Research project This doctoral project focuses on how police officers and students understand and perceive crime prevention work. The perceptions of police officers and students are studied from three perspectives: definition, knowledge, and culture.
The police are expected to work proactively in crime prevention, yet prior research indicates there is some resistance to this approach. The aim is to analyze how police officers and police students understand and construct the concept of crime prevention. Further, the aim is to explore their perception of crime prevention and their perceived conditions to work in crime prevention. Last, the aim is to analyze their perceptions through the framework of police culture and other possible factors contributing to their perceptions.
Department of Sociology
Unit of Police Work
The project consists of four sub-studies, described below:
Sub-study 1
Crime Prevention within Police Education. A digital survey is distributed to police students across all police training programs in Sweden to gather their views on crime prevention, both in terms of their education on the subject and whether they consider crime prevention as “real police work.” The aim is to describe and discuss Swedish police students’ perceptions of crime prevention, their competence to engage in it, and the potential effects of their education and knowledge on their perceptions of it.
Sub-study 2
Defining Crime Prevention. Through semi-structured interviews with police officers, this study examines how police officers describe and understand crime prevention. The aim is to explore Swedish police officers’ perceptions and definitions of police CP work
Sub-study 3
Is Crime Prevention Important? Sub-study 1 showed that police students have polarized opinions about the importance of crime prevention. This study further explores these views by deepening the analysis of the survey responses. The aim is to analyze how gender, age, personality, and values linked to police culture explain the differing views on crime prevention among police students.
Sub-study 4
Police Students’ Perceptions of Crime Prevention. The previous sub-studies left some unanswered questions regarding police students’ perceptions of crime prevention. This study will use focus groups to explore these perceptions further. The aim is to explore how police students conceptualize and understand the concept of crime prevention. Further, it will explore how the students understand and talk about their education in crime prevention. Additionally, it seeks to describe how police students perceive the importance of crime prevention work within the police force.
Supervisor: Jonas Edlund
Assistant supervisor: Miguel Inzunza
