Conspiracy theorists in policing: causes, challenges, and considerations

ABSTRACT

There has been little empirical or conceptual work on conspiracy theories within a policing context. This gap is concerning given emerging evidence suggesting that conspiracy beliefs can have significant consequences in several important personal, social, and political dimensions. Some of these consequences may also impact both the operational environment of policing and the police workforce. To address the research gap, this study reviewed research into conspiracy antecedents applicable to police work conditions, the nature of police, and police officers to identify a core set of antecedents which may lead to conspiracy thinking in policing. To account for the often context dependent nature of policing, case studies were drawn from the Australian and New Zealand context, identified using the open-source intelligence (OSINT) method. 12 case studies were ultimately identified as suitable for inclusion. Applying the core set of antecedents to the case studies through content analysis revealed that cynicism related to policing organisations or police work is a key antecedent, alongside the ‘social function’ antecedent where conspiracy theories serve to protect a group from perceived threats. Lastly, to provide practical guidance to police organisations and leadership, the article proposes four possible intervention strategies against conspiracy theories in policing.

KEYWORDS:

• conspiracies in policing
• police management
• police cynicism
• extremism
• conspiracy intervention strategies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 QAnon is an alt-right leaning, U.S-centric political conspiracy theory originating from the image-messaging board 8Chan. Among its key tenets is that a ‘cabal’ of elites (usually depicted as being liberal or progressive) operate from within the ‘deep state’ for various malevolent ends (like child trafficking).

2 See for example Breland, A. (2020). ‘QAnon Is Attracting Cops.’ Mother Jones. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/09/police-officers-qanon/

3 This was to ensure some degree of verification that the case study subjects were indeed serving or recently retired police officers. For Cases 4 and 11 there were only linked (i.e., non-independent) sources available. However, the key source for Case 4 includes a large volume of messages, while the key source for Case 11 was a survey sent only to police employees.

4 To avoid drawing attention to specific individuals, case identifiers are necessary. However, in the interests of transparency and further assessment, key primary source(s) for each case study are provided.

5 See for instance United States of America v Joseph W Fisher [2021] 1:21-cr-234

6 Krekó uses the term ‘healing.’ However, this arguably implies that there may be a ‘cure’ to conspiracy theories which isn’t clear. Alleviating is perhaps the more appropriate term as it can capture views being softened (but not removed) as well as limiting further harm (rather than eradicating it).

7 The proceeding section also leverages elements of analysis from Evans (2021). ‘What can police do about conspiracy theories?’ Policing Insight

8 Thanks to an anonymous reviewer for highlighting this consideration.