Procedural Conflict and Conflict Resolution: a Cross-National Study of Police Officers from New Zealand and South Australia
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Procedural conflict and conflict resolution: a cross-national study of police officers from New Zealand and South Australia Ross Hendy Churchill College University of Cambridge This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2018 ii iii Declaration Tis dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the preface and specifed in the text. It is not the same as any that I have submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for a degree or di- ploma or other qualifcation at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution. I further state that no substantial part of my dissertation has already been submit- ted, or, is being concurrently submitted for any such degree, diploma or other qualifcation at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution. iv v Abstract Tis research takes a cross-national approach to explore how police officers attempt confict resolution in their day-to-day activities. Using comparisons of the behaviour of routinely armed officers from South Australia and routinely unarmed officers from New Zealand, this thesis chronicles a research journey which culminates with a new theoretical framework to explain police-citizen encounters. Te research took a grounded theory approach and employed a mixed methods design. Quantitative data revealed that officers from South Australia used verbal and physical control behaviours more frequently and for a higher proportion of time during encounters than dur- ing the encounters observed in New Zealand. Tere were no clear explanations for the differences, although there were variations in law and the profle of event-types between the research sites. Te qualitative enquiry found that officers from both jurisdictions followed a similar diagnostic and treatment procedure during police-citizen encounters. Moreover, offic- ers in both jurisdictions experienced confict from procedural frustrations or goal blockages arising from interaction with citizens. Findings provided the context for the construction of a substantive ‘procedural confict’ theory. Tis theory (1) illustrates how procedural confict can cause a strain for officers, (2) posits that officers take corrective actions to overcome the confict using control behaviour, and (3) explains that while officers may use force to regulate police-citizen encounters, other behaviour for resolving confict during encounters is more common. Accordingly, procedural confict theory provides a new framework for the explanation of the police use of force. Fur- ther theoretical propositions about police-citizen interaction are set out in the fnal chapter and further research to test the validity of the theory is proposed. vi vii Contents Declaration ............................................................................................................................................. iii Abstract .................................................................................................................................................... v Contents ................................................................................................................................................ vii Figures .................................................................................................................................................... xi Tables .................................................................................................................................................... xii Nomenclature ...................................................................................................................................... xiv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................. xvi 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Police-citizen encounters as teachable moments ........................................................................ 3 1.2 Te present research ....................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.1 Te dissertation ........................................................................................................................ 7 2. Policing in an Australasian context .................................................................................................. 9 2.1 Te Australasian context ............................................................................................................. 10 2.1.1 Te policing of free and penal populations ........................................................................ 10 2.1.2 Contemporary policing ......................................................................................................... 16 2.1.3 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 20 3. Confict and confict resolution during police-citizen encounters ............................................. 21 3.1 Police-citizen encounters .............................................................................................................. 21 3.1.1 Te ritual of the police-citizen encounter ........................................................................... 21 3.1.2 Variety of police-citizen encounters .................................................................................... 24 3.1.3 Control behaviour .................................................................................................................. 27 3.1.4 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 30 3.2 Confict during police-citizen encounters .................................................................................. 30 3.2.1 Normative explanations ........................................................................................................ 31 3.2.2 Justice and fairness ................................................................................................................. 35 3.2.3 Strain and corrective action .................................................................................................. 38 viii 3.2.4 Behavioural explanations ...................................................................................................... 39 3.3 Confict resolution ......................................................................................................................... 45 3.3.1 Deutsch’s law of social relations ........................................................................................... 45 3.3.2 Police-led confict resolution ................................................................................................ 48 3.3.3 Summary and discussion ...................................................................................................... 49 4. A mixed-method approach .............................................................................................................. 53 4.1 Research sites .................................................................................................................................. 53 4.1.1 Cross-national police research ............................................................................................. 53 4.1.2 Te present research – the Australasian dyad .................................................................... 57 4.2 Research design ............................................................................................................................. 60 4.2.1 Mixed method approach ...................................................................................................... 61 4.2.2 Te quantitative study ........................................................................................................... 62 4.2.3 Te qualitative study .............................................................................................................. 65 4.2.4 Te pilot study ........................................................................................................................ 67 4.3 Data collection methods ............................................................................................................... 68 4.3.1 Encounters .............................................................................................................................. 69 4.3.2 Officers ..................................................................................................................................... 72 4.3.3 Citizens .................................................................................................................................... 73 4.3.4 Pilot study evaluation ............................................................................................................ 73 4.4 Te sample ...................................................................................................................................... 76 4.4.1 Research access ....................................................................................................................... 76 4.4.2 Sampling: shifs and patrols .................................................................................................