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The Extradordinary Intricacies of Policing Vulnerability
Citation
Bartkowiak-Theron, IMF, The Extradordinary Intricacies of Policing Vulnerability, Australasian Policing, 4, (2) pp. 43-50. ISSN 1837-7009 (2012) [Non Refereed Article]
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Copyright 2012 Emergency Media
Abstract
Vulnerable people have become a key focus of policy over the past
few decades. As a result, police organisations have had to adapt to
ongoing requests for specialised attention and protocol development
to mediate the interactions between frontline officers and members
of a variety of vulnerable groups. This article examines the various
socio-political developments that have led to contemporary policing
practices in relation to vulnerable people, untangles a series of
problems in our current approach to vulnerability. Additionally, we
propose an alternative operationalisation of vulnerability, which shifts
the focus from si/oed cultural competency to integrated critical
diversity, and in doing so, attempts to relieve some of the institutional,
political and operational pressure faced by policing services.
The past sixty years have been marked by significant social progress,
which has led to the explicit acknowledgment of society and
communities as multifaceted entities (Brogden&Nijhar, 2005). In
Australia, multiculturalism has flourished-in spite of its challenges
(Joppke, 2004; Levy, 2000)-and there is a growing recognition of
diversity as a source of wealth. The shift to a multicultural mainstream,
where over a quarter of Australians were born overseas, and 53%
have one grandparent born outside of this country (ABS, 2012b), has
not been smooth. The political action of various social and cultural
movements in the 1960s and 1970s has fundamentally altered what it
means to be Australian in the twenty-first century. This social change
however is not unique to Australia; though, it presents some unique
challenges in this country challenges generated out of colonialism,
geography, and, more recently, globalisation.
Importantly, in the last twenty years, what started as a narrowly defined
notion of diversity-as ethnicity or race-has been expanded to
account tor a variety of individual, social and institutional experiences
(Gardenswartz & Rowe, 1994). New definitions of diversity now
encompass a range of permanent or transient narratives such as
age, health, wealth, abilities, language, education, sexual and gender
identity, housing, etc (Herring and Henderson, 2011; Asquith &
Bartkowiak-Theron, 2012). With this expanded meaning has also
come the acknowledgement that more than one narrative can
apply to an individual, and that these can change over a lifetime.
However, these labels are not always positive and often exist as a
way to point out socio-political inequalities and sometimes ingrained
and persistent disadvantage. Ignoring this legacy of disadvantage
whilst uncritically promoting the benefits of diversity is bound to
create unrealistic expectations and stall the progress made to date
(Herring & Henderson, 2011).3 The normative fragmentation of society
represents, on the one hand, rather formidable progress in relation to
how we 'picture' society as a multiple and dynamic entity (May, 1987).
On the other hand, however, this new definition of social diversity has
presented multiple challenges for government and non-government
institutions alike.
There are good indications that as far as the criminal justice system,
and policing in particular, is concerned, policy makers and practitioners
have been aware of these challenges, and have attempted, with more
or less success, to positively adapt to this newly defined form of
diversity;4 however, obstacles remain to be confronted. This art1cle
Australasian Policing A Joumal of Professional Practice and Research
explores the complex considerations at stake when police interact
with disadvantaged members of society, now often referred to as
'vulnerable people'. In line with policy developments in the area of
policing diversity, we present a model for understanding how police
interact with vulnerable people, and set out a number of problems
identified in the literature as well as in practice. We also consider how
policy might be a compounding factor in the complexity of police
working with vulnerable people. Our argument is that 'productive
diversity' (Cope and Kalantzis, 1997) based on a 'critical diversity'
approach (Herring and Henderson, 2011) represents a significant
springboard for positive social and political change at the frontline and
institutional levels of policing.
Item Details
Item Type: | Non Refereed Article |
---|---|
Research Division: | Studies in Human Society |
Research Group: | Criminology |
Research Field: | Police Administration, Procedures and Practice |
Objective Division: | Law, Politics and Community Services |
Objective Group: | Justice and the Law |
Objective Field: | Law Enforcement |
UTAS Author: | Bartkowiak-Theron, IMF (Dr Isabelle Bartkowiak-Theron) |
ID Code: | 81095 |
Year Published: | 2012 |
Deposited By: | Government |
Deposited On: | 2012-11-22 |
Last Modified: | 2014-08-29 |
Downloads: | 6 View Download Statistics |
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