Police custody delivery in the twenty-first century in England and Wales

Skinns, Layla; Sprawson, Amy; Sorsby, Angela; Smith, Rivka; Wooff, Andrew

doi:10.5553/ejps/2034760x2017004003004

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Suggesting that materiality supports 'soft' and 'hard' forms of policing and the maintenance of social order is an important contribution of this piece, because the existing literature has hitherto focused primarily on the significance of social relations to these different styles of policing in police custody (Savigar-Shaw et al, 2022;Skinns, 2019;Skinns et al, 2017b). In immigration detention, the focus has similarly been on the social not the material to the governance of 'problem groups'.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dignity is also another way of orienting this article to considerations of power, given the role of dignityas a dimension of procedural justicein encouraging perceptions of police legitimacy and citizen cooperation with the police (Worden and Mclean, 2017;Tyler et al, 2015;Donner et al, 2015). Of particular interest is the way that this form of 'soft' policing, based on persuasion, functions alongside harder forms of policing based on inducement or coercion (Skinns, 2019;Skinns et al, 2017b;Innes, 2005;Nye, 2004). For example, elsewhere, we have documented some of the soft styles of policing exhibited in police custodyincluding treating detainees as fellow human beingsand how these co-exist alongside coercion and inducement, and are aimed at encouraging cooperation and compliance (Skinns et al, 2017b).…”

Section: The Materials Turnmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of particular interest is the way that this form of 'soft' policing, based on persuasion, functions alongside harder forms of policing based on inducement or coercion (Skinns, 2019;Skinns et al, 2017b;Innes, 2005;Nye, 2004). For example, elsewhere, we have documented some of the soft styles of policing exhibited in police custodyincluding treating detainees as fellow human beingsand how these co-exist alongside coercion and inducement, and are aimed at encouraging cooperation and compliance (Skinns et al, 2017b). There are, however, downsides to dignity, which include its hollow, ideological qualities.…”

Section: The Materials Turnmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is thus an important institutional setting for police work and entrance to the criminal process. Detainees are increasingly held in large out-of-town purpose-built custody blocks (Skinns et al, 2017b), which feel clinical, yet spaceship-like, with pale coloured walls, and staff sitting on elevated bridge areas attending to detainees standing below them, albeit that custody blocks vary in the precise nature of these material conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

‘Come on mate, let's make you a cup of tea’: Theorising materiality and its impacts on detainee dignity inside police detention

Skinns

Wooff

Rice

2023

Theoretical Criminology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this article, we examine detainee experiences of dignity in police detention through the lens of materiality. To do this, we draw on sociological and anthropological literature on the ‘material turn’ and its application to criminal justice settings, and a mixed-methods study of police custody in England and Wales. First, we conceptualise different dimensions of materiality in police custody. Second, we show how some forms of materiality, in conjunction with staff–detainee relationships, shape detainee dignity rooted in equal worth, privacy and autonomy. Third, we examine how the intertwining of the social and material in police custody opens up new possibilities for theorising police work. The materiality of police work is active, not just symbolic. Alongside social relations, it shapes citizen experiences of the police, including of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ forms of policing, and by implication, pain and injustice. Materiality therefore provides a further way of theorising the production of social order inside and outside police detention.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Materials Turnmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Materials Turnmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

‘Come on mate, let's make you a cup of tea’: Theorising materiality and its impacts on detainee dignity inside police detention

Skinns

Wooff

Rice

2023

Theoretical Criminology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

‘The ones in red:’ people who use drugs’ experiences of the Janus-faced nature of police volunteerism

Maier,

Greene,

Hunter

et al. 2024

Policing and Society

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Police legitimacy in context: an exploration of “soft” power in police custody in England

Skinns

Rice

Sprawson

et al. 2017

PIJPSM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to examine how police authorityin its "soft" formis used and understood by staff and detainees in police custody in England, examining how these meanings are shaped by this unique police setting. It is argued that the nature of this setting, as fraught and uncertain, along with the large volume of citizens who come into contact with the police therein, makes police custody the ultimate "teachable moment". Design/methodology/approach-The present paper is based on in-depth qualitative data collected between March 2014 and May 2015 in four custody suites (in four forces). In each site, the researchers spent three to four weeks observing and then interviewed 10-15 staff (largely police officers, detention officers but also a few other criminal justice practitioners) and 10-15 detainees. In total, the paper is based on 532 hours of observing and 97 interviews (47 with staff and 50 with detainees). Findings-One way that the staff used their authority in the custody suites in the research was softly and innocuously; this entailed for example staff communicating in a respectful manner with detainees, such as by being deliberately polite. The authors conclude that this "soft" power was a dynamic, processual matter, shaped in particular by the physical conditions of the suite, the uncertain and insecure nature of detainees' circumstances, as well as by the sense of disempowerment they felt as a result of being deprived of their liberty and autonomy, all of which contributed to police custody being the ultimate "teachable moment". Originality/value-The paper draws on a range of qualitative data collected from both staff and detainees in four types of police custody suites as part the "good" police custody study. It therefore makes an original contribution to the field which has tended to rely on cross-sectional surveys of citizens not policed populations (Harkin, 2015; Worden and Mclean, 2017).

show abstract

Police custody delivery in the twenty-first century in England and Wales

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

‘Come on mate, let's make you a cup of tea’: Theorising materiality and its impacts on detainee dignity inside police detention

‘Come on mate, let's make you a cup of tea’: Theorising materiality and its impacts on detainee dignity inside police detention

‘The ones in red:’ people who use drugs’ experiences of the Janus-faced nature of police volunteerism

Police legitimacy in context: an exploration of “soft” power in police custody in England

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About