p. 13 f.), and characterised by conditional
action. The demeanour and other features of the programmes (Willems, Eckert, Goldbach, &
researchers as well as their institutional back- Loosen 1988, p. 22 f.) as well as standard routines
ground can also influence the mode in which the (D. P. Waddington et al. 1989, p. 182). Thus, al-
police processes the intrusion coming from out- ready the invitation to a more or less public re-
side (J. Brown 1996). And the contact leaves flection in a group discussion was an irritation of
traces on both sides. The research relationship the everyday activity structure of the organisa-
proves to be doubly asymmetric, depending on tion police.15 However, most of the expressions of
the different power resources of those involved – scepticism and distance that were made explicit
at the level of the social status of formal educa- revealed a concrete motive vis-à-vis an unpredict-
tion on the one hand and at the level of material able public. They related to everything that can
trappings of power on the other hand. They sub- be interpreted as an attempt at control and criti-
tly influence the research process and inhibit the cism from outside, and thus from the perspective
mutual openness. of the organisation were indeed based on ‘good
reasons’ (more on this in 5.1).16 Accordingly, the
I tend to have research relationships as a pro-
research process required much persuasion as
test researcher and also personal relationships
well as further compromises and strongly defined
with politically active people rather than police
a specific position of the researcher.
officers (to whom I only have some professional
contacts). Moreover, my activities and publica- As someone submitting requests to police au-
tions critical of police and surveillance are pub- thorities, often unsuccessfully, I quickly took on
licly documented (e.g. S.N. 2013). A certain recog- the role of a ‘petitioner’, even though once in a
nisability of the project leader may have had a while interest in the project goals was expressed
beneficial effect on the willingness to participate on the side of the police. From this precarious
in the case of the demonstrators, who often have starting point, every possible access to the field
a very critical attitude towards the police. On the had to be sought (cf. Cockbain 2015, p. 24 ff.),
side of the police, this fact should in turn repre- even if it was just a random travelling acquaint-
sent a malus. In the case of the newly established ance who turns out to be a water police officer
police contacts, which comprised various persons but may be able to facilitate contacts to col-
in each of the researched federal states, there leagues in other areas. Gaining access to the field
was no indication that the respondents had in- sometimes required downright impudence, a
formed themselves about their researching coun- constant insistence that often made me feel un-
terpart. Thus, for some officers, my position at comfortable. People I barely knew had to expect
the university, decorated with two doctoral titles my persistent inquiries, in relationships that I
(this was sometimes mentioned), was sufficient would never have strained like this in a less essen-
legitimation for my request. At the same time, in tial situation. Those who had shown themselves
view of the high social status of university aca- receptive to my request had to expect my ‘ruth-
demics this background surely also contributed to less’ exploitation of their willingness to help. Re-
distance and possibly insecurity of the interlocu- search on the police thus faces an ethical di-
tors, whose professional culture could hardly lemma, for it runs the risk of straining basic rules
stand in sharper contrast to the university cul- of research ethics with respect to the researched
ture: practice-oriented and anti-theoretical (D. P. persons in order to satisfy the need for infor-
Waddington, Jones, & Critcher 1989, p. 182), not mation on the organisation in which they work.
prone to reflection, at least at the base (Behr
_____
15 16
This was also mentioned several times by inter- An analogue of this is afforded by defensive strat-
viewed officers, who, with hindsight, appreciated egies towards requests for information during
the experience of an exchange of ideas and of re- demonstrations, which are often rebuffed as illegiti-
flecting on their own work very much and deplored mate, for example the terse comment in a group
that there is no time for this otherwise. discussion: “I don’t need to tell those people any-
thing” (056_GD).
7Methodologically speaking, the role of a peti- Maintaining control: the police at the
tioner is a variant of the “feeling of exploitation” wheel
(Hermanns 2004, p. 212) on the part of the inter-
Securing authority, control and dominance is the
viewer and also leads to problematic compro-
rationale of police action. In the research process,
mises in the further process. After all, the aim was
this manifests in nondisclosure of relevant infor-
not to disgruntle the ever so precious and some-
mation and overt attempts at intervening in the
times severely strained contacts by avoidable de-
research process and influencing its possible re-
mands. With the statement already quoted
sults.
above, that I am lucky to get anything at all from
the police, this was rather clearly articulated as a Nondisclosure (“VS–NfD”) applies to various
warning. Thus, if the interview had come about documents that are quite relevant also to the
with a narrow time slot, I sometimes did not see public, for example the police service ordinance
myself in a position to make further demands, 100 (Bundesministerium des Innern 2004), which
such as moving the tables into a better discussion stipulates foundations of “Police leadership and
arrangement or using the entire agreed time for operation [own translation]” also during demon-
the conversation when some participants had al- strations, or the “Information on the police’s def-
ready repeatedly indicated impatience. Some inition system Politically Motivated Crime
fifth, sixth or seventh critical follow-up questions (Politisch Motivierte Kriminalität, PMK) [own
were also perhaps held back so as not to jeopard- translation]” of the Federal Criminal Police Office
ise the permission to use the collected data. In (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA), which stipulates
particular the concretely desired composition of which offences are to be registered as political
the focus group could not always be insisted crime based on which criteria (vgl. Kohlstruck &
upon. Ullrich 2015, p. 32 ff.). Recording expert inter-
views in the state criminal police office
Finally, the factors shaping the relationship
(Landeskriminalamt, LKA) was not allowed; only
also include various context features of the inter-
brief notes could be taken. In one federal state
view settings. As a rule, the interviews and group
contacted in order to initiate research, the entire
discussions took place on the police premises, of-
subject of video surveillance was declared classi-
ten in barracks. These lie outside of the city cen-
fied by the police; research could not take place
tres and are sealed off by walls, CCTV, barbed
despite the readiness of a senior riot police leader
wire and other security systems. The entrance is
to cooperate. In another state, a visit to an ‘evi-
through guarded gates. The interviewees usually
dence preservation and documentation vehicle’
wore uniforms, often also weapons; many of
that had originally been agreed upon (which the
them were tall, very muscular men with corre-
liaison officer had considered less problematic
sponding body language. Symbols of dominance
than a group discussion) did not take place be-
were omnipresent. The consequence is that “it is
cause the vehicle was recently classified.18
often intimidating for sociologists to enter the
‘world of the police’” (Marks 2004, p. 873). Even Such classification can be regarded as a legal
though quite friendly, approachable and commu- barrier which is in a certain sense objective and
nicative people often showed themselves behind regularly causes even parliamentary requests for
the symbolic walls, the police proved to be a pal- information to fail. In any case, the decisions in
pably powerful and power-exerting organisation, which there was apparently some scope for dis-
also in shaping the research relationship, which cretion reveal more about the functioning of the
may require “tougher and more cynical investiga- organisation police. For they allow the motives
tors” (Punch 1989, p. 197).17 for steering interventions to be reconstructed.
_____
17 18
Fox & Lundman (1974, p. 58) therefore principally Deutscher Bundestag, Drucksache 18/2292,
assume that demands of the two sides can only be 06.08.2014.
balanced out and that compromises that come
about in this manner are purchased with a loss of
external validity.
8In a preparatory conversation, the senior po- participation of very “experienced officers” and
lice officer who had orders to arrange field con- that these were accordingly particularly encour-
tacts for me articulated several revealing con- aged (compelled?) to participate.
cerns. He wanted to ensure that I meet enough
How the group composition came about was
“experienced officers”, as there was a risk of
not transparent in many cases, and most likely
younger or less experienced ones saying “some-
not always fully intentional. According to the re-
thing wrong” (013_FP). He supported the wish to
spective organisers, a request was always made
conduct expert interviews with senior police of-
to certain parts of the riot police or among partic-
ficers, as they possess the relevant knowledge.19
ipants of certain courses relevant to the subject.
However, he had reservations about the idea of
On this account, participation was voluntary, but
group discussions, as they could take on “a dy-
suitable officers had to be “sought out”. There
namic of their own” and accordingly be “harder
were several indications of occasional prepara-
to control”, as various things might be addressed
tion for the group discussions by senior officers.
quasi-automatically in the situation. This worry
This is illustrated by a conversation sequence
betrays a clear sense of the purpose of group dis-
from the preparatory phase of a group discussion
cussions, which do indeed rely on the quasi-natu-
in which e.g. instructions on data protection were
ral dynamics of the conversation in order to stim-
being given and the recording device had not
ulate utterances typical of the group that might
been turned on, but brief written notes were be-
be withheld in the more controlled individual in-
ing taken. From the protocol:
terview. While group discussions with observa-
tion and documentation officers did come about, “The interviewer is not sure to what extent
it was apparent that particularly “presentable” the participants are informed about the
officers and “minders” were usually selected for purpose of the research project and the
this purpose. group discussion. He therefore asks them
In preparing the survey, I always asked for dis- at the outset “whether they have been
cussions with a group of rank-and-file officers, briefed and know what this is about and
ideally of similar rank, so that the dynamics of the what to expect”. Interviewee 1, the most
discussion would not be curbed too much by for- senior participant, answers quickly, even
mal hierarchies. This only came about in a minor- briskly, surprising the interviewer: “We ha-
ity of cases, and even then only in a restricted ven’t been briefed, you mustn’t think that
manner. Except for the discussions with some of we were prepared here and were told
the students, there were always superiors (in- what to say here.” It seems defensive and
structors, unit leaders, etc.) among the partici- almost like an assertion to the contrary.”
pants, and they usually set the tone. In addition (024_GD, observation and documentation
to latency protection for illegality (cf. 5), their officers from riot police unit)
presence also served a supervisory function for The irritation of this scene was apparently trig-
the purpose of maintaining secrecy. Several sen- gered by the word “briefed” (which may be why
ior informants worried that internal matters it was emphasised in the answer). The Duden (a
might be brought up, for instance, that the suc- standard German dictionary) offers the two
cess of future police measures might be jeopard- meanings “informed” (“informiert, unterrichtet”)
ised if too many details about “staying on” a “dis- and “instructed” (“eingewiesen”) for this word.
turber” (013_FP), just to give a typical example, The interviewer and the interviewees apparently
became public. Whenever an explicit argument had different meanings in mind. It cannot be de-
for the presence of “minders” was offered, it was cided here whether the harsh, slightly overzeal-
this one. Several times, the contact persons and ous and seemingly unmotivated reaction was
the interviewees themselves emphasised that the meant to gloss over the fact that a briefing in the
police attaches great importance to the
_____
19
They are more knowledgeable in legal matters, representational roles and corresponding experi-
have often completed higher studies and have more ence.
9sense of instructions had indeed taken place or traversed (Fox & Lundman 1974, p. 53). A text se-
whether it was due to a generalised expectation quence was already quoted in 4.1 that expresses
of an expectation of the ‘academic other’. In view the organisation’s distance from the research
of the overall situation described, the first hy- project. A look at a somewhat larger segment of
pothesis is likely. However, there are also coun- this text shows that this also includes the mem-
terexamples, as this short interview segment il- bers of the organisation:
lustrates:
“We actually approach the subject very
“Yes, it was a pleasant conversation; that cautiously. So, as I said, you can consider
was somewhat surprising to us. Unfortu- yourself lucky that we actually received
nately we got very little information in ad- you today and pushed this through, be-
vance.” (022_GD, observation and docu- cause [clears his throat] ((so)) as I said, it
mentation officers from riot police unit) was quite difficult to ((bring along)) the
This meeting was actually mainly intended as colleagues. And everyone has his depart-
a technical visit and rather spontaneously turned ment, other things to do more or less.”
into an extensive group discussion. Generally (006_GD)
speaking, spontaneity and unplanned aspects of Thus, the individual interview partners also
the group composition tended to arise on the displayed scepticism, which worsens the organi-
lower levels of the hierarchy. sational distance from the research. Several con-
Principally it is to be assumed that particularly tacts reported that it was sometimes not easy to
the leadership strives to shape the research pro- motivate officers to participate. Various aspects
cess according to the organisational rationality, contributed to this, for example the terminology
resulting in steering interventions into the re- used. Some struggled with the term “video sur-
search process and thus less valid results. In the veillance” that occurs in the name of the project
conversations organised by the police, I did not – while it is a standard term in the sciences, cops
encounter anyone who too overtly dissented showed reservations because of its political con-
from the formal norms of the police culture.20 notations. For in the context of demonstrations
Their absence may have other reasons, including the word “surveillance” is associated with the at-
self-selection or low prevalence, but is also recog- titude critical of the police that is often a subject
nisable as a goal of planned organisational avoid- of public discussion. Within the police, terms like
ance. However, on the whole it is doubtful videography, image recording and image trans-
whether the steering attempts comprehensively mission are often preferred, and the term “video
achieve their goal of maintaining complete con- surveillance” is rarely used. In a similar vein, other
trol. For the interviews and group discussions symbols (clothing, speech) likely also caused irri-
contained much that was not at all in line with the tations, though no systematic occurrences were
police’s ideals of self-representation. observed in this regard.
The fact that even those who ended up taking
Aversion to travel: scepticism of the part in the study continued to harbour reserva-
interviewed officers tions certainly had an influence on the often very
restrained discussion behaviour (4.5) but also
The hurdles discussed so far predominantly re-
manifested explicitly in the summary question
side at the level of the organisation and its inter-
concluding every interview and every group dis-
ests. But subjective and subcultural aspects of the
cussion (“In conclusion I would like to ask you
respondents also contribute to the vagaries of the
how you felt about the conversation” or a similar
journey; after successful navigation of the official
formulation). Several times in the corresponding
channels they are the second “gate” to be
sequences, the respondent’s own scepticism
_____
20
No one was recognisable e.g. as a ‘resistance of- out conflict or even exhibit an affinity to violence as
ficer’ (Widerstandsbeamter). In police parlance, this a deviation from the organisational norm (Tränkle
topos serves to typecast officers who unduly seek 2015).
10towards the subject and the research project was Driving with the handbrake on: reser-
mentioned, or the summary included an assess- vations in the discussion
ment that the scepticism that was at least initially
The widespread restrained style of discussion will
present turned out to be unwarranted. Fre-
now be treated as the last obstacle. In the group
quently it was only over the course of the inter-
discussions with officers, presenting a discussion
view that the interviewer’s feeling of exploitation
stimulus (usually a video from a demonstration)
turned into the mutually shared “feeling of happy
often did not suffice to trigger a self-sustaining
coincidence” (Hermanns 2004, p. 212).
discussion. The formulaic language common
“I don’t have anything to add, either. And within the police is geared towards abstracting
it was a pleasant conversation, too, like, I from the concrete case and thus likely serves a
didn’t feel uncomfortable or pushed into a protective function for those who employ it. One
corner or whatever. My take on it.” extreme example, which unmasks the general
(031_GD)21 tendency in the field:
This quote may also already indicate that the “My tasks in the BFE take the form of a de-
scepticism is linked to the position of the police taining officer. My task is, for example at a
as an observed and criticised organisation, a posi- demonstration, if an offender is observed,
tion that many of the interviewees feel to be in- to approach him and then to process him
appropriate (Section 5). Over the course of the expediently while conserving evidence.”
conversation, but at least at the outset, this often (56_GD, rank and file)
had an inhibiting effect. It was not immediately
Unfortunately it is difficult to stimulate narra-
possible to generate longer narrations in many
tions of experiences in this way. In most of the
group discussions with cops – in contrast, for in-
discussions with rank and file riot police, only ad-
stance, to political activists simultaneously inter-
ditional questions and requests for elaboration
viewed on the same subject (cf. 4.5).
allowed more narrative content to be obtained.
At the same time, it should be emphasised With respect to the degree to which the discus-
that, in contrast to this dominating experience sion is self-sustaining, there are two rather clearly
with scepticism and reservations, there were also distinguishable types of conversation dynamics.
individual officers who supported the project There were restrained and talkative discussion
with great interest and vigour because they see groups, or, to return to the journey metaphors,
deficits within the police, want to remedy them those that decelerated and those that surged for-
and appreciate a critical view from outside. This ward.
has often been discussed within the police in re-
The first type will thus be called a decelerator
cent years under the topoi “organisational cul-
here. In these group discussions, the presentation
ture” and “error culture” (Liebl 2004). As will be
of the stimulus was followed by a short reaction
further elaborated in the following, such proac-
to the content of the film, often with the reserved
tive supporters tend to be atypical in some re-
signal that a short excerpt should not be consid-
spect, e.g. they come from a different back-
ered sufficiently informative. After a few minutes,
ground or have tasks particularly oriented to-
the discussion came to a halt and required inter-
wards reflection (college, research, liaison offic-
ventions, follow-up questions and requests by the
ers).
interviewer to relate something. In one case, the
attitude averse to discussions even manifested in
the explicit request that the interviewer should
simply ask concrete questions. Also, there was
hardly any open dissent in the corresponding
_____
21
This quote additionally confirms one of the asym- them into a corner”. There were also worries that
metries referred to in 4.2. It indicates that inter- unfavourable interpretations would be created
viewees did not put it past the interviewer to “push through “cherry-picking” and “cutting” (024_GD).
11discussion rounds, and statements were rarely a) The ascent (or lateral entry for legal profes-
explicitly contradicted. The participants were sionals) into the elevated and higher service is
mainly officers currently working in riot police only open to some of the cops, who need to
units. As if to confirm this finding, in a group dis- qualify under highly competitive conditions,
cussion in which (due to illness) only two officers i.e. undergo a selection process, and are then
were participating, the assessment was made educated at a considerably higher level, in
that this was not problematic because no other particular in complex legal issues. Moreover,
opinions would have been offered anyway studying itself seems to be at least partly able
(049_GD). Though this is surely a fictitious con- to crack the “pragmatic and anti-theoretical
sensus, inferred from the assumption that police orientation of the police culture” (D. P. Wad-
behaviour is determined by law, rather than an dington et al. 1989, p. 182), as indicated by
actual homogeneity of opinions, it is to be as- various references to curricular material and
sumed that this fiction is immensely effective (cf. controversies surrounding it in the seminar
Kühl 2014, p. 97 ff.). groups. However, this should not be taken to
The second type, those that were happy to dis- imply homogeneity of the group members.
cuss and surged forward, were markedly differ- The decisive factor for the talkative discourse
ent, and in the basic progression of the discourse was the greater heterogeneity in the opinions
– less so in the content discussed – they strongly and experiences of those interviewed at the
resembled the discussions with political activists. colleges, while the homogeneity with respect
After the stimulus, the discussion was self-sus- to formal status and rank was greater. Only in
taining, hardly any impulses from the interview- these discussion groups were complex, explic-
ers were necessary, and they were able to essen- itly theoretical arguments occasionally of-
tially limit themselves to follow-up questions to fered.22 Otherwise, in the discussions with the
elucidate aspects not sufficiently explicated and ‘practitioners’, more complex, contradictory
to reflective questions. These group discussions circumstances tended to be treated as binary
also had more of the character of a discussion, considerations and were resolved with a
there were objections and more complex de- pragmatic solution. Only among the students
bates. The group discussions belonging to the
were there some who had experienced
talkative type are in particular the majority of the
demonstrations from the perspective of par-
ones carried out at police colleges of two federal
ticipants and sometimes also articulated criti-
states with master’s students. Two related as-
cism of the police. Both aspects also posed
pects seem to be the cause of this difference: on
challenges to the other participants in the dis-
the one hand the characteristics of the group of
those who rose through the ranks as brain work- cussion and thus led to overall more complex
ers and their current environment that tends to discourses and multiperspectival problem
be conducive to reflection (a) and on the other analyses. Those who rose through the ranks
hand, inversely, constraints and everyday prac- are thus a specific group in the police, which
tices in the organisational setting as well as of the is moreover situated in a context relatively
police subculture of the units (b). Thus, different conducive to discussion and reflexion at the
functions in the respective organisational con- time of the survey. This agrees with research
texts shape the readiness for and the acceptable findings that emphasise that the professional
extent of reflexive discourses: practice and the norms of cop culture that op-
erate in it have such a decisive influence that
they can supplant affirmation of ideals of
_____
22
One participant (037_GD) stated that he/she did which was contradicted by various empirical and
believe that CCTV cameras could deter certain be- theoretical findings, and elaborated on this with ref-
haviour. Another person, by the way one of the few erence to studies on video surveillance of public
who also took part in demonstrations as a citizen, spaces in the United Kingdom and on whether the
replied that this assumption constituted an implicit data thus obtained were of any use to the police.
criminological theory of the other respondent,
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