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Police Research and Public Health

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Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences

Abstract

This chapter examines the challenges involved in conducting face-to-face research with police officers with respect to their work in sensitive areas or with hard-to-reach populations. The intersection between law enforcement and public health is drawing greater academic attention through the concept of harm reduction policing (Ratcliffe 2015). The refocusing of police attention from concentrating purely on crime to reducing harmful effects on individuals and the community has created an emerging social space that needs further exposition. The changing nature of policing and a rise in societal demands for security has increased the overlap between law enforcement and public health. This chapter lays down some basic guidelines to aid researchers operating in this space based on the author’s personal experience and drawing upon the research experience of others working in this area. It begins by identifying fundamental features of policing culture that make it a sensitive organization to access and research. It then discusses the difficulties in approaching gatekeepers and negotiating access to police data and individual officers. The discussion then focuses on the experience and implications of researching the police organization as an insider and/or as an outsider (Brown 1996). Finally, ethical and practical considerations involved in carrying out this kind of research are discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Security and Crime Science, University College London, London, UK

    Jyoti Belur

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  1. Jyoti Belur
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Correspondence to Jyoti Belur .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia

    Pranee Liamputtong

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Belur, J. (2019). Police Research and Public Health. In: Liamputtong, P. (eds) Handbook of Research Methods in Health Social Sciences. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5251-4_138

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