Ross E Hendy

It is believed that an armed police force interacts in society differently from an unarmed police force Little is known about how the change to an armed force will affect the relationship between the police and the public. This study identifies these issues by studying the police of England and Wales, Norway and Sweden. Prominent themes emerged including the importance maintaining a high level of police legitimacy. The use of firearms by police is influenced by departmental policy and their independent perception of the degree of risk they face. The main conclusions drawn from this research were that it was not likely a barrier would emerge between the police and public nor was there likely to be a significant impact on the police’s ability to police by consent. However routinely arming might lead to a reduction in police safety as officers may be more inclined to engage in dangerous situations.

It is believed that an armed police force interacts in society differently from an unarmed police force Little is known about how the change to an armed force will affect the relationship between the police and the public. This study identifies these issues by studying the police of England and Wales, Norway and Sweden. Prominent themes emerged including the importance maintaining a high level of police legitimacy. The use of firearms by police is influenced by departmental policy and their independent perception of the degree of risk they face. The main conclusions drawn from this research were that it was not likely a barrier would emerge between the police and public nor was there likely to be a significant impact on the police’s ability to police by consent. However routinely arming might lead to a reduction in police safety as officers may be more inclined to engage in dangerous situations.

This summary focuses on the data associated with the author's doctoral thesis: Procedural conflict and conflict resolution: a cross-national study of police officers from New Zealand and South Australia. It summarises the key research findings and recommendations. Further details of the relevant research literature, research methodology and detailed analysis of quantitative and qualitative data that support the findings herein may be found in the thesis. 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 did officers from New Zealand. There were no clear explanations for the differences, although there were variations in law and the profile of event-types between the research sites. The qualitative enquiry found that officers from both jurisdictions followed a similar diagnostic and treatment procedure during police-citizen encounters. Moreover, officers in both jurisdictions experienced conflict from procedural frustrations or goal blockages when interacting with citizens.