ABSTRACT

Motivated politically by an interest in a friendlier, more service-minded police force, the Danish police have changed profoundly in recent decades. With a relatively low crime rate, strong democratic traditions, and exceptionally high levels of trust in the police, Denmark offers an interesting case for examining how a service-minded police force is created. The ideal, professional Danish police officer is supposed to engage in equal dialogue with citizens. When recruiting and educating police officers, considerable emphasis is placed on assessing and developing social skills, empathy in particular. Analysing interviews, fieldwork and documents, focussing on recruitment, selection, education and the assessment of Danish police recruits, the article explores how the shift towards service-mindedness is sought achieved, as well as some of the challenges and tensions involved in pursuing this ideal. Theoretically, the analysis draws on Hochschild’s concepts of feeling rules and emotional labour together with Illouz’s perspectives on the demands for communicative and emotional skills in modern working life. These let us understand modern policing as regulated and performed through emotional and embodied practices.

摘要

出于对更友好、更具有服务意识的警察部队的兴趣，丹麦警察在最近几十年发生了深刻的变化。丹麦的犯罪率相对较低，民主传统深厚，对警察的信任度极高，这为研究如何创建具有服务意识的警察部队提供了一个有趣的案例。理想的、专业的丹麦警察应该与公民进行平等对话。在招聘和教育警察时，相当重视评估和发展社交技能，尤其是同理心。分析采访、实地考察和文件，重点关注丹麦警察新兵的招聘、选拔、教育和评估，文章探讨了如何实现向服务意识的转变，以及追求这一理想所涉及的一些挑战和紧张局势。从理论上讲，该分析借鉴了 Hochschild 的感觉规则和情绪劳动的概念，以及 Illouz 对现代工作生活中对交际和情感技能需求的看法。这些让我们将现代警务理解为通过情感和具体实践进行监管和执行。