‘If I’m not police, then who am I?’: About belonging and identity in the police
| Author | Cathrine Filstad |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14613557221106099 |
| Published date | 01 December 2022 |
| Date | 01 December 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Original Research Articles |
‘If I’m not police, then who am I?’: About
belonging and identity in the police
Cathrine Filstad
Department of Leadership and Organization, Kristiania University College, Norway;
Department of Leadership and Organization, The Norwegian Police University College, Norway
Abstract
This article investigates senses of belonging and the interrelation between belonging and identity in policing. We use Snap
Log images and text of police leaders’own interpretations of belonging at work. Belonging is relational, cultural, material
and embedded in collective engagement, and is about being equals where everyone contributes. Engagement creates a
strong emotional attachment to an idea of ‘us’and of being part of something bigger than oneself. Belonging represents
imaginations of the police mission and being proud to be part of that. It is about the ‘here and now’and about taking care
of each other when things are tough. The link between belonging and identifying with policing is further amplified through
materiality and symbols, as commonly used in police leaders’images. The sense of belonging to the police when wearing
the same uniform and using the same artefacts and symbols becomes important for a person’s identity as a police officer.
Keywords
Belonging, identity, police leaders, Snap Log
Submitted 10 Jan 2022, Revise received 25 Feb 2022, accepted 29 Apr 2022
Introduction
The police undertake a social mission of providing public
safety. Several studies of police culture have argued that
the police service’s sense of mission strongly influences
police identities (Chan, 1997; Cockcroft, 2013, 2019;
Loftus, 2009), and consequently that identity has an import-
ant role in policing (Hoggett et al., 2014, 2019; Van
Maanen, 1978a, 1978b). Also, the argument that police
culture develops ‘bottom-up’from operative practice
(Waddington et al., 2013) indicates that belonging (or not
belonging) is embedded in what constitutes practice and
how police identities are developed.
Police employees define their identity in terms of social
and cultural relations (as social identity) to create meaning
and engagement with goals, interests, values and perfor-
mances (Wenger, 1998, 2003; Wenger et al., 2002).
Belonging is the foundation of social identity, in which the
extent of a person’s perceived belonging to a group comprises
cognitive, emotional and evaluative elements (Ashforth and
Mael, 1989; Brewer, 2007; Tajfel, 1972). Creating a sense
of belonging to a community is therefore reinforced when it
incorporates a person’s understanding of his or her identity:
‘Who am I?’or ‘WhodoIwanttobe?’(Child and
Rodriques, 2011; Gherardi and Nicolini, 2002). Social identi-
fication with others or the sense of belonging to a group
shows that individuals identify socially with a particular
group when it allows for belonging and uniqueness
(Ashforth and Mael, 1989; Pickett et al., 2002).
By developing a shared sense of belonging, the collect-
ive and representative ‘us’(Haslam et al., 2001; Platow and
van Knippenberg, 2001), leaders are more likely to inspire
followers through embodiment of what the collective is and
who is involved (Ellemers et al., 2004; Haslam et al., 2011;
Steffens et al., 2014). The importance of identification is
evident; followers regard leaders as more trustworthy, fair
Corresponding author:
Cathrine Filstad, Department of Leadership and Organization, Kristiania
University College, Kirkegata 24-26, Oslo 0153, Norway.
Email: cathrine.filstad@kristiania.no
Original Research Article
International Journal of
Police Science & Management
2022, Vol. 24(4) 417–426
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/14613557221106099
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