KORREKT OPTRÆDEN: Performative aspekter af politi og politiarbejde

Resumé

Critical researchers in contemporary police

studies argue that the celebrated role of the

police as “crime fighters” is but an illusion.

But such criticism disregards the symbolic

dimensions of police work. This article presents

an analysis of different kinds of police

performances and shows how officers use

performative strategies, both in order to meet

the public‘s expectations of them, and in order

to make their own working conditions

controllable, predictable, and in tune with

their idea of what constitutes “real police

work”. Even though this concept may be said

to be more of an illusion than a reality, it provides

the framework for most police work.

Police officers and citizens share the belief

that the police can and do in fact fight crime,

and this shared belief makes it possible for

the police to maintain what could be termed

their performative efficiency.