The everyday reality of private security work in Sweden: negotiations at the front line of public order maintenance

Löfstrand, Cecilia Hansen

doi:10.1080/10439463.2021.1998049

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…BWC introduction and implementation in Sweden is a particularly interesting case, because existing research on the topic relies almost exclusively on empirical studies conducted in the USA and justifies them as a way of protecting citizens being policed rather than the officers wearing them, the latter being the case in Sweden. In the US, and in most US-based research, BWC use is represented as a way of increasing oversight and control of police officers to hold them accountable for their actions towards the public (Hansen L€ ofstrand, 2021). One may assume that the police crisis in the US, with primarily white police officers' use of (deadly) force towards mostly male members of minority groups, causing collective protests, fierce media debates, and pressuring police organizations around the country to act (see, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Sweden we do not see the same scope for police use of deadly force against minority citizens that is characteristic of the USA context. However, in Sweden private security officers have a somewhat unique role as they have been granted so called 'limited police powers', and in recent years we have witnessed an increase in the number of security guards and places where they operate-that goes well beyond the intention of the legislation-and, hence, security officers are increasingly taken on front line roles formally in the domain of the police (Hansen L€ ofstrand, 2021). Security officers in Sweden are recurrently accused of excessive force, particularly against members of minority groups, and they have been publicly criticized and held to account for their actions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Organizational legitimation of body-worn camera use in the Swedish private security industry

Löfstrand

Backman

2022

QROM

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PurposeThe authors set out to show how key private security industry actors in Sweden establish body-worn cameras (BWCs) as a tool to protect private security officers from the public the officers police and to improve the work environment of the officers.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with key personnel involved in the implementation of BWCs. The authors' analysis focused on delineating recurrent moral stories and affirmative environments to show how BWC use was made legitimate as a work environment tool.FindingsThe authors show how BWC use by private security officers patrolling public spaces in Sweden is legitimized by four organizational narratives: (1) the vulnerable security officer and the caring employer, (2) defenders of protective regulation, (3) moral selves and morally dubious others and (4) function creep and moral guardians. The authors explain how such organizational narratives are key to establishing and legitimizing the use of BWCs as a tool to improve the work environment of private security guards, and how certain narrative environments promote such organizational narratives in Sweden to improve the work environment of private security guards.Originality/valueThe authors' findings in this article add to a small but growing literature on BWC use in policing outside of the USA and the UK as well as to the hitherto very limited research from the work environment and managerial perspectives. The authors illustrate the importance of organizational narratives and narrative environments for understanding organizational change involving legitimation of new technologies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%