Researching Protest Policing in South Africa: A Discourse Analysis of the Police-Researcher Encounter

Josephine Cornell*, Nick Malherbe, Mohamed Seedat, Shahnaaz Suffla

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Researchers have played a significant role in influencing the public?s critical engagement with the South African Police Service (SAPS). Resultantly, SAPS officers tend to be wary and/or untrusting of researchers. In the present study, we sought to understand how this climate of suspicion impacts policing research in South Africa. To do so, we employed a Foucauldian Discourse Analysis on emails leading up to a study with SAPS officers, and on the transcripts of three focus group discussions with SAPS officers. We identified three discursive strategies that SAPS employed: Security Stall (i.e. blocking research through bureaucratic procedure), Eliciting Sympathy (i.e. winning sympathy for the struggles of SAPS officers) and Undermining the Researcher Subjectivity (i.e. rendering legitimate knowledge on protest violence the sole product of police officers). These strategies destabilize police research while challenging the broader discursive terrain within which SAPS is located. We conclude by offering some insights for police research.
    Original languageEnglish
    Article numberpaac079
    JournalPolicing
    Volume17
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished (VoR) - 6 Dec 2022

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