Civilianising specialist units: Reflections on the policing of cyber-crime
| Author | Diarmaid Harkin,Chad Whelan |
| Published date | 01 September 2021 |
| Date | 01 September 2021 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1748895819874866 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895819874866
Criminology & Criminal Justice
2021, Vol. 21(4) 529 –546
© The Author(s) 2019
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1748895819874866
journals.sagepub.com/home/crj
Civilianising specialist units:
Reflections on the policing
of cyber-crime
Chad Whelan
Diarmaid Harkin
Deakin University, Australia
Abstract
Civilianisation refers to utilising non-sworn personnel to perform certain roles within police
organisations. While the civilianisation of policing has been examined in a variety of contexts, it
has generally been in relation to attempts to improve police efficiency. The current literature is
much less focused on efforts to intentionally seek out civilians to improve police effectiveness,
which, we suggest, is likely to apply in the case of police responses to cyber-crime. Using empirical
data collected with three specialist cyber-crime units in Australia, we explore the arguments for
and against civilianising cyber-crime units as a strategy to improve police capacity, as reported by
police and civilian members of these units. We consider these arguments in relation to a broader
debate as to whether it is better to improve police capacity by employing civilian experts or
attempt to develop greater expertise on cyber-crime among police.
Keywords
Civilianisation, cyber-crime, police organisational structure, policing, specialist units
Introduction
Civilianisation is a term that refers to utlising non-sworn personnel across various
roles within police organisations. It must be recognised that the civilianisation of
policing is not a new development. Police organisations in the United Kingdom have a
long history of employing civilians, dating back to the London Metropolitan Police in
1829. The vast majority of civilians employed in police organisations could be
Corresponding author:
Chad Whelan, Department of Criminology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts and
Education, Deakin University, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia.
Email: chad.whelan@deakin.edu.au
874866CRJ0010.1177/1748895819874866Criminology & Criminal JusticeWhelan and Harkin
research-article2019
Article
530 Criminology & Criminal Justice 21(4)
categorised as providing administration and support roles (Loveday, 2015; Loveday
and Smith, 2015). More recent use of civilian staff has extended to roles such as intel-
ligence analysts (e.g. Belur and Johnson, 2018). Recent developments have also
unfolded in relation to roles such as Police Community Support Officers, first intro-
duced in the early 2000s in the United Kingdom but which have extended, in various
forms, to similar roles throughout Australia, for example. These are closer to a hybrid
between civilians and fully trained sworn police, which tend to perform a variety of
functions, where it is considered that fully trained – and therefore more expensive –
police are not essential. In other contexts, such as North America, debates around the
use of civilian employees have principally focused on the type and volume of ‘non-
core’ policing roles that should be allocated to civilians, principally in relation to cost
savings (e.g. Alderden and Skogan, 2014; King and Wilson, 2014).
While there are many arguments for and against civilianisation (e.g. Alderden and
Skogan, 2014; Maguire et al., 2003; Skogan and Alderden, 2011), the wider literature
tends to focus almost exclusively on the economic rationalities favouring the employ-
ment of civilian (unsworn) over police (sworn) staff. Civilian salaries are generally
lower, and the ongoing training costs for police tend to be higher. These economic ben-
efits tend to be a driving force behind the employment of civilian staff (Council of
Canadian Academies, 2014). Another key benefit is the idea that utilising civilians for
non-core roles free up police to perform more operational functions. However, research
has identified significant constraints on civilianisation, including the ongoing need to
place sworn police in non-operational positions, either temporarily or on a more perma-
nent basis, which undermines these economic benefits (Kiedrowski et al., 2017). There
are also concerns regarding career progression or mobility, morale and job satisfaction of
civilian staff compared with sworn police, resulting in problems with retention and a
much higher turnover than is ideal.
Many of the constraints concerning civilianisation have been explained in relation
to ‘police occupational culture’ (see, for example, Cockcroft, 2012; Manning, 2007;
Reiner, 2010; Whelan, 2017). As Alderden and Skogan (2014) note, ‘[a]n under-appre-
ciated aspect of police culture is how it may shape the relationship between sworn and
civilian employees of the same organization’ (p. 263). For example, sworn-civilian
tensions can originate in police suspiciousness of ‘outsiders’ and the idea that only
police can possibly understand the job. This is exacerbated by the fact that civilians do
not have police training, and the training they do receive is often considered to be
inadequate. It has also been suggested that police isolation and solidarity, long thought
to be an element of police culture, and the visible distinction between police and civil-
ians (i.e. the uniform, badges and insignia officers wear) could contribute to civilians
being perceived as outsiders, even though they are members of the same organisation.
Furthermore, many of the tasks traditionally performed by civilians, including admin-
istrative and analyst roles, are thought to be less valued in the police occupational
culture than traditional policing activities.
A recent study by Kiedrowski et al. (2017) has echoed these findings. Their
research identified various challenges of incorporating civilian staff in Canada,
including (a) poor acceptance of civilians carrying out functions typically performed
by police, (b) workplace agreements that make it difficult for civilians to replace
To continue reading
Request your trial