Field, capital and the policing habitus: Understanding Bourdieu through the NYPD’s post-9/11 counterterrorism practices
| Author | Tara Lai Quinlan |
| DOI | 10.1177/1748895819848820 |
| Published date | 01 April 2021 |
| Date | 01 April 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895819848820
Criminology & Criminal Justice
2021, Vol. 21(2) 187 –205
© The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/1748895819848820
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Field, capital and the policing
habitus: Understanding
Bourdieu through the NYPD’s
post-9/11 counterterrorism
practices
Tara Lai Quinlan
Sheffield Hallam University, UK
Abstract
This article extends existing Bourdieusian theory in criminology and security literature through
examining the practices of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in the post-9/11
counterterrorism field. This article makes several original contributions. First, it explores the
resilient nature of the policing habitus, extending Bourdieusian criminological findings that
habitus are entrenched and difficult to change. Second, this article examines the way the resilient
habitus drives subordinate factions to displace dominant factions in a field’s established social
hierarchy through boundary-pushing practices, a concept previously unexamined in Bourdieusian
criminology. Drawing on original documentary analysis, this article uses the illustrative example
of the NYPD’s post-9/11 counterterrorism practices, exploring how it sought to displace the
existing social structure by using its aggressive policing habitus and an infusion of ‘War on Terror’
capital to challenge the dominant position of the FBI in the post-9/11 counterterrorism field.
The NYPD’s habitus driven counterterrorism practices were novel and unprecedented, creating
strain with both the FBI and local communities.
Keywords
Bourdieu, counterterrorism, habitus, New York City Police Department, police
Introduction
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is the USA’s largest, with a hard-
working and aggressive policing approach generating decades of mystique and acclaim.
Corresponding author:
Tara Lai Quinlan, Lecturer in Law, Department of Law and Criminology, Sheffield Hallam University,
Collegiate Campus, Sheffield, S10 2BP, UK.
Email: T.L.Quinlan@shu.ac.uk
848820CRJ0010.1177/1748895819848820Criminology & Criminal JusticeQuinlan
research-article2019
Article
188 Criminology & Criminal Justice 21(2)
Many NYPD policing practices have been heavily researched, including use of tech-
nology and organizational management (Zimring, 2011), zero tolerance order mainte-
nance (Harcourt and Ludwig, 2006), misconduct (Armacost, 2004) and use of excessive
force (Greene, 1999).
The NYPD’s role in counterterrorism increased dramatically with the 11 September
2001 attacks and the ‘War on Terror’. Between 2002 and 2013, Mayor Michael
Bloomberg and NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly secured significant counterter-
rorism funding for programme expansion (NYS Homeland Security, 2011). The NYPD’s
post-9/11 counterterrorism practices, however, lack adequate research. The limited
analysis offers enthusiastic approval, touting the NYPD as a model for other depart-
ments (Dahl, 2014; Rascoff, 2010). Supporters argue the department’s unique institu-
tional attributes made it well suited to become a post-9/11 counterterrorism agency
(Nussbaum, 2012; Waxman, 2009).
Several experts counsel greater caution about the NYPD’s post-9/11 counterterrorism
approach (Bayley and Weisburd, 2007; Schulhofer et al., 2011). While recognizing local
police value in assisting post-9/11 counterterrorism, they highlight potential problems.
Bayley and Weisburd (2007), for example, raise concerns about human rights violations,
cautioning that overbroad local counterterrorism policing can damage community rela-
tions needed to fight terrorism. Similarly, Schulhofer et al. (2011) suggest local police
like the NYPD often take communities for granted in counterterrorism, using aggressive
policing practices that fail to deter terrorism and increase community discord.
Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu examined the structural ways power and capital, meaning
economic, political, social and other resources, shape social interactions and practices in
different fields. While commonplace in sociology, Bourdieu’s theories are uncommon in
security and criminology literature. Nonetheless, a few scholars have used Bourdieu’s
theories to explore how social relations and power dynamics structure security, crime
and deviance (Abrahamsen and Williams, 2011; Bigo, 2008; Chan, 1997; Diphoorn and
Grassiani, 2016; Dupont, 2004; Sandberg, 2008; Shammas, 2018). This article extends
existing scholarship through several original contributions to Bourdieusian theory in
criminology and security literature. First, this article examines the resilient nature of the
policing habitus, meaning structuring principles, a concept first introduced by Chan
(1997), but one that has met with resistance in criminology research. Second, this article
explores how a subordinate field faction uses its embedded habitus to shift the balance of
power and capital away from a dominant faction in a changing field of practice, meaning
a complex social network in a symbolic social space.
To develop greater understanding of Bourdieusian theory and its implications for
criminology and security literature, this article examines the post-9/11 counterterrorism
practices of the NYPD in the first decade of the ‘War on Terror’. Using this illustrative
example, this article delves into the resilience of the policing habitus, and the ways it
facilitated the NYPD’s efforts to shift the balance of power and capital away from the
FBI in the post-9/11 counterterrorism field. Drawing on original documentary analysis of
90 publicly available documents, this article explores the ways the entrenched NYPD
policing habitus drove aggressive post-9/11 counterterrorism practices amid significant
socio-political changes in the counterterrorism field. Specifically, this article examines
criminal indictments in terrorism cases, civil lawsuits against the NYPD, publicly
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