‘Me’ versus ‘We’: exploring the personal and professional identity-threatening experiences of police officers and the factors that contribute to them

ABSTRACT

From semi-structured interviews with 42 Canadian police officers, the study suggests that the occupational context created both personal and professional identity threats are largely based on the degree to which officers aligned with the image of the ideal worker as physically strong, aggressive and committed to the job. Because perceived nonconforming members also violated gendered expectations for behavior, they not only experienced threats to their personal identities, but also were potentially subjected to bullying, harassment, and isolation. Socialization processes and occupational stigma were identified as two key factors that intensified the occupational identity and the ‘us’ and ‘them’ divide leading to more vigorous defenses against group identity threats. Despite the salience of these contextual factors, not all officers experienced the identity threats in the same way, highlighting changing views on what it means to be an ‘ideal’ police officer as well as opportunities for reform.

KEYWORDS:

• Identity threats
• socialization
• stigma
• identity work
• police
• culture

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Angela L. Workman-Stark

Angela L. Workman-Stark is an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada, and a retired Chief Superintendent from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Canada’s 30,000-member national police service with responsibilities for contract policing, organized crime, national security, and border integrity). During her 24-year policing career, she served in various operational roles including, general patrol, organized crime investigations, undercover operations, intelligence, and terrorism prevention. For much of the past decade she held significant leadership roles driving cultural and structural change within the RCMP. Her research interests are focused on exploring how police officers navigate their personal and professional identities and the factors that contribute to tensions arising between their important identities. She is also interested in the factors that contribute to bullying, harassment, and other forms of misconduct and how to address them.