{"id":4906,"date":"2019-11-19T15:12:50","date_gmt":"2019-11-19T15:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/?p=4906"},"modified":"2021-06-15T16:48:51","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T15:48:51","slug":"policing-and-mixed-messages-in-the-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/expertcomment\/policing-and-mixed-messages-in-the-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Policing and mixed messages in the media"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dr Emma Williams takes a look at how policing is portrayed in the media. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

A few years ago I remember watching the TV documentary about the Greater Manchester Police specialist rape unit. The honesty, complexity and visibility of really tough decisions within that team really impressed me, not least because many of the British public gain knowledge about policing and what it entails from such shows. It made refreshing viewing and highlighted to the audience that distinctions between victims and offenders are complicated, relationship issues and victims\u2019 needs are not simple and the vulnerable characteristics involved are incredibly hard to deal with purely from a police perspective especially when cases are building up around you and prioritisation is essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conversely, over recent weeks I have found myself slightly frustrated by watching The Met on BBC1. The Evening Standard referred to it as \u2018grimly informative viewing\u2019 and The Guardian claimed that future episodes will feature accounts from \u2018people who see them (the police) as the enemy. For balance.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are aspects of the core narrative shown in the programme that have left me feeling confused and disappointed. Talk of \u2018balance\u2019 in the context of allowing the \u2018enemy\u2019 to discuss \u2018their\u2019 perceptions of the police bring very binary terminology like war on crime, them and us, the good and the bad to mind. It might just be me but it moves the \u2018police\u2019 back into a separatist function which is not aligned with communitarianism, partnership working, intervention and prevention. <\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I understand The\nMet is depicting a particular, and of course, important functionality of the\npolice: gang crime, knife crime, moped thefts, burglary, robbery and violence\nbut there is a paradox about this portrayal that denies and leaves invisible so\nmuch proactivity, problem solving and important work that the police in London\nand elsewhere do daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think\nabout these media shows in the context of recognising that this is where the\nmajority of the public get their information about the police and policing\nfrom, the messages are skewed. Portrayals of very stereotypical notions of good\npolice work dominate the images and this is heightened at this point in time\nwhen violent crime is up in all of our cities and police numbers are\nsignificantly reduced (not that anyone would have guessed that outcome eight\nyears ago). Austerity has created a perfect storm for these issues to be\nreinforced and prioritised in our media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am not\nsuggesting that police don\u2019t deal with the events listed above, of course they\ndo. However, much else of what officers deal with in the frame of their working\nday is concerned with mental health, missing people, domestic abuse, sexual\nexploitation of children and a whole range of other issues focused on\nvulnerability that they cannot simply arrest their way out of. And nor should\nthey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whilst these\nportrayals might facilitate a particular political drive to reinstate policing\nand punitive crime policies as priorities for the upcoming election campaign,\nit shifts the very sensible conversation about early intervention, prevention,\nsupport and social care away from the public eye and confirms a certain\nnarrowness about what real policing is and should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a member of\nthe public with a huge interest in policing, its role in society and the\nwelfare of its officers, I am lucky enough to see the reality. I speak to\nofficers daily, I read research and I attend conferences which showcase some of\nthe most amazing proactive work that officers are doing in London and\nelsewhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many police\nofficers, other health and social care agencies and academics are trying to\nchange the mind set of enforcement to prevention and early intervention by\nrecognising the wider role of others in the context of \u2018social control\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connectedness\nsurely has to be the way forward and recognising the key role the police have\nin these connections is not aided by terminology such as war, fighting (insert\nyour issue here) and enemy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crime is influenced by some very complex and multi-faceted problems that the police cannot resolve alone and yet, despite all the great work going on in pockets of the UK and with international partners, the ongoing narrative being presented to the public through such documentaries remains unchanged. If we are genuinely motivated to shift the paradigm about how we deal with social problems and their causes, we need to stop focusing efforts and depleting budgets on schemes that simply do not work. We need to be far braver, innovative and connected to other agencies to make this shift a reality. This surely has to start with a recognition by all that policing is far more than a clear up facility. By showcasing some of the amazing work being done by many across the country to include those at risk of criminality and their families in the conversation about their future we might help to make this shift a reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You<\/strong> can read a full version of this blog, Paradoxes, value, mixed messages and reaffirming the fight against crime\u2026 by Dr Emma Williams, on the <\/strong><\/em>CCCU Policing and criminal Justice blog<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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