‘You feel dirty a lot of the time’: Policing ‘dirty work’, contamination and purification rituals

Abstract

Following the controversial adoption of spit-hoods by some UK police forces, most recently by the London Metropolitan Police in February 2019, this article contributes to and extends debates on physical and symbolic contamination by drawing on established considerations of ‘dirty work’. The article argues that, for police officers, cleansing rituals are personal and subjective. As a relatively high-prestige occupation, police officers occupy a unique position in that they are protected by a status shield. Reflections from this ethnographic study suggest that the police uniform can be used as a vehicle for contamination and staff employ purification rituals and methods of taint management.

Blood Work: Managing Menstruation, Menopause and Gynaecological Health Conditions in the Workplace

“…Among the workforces dominated by men, physically dirty forms of work studied also include butchery [ 53 ], refuse collection, and waste management [ 54 ]. Dirty work often has very specific health risks that are attached to it that relate to contamination relating to bodily fluids [ 55 , 56 ].…”

Reframing “Dirty Work”: The Case of Homeless Shelter Workers

“…By redirecting attention to their “clients” or “patients,” these “dirty workers” sought to “justify their jobs as contributing to the greater good” (p. 154). Dirty workers are “confronted with the challenging task of establishing a sense of self‐worth and dignity within their tainted jobs” (Deery, Kolar, and Walsh 2019:2–3), by “emphasizing the positive nature of the means (how the work is done) or the ends (the purpose) of the job.” Dick (2005) demonstrates how the police reframe the meaning of “coercion” by providing positive justifications for its use, while De Camargo and Camilla (2019) elaborated how police officers engage in “cleansing rituals” to manage their subjective experiences of dirtiness and contamination. Professional organizations associated with the cosmetic and tattoo industry actively manage how it is “framed by the media and perceived by the public” (Adams 2012:163).…”

The weaponising of COVID-19: Contamination prevention and the use of spit hoods in UK policing

“…Although it is well established that organisational factors contribute to police stress (workload, inadequate supervisor support etcetera), effective and supportive responses to officers have been the focus of more recent research (Bullock and Garland, 2018, 2020; Fielding et al ., 2018). Perceptions of danger may be useful in policing because it forces officers to undertake protective working practices to avoid contamination from the clientele that the police interact with on a daily basis, such as the use of spit hoods to avoid disease and virus transmission (De Camargo, 2019). Front-line police officers are regularly subject to physical abuse; there were 30,000 assaults on British officers in 2019–2020 (ONS, 2020), and it is reported that the most dangerous part of the job may well be psychological and not physical (Fielding et al ., 2018).…”

“…During the pandemic the police have faced an impossible task in that they face an invisible disease which regularly presents asymptomatic, as well as facing the ‘usual’ hazards from more well-known viruses, diseases and ailments. The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) has always formed an important part of a police officer’s toolkit (De Camargo, 2019) and The Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) is the primary legislation regarding occupational health and safety in the UK and requires the employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all its employees (see Section 2 of the Act). PPE is defined as equipment and clothing designed to protect against an identified hazard, and when the hazard cannot be eliminated or controlled to a safe working level, PPE is used to bring the risk down to a minimum (HSE, 2020).…”