'They wanna be us'; PCSO performances, uniforms, and struggles for acceptance. (8th August 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: De Camargo, Camilla
• Is Part Of: Policing and society. Volume 30:Number 7(2020)
• Page Start: 854
• Page End: 869
• Publication Date: 2020-08-08
• Subjects: Police community support officers (PCSOs) -- neighbourhood policing -- uniform -- police -- visibility -- Erving Goffman; Police -- Periodicals; Crime prevention -- Periodicals; 363.2
• DOI: 10.1080/10439463.2019.1598998
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1043-9463

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Police community support officers (PCSOs) in England and Wales have become an integral part of neighbourhood policing since their national roll-out in 2008. The research reported here is based on the first-hand accounts of PCSOs from a four-month ethnographic study in a northern police force. Using Erving Goffman's theoretical framework and concept of performances, this paper argues that PCSOs still face ongoing pressures from inside the organisation to defend their position to police colleagues. PCSOs are still experiencing negative and bullying attitudes toward their existence and document the difficulties they face in being accepted. In response to this, some PCSOs have been known to conceal their status by modifying their uniform and using a current desire for increased visibility to enable presentational strategies in image management.